As everyone with eyes can see, my blog is going through a rough patch.
My Experience of 9/11 2001 in the US (and a Book)
Some time ago, my Rotary Scholarship mate from my year in the US, got in touch. We met in 2001 at Reinhardt College in Georgia, US. She is now a journalist and was doing research for a book about the aftermath of September 11th 2001. She wanted me to tell her what I remembered from that day. This is the text I sent her:
“I woke up in my dorm room in the morning of 9/11. It was an ordinary day and after taking a shower I reviewed my Spanish homework. As I was sitting on my bed doing that, I suddenly hear my roommate Michele screaming and run over to her. She has the TV on and screams as she points to the set. As we are watching we see the smoke coming out from the first of the two World Trade Center towers and a distraught speaker voice talks about a second plane and we watch in amazement as that plane hits the second tower.
She has already her phone in hand and calls her mother in Uruguay and hostfamily – the hostfather works in the WTC…I run back into my room as I hear my phone ring, its my hostdad. I dont remember if he is trying to calm me or himself down, but he is letting me know he believes “it is Bin Laden who is behind all this”. It is the first time I hear the name.
Before I am off to class, the news reaches us that also Pentagon in Washington DC has been hit. As I have a friend living in DC, I want to hear she’s alright. I phone her, but cannot get through. A few moments later the news presenters on TV urges the public to stop calling friends and relatives to allow for the phone lines to be used by emergency workers. I feel pretty stupid.
In Spanish class, we talk about what happened and in a later class we stand in a circle holding hands in silence. I channel my confusion and sadness over the events by walking around campus taking pictures of the nature. (I can look for the pics if you think they would be interesting for you, but I dont think thery were very special) During the day, we realize that also Atlanta, a mere 45 minutes away, and its headquarters for CNN and Center of Disease Control are possible targets. The threat creeps closer.
Already the same afternoon, American flags are hanging out from many windows. Over the next weeks, we will fear that our drinking water has been poisoned, that antrax can be sent to our mailboxes and that the terror can strike at any time again. At this time, I had spent only one month in the US, but could still clearly feel that this day had changed everything.”
Today Marianne Lentz’s book is out. It ended up being an interview book with 10 New Yorkers, their memories of that dreadful day and how it impacted on their lives. It’s currently only available in her native Danish, but hopefully soon in English too. I’m proud of you, Marianne!
What Do You Do with a Baby All Day?
Yesterday, I got the question:
– But what do you do with your baby all day?
The short answer is sleep, eat (her mostly, me in the space between) and play.
The long answer is this:
02.00 She wakes up with a wiggle and a yawn. I manage to give her my left breast before she screams or even opens her eyes.
05.30 She wakes up with a smile. I give her my right breast and when she has eaten (drunk?) decide it is time for a diaper change. After playing in the baby gym and saying some nursery rhymes, putting on a new outfit we go back to bed.
08.32 Grandma comes to take her before dashing off to work. I go back to sleep.
09.00 Grandpa brings her back. She is hungry.
11-ish We wake up and do the diaper-thing. I decide to dress her in an outfit that matches mine.
11.30 I have breakfast and read a wonderful blogpost about tossing the hunt for productivity out while grandpa tries to get her to sleep.
15.15 We go out for a walk after she has slept and ate. During the walk she sleeps.
16.12 We enter a café. She wakes up. She looks around the place in amazement. I hurry to order coffee and gulp it down before feeding her again.
17.14 We visit my brother. She screams until I pick her up and then she burps. I need to remember that babies (almost) always cry for a reason.
18.40 Back home. We play for a while. She looks at things, that is I say “What are you looking at? A flower? The sun rays?” Then she is suddenly hungry and after that needs a diaper change. I optimistically put on her pajama. She is all smiles at the changing table.
19.30 Still trying to get her to sleep. As soon as I sit down she cries. I put her in the BabyBjörn and start to sing. When she is asleep, I have dinner.
20.55 She is up again. Can she really be hungry? She sits with my parents and “talks” to them before coming back to me. I feed her to sleep.
23.00 Time to blog!
The second question I got was,
– Is it fun?
Well, it is a different tempo, a changed way of life, an exhausting and at the same time relaxing task, many times it is scary, but also exciting and yes, maybe even fun!