Friday November 6, 1992 – Rome, Italy
Work was very quiet today. Both Paul and Ron took the day off. So, the only people there were Paulina, Cisca, Max and Walter. I composed and Faxed a letter to Don Norris. I then spent most of the day editing a user guide for the FORIS database. Cisca and I had lunch together. It was nice to find out a little more about her background. She was native to Belgium and got a degree in Forestry from a University in Flanders. She could speak several languages including French, English, Dutch, Italian and I think Spanish. I was amazed at the number of languages people could speak in the office and throughout Rome. The office secretary, Paulina was from Australia and could speak Italian, Spanish and English. Nobody seemed to know how many languages K.D. Singh could speak but Paul said he had heard him go from English to Italian to French to Indian to some obscure African language at a moment’s notice. It really struck me how isolated, self-centered, and stupid most Americans are as far as their ability to speak other languages. I decided to go see a movie tonight. I had been told by Paul there was an English-speaking theater in the Trastevere section of Rome. By chance, my trusty Rome Access guide showed where the theater was located. So, I was able to find it with relatively little trouble. I made it about 15 minutes before the next showing of the movie Basic Instinct which starred Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone . It was a bit gruesome with a dumb plot, and I wasn’t too surprised to see several people walk out of the theater apparently offended by the violence. On the plus side, it was nice seeing San Francisco and the scenes along the California coast made me nostalgic for home.
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