The Other Side of the World
My Anna dropped this little bombshell yesterday: "Mom, I want to be a foreign exchange student in Australia."
Oh my!
Really?
My initial reaction was "no way." The thought of Anna, in all her teen glory, leaving us to go to the furthest spot on the planet was not appealing. I know, I know...she drives me nuts. It's true. But I don't want her to leave! Especially to Australia, for godsakes! What if she gets sick? It's not like I can just pop over and fix her up.
So I said, "How about England." (Clever move!)
England is ideal. I mean, if she really has to do the AFS thing, the UK is a much better choice. First off, England is not that far away. They speak English, I like that. Alright, I realize they speak English in Australia, but it isn't the same. OK, it IS the same, but Australia is too far. That's final. It's on the other side of the world, and that's way too far away.
So we sent for the AFS information. And when I filled out the little application, I humored Anna and put "Australia" as the first choice, and "United Kingdom" as the second choice. But I know our real preference.
My very best friend went to Australia as an exchange student. She had a fantastic experience. But damn, it was far. When she called me, there was that distinctive click and echo on the phone line which can only mean, "this call is costing you $5/minute." And I'm not exaggerating. Recently I talked to a friend in China, and it was every bit of $5/minute. That's a pricey phone call.
What if she gets with a family who can't tolerate her sassiness? What if they don't enforce a curfew? What if they let her DATE? What if she meets some Aussie boy and marries him? Sure, she'd only be 16, but that was my age when I met my husband. Laurita and I know of a girl who went to Australia as an exchange student, got married and never came back. (Myra S., remember her, Laura?) These things happen!
Then again, if I let her go, she might come to appreciate what she has here at home.
What do you think?
Oh my!
Really?
My initial reaction was "no way." The thought of Anna, in all her teen glory, leaving us to go to the furthest spot on the planet was not appealing. I know, I know...she drives me nuts. It's true. But I don't want her to leave! Especially to Australia, for godsakes! What if she gets sick? It's not like I can just pop over and fix her up.
So I said, "How about England." (Clever move!)
England is ideal. I mean, if she really has to do the AFS thing, the UK is a much better choice. First off, England is not that far away. They speak English, I like that. Alright, I realize they speak English in Australia, but it isn't the same. OK, it IS the same, but Australia is too far. That's final. It's on the other side of the world, and that's way too far away.
So we sent for the AFS information. And when I filled out the little application, I humored Anna and put "Australia" as the first choice, and "United Kingdom" as the second choice. But I know our real preference.
My very best friend went to Australia as an exchange student. She had a fantastic experience. But damn, it was far. When she called me, there was that distinctive click and echo on the phone line which can only mean, "this call is costing you $5/minute." And I'm not exaggerating. Recently I talked to a friend in China, and it was every bit of $5/minute. That's a pricey phone call.
What if she gets with a family who can't tolerate her sassiness? What if they don't enforce a curfew? What if they let her DATE? What if she meets some Aussie boy and marries him? Sure, she'd only be 16, but that was my age when I met my husband. Laurita and I know of a girl who went to Australia as an exchange student, got married and never came back. (Myra S., remember her, Laura?) These things happen!
Then again, if I let her go, she might come to appreciate what she has here at home.
What do you think?
posted by Juanita at
7:22 PM
7 Comments:
i think that if she comes to england then im going to have to teach her good old english swear words, get her tattooed and show her some english culture like fights in pubs, pie n mash (and jellied eels!) and she cant come to blighty and not expierence an english football crowd!
youre going to send her to Oz just to keep her away from me now arent you............
I say let her go. It would be the most fantastic adventure of her life. If you're going to have adventures, you've got to have them when you're young. AND the exchange experience has got to be SO different these days with the internet. You could even chat via webcam several times per week. There would be no need for the $5/min clicking phone calls. It would be very difficult for both of you, but still...I say let her go.
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You are too too funny! I've been to Australia and it is awesome! people are so friendly!! been to England too so I'd have to vote for Australia!
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Wow...if it's really a cool school opportunity, then I guess I'd have to let Ariana go if she wanted to go, but...*sob!* *sob!* *sob!* nooooo! Let's not mention that this is an option to my daughter, ok?
And Cookie talks a mean game, but there's nobody better to look out after her if she goes and does an exchange in England. I vote for England too.
Oh man...I'm such a huge study abroad fan. I did it twice in college and then went to teach for two years in Germany. Let her go. Let her experience the place she most wants to experience. These are wonderful times for a young person to travel. She doesn't have to race back for a job, thus truncating her trip. She will get to be with a family and have a blast. Let her go Down Under!!!!!
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