For two academic years, from mid-1974 through mid-1976, Joan attended what was then named the Institut International de Glion, now renamed the Glion Institute of Higher Education. Primarily a hotel and hospitality school, in that era it also had a tourism track which attracted many international students from countries interested in growing a tourism industry. Joan was enrolled in this tourism curriculum.
The school is located in Glion, near Montreux, and thus in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Glion is near the center of the map below.
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Classes at Glion are conducted entirely in French. Joan's French was very good; she spent her junior year of college living with a French family in Nantes. Some of the international students, however, had only a six-week crash course in French before being thrust into classrooms. Joan became good friends with a student from Malaysia, Latiff, who needed help with his French. Having already had some real-world work experience he was able to help Joan with many of the technical terms and concepts being taught in the classes. It was a successful partnership; Joan graduated #1 in the class, and Latiff was #2. Here is a grainy snapshot of Latiff on graduation day, from a scanned 35-year-old slide.
While Latiff was at Glion his second child, a son named Khalid, was born in Malaysia. Later, in 1980, when Joan and I visited Latiff and his family in Malaysia, we met a 5-year-old Khalid. Now, in June 2011, Khalid was graduating from a one-year Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership at MIT, having been sponsored by his employer, Petronas, the state-owned petroleum company. Latiff and his wife, Balkeesh, were coming to the United States in a whirlwind to see their son's graduation, visit one of Latiff's work contacts, and see a small slice of Boston and New York.
We came to Boston for a few days to have a reunion; we had not seen Latiff, Balkeesh, or Khalid for 31 years.
Khalid and Latiff met us at the airport, as a surprise, and dropped us off at our hotel, the Kendall, to check in and get settled before the evening's outing. (This photo is from later in the visit, just after a rain shower.)
The Kendall was perfectly located for our purposes, being a short walk from the MIT campus, from the Charles River, and from the apartment in married-student housing where Khalid and his wife Shahida lived. The front part of the hotel was originally a Victorian-era firehouse, built in 1895, and came close to being demolished until the Kendall began renovations in 2000.
Our first activity with Latiff, Balkeesh, Khalid, and Shahida was a boat tour on the Charles River that evening. The boats come up to the back of a huge shopping mall, the Cambridgeside Galleria, through a small canal and basin.
We rested and chatted for a few minutes waiting for the next tour.
From left to right are Balkeesh, Latiff, Shahida, Joan, and myself. Khalid took the photo, and we'll see him momentarily.
Boston was enjoying a day of cool, dry air, and evening photography on the Charles River was beckoning to everybody.
There were a great many pictures taken of each other. Here are Balkeesh and Latiff at the stern of the boat.
A closeup of Latiff.
A flash photo of Khalid. Doesn't he look like a younger version of his Dad? A chip off the old block.
The three ladies: Shahida, Joan, and Balkeesh.
Daughter-in-law and Mom. They do seem to enjoy each other's company.
There is never-ending activity on this stretch of the Charles. Private sailing docks, MIT docks, other institutions, tour operators, all going strong until dusk. This photo is of a "duck boat," a boat with wheels that can come onshore to load and unload.
Sailboats.
Practicing for a dragon boat competition.
Individual sculling.
We turned around just upstream of the John J. Weeks pedestrian bridge, connecting parts of the Harvard campus.
A downstream view headed back towards Boston.
The light is almost gone (for photography) as we draw near the "Leonard Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge." Aren't cable-stayed bridges lovely?
By the time we docked it was 8:30 or so and definitely time for dinner, and then to rest. Latiff promised us a big Boston tour on the morrow.
The Kendall is just one block from a stop on the Upper Deck Trolley Tours line. This outfit offers on-and-off privileges for two days and advertises the most sightseeing stops. The Malaysian clan met us at the Kendall after breakfast, tickets for everybody in hand, and we boarded the trolley. Here are two views of the trolley from later that day.
A front view.
The first portion of our outing was divided into three parts: first, take the trolley as far as the Boston Harbor stop, then get off for the harbor tour, and then resume the trolley tour.
I didn't try to take pictures through the bus windows that day. The trolley made a brief stop for everybody outside Fenway Park, the shrine to Red Sox baseball. There is a statue for the four Teammates, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom Dimaggio.
Because of his great concern for and philanthropy regarding children, Ted Williams also gets his own statue.
I'm not a baseball fan, but it was fun to see these legendary locations anyway.
By noon the day was heating up, although the air was still not humid. Many people waiting for the harbor tour opted to find some shade from the bright sun. A couple of small ferries to outlying islands came and went, and then it was our turn.
Mom made certain to snap pictures of Khalid in the different sections of scenic Boston. Who wouldn't be proud of their Sloan Fellow son? Latiff now refers to himself as an "MIT Dad."
Waterfront living is available if you have the big bucks.
There was a large variety of watercraft enjoying the harbor on such a fine day. Here is the Liberty Clipper, which does day trips and extended excursions. Believe it or not, it's a replica of the Baltimore Clippers of the California gold rush era. Ships this size sailed around Cape Horn to California with a reputation for speed and safety!
