Pat Hanson and David Hanson have given me a very loving and supportive host family when I came to the United States to study at Brandeis in 1979.
Pat Hanson was a calm tower of force. Very loving and caring, thinking of others, and with an open heart for all. I always remember her wonderful, kind smile which she shared so often and so readily.
There are many things I remember from the Hansons and Pat Hanson. Just a few here:
When I first came, scared and reserved, she and David Hanson opened their house, home and family for me. Every holiday I was invited as part of the family. I vividly remember the first Thanksgiving holiday, where Mrs. Hanson had prepared this wonderful, traditional festive meal (with this huge stuffed turkey, with gravy and cranberry sauce – both of which I didn’t know but loved their taste when I tried). And where Mr. Hanson, when the whole extended family sat at the table, thanked amongst others the American Indians who provided food to the early European settlers in the States. Yes, both Pat and David Hanson were very open-minded and caring and respectful of others, their cultures, their stories… of everyone and everything.
I was so impressed by their solar house in Lexington, which they had built and showed me and explained its workings to me. They deeply (and quietly) cared for the environment that we all share, and they acted on their responsibility for it. In hindsight, I am sure that they influenced my choice to work on environmental issues; and more importantly, they helped me keep hopeful that humanity can feel our link with the environment and live in balance with it.
I was continuously awed by Pat, Chandra (then Mindy) and Nita, who walked bare foot in the house and without socks outside even in the long, white and very cold (for me especially as I was coming from Greece) winters of Massachusetts!
When I moved to a house outside of the campus at my senior year at Brandeis, during the summer when I was in Greece, Mrs. and Mr. Hanson found and purchased for me all the furniture I needed for my room! When I graduated and was then accepted by Tufts but only with a tuition waiver, they searched for me and found me a job so that I could cover my living expenses.
How blessed was I to have found this host family! My mom, knowing that I had this American family taking care of me and supporting me at any difficulty, was also less concerned about me being so far away.
Pat Hanson was a great mother too (now that I have children of my own, I understand better), taking care of her daughters with care but also with space for free choices. She and David Hanson set a solid ground – full of kindness, free thinking, respect for others, acting on your own beliefs among others – for Chandra and Nita to flourish. A great legacy. I am so very thankful that I shared a bit of this as a foreign student “adopted” by the Hansons’ host family.
A huge “thank you” and my love always to Pat and David Hanson – wherever they are –, and of course Chandra, Nita and their beloved ones, for whom there is always an open home in Greece.