Helping A Refugee Start Again

Originally uploaded by jambonchampignon.

Today Colin and I drove to Hofstra to see if he could set up a schedule for the Fall semester. He received good treatment (what else), and by the time I was out of my meeting of the GLBT Scholarship Committee he was admitted as a visiting student, had a course schedule set up, and was ready to get a Hofstra ID and a parking sticker. We were out of there by 3:30, with things all set up for him I learned today that his friends from Tulane, spread around the US, are feelingdepressed and disoriented by the aftermath of Katrina. Colin said that he is even felling relatively better than most. I had not realized that even people who have family support and who have landed on their feet still feel displaced by being put out of their homes in New Orleans. I hope the Hofstra semester turns out well for Colin. We will be going to the university together, as I teach and he goes to classes on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule. I Am meeting him at Jonica's tomorrow morning at 7:15 AM, after I cycle for 20 minutes from my home in Park Slope, across Brooklyn to Jonica's place in Clinto Hill. We shall see how this works out. I noticed today how easy it is to ride to work with someone else driving, even if it is in a Mini rather than a Lincoln Town Car.