No tour of the harbor can be complete without passing by the berth of the Constitution, known as Old Ironsides. She is still a commissioned warship of the US Navy, and the oldest such, launched in 1797/98. (The oldest commissioned warship in the world is Nelson's HMS Victory, launched in 1765. But it is in dry dock, so the Constitution is the "oldest commissioned warship afloat.")
We also sailed by more modern vessels, such as the Coast Guard's Seneca.
After the harbor tour we resumed the trolley tour. We passed by many historic locations and buildings, and I must compliment our drivers on their friendliness and knowledge. If Bostonians are by nature gruff, we never saw it! The Freedom Trail and Old Ironsides would both be worth a second visit to Boston. The only photos I have to offer of this segment of our visit are of the Massachusetts State House.
We were there during the Stanley Cup finals, and zooming in, we could see that the State House was participating.
A closeup of the sign in front along the sidewalk.
We all know that plans sometimes do not work out, especially if you are a few days away from moving all your possessions halfway around the world. This afternoon Latiff told us of two developments. One was a promised and much-postponed last dinner with friends of Khalid, so Joan and I would be on our own for dinner that night. The true spanner in the works was that the movers hired to box all the stuff that Khalid and Shahida were sending back to Malaysia had gotten the promised date wrong, and now tomorrow was the only day they could tackle the job. Our Malaysian foursome invited us to a home-style Malaysian lunch tomorrow at Khalid's apartment, but for the rest of the day they would be consumed by packing, packing, and more packing.
When the tour trolley reached the Cambridgeside Galleria stop, it was time to part ways for the remainder of the day. Our friends would squeeze in some final shopping, while Joan and I transferred to the tour trolley for Harvard Square. It was late enough in the day, and we were tired enough, that Joan and I were happy to drink in the Harvard Square tour from the trolley, without disembarking for a student-led tour of the grounds. It didn't hurt that we had the most charming and enthusiastic driver/guide that I've yet encountered.
For dinner that night we repeated our visit to the restaurant of the night before, the Legal Sea Foods practically across the street from our hotel. Being so close to MIT, there was plenty of interesting eavesdropping to be done at the restaurant. Discussions about student problems, using a better solvent ("Amides generally do better with hydrogen bonding solvents"), and the proper use of liquid nitrogen were in the air. Back at the hotel, we had earlier seen a man carrying a binder for a course in nanotechnology engineering.
After the meal we took a walk along the Charles River. There is a bicycle and walking path (sometimes more than one track, sometimes wider and sometimes narrower) for miles along the river, between the riverbanks and Memorial Drive, and it is only a few blocks from the Kendall. It allowed us to stretch our legs, admire the sailboats and skyscrapers, and observe the wide range of dog walkers, joggers, runners, and casual and serious cyclists. It appeared to me that there were more female joggers than male on this path; perhaps it is well regarded for safety.
The following morning we went to the MIT Museum. The second floor in particular is full of wonders, given the long and illustrious history of MIT, including the history of the unit of measure called the smoot. There is a gift shop with many items available only at MIT. On this third day of the visit, Boston was clearly warming up, with a high above 90 expected.
We walked to Khalid's apartment at the appointed hour. The lunch was spicy and delicious, and we appreciated the effort that Shahida and Balkeesh made to prepare it at such a chaotic time. After we arrived there were six adults plus two or three movers in the one small apartment, which had a fan but no air conditioning. (I don't recall if it was broken or not present, but I believe the condition was uniform in the married student tower.) One of the movers asked Khalid, who seemed immune to the heat, how warm it was in Malaysia. His answer was, "This is about as cold as it gets."
It was good to see everybody again, even if the circumstances were distracting. Eventually we returned to the hotel, to do some preliminary packing for the flight back, and then had dinner there as well.
That evening we walked through the MIT campus and explored further downstream on the riverside path. One of the areas of the campus that we examined was Ray and Maria Stata Center, designed by Frank Gehry, known for his unusual architectural style, examples of which include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. It was difficult to find a single good perspective for photography, so I shall inflict several photos on the reader. Also, they are the only pictures describing this evening!
I will note that MIT filed a lawsuit in 2007 over many problems they found with the design and construction (leaks, falling ice blocking exits, and the like). Gehry blamed cost-cutting measures in construction, and in any case, the suit was reportedly settled in 2010.
The next and final day was a short one, because we had decided on 12:00 noon as the time to head for the airport. We visited several galleries on campus, including the Hart Nautical Gallery. There were several special exhibits and art works for MIT's 150th anniversary year. On loan for one year is the statue The Alchemist, by Jaume Plensa.
We also visited the MIT chapel, which is very unprepossessing on the outside, but striking on the inside. It is of course non-denominational.
