Some Loved It, Some Hated It. I am the former...
How fortunate I am!
Growing up my family moved a lot. Seemed like every year we were in a new place. I have met many people, mostly in the US
who have said how much they would have hated that --loosing friends as soon as you made them, never having roots and never
knowing what or where tomorrow would be.
I guess that is certainly a way to look at it. I just don't look at it like that. I valued the experience even while I was going through it.
I thought of it as making new friends each time we moved, not loosing old ones. If they were good enough friends you would
stay in touch. If not, oh well -sooner or later it would have ended.
That was many years ago and still today I have very fond memories of it all. I can say I miss it. The Internet has been a
wonderful way to keep in touch with my past -allowing me to visit the places I cherish so much, download music from times
gone by and even reestablishing old friendships after many years.
To put this whole thing into perspective, for friends of mine and even my own family now, I have created these web pages. My
Chronological Life as seen on the Web and this page explaining what it meant to me. Keep in mind that by the time I graduated
from high school ---as a Junior--- I had been in 10 schools in 4 countries and lived in 5 countries.
As much as I liked all my schools I have a special place in my heart for F.I.S. (Frankfurt International School) in Germany. Maybe
it was because (at the time, the last time -in 1976) we were the only family to have returned three times to that school (me
being the youngest only was a student twice -I was too young the first time but my brothers and sisters attended), maybe
because I was at an impressionable age (K and 6th grade) and maybe, just maybe a special teacher made the learning
experience worthwhile.
F.I.S. is the proud home of the single best teacher I ever had. Tom Callahan. He was my 6th grade English teacher (currently
still teaching there) but was also a good friend. When I was having trouble in school he was always there to help -mostly on his
own time. I was never a great student but because of him I was much better than I ever would have been. Thanks, Tom -you
made a difference.
Here are links to all the schools I attended. For a list of links from the towns I lived in see myInternational Living page.
Kindergarden FIS Frankfurt International School , Oberursel, Germany
1st, 2nd grade Memorial Elementary School, Natick MA
3rd grade Volksschule Modling, Moedling, Austria
4th grade Volksschule Mannagettagassa, Grinzing-Wien XIX, Vienna, Austria
5th grade Bundesrealgymnasium XIX, Grinzing-Wien XIX, Vienna, Austria
6th grade FIS Frankfurt International School , Oberursel, Germany
7th grade ASH American School of the Hague, Scheveningen-Den Hague, Holland
8th, 9th grade Pollard Junior High, Needham, MA
10th grade Needham High School, Needham, MA
11th grade Spaulding High School, Barre, VT
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