Since Labor Day we’ve been on such a rare run of perfect temperatures and splendid weather that the local naysayers have begun whispers that we must be in the throes of drought. Maybe so, however, if you put the matter to a vote today, the continuation of our unseasonably warm and dry conditions wins in a landslide.
Although this might sound short-sighted, even cruel, to the ears of country cousins down on the farm, city dwellers, such as myself, are completely removed from the day-to-day concerns of farmers –at least until we see them manifested in higher prices at the grocery checkout counter. If you buy what you see on TV, (or read on your device or in a newspaper), then small-town America seems to be disdainful, even smug, about the problems urbanites face in their daily lives.
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Robyn and I spent the Labor Day weekend with Craig and Donna on a big lake in northern Wisconsin where they keep a getaway. Jennifer, their oldest daughter, came down from Minnesota for the holiday weekend with her husband, younger son, who is a high school senior, and a visiting high school exchange student from Germany, a year or two younger than Jennifer’s son. Despite their age differences, the two boys got along famously.
One night after dinner, while relaxing outdoors on a pier, I asked our young foreign visitor about his experiences as an exchange student. He explained that so many young Germans travel annually to visit the United States, it felt like a rite of passage to follow in their footsteps. He further explained that because one hears many things about the United States, both positive and negative, his folks decided he ought to find out firsthand for himself. I thought to myself, this young man is fortunate to be staying with Jennifer and her family for a semester.
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I’ve discovered that ample opportunities exist for foreign exchange students to come to America to visit and study. There is AYA –Academic Year in America; EF Gap Year; Education First; ISE (International Student Exchange); ICES (International Cultural Exchange Students); Southern Cross-Cultural Exchange, to mention a few. Rotary International’s youth exchange program is typical, offering opportunities for visiting foreign students to “learn new cultures and traditions…,” and “forever change your perspective….”
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I wondered whether similar exchange models might benefit homegrown students and their families, helping us bridge the cultural gaps currently dividing large segments of Americans. Would you consider shipping your pampered, privileged, college-bound darling to Podunk for one eye-opening semester if this would help promote mutual understanding?
Before you dismiss the notion out of hand, remember that fish-out-of-water stories often have happy endings. For example, as a kid, I eagerly followed “The Adventures of Spin and Marty,” where wealthy and urbane Marty Markham learns one summer to love horses, rodeos, and ranch life at the Triple R, while more importantly coming to treasure new friendships with his bunkhouse mates, despite their far humbler origins.
Indeed, “Spin and Marty” proved to be such a successful model for promoting mutual understanding that the Disney hit earned a second season featuring the boys’ “Further Adventures.” And this time the guys get cozy with Annette and the girls of the Circle H Ranch!
Want to bring folks together? Try saying “yippee-kie-yay.”
