Wednesday, July 4, 2012

When One is Overseas

Captain got a little teary-eyed after talking to Dorito. We all feel a bit empty that Dorito is not here, especially since it is holiday. We have to slightly alter our traditions (and expectations) as they get older. Good for them, tough for us.
Dorito sent this photo from his hotel window on the 12th floor. He said he is having an "amazing" time, and his voice rocked with excitement and a lower-tone of maturity. He rode on the London Eye (giant ferris wheel), toured in a double-decker bus, and ate at a small pub. He visited Baden Powell House and bought Boy Scout patches. Best of all, they all went to see "Phantom of the Opera." He's heading back to Austria today for the final 10 days of his trip. It cements for me why this exchange is so important before his senior year: he gets to live with another family and see their routines, eat in different cultures, deal with a broken cell phone and the time-difference difficulty of electronic communication, talk to new people constantly while many of them speak another language, plus learn to navigate subway, bus, and foreign airport terminals. It has to give him a great sense of independence and demonstrates the possibilities that lie in the real world, where he will soon be standing on his own.

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