Welcome and Invitation

Many of you have asked me to report on what life is like in Izmir, Turkey, my new home as of July 7 (barring an absence of six weeks from July 23 through September 4 for a trip to California and Columbia). Remembering my promise to do so (perhaps not the wisest idea, knowing my track record as a correspondent), I at some point found myself desperately typing out individual updates to various people, sadly falling far short of the number of people on my list. And since the list of correspondees seems to keep expanding as memory gradually returns (now that the moving dust has settled), I have finally thrown up my hands and concluded that in the interest of time and sparing myself some tedious repetition, it would be much more sensible to post these updates in one central place where everyone could read them, anytime they liked. That place is here. I hope this will prove an adequate means of satisfying that 'I wonder what ever happened to Kate?' question that may now and then surface in the backs of your busy minds. (And in case that question doesn't surface, maybe this will remind you that I'm still here!) This doesn't mean that I have abandoned personal correspondence, and I promise to do my best to keep up genuine personal interaction. It would be delightful to hear from any of you on an individual basis, as well. Here's hoping that this finds you all well, and wishing you happy reading!