OK, the Austin Scandinavian Languages Meetup Group has been kept going by the San Antonio Contra Dancers.

This does not have to be a permanent situation--ideally I am just buying the ASL group a little more time for someone who actually lives in Austin to step forward.

Even before that, we need some assistant organizers that live in Austin who can arrange meet-ups. From looking at the previous meetups, most of them were at restaurants. It's nice to have food available, but a restaurant doesn't seem ideal for speaking languages in which many of us are not fluent.

When I was in high school (yes, it was eons ago) Gethsemane Lutheran Church offered Swedish classes in their fellowship hall. Maybe they would offer a place for us to have a pot luck or Brown Bag meet-up. Is the SVEA lodge still around? I see the American Scandinavian Foundation mentioned a lot--do they have an office in Austin? Are any of you part of the Germanic Languages Department at U.T.? Anyone familiar with Parks and Recreation?

See, I don't know my way around Austin any more, so I'm not the one to schedule meet-ups.

Please let me know your ideas. It seemed a shame to let this Meetup die with so many members and a fairly long history. (You can show your appreciation by attending the next Austin or San Antonio contra dance! see www.austincontradance.org or www.sacontradancers.org )

Lissa Bengtson
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