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Class of 1983 Reunion in New York

Sabrina Birner '83

We hope other class years are inspired by the fantastic job the Class of 1983 did! For more info and photos, visit the related links.

Over a dozen alumni from the class of 1983 got together in New York the weekend of August 1-3, 2003. Present were Michel Bénéat, Sabrina Birner, Nicolas Boillot (with wife, Jennifer), Liz de Nesnera (with husband Brian), Stéphane Galistinos, Claude Gerstenhaber (with signficant other Carol), Céline Garelli, Felix Partow (with wife Alexandra), Alejandro Perez (with wife Kristen), Druce Vertes, C. Lwanga Yonké. (Pétula Kibanda and Lama Habal were unable to attend the weekend, but got together with Lwanga and Druce the following Sunday, August 10.)

Friday August 1, the big weekend kicked off with a welcome dinner hosted by Felix and Alexandra Partow. Many smiling reunions and lots of catching up! By 1am everyone was exhausted, but no one wanted to call it a night.

Saturday, a picnic, and match de foot in Central Park.
Score: 1:1. Goals: "Scarface" Druce (see below for explanation) and "Bend it like Beckham" Bernd - Bernd being Patricia (Miller) Hatesuer's husband. Injuries, in chronological order: Sabrina - soccer ball in right ear - an excellent excuse to become the official Game Photographer. Druce - soccer ball in head, glasses go flying, blood oozes from above right eye - ah, brings back memories. Danny, son of Alejandro - (many cries of "papi, aqui!") - minor bruises. Charlotte, daughter of Felix - ball hard in the shins, but very stoic in face of such brutality. Dr. Gerstenhaber was at the ready, but fortunately no further injuries were sustained...
Not bad for a bunch of 38-year-olds.
Most importantly, a GREAT time was had by all!

Rematch: Paris, october 4

Saturday evening, a very congenial dinner at Chelsea Bistro, home of Manhattan's most elusive risotto. Minor menu issues notwithstanding, an excellent time was had. Mr. Tedeschi, our guest of honor, displayed his well-known good humor, despite the constant reminders of ancient hijinks. Yves Thézé, Chef d'Etablissement of the LFNY, shared a drink, along with his vision for the Lycée.

Sunday, a small number of "irreductibles" met for a stroll through Chinatown.

Monday, M. Thézé gave five of us a tour of the Lycée's astounding new facility on East 76th St, set to open this fall.

Thanks to:
* Felix for hosting a wonderful dinner Friday night, * Sabrina for pictures, coordination for Paris and NY, * Liz for official reunion T-shirts, * Michel for help selecting locations, * Everybody who tracked people down and gave up their friends' email addresses, *The spouses who tolerated all the nostalgia and inside jokes, * Mr. Tedeschi for sharing his usual good humor, despite reminders about all our old antics, * M. Thézé for sharing his dynamic vision of the Lycée's future, and a comprehensive tour of the very impressive new school building, *Ada Hogan of the LFNY for getting the word out, and her continuing work with alumni relations, * Alessandra Gagliardi and Roger Liwer of the AALFNY for getting the word out, and their continuing good work with the LFNY alumni * Everyone else who pitched in, * Most of all, to everyone who came out from near and far - we all look forward to seeing even more friendly faces at the Paris get-together the weekend of October 4!




We are so proud of Druce & Sabrina and the Class of 1983 for their enthusiasm, energy, and know-how in putting together one heck of a reunion week-end! We hope their success encourages other alumni to do the same for their class. Félicitations à tous! To read about the October 4th reunion in Paris, see next article.