A highlight of my stay here in Bloomington has been being part of the Bloomington Worldwide Friendship group. Volunteers act as hosts to international students and meet with them occasionally for outings. Jeremy Lee, from Singapore, and I have been very fortunate to be linked to Michael Molenda and Janet Stavropoulos while we have been staying in Bloomington. I have also had the chance to go on some outings with Cyndi who is the host of my colleague, Taina Wewer from Finland.
Michael and Janet also have a wealth of knowledge about the history of the local area, and the history of the US in general. Michael has taught me some quirky pieces of general knowledge, for example, how the town of French Lick got its name. Another odd fact I learned from him was that Peshtigo, Wisconsin, had a huge fire the same day as the great fire in Chicago in 1871. More lives were lost in Peshtigo, but because the Chicago fire happened, Chicago got all the publicity and many people don't even know about the Peshtigo tragedy.
Here are some pictures of the wonderful times I have had being part of the Bloomington Worldwide Friendship group.
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| Brown County Forest Park |
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| Michael and Janet in Nashville, Indiana |
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| Janet in Nashville, Indiana |
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| Nashville, Indiana |
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| Local product of Nashville, Indiana |
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| Janet and I at at the opera; The Italian Girl in Algiers |
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| Friends of Music Society dinner |
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| Bloomington Worldwide Friendship Group picnic at Lake Lemon |
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| Jeremy, Taina and I on the boat trip at Lake Lemon |
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| Taina, Mohana, Ousama and Cyndi talk with a lady whose family used to own the surrounding land. |
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| Ousama, Taina, Mohana and I on the covered bridges trip with Cyndi |
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| Cyndi, Mohana, Taina and I on the Covered Bridges trip |
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| Janet and I with our silver ferns |
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| West Baden Hotel |
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| Michael and I inside the luxurious West Baden Hotel, in the middle of nowhere. |
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| Bus ride to the neighbouring French Lick Hotel |
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| Dinner inside French Lick Hotel |
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A shopping trip to the outlet stores in Edinburgh, Indiana with Taina and Cyndi
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| Griffy lake with TsaiYi and Michael |
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| Griffy Lake |
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| Dinner at Janet and Michael's house after our walk through the woods. |
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