Kate's visit, part one

I have returned. Actually, I didn't go anywhere. Well, actually, I did go somewhere for part of the time, but that doesn't really have to do with it.

I met Kate at an Esperanto event over the summer. I didn't think I'd ever see her again, but we stayed in contact, and she came to visit me. I had her as a guest for some twelve days, which I'll try my best to recount over the next two, three, or however many posts.

On Friday, January 8, she flew from Washington to Orlando and took a bus to Gainesville. We had agreed to meet at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza downtown sometime after 4:00, which was when her bus arrived and my last class got out. I walked downtown. It was cold, and the sky was gray. I was hoping we could do something downtown because there were some interesting things to do there.

I got to the plaza and waited there for a while, taking inventory of the sketchy folks hanging around and making sure none of them were going to sneak up on me. Clearly, this wouldn't be a good place to go for a stroll. On one turn-around, I saw her approaching on the plaza from the opposite direction I was expecting. We greeted each other in Esperanto and hugged. She had a large backpack and was dressed more warmly than I was.

It was cold and there was nothing to do there, so I figured we should just go back to my apartment. We walked back toward campus, and I reminded her to take pictures of anything she thought looked interesting. We talked about how her trip had been so far and how pleasantly surprised we were to see each other again. We made it back to campus, where I gave a mini-tour in which I talked about everything we saw. Then we took the bus back to my apartment.

Once she got settled in, or maybe even before, we exchanged gifts. Mine were a Florida Gators sweater for cold weather (she had said that she was terribly cold in New York) and a Gators tank top for the hopefully but not actually warmer climes of North Central Florida. (Yeah, I know: "Boo," "Gators suck," etc.) Kate presented me with a monthly calendar of St. Petersburg, where she currently lives. I hung it up right away. It's in Russian and English, and I have it directly above my computer, so I can see that this month is Январь.

We did a lot of things, and it's been kind of a while now, so there may be some gaps or question marks in the narrative. As I recall, Andy was there to say hello to her (he was traveling with me when I met Kate, so he had already met her too). She wanted some tea, and, as I expected, Andy was there to provide. He didn't have the exact kind she most wanted to drink, but she drank the regular Lipton stuff anyway. I mentioned that I didn't exactly know how to make tea, and they joked about it. I would soon be making lots of tea for Kate, who bestowed on me the nickname "Mr. Teamaker."

Later, Andy's dad came over and got to meet Kate. I hadn't heard Kate speak much English, so it was interesting to hear. Andy and his dad went out to eat and made a run to the grocery store after. They asked if we wanted anything, so Kate asked for some things like bread, cheese, and fruit. Later, they brought back the food, and Kate enjoyed her bread and cheese.

On Saturday, I believe it was, Kate surprised me by saying that she wanted to speak Esperanto and English on alternate days so she could practice both. Saturday was an English day. I had made a list of things to do in Gainesville, and we thought about what might be best for that day. After a slow morning, we went to the Harn Museum of Art on the UF campus; it was open, easy to get to, and free. Also, I had never been there, so it would be a new experience for me as well.

I'd seen some pretty crappy art galleries in my time, so I was pleased when the art they had was not so crappy. There was a collection of stuff by American artists, mainly from the early 20th century. New York came up in a lot of the paintings, and I asked Kate if she had been to the places they showed. There were also some African and East Asian artifacts.

By the time we got out of the museum, it was cold. We stood around for a few minutes waiting for the bus when Kate mentioned that she wanted to stop at the supermarket along the way. Being the American that I am, I at first scoffed at her suggestion that we take the 10-minute walk there instead of waiting for the bus. Then I caved, realizing that we could spend up to an hour in the cold while waiting for the bus.

At the supermarket, Kate bought some of her favorite things, including yogurt. I was hoping we could have pasta for dinner with Andy, so I got some tomato sauce. We made it back to the apartment and got cookin'. Actually, Kate and Andy were kind enough to do most of the work. I insisted that Kate didn't have to do anything because she was the guest, but she wanted to help out.

We enjoyed our dinner in what might be called the dining room, a small area outside Andy's room that he had just decorated (the dining room, not Andy's room, although he had just decorated his room as well). We somehow got on the subject of animal onomatopoeias, and I learned that Russian dogs say "guff." We also practiced our own animal noises, and that's how barking (guffing?) became a running joke among us.

I didn't expect to use up that many bytes describing just two days, but this post is getting long and it's almost midnight, so I'll stop here for now and continue the narrative later. In the meantime, enjoy these links.

Here's a chart explaining How to Use an Apostrophe. (Via Lifehacker)

Here's another chart: Where Should I Eat? Fast Food Edition.