Following my in-laws’ 60th wedding anniversary party today, we will hop in the car for three days in the Lake of the Ozarks. I hear the water is 90 degrees, so will take a bar of soap along. It has been a busy week…short-staffed at work and patching together a schedule for the rest of the month. On the home front, our kids are edging towards the return to campus after a quick trip to our friends’ home on the Lake. While packing is minimal, it still requires a bit of laundry and I may just take the unfolded basket with me Heaven knows I’m not going to have time before then. To add to the festivities – and this is a good thing – we have three French students visiting our home for five days.
They, too, will be going to college soon – to Illinois, for one year. They are delightful, impressive, young people. I am not sure whether I like hearing them speak French, or English – with a French accent – more! The most questionable – but funniest and quite useful- things they’ve learned are English phrases that will come in very handy soon. Such as, for when another student butts in front of them at Starbuck’s. I’ve never heard, “What the he*l?!” sound so lovely! The most alarming thing they’ve experienced is how loud and large America is. Loud, in the sense, that you cannot hear yourself think in restaurants, because every conversation is crashing together like bumper cars. And large, in terms of our buildings, cars, and our food portions. So far, they’ve experienced and enjoyed tubing on the Muddy Mississippi, catching and eating fish (not from the Mississippi!), shooting clay birds, and life at the White house. (Not THAT White House.) They brought us wonderful wine and fabulous cookies and caramels. I think I shall adopt all three of them.
bobbewhitespeaks.com 