I Am A Student - Massive Open Online Courses

When you return from a trip, you bring home more than photos!  I brought home memories, names of new friends, and a trunk load of new ideas!  One idea, shared by a fellow passenger, was of participating in a Massive Open Online Course (a MOOC) from the comfort of my home computer!

I remember hearing that some universities were making college courses available to the public at no cost, such as MIT’s Open Courseware.  But being fully content with the classes we took through various adult education programs, our Learning-in-Retirement program, and Senior Scholar auditing at UCLA, I never looked into it.   

This shipmate explained how a MOOC works…how simple it is to register for one of hundreds of course offerings available through various websites.  Once home I merely googled “MOOC” and was astounded by the hits. 

I eventually registered for a 6 week course at Coursera entitled Growing Old Around the Globe. It is offered through the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.  It consists of watching various expert video casts (none longer than about 15 minutes), participating in a weekly webcast, posing questions and answers on various discussion forums with the other 6880 students, and completing a written assignment answering a question of the week.  You can do as much or as little as you want, but if you do all that is suggested you can earn a Certificate of Completion.  Best of all, it is all FREE.

The focus of this particular course is to take an in-depth look at our increasingly aged world, the process of aging and the impacts on the individual and the society.  We are into our second week and I this is my submission in answer to this week’s question, “What is it to be old?”

I recall driving with my husband in our car one delightful summer day.  I was in the passenger’s seat and I had the window down.  The breeze was coming in the window and I felt vibrant and alive.  I happened to glance in the side rearview mirror of the car and was shocked at what I saw.  It was a neck.  It was an old neck.  The skin was not tight but appeared to fold in on itself like crepe paper.  It was MY neck.  Was I old?

The picture I have chosen to submit is also one of a body part.  It is my left hand and arm.   

You can see that this skin, too, is not tight, seems to fold in on itself like crepe paper.  One way of looking at age is to see the biological signs on a body that seem to shout out, “This body is aging…this body is old!”  However, when I picture myself in my mind, my arms are toned, my neck is supple.  I do not see in my mind’s eye what the mirror reflects to me.  

I think that as long as I do not let my aging body define my real age, I am not old.  But that is not easy to do.  Society gives us constant reminders that what we see in the mirror is not desirable.  Companies ask us to pay large amounts of money for wonder lotions that should puff up wrinkling skin, regenerate dying cells.  Surgeons offer us procedures to tighten sagging cheeks and jowls.  

I believe in my mental vision of myself.  It is aligned with my sense of energy, my sense of purpose, my sense of self.  I try to focus on that.  I must admit that I also tend to avoid looking into mirrors, I prefer to be the one taking photos rather than the one being photographed.  I do not think this is denial but rather that I do not want to put my focus there.  What you focus on, expands!  My mental image contributes to my sense of well-being.

I think I dress appropriately for my age.  My adult children often tell me that I look nice.  Last Christmas, Marc and Charlotte gave me the white Fossil watch that is on my arm in the picture.  At first I thought…”This watch is too young for me” and I placed it in my dresser drawer.  Recently, my old watch battery died so I took out this watch and put it on.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed wearing it.  It helped me to feel engaged in the world.  It helped me to feel younger!

I am enjoying the course.  Retirement is the best kept secret.  There is so much to do and so little time!

I Am A Buyer – Purchasing Our New Home

Time flies…. It was almost a year ago when I wrote a blog post facing the question of “Do we stay?” (in the house we have occupied since our marriage but has 15 steps to the front door) or “Do we go?” (and proactively find a single level, street level house that would allow us to more easily “age in place.”)  This has been a major topic of discussion for us for the past 9 months.  We started out by looking at single family homes on the market in our immediate area and every time we came home we said… “We like our current home the best!” So we stopped looking for a while.
 

Eventually we made a list of what features we would want this house to have should we decide to GO: 

• an ocean view (we were tired of looking at the airport); 
• a large kitchen (I get such pleasure spending time in my kitchen preparing special meals); 
• an office (large room where we can continue to have our desks face each other!); 
• single level (no major steps); 
• an area where I can garden; 
• a location with easy access to family; 
• a location with educational and enrichment opportunities;
• a safe environment. 

 

We remembered that friends of ours in Omnilore lived in a gated Senior Community called Palos Verdes Shores in San Pedro, CA.  We had visited Luke and Lucia at their home a few times and were very impressed with their community.  We began to consider this locale and when we returned from our recent trip, we would begin an active search realizing that it might take us a year or two to find the “right” place.  We were in no hurry to move, we could wait until the best choice came along.  Famous last words!

We met with a realtor at PV Shores on Wednesday and looked at two of the manufactured homes that were for sale.  The first had only 2 bedrooms, but the second one seemed to have all we were looking for.  We took out our list and went down it… check, check, check, check, check.  We looked out of the living room windows onto the beautiful Pacific Ocean with a faint outline of Catalina Island, we looked at each other and said… “I could see us living here!”

Our new home from the street, #154

We returned for a second look on Friday morning, wrote out an offer with the realtor that afternoon, and received a call with an acceptance of the offer that evening.  Saturday we listed our current home with a local realtor and began the process of putting it on the market.

