The Cathles in Europe will describe highlights of our experiences while Larry is on sabattic for the academic year, 2006-2007.

Larry's portion began with travel delays and misplaced luggage at Heathrow dealt with 20,000 bags after the August terror threat. He then travelled to Moscow for a conference and China for field work in rural, southwestern China where westerners are a rarity. Mary Helen enjoyed visits to Cape Cod at the Mahon-Hayden cottage on the bay in Dennis, Cayuga lake r&r at Cathy and Carl's cottage on the West shore, meeting Cormac Kennedy, sharing Melanie Kalman's joy at becoming a Nana, unexpectedly driving a LARGE red Dodge Ram truck to Syracuse airport.

Larry and Mary Helen met up at Stavanger and are adjusting to life in a small, basement apartment in Stavanger, a city on a fjord with mountains as a lovely backdrop. Larry is working at a research institute and Mary Helen is exploring the area. Most surprising to mhc is the language differences. Although many people - except our landlords - understand and can speak English it's not what you hear on the streets. The library's book collection is about 12% English and concentrated in fiction area.