Arlene Moreno Eigier

Well, I stayed in Brazil. When I graduated, I was too young and too wild for my parents to comfortably send me to the States in the early 70's. Some of us remember a party that ended at a police station, early dawn.
I took an extra long graduation trip, came back here, got bored and decided to appply to a Brazilian university. I got in, and changed directions completely. I wasn´t into writing anymore. I graduated with an architect's diploma, and started working in my field.
Since I was still determined to study in the States, I applied and was accepted to Pratt Institute for a post graduate course. Before I left that year, 1979, Mark McDonnell brought a Chihuly show to the Modern Art Museum of Sao Paulo. Fate would have it that he invited both my husband Beto and I to the opening night. We met, fell in love and started living together soon after that. Pratt was put on hold indefinitely. Beto is a physician, who has his own practice, and I am an architect with my own office. Even though there is a crisis in Brasil as well, I have quite a lot of interesting work right now.
We waited a few years before having a kid, which was great, because when Anthony was born we were both ready. He's 20 now, and majoring in Economics at Nortwestern. Chicago is far and cold, but he loves it. He comes home whenever he can; we get out there whenever possible, and if none of that works out, we meet somewhere in between.
Beto and I have been very busy re-inventing life without a kid at home. Much more work, more travelling, trying to improve our Golf (the hardest of all). But we're having a lot of fun. We are actually coming to the Reunion via a 10 day trip to Bhutan. Curious at what I'll find.
Many years later. Anthony is back in Brazil and recently married. Both great news!
Beto and I are still working but less. We keep coming up with ways to enjoy life while we can. So far it's been successful.
My parents are older and not in great health. Therefore, I don't know if I'll be able to come to this next reunion. I'll certainly try. Beijos para todos.

I only spent two and a half years at Graded, but it definitely molded me. We were really allowed to run free, and somehow most of us survived, and became bigger and better, all the while having as much fun as possible.
I was a loud, outspoken, annoying feminist, who found friends and teachers who tolerated and backed me. We worked together to get rid of the fashion show, wrote outlandish articles in school magazines, took as many trips as possible, after convincing the school they were educational, got the school to allow a smoking lounge - for students! We really had every reason to feel we were on top of the world.
I can't wait to see so many friends, and I'm so sorry that I won't see others. I felt very special having teachers like Dick Orndorff, Kathy Ryan, Mike Sesich.
Enough! I'm getting sentimental and boring.
Sharon, I'm so glad you started this All Year Reunion rolling.
Beijos!
See you all soon.