Winter lingers as classes begin...

We are now in the 5th week of the semester. How did that happen? Time is going by so quickly. I am teaching two courses: one on end-of-life and palliative care and one on international social work. Some of my students are in the ERASMUS program, named after a 15th century Dutch scholar. This encourages students from all of the 27 member nations of the European Union to go to different countries for undergraduate and graduate education. It is a challenge and an honor to have so many different languages and cultures and backgrounds together in the classroom, although we all speak English. I find that the students are well-informed and curious overall and are quick to point out that there are many ways to view the topics at hand. I am absolutely on my toes!!!!

I had the opportunity to participate in a conference about violence against the elderly and was coordinated by the Austrian Red Cross with partners in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Portugal. This project is sponsored by the Daphne program and funded by the European Commission. I sat on a panel for this conference and had an interpreter.