These two story lines happened to me in Colorado today. Actually in Estes Park. As usual, this is an open thread that is generally about Colorado, but can be about anything you want to discuss. Please feel free to comment on your interests in the comments below.
The first issue that happened was that I am now presented with an opportunity to host a foreign exchange student. My girlfriend in Thailand has a 16 year old daughter who would like to learn English, since it’s very advantageous for Thai people to have a second language and English is one of the most useful languages for a second language. Sure, there are many second languages spoken in different areas of Thailand, but English is spoken by the most across the country. Her daughter also has an interest in working in some sort of hospitality industry, like in a hotel or some form of travel service. Maybe even a government post. Again, English would be the language which would stand her in very good stead when she finishes high school and starts looking for a job. I do not know if she has any interest in college, but I gather that’s not as likely for her. If I can have any say about it, I will encourage her to at least explore the possibility.
Anyway, her mother suggested the idea of her daughter coming and living here while going to the local high school. Her daughter speaks next to no English but I’m not too familiar with foreign exchange programs. Do any of you readers have experience with foreign exchange students? How much of the language of the country they travel to are they likely to speak when they start? How readily do they pick up a basic conversational level of a language, especially when they not only have a different language to learn but the alphabet and grammar are entirely different? Are technological advances, like Google Translate, enough to help ease the transition? I don’t want to toss her in to the deep end of the pool and tell her to swim, but I’m worried a school in a different country and culture might be like an ocean, not just a pool. I would do all I can to help her out, and she’d have the ability through Whats Ap to call family and friends back in Thailand on a daily basis so she wouldn’t be totally alone.
One other concern I have is that I have not lived with a teenager girl in a role as essentially a single father. She has been living with her father in Bangkok for a few years since her parents split up, I will have to depend upon her mother to give her all the motherly advice she needs when they talk over the phone.
I welcome your experience and thoughts on this.
The second incident today came at the UPS store. I was wearing my T-shirt in the top picture. This shirt was given to me very early in the Trump administration and I wore it proudly. If someone took offense at it, I might say “How do you know this refers to the current president” and that would usually shut them up. Of course it did, but they weren’t smart enough to know figure that out. Today, however, the clerk at the UPS store asked me who it referred to. We chatted for a couple of minutes and this fellow, who looked barely out of high school, suggested it might mean Andrew Johnson, who thoroughly screwed up reconstruction. I was very impressed that he was the name that the youth suggested. We threw out another couple of names, like Herbert Hoover (by me) but we stayed away from recent names. That Andrew Johnson was the name this guy came up with gives me hope for the Estes Park schools, which generally have not have the best scores in the ratings given in real estate listings when they talk about quality of schools. That also makes me feel better about what might be waiting for my girlfriend’s daughter in the Estes Park high school for education.
By the way, is there a way to take selfies so that text and images are not reversed? I had to take the above picture through a combination of two mirrors.
Following up on some items mentioned in previous Open Threads:
- Monday of last week, just before my posting about wolves being released in Colorado, ranchers filed yet another lawsuit trying to stop the release. They’re being very desperate and they’re exaggerating concerns and even making up stories to try and keep their sweet livestock gravy train for just themselves on federal land at government subsidized and below-market rents. OK, so that’s a biased opinion, but it’s mine. Comments welcome down below.
- I have now finished with my Santa Claus appearances for the year. The last two were very cold, but it makes me smile to have kids light up when they see my presence. I realize I’m being a symbol rather than just being seen for myself, but I don’t mind. It’s an honor to be Santa. I have decided I’m not going to dress as Santa for the Broncos-Patriots football game on Christmas Eve — there will likely be lots of Santas in costume and I don’t really care to be stopped many times to be asked questions as Santa. I’ll enjoy the game in a state of anonymity. With a big fluffy white beard.
- If anyone would like the Christmas Day, New Years Day or any other Open Thread column, please contact me through Kosmail.
I look forward to seeing your comments down below. The floor is yours...