So now we are making lists of lists and preparing for another chapter in our lives.  What have we done!  Change is Scary.  There is no crystal ball to show us it will all be OK. On the other hand, Change is Invigorating!  We have energy and excitement.  We feel fully alive and “wide awake!”   So to answer the question: Do we stay or Do we go?  We are going!!!

On the back deck looking the Pacific Ocean.

I Am A Traveler and A Scholar - Our Enrichment Voyage

     It is a lucky day when you are able to combine two things that get you excited!  We won the jackpot when we recently participated on an Enrichment Voyage where we were able to travel to 11 Coastal Cultures of the West while being immersed in a stimulating educational environment aboard the MV Explorer.  The MV Explorer’s “floating campus” is normally used for the University of Virginia’s “Semester at Sea” Program where twice a year a boatload of college students earn credits while traveling the world and participating in learning experiences in the company of  top-notch faculty and keynote speakers.  In between the two semesters, shorter Enrichment Voyages are offered to the general public. 

We first experienced an Enrichment Voyage 4 years ago when we traveled for two weeks in the Caribbean traversing the Panama Canal. When we saw this fantastic itinerary of a longer voyage beginning in Barcelona, Spain and ending in Dover, UK with 11 Ports of Call in between we shouted “YES!” 

 

On the deck of the Explorer with Monaco in the background

To capture the entire experience would take a book so for now, I am just going to list the highlights so that years from now, when I am old and gray and read this post, I will say…”Ah, yes, that was a GREAT TRIP!”

Barcelona…a wonderful discovery…a city with a special electricity, the Barri Gotic, the architecture of Gaudi, breakfast at La Boqueria.

Our day experiencing the Cinqueterra in Italy, especially approaching the towns by boat and the fantastic lunch in the harbor of Vernazza.

Connecting with my much-loved Sicilian cousins, Martina in Pisa and Gaetano in London.

Jay with Martina at the train station in Pisa!

With Gaetano at The Spaghetti House in London.

Experiencing the lectures of GayleAllard, fantastic professor of Economics from the IE Business School in Madrid who spoke on various aspects of the Euro.

Taking the 6 session Writer’s Workshop with engaging author, Lisa Cach, and firing up my desire to write.

Traveling the “White Towns Route” in Cadiz, Spain…looking down the deep gorge in Ronda in the rain…eating tiny snails in the main square.

The sights, sounds and smells of Marrakech, Morocco…the Berber pharmacy…the Ourika Valley and lunch with a Berber family…eating tangine and couscous…experiencing a squat toilet!

The Berber House Kitchen with two of our hosts.

Meeting LiLi Crum…a Semester at Sea alumnus who now teaches English to children in Iraq.

Discovering the D-School ofStanford and the amazing ideas of George Kembel on unleashing creativity.

Walking Omaha Beach in Normandy on a cold, gloomy, rainy day…standing amid white crosses at the American Cemetery…the hedgerows…remembering D-Day and our heros.

At the American Cemetery in Normandy France

Discovering friends Carol and Tony Lopilato in the cafeteria on the first day of Segment II.

Sharing the trip with long-time friend, Adadot!

At the Captain's Dinner aboard ship.

Belgium…the excursion to Ft. Breendonk…the stories of the prisoners sent on to the concentration camps during WWII…the cold walls and cells…the city of Antwerp…Ruben’s art…mussels and frites.

The fantastic Science Museum “NEMO” in Amsterdam and the Dutch Résistance Museum…pancakes…beer!

Never too late to have a happy childhood at NEMO

Being introduced to MOOCs…Massive Open Online Courses…Coursera!

The maneuverability of the ship navigating the Firth of Forth in Scotland…the piper playing to greet us…lunch at the Black Rose pub…haigis!

Belfast… “The Troubles” of Ireland…the Hop On Hop Off Bus…the murals…the peace wall…The Garrick Bar...Bushmills.

Excursion to Glendalough while in Dublin…laughing with the delightful guide, Mary…Irish humor…the Wicklow hills…Catherine Flavio…the Ballyknocken Cookery School …scones…sheep…Guiness.

Catherine preparing scones.

Two pints of Guiness, please!

Jay lecturing on Global Warming aboard the ship to about 100 pairs of eager ears! (He just happened to have his PowerPoint presentation on his flashdrive!)

White cliffs of Dover…the Dover Castle…walking the secret WWII tunnels and the stories of Dunkirk…the reenactment of a WWII battle

The high speed train to London…bookstores…listening to the London Symphonic Orchestra rehearsing in Trafalgar Square for an open air concert…The Spaghetti House…the British Museum…tea, scones and clotted cream…listening to Gerald, the Sri Lankan cab driver, on the way to Heathrow!

 

Just reading through this list reminds me of what a worthwhile experience we had.  The best part was how Jay and I were able to share it.  Maybe we are mellowing in our golden years but we were great together.  We shared a tiny cabin aboard ship for almost 5 weeks.  We packed light, hand-carrying all our items and using the ship’s laundry regularly so our life felt unencumbered.  We reveled in the fact that we share the same interests and that we have the love and companionship of each other at this time in our lives.  

Happy in Ireland!