Post-Op Day 6: Dianne writing on Dan’s site.
Dan had a couple of tests this morning, but we expect them to come back okay. He had no fever in the night, slept quite well, and is feeling stronger today.
Dan spent some time before we came down here talking with a 38-year-old man from Greece who had been examined by Dr. Lima for surgery later this summer. They had a nice discussion and exchanged e-mail, address and phone numbers. We have met some very nice people here. Everyone (except the banks) has been very helpful and friendly. If you even attempt to speak a little Portuguese, they go out of their way to be nice. Most people (especially under thirty) have very good language skills. We have learned that school children learn French (which is a linguistic cousin of Portuguese) as a second language in 3rd grade, and add English later. When you ask, "Do you speak English?" most people say, "A leetle bit." Then they proceed to astonish us with their language skills, even in fairly technical word areas. It's embarrassing not to be able to respond even a tenth as well in their language, but they seem to appreciate that we try. As long as we don't speak Spanish to them, they seem happy.
Weather here is beautiful. The weather forecast shows rain and snow in northern Europe, including Paris, as well as British Isles, but southern Spain and Portugal and supposed to be warm and dry throughout the rest of the week. We plan to take Dan out to the nearby neighborhood this afternoon, so the sunshine is appreciated, thank you very much.
Well, Dan's dad went up to the hospital room to get his camera. He wants to photograph Daniel doing his e-mail and show folks back home this hospital library. They do a lot with few Euros. It isn't University of Michigan, that's for sure.
Thanks to all of you for your messages. We get a kick out of hearing from you, because it's hard to get much American news at our hotels and on TV here at hospital. We have to go online to find out sports news, for example. Dan was pleased to know the Tigers won their first game.
