A Life-Changing Year for Candi and Robert!

How fortunate we were to live in France in 1968-69! In such a time of challenge to the status quo throughout the world (e.g., the continuing civil rights movement in the U.S. and resistance to the insanity of Vietnam, the struggle for liberty in what was then Czechoslovakia, the legacy of «les évènements» in France, etc.), how wonderful it was to be immersed in such a rich culture and to study such wonderful literature! No doubt each of us was changed in innumerable ways and enriched beyond words by our shared and individual experiences.

You'll notice in that last group photo that Robert and Candi are not standing anywhere near each other, yet somehow we were married just one year later in the Santa Barbara mountains—the best of all outcomes for the two of us from that first year abroad—and we've shared another 40 years of wonder together since then.

We returned to Bordeaux for another year in 1972-73 and lived about a block away from Place de la Victoire. Robert took his Master's exams in French there that year and worked as a “lecteur” at the faculté des lettres. Candi taught English at ENSAM. Both jobs required a grand total of about 12 hours each week, so we had lots of time to become better acquainted with the sud-ouest, and more importantly, we continued and cemented some great friendships that have continued to this day, and which became a big part of our lives. Since some of our best friends from those days now live in the région toulousaine, that's where we usually end up when in France.

When we returned to the U.S. in mid-1973, Candi was pregnant, and we needed some kind of income. So Robert took a job teaching German and English (eventually teaching French, along with several other subjects). Trying to figure out what to do for a career, he completed two more MA's: one in counseling and another in business management, but then he decided to try making some little difference in education, and he became a principal. Meanwhile, Candi bravely went back for a 2^nd degree, this time in a practical field like science. She has worked for the past 30 years in a hospital laboratory, now exclusively as a bacteriologist. Life is full of surprises...

We have 2 children: Lara, 27, got a degree in psychology and currently works in a Sonoma County winery (though she may be leaving soon for work in New Zealand), and Stefan, 35, is an electrical engineer in San Diego. He's married to Andreia, from Brazil, and has 2 boys of his own, ages 11 and 13.

We count ourselves most fortunate to live in beautiful Northern California. We have been hosting international winery interns in the fall for several years (several from France, but also from Hungary, Chile, Spain, and Italy), in the hopes that perhaps we might “pay forward” a bit of the generous hospitality we experienced so often in France when we were young.

Fortunately, we can still speak French (though not so well as long ago), and we are always looking for good reads in French, so send your recommendations!