Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Monuments Men

As this blog progresses, I think you will find information from my many hours listening to podcasts. I love my iPod!

During the Hitler era, many, many thousands of works of art and documents were stolen by Hilter and the nazis. While the saving of human lives is much more important, there was a group of museum curators and art lovers who did their part in the war by traveling to Europe to help preserve and protect works such as the Mona Lisa. Many people do not know that the Mona Lisa was moved SIX TIMES during WWII. The Monuments Men continue today to recover works and restore them to their proper place.

The nazis stole 1/5 of Europes art. Other artwork was at risk of damage from bombings, vibration, and destruction at the hands of the nazis. Hitler did not like modern art and either sold works to fund his rein of terror or destroyed the works.

For more information on this extraordinary group of people, you can visit their website at

http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org

Living Abroad

We have been living abroad for 6 years. The time has gone by so quickly.

It has been interesting living in a country in which the official language is not English. I studied the language and am able to communicate surprising well considering the [lack] of effort exerted. I really need to go back to language school and plan to do so. Soon.

The major drawback to not being able to communicate effectively is the inability to deepen a relationship. My friendships here are not very deep. Sharing my faith is a challenge and I want to work on the vocabulary involved in that.

I'd love to hear how others feel about living abroad and how they cope.