Flying our flag

Some friends from China cane to visit us this past month.

After they left us they went and drove from San Francisco to San Diego. Along the way they would post pictures on social media of them unfurling the Chinese flag.

From what I've read and learned the Chinese after very proud of their history and their status in the world.

Don't ever be afraid to show our flag.

Complaining is everywhere

At a recent birthday party in March I was talking to one of the guests that was there. He was saying he had been traveling for work lately and was talking about what a pain it was too have to fly everywhere just to go and work in a dark room for a few hours and then fly home. He even complained about the length of the flight to the Bahamas and how he didn't get to do anything but I did something then take the long flight home.

What is it with all of the complaining? I admit that I've done my share of complaining but have learned the benefits of not complaining over the years. I even read some articles recently on how complaining rewires our brains so that we are more comfortable complaining about things rather than enjoying life.

The people that helped make the United States of America great probably didn't complain a whole lot. They saw the way things were clearly instead of through jaded lenses, chose something they wanted to work on, then got to work making it fit what they were trying to accomplish.

And now here I am complaining about complaining...

Bare arms

Other than Larry the Cable Guy I've never heard anyone make a big deal about this.

Indians would come in to meetings in vests showing their bare arms, often with feathers adorning them.

Women today wear tank tops, blouses with holes in the arms, and all sorts of other things showing their arms, both professionally and away from work. Why?

If it's a show of strength is it any wonder so many men are doing things women traditionally did? They're emulating the seemingly stronger side in society.

Exchange Students

My family has hosted two exchange students. What is an exchange student? Itâ?Ts a student from a different country that signs up with a program to go and study in another country. The hope is that by immersing themselves in the host country they will become fluent in the host country language and benefit from the school system there.

Our first exchange student was from Spain. She knew english but wanted to become fluent enough to watch a movie and understand everything about the movie. When she got to our home she was so overwhelmed that we could see her eyes glaze over about halfway through dinner. She Skypeâ?Td with her family almost every day, but over the course of the school year she improved. She became part of our family, so much so that our daughter went over and visited with her and her family in Spain for Christmas one year, and then the rest of us went and visited with her and her family another year. I still consider them part of my family.

Our second exchange student was from China. He did not integrate into our family. He was very aloof and separate, hiding a superior attitude behind shyness. He was online all the time, watching Japanese anime. At one point he even said he struggled with english because he â?ospoke anime languageâ?. Our experience was disappointing.

I like the exchange student program. It has allowed us to bring the world into our home and weâ?Tve learned a lot. Weâ?Tve made lifelong connections and hope that we were able to help them as much as we benefitted and learned from them.

If you are at all interested in it I highly recommend hosting an exchange student. It helps spread the American way in ways that we normally canâ?Tt. And it fosters an understanding here of what their countries are like. Good stuff!