Well, it wasn’t just a dream…it actually happened. I met my friends from junior year abroad in Fribourg, Switzerland. Some friendships shrivel if you neglect them…others are the kind that you can pick up where you left off, even if the last time you met was more than 30 years ago. On the first night, we sat around a big round table on the hotel terrace drinking local wine and beer…it was as if it were yesterday. Few of my friends had met Bernard, and many of us had never met Roby’s wife, Nancy—yet, they were clearly part of our Fribourg family.
I had some apprehensions before we arrived. I’ve never been a going-to-my-college-reunion type of person (and neither were my Fribourgeois friends). People change considerably in more than three decades…that is natural. We all aged….of course. But the essential qualities and character traits that formed our friendships and shaped our common experiences years ago were still dominant. The forecast was horrible…they were predicting a week of solid rain. Instead, the sun shone down us the entire weekend. The view of the mountains was closer and clearer than many of us remembered.
We relived old experiences…we walked from the Uni along the train tracks to Granges Pacot where many of our group had their housing. We walked down to La Vieille Ville; we stopped at the Terrasse and had cannettes of beer under the Linden tree. We ate cheese fondue for reunion meal at the Cafe du Midi. We walked and walked and walked. We talked and talked and talked.
We also created some new memories, laughing heartily on account of Steve and room 409 (especially when Bernard tried to charge a Lexus to his account).We went to Morat and ate lunch at a table overlooking Lac Morat. We walked along the cobblestoned streets of Gruyere and at strawberries with double crème. On Friday, some of us took the train up to Interlaken and Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps…incroyable.
Mostly we reminisced and shared stories of our lives since we left Georgetown in ’75. That year was one of the most formative years of my life, as it was for my friends. For most of us, it was the first time away from home, the first time experiencing complete freedom. We made mistakes (hence the unfortunate encounter with pomme. But we also learned life lessons, developed our aesthetic sensibilities, and developed deep bonds. We all realized at the time, as now, that we are who we are because of that year.
By the last day, we were already remarking…this is the last supper, the last walk up the hill to the hotel, the last breakfast. Some of us had to leave on earlier trains…we accompanied each and gave them the grand send off. Now that we have reestablished contact, we have pledged to plan something in the States so that we can get together with everyone, especially with those who were unable to make it back to Fribourg. When all is said and done, mostly we laughed. We also didn’t say good-bye, we said au revoir–until we see one another again.
Thanks for tuning in and best regards,
Marcsi
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