Then we returned to the hotel for our luggage and took a taxi to the airport. Standing in line to check in, my cellphone rang. It was Latiff, who had called twice earlier, probably while the taxi was in tunnels or otherwise did not see a T-Mobile signal. He was on his way to see us at the hotel before we left for the airport. I explained we were already at the airport, and handed the phone to Joan so she could say her goodbyes.
We hope it will not be another 31 years before we see them again!
Let's end this account with a video of our takeoff from Boston Airport.
Our first activity with Latiff, Balkeesh, Khalid, and Shahida was a boat tour on the Charles River that evening. The boats come up to the back of a huge shopping mall, the Cambridgeside Galleria, through a small canal and basin.
Boston was enjoying a day of cool, dry air, and evening photography on the Charles River was beckoning to everybody.
Khalid and Shahida at the bow.
The Kendall is just one block from a stop on the Upper Deck Trolley Tours line. This outfit offers on-and-off privileges for two days and advertises the most sightseeing stops. The Malaysian clan met us at the Kendall after breakfast, tickets for everybody in hand, and we boarded the trolley. Here are two views of the trolley from later that day.
I didn't try to take pictures through the bus windows that day. The trolley made a brief stop for everybody outside Fenway Park, the shrine to Red Sox baseball. There is a statue for the four Teammates, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom Dimaggio.
By noon the day was heating up, although the air was still not humid. Many people waiting for the harbor tour opted to find some shade from the bright sun. A couple of small ferries to outlying islands came and went, and then it was our turn.
We all know that plans sometimes do not work out, especially if you are a few days away from moving all your possessions halfway around the world. This afternoon Latiff told us of two developments. One was a promised and much-postponed last dinner with friends of Khalid, so Joan and I would be on our own for dinner that night. The true spanner in the works was that the movers hired to box all the stuff that Khalid and Shahida were sending back to Malaysia had gotten the promised date wrong, and now tomorrow was the only day they could tackle the job. Our Malaysian foursome invited us to a home-style Malaysian lunch tomorrow at Khalid's apartment, but for the rest of the day they would be consumed by packing, packing, and more packing.
When the tour trolley reached the Cambridgeside Galleria stop, it was time to part ways for the remainder of the day. Our friends would squeeze in some final shopping, while Joan and I transferred to the tour trolley for Harvard Square. It was late enough in the day, and we were tired enough, that Joan and I were happy to drink in the Harvard Square tour from the trolley, without disembarking for a student-led tour of the grounds. It didn't hurt that we had the most charming and enthusiastic driver/guide that I've yet encountered.
For dinner that night we repeated our visit to the restaurant of the night before, the Legal Sea Foods practically across the street from our hotel. Being so close to MIT, there was plenty of interesting eavesdropping to be done at the restaurant. Discussions about student problems, using a better solvent ("Amides generally do better with hydrogen bonding solvents"), and the proper use of liquid nitrogen were in the air. Back at the hotel, we had earlier seen a man carrying a binder for a course in nanotechnology engineering.
After the meal we took a walk along the Charles River. There is a bicycle and walking path (sometimes more than one track, sometimes wider and sometimes narrower) for miles along the river, between the riverbanks and Memorial Drive, and it is only a few blocks from the Kendall. It allowed us to stretch our legs, admire the sailboats and skyscrapers, and observe the wide range of dog walkers, joggers, runners, and casual and serious cyclists. It appeared to me that there were more female joggers than male on this path; perhaps it is well regarded for safety.
The following morning we went to the MIT Museum. The second floor in particular is full of wonders, given the long and illustrious history of MIT, including the history of the unit of measure called the smoot. There is a gift shop with many items available only at MIT. On this third day of the visit, Boston was clearly warming up, with a high above 90 expected.
We walked to Khalid's apartment at the appointed hour. The lunch was spicy and delicious, and we appreciated the effort that Shahida and Balkeesh made to prepare it at such a chaotic time. After we arrived there were six adults plus two or three movers in the one small apartment, which had a fan but no air conditioning. (I don't recall if it was broken or not present, but I believe the condition was uniform in the married student tower.) One of the movers asked Khalid, who seemed immune to the heat, how warm it was in Malaysia. His answer was, "This is about as cold as it gets."
It was good to see everybody again, even if the circumstances were distracting. Eventually we returned to the hotel, to do some preliminary packing for the flight back, and then had dinner there as well.
That evening we walked through the MIT campus and explored further downstream on the riverside path. One of the areas of the campus that we examined was Ray and Maria Stata Center, designed by Frank Gehry, known for his unusual architectural style, examples of which include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. It was difficult to find a single good perspective for photography, so I shall inflict several photos on the reader. Also, they are the only pictures describing this evening!
The next and final day was a short one, because we had decided on 12:00 noon as the time to head for the airport. We visited several galleries on campus, including the Hart Nautical Gallery. There were several special exhibits and art works for MIT's 150th anniversary year. On loan for one year is the statue The Alchemist, by Jaume Plensa.
We hope it will not be another 31 years before we see them again!
Let's end this account with a video of our takeoff from Boston Airport.
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