January in London...

...ain't Paris in the Springtime, but has nevertheless been wonderful. Szonyi and I have both been sick, Ben suspiciously healthy. The weather (which even I talk about with a certain obsessive fervor) has been cold and damp. The sun has only made an appearance when my parents came to visit, something my Dad says happens every time he visits London. Here, in no particular order are the highlights of a great month:

* Visit of Sylvia and Jehiel Orenstein on their way back from Israel where they celebrated the birthday of Cousin Riku (from the Rumanian side of the family).

• They brought, in addition to literal sunshine (see above) the figurative sunshine of news of Mike and Beth. Mike is studying in Haifa at the Technion and Beth is visiting Mike. The trip in Israel involved a lot of wining and dining of the young couple. I was heartened to hear from Mike that even he had trouble keeping up with Savta (my Mom, Sylvia). 8 am breakfasts were de rigor.
• In London, the pace for the Orenstein Srs. was no less ambitious. We dined well (Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, everything except English "cuisine"). We saw two plays, A Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare and Shaw's You Never Can Tell, and one movie, Woodie Allen's creepy movie Matchpoint, which was set in London. We also visited the glorious British Museum, where one can see treasures stolen from around the world.
• Szonyi and my folks attended my Evidence class, where Abba and Szonyi participated avidly, and Ema gave a brief summary of her legal victory (see previous post). Only my mother had the energy to come back for more, attending the family law class as well.
• For Shabbes, Ema and I went via tube to Golder's Green and schlepped back prepared kosher food to our side of town. We almost didn't make it given the gusty winds and weight of the chicken soup.
• On Saturday morning, Szonyi and Abba went to a bar mitzvah where the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, spoke, and where there were lycee nuts, cholent, and other exotica at the kiddish.
• Finally, Saba and Ben went on what was deemed "the greatest rip off in the world," the London Eye, a gigantic, slow moving ferris wheel.

A great time was had by all despite the cramped quarters and the fact that my Mom could not get a hot shower. She did, however, start cleaning the apartment whenever my back was turned.

*Visit of David Greenberg from Heidelberg
As many of you know David will soon be starting a PhD program in neurobiology at the Max Planck Institute. He came to London where we had a great time with him watching esoteric art films by French Communists, tracking through the British Museum, and going to a fabulous exhibit of the Tate Modern on the jungle motifs of Henri Rousseau (think nude on couch with tiger in the middle of a Jungle). Rousseau was an autodidat who wanted nothing more than to be part of the Paris academic art scene, but actually was more bold and primitive than technically correct in his pictures, Interestingly, he never left Paris. He painted the animals from zoos and the flora from various hothouses. David also managed to spend some time with some college friends, and to help Ben out with math and trips to the pub. I hope he returns soon.

* Attendance at the Commitment Ceremony of Lorraine and Karen
The UK has enacted civil partnerships open to gay couples that replicate the legal benefits and obligations of marriage. Szonyi's cousin, Lorraine, was civilly united with her partner Karen on January 13, and we were very privileged to be part of the ceremony and celebration that followed. The ceremony itself, conducted by a magistrate was beautiful, involving an exchange of rings, recitation of poetry, affirmation of commitments, and signature of the legal document. The venue was a lovely country inn that used to be Beatrice Potter's estate, located in the town of Hatfield about 20 miles north of London. After the ceremony we had dinner and then fireworks. The brides looked radiant. The only negative note was sounded by yours truly in the form of a hacking cough during the ceremony, which my attempts to suppress only made worse. One of the brides (Karen) actually handed me a glass of water, proving that even on her most special day, she was still generous and looking out for others. At the dinner, we were the only Americans and enjoyed talking to the very interesting and welcoming assembly of friends and family.

*What is Ben up to?

Ben still hasn't taken his Japanese final from last semester (an omission caused by multiple transmission errors over email, and one that will finally be corrected tomorrow). Otherwise, he has his hands full with Human Geography and US History. The level and amount of work at the American School exceeds anything Ben saw in Bloomington, but he is rising to the challenge. He's also taking Japanese, maths, and creative writing. Slowly he's making friend with kids from school and from the neighborhood -- two very different sites of human geography. I am very proud of his openness to new ideas and experiences. Ben spends a lot of time on wikepeidia writing and editing. He also is reading a lot about music and literary criticism. Although no one could accuse him of studying too hard, Ben's intellectual curiosity is vast and even his recreation time is spent learning new things (not, Japanese things that would help him on his final from last semester, but nevertheless interesting and challenging pursuits).