The Colorado College Bulletin
Teaching the Southwest

College News Stories:

International Alumni Find Humor in Unusual Places
Craig Coulter '91: Our Man in Hungary

Karin Bazant Johnson '95 and Jonathan DuPont '90 are the winners of this year's CC Alumni Association Annual Photo/Essay Contest.


Wild Range Housing
By Jonathan DuPont '90

During our apartment hunting in Taipei, Taiwan, my wife and I came across this banner. Taiwan is encouraging Taiwanese to become better in English. Mandarin Chinese is the dominant language. Upon seeing the sign, I immediately called the number - after all it is in English. We now live in a wild fourth-floor apartment only a block away from our teaching jobs at Taipei American School.

he Tomato Ladies, They Teach
A House Made of Straw


International Alumni Find Humor in Unusual Places


Second-hand Rose?

By Karin Bazant Johnson '95


It was my junior year at CC, and I had decided to study abroad in Germany on the Lüneburg program. So now I was in the heart of Lüneburg, exploring the winding medieval streets, and acquainting myself with the town layout and shops. At that point, my German language skills were still pretty rudimentary, and communication involved a lot of smiling and gesturing. This didn't seem to be a problem, though, and I happily browsed my way through the cobbled alleys, listening to my Walkman, passing in and out of the shops, smiling and "Guten Tag"-ing.


Eventually, I came to a shop whose storefront display caught my eye. There was a beautiful dress hanging in the window, and I could see that there were racks of second-hand clothing further on in the shop. I couldn't resist, and went in to see if I could find anything to add to my wardrobe. After a short while, a clerk approached me and said something. I had my headphones over my ears, and with my fledgling German was still reluctant to engage in much interchange. I smiled and nodded, responded with a "Guten Tag," and returned to perusing the racks.


The clerk, however, didn't leave. I glanced at him again, smiled, and kept on looking through the clothes. That didn't satisfy him, though, and I noticed that he was still standing there and was apparently trying to communicate something beyond a greeting to me. A sale? Special offer? I took off my headphones and resigned myself to trying to use my newly acquired German. The poor man kept on talking at me, and it was only when he pointed out the steam cleaners and irons in the back that I finally understood. I was in a dry-cleaner's, pawing through other people's cleaned clothing, and not a second-hand store!