Niece exchange student i Michigan

I 1998 - 1999 var min niece Lea på et års ophold som exchangestudent i Michigan, USA. Jeg benyttede mig af muligheden or at kommunikere på engelsk. Lea er nu i 2006 i gang med en uddannelse indenfor fysioterapi i København.

I forhold til at forstå at verden udenfor er tættere på, end de snævre nationalromantikerere forstår, så er dette guld værd, at danske unge kommer udenfor landets grænser i andre sammenhænge end som turister eller på jagt efter billige øl og cigaretter.

Her et klip fra mit brev til Lea den 3. oktober 1998:

"From your letter I recognize from my own stay being part of an international community of exchange students from different places in the world. I was very found of an sweet girl, Merisa