The Christmas Letter
Dear friends,
For another year, we floated along the river of time.
Now, here at the weir of the turning of the years, I would say retrospectively that I swam quite actively. It was not as exhausting as some other years.
There were no major life-changing events. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable year in which I saw, did and felt many fantastic things.
At university, things have continued to change. More than half of our students sit in class with a tablet. Worksheets are therefore no longer in A4, but 1920×1080. Even before Corinna forced us, I had recorded instructional videos for my phonetics lecture in 2019. In the meantime, I explain some concepts differently and presently wearing glasses also look different. That’s why I completely re-recorded 64 videos. Now my phonetics textbook still has to go through proofreading at Cambridge University Press and will be available for purchase in June 2025 – the ideal gift for all occasions. ISBN: 978–1–009–18661–2.
It’s hard to comprehend what is happening in world politics at the moment. Before the States possibly turn into Gilead, Olaf and I took the opportunity to visit Chicago and Philadelphia. Chicago burnt down almost completely in 1871. New York architects would never have dreamed of accepting commissions in this province. So up-and-coming architects were given a chance and the city beautiful Art Deco skyscrapers. Most memorable were trips to the suburbs in both cities. We travelled from Chicago to Skokie to visit a Titanic exhibition. Reading the actual radio transmissions went down my spine colder than the -2 °C cold Atlantic water. In Philadelphia, we walked in Otherworld through a labyrinth of bizarre rooms with glow sticks and plush bunnies like two happy small children. We found the everyday reality of American life at times just as bizarre, where a young Latino with an ankle bracelet on his leg shops in the corner shop late at night, his wife with a small child in her arms behind him.
Two whole weeks in Prague were the highlight of my year. If I already speak Czech so well, let’s do this properly: I booked a summer course at Charles University. It was fun to go to school in the mornings and the certificate I received looks fancier than the one for my doctorate. In the afternoon, the ‘Cooking Czech: Eggs in five ways’ workshop was rather average. It was more enjoyable to go swimming, to meet friends for ‘one’ beer on the banks of the Vltava in the evening sun and once even to be invited with tiramisù under my arm to a music evening at a dacha by a lake. In this respect, the egg course was useful after all: I was able to explain the recipe. On the weekend, I stayed with friends of a friend in Ostrava. After a barbecue, schnapps and beer, I did not know the lyrics of the songs in the early hours of the morning. A German-Czech intersection, which the son was able to accompany on the guitar, was finally found and my rendition of ‘Maya the Bee’ was applauded.
3D took me to Toulouse and to an exhibition organised by the StéréoClub Français. I chatted with an elderly lady. You know those thick, rippled 3D lenticular postcards? Her father was their inventor. Her grandchildren apparently already knew Granny’s exhibits, but when I asked if they wanted to see photos from Harry Potter World, their eyes instantly sparkled and the older one looked motionlessly at my viewer for seven minutes while the little one jumped up at him impatiently. I also visited the Halle de la Machine, where machines made snow from foam and music with a flame and where a minotaur the size of a house stomps around. You stay a child for life! By the way, my godson turned 18. I gave him a flight in a wind tunnel as a present, also told him that I had the killer present, but put the voucher at the bottom of the gift box and was amused as the young man tried to explain to me very diplomatically that the swimming trunks that had being lying on top and which he obviously did not like, were not the present I thought they were.
I spent my birthday in Regensburg. Your own fault if you organise the 3D Congress of the DGS exactly on this weekend. It was great that the whole family came along, and we spent time together in a maisonette flat with a terrace. Incidentally, the next 3D Congress is being organised by me and will take place on the first weekend in May in Leipzig. Reading these lines obliges you to attend. At a phonetics congress in Latvia, I met an acquaintance-now-friend from England again. Tallinn is beautiful: Nordic-Slavic with the Baltic Sea. We ate cheburek in the chic covered market hall at Balti Jaam and danced the night away. In search of a gay scene on the last evening in quaint Tartu, we created a new cocktail with wheat beer and Vana Tallinn liqueur. However, I am not brave enough to try it sober to see if it is any good.
Above all, I can say that I enjoy my everyday life. I find it relaxing to use my hands three evenings a week, try out a new recipe from HelloFresh and eat well. Spending time with my husband, visiting my mum, talking to my godson on the phone, joking with students in the seminar are all things that I enjoy, that I am grateful for and that enrich my life. And, of course, I cannot forget about you! I am already looking forward to seeing you again next year.
mail@frank-lorenz.com
+49 163 777 3243 ☆ Messenger: Threema · Signal
+49 341 246 9993 ☆ 🇬🇧 0560 347 6320 (national rate)
Shows for 3D TVs: top-bottom (ABq) · side-by-side (LRq)
YouTube with 3D shows for red/cyan glasses
mail@frank-lorenz.com
+49 163 777 3243
☆ Messenger: Threema · Signal
+49 341 246 9993
☆ 🇬🇧 0560 347 6320 (national rate)
Shows for 3D TVs: ABq · LRq
YouTube with 3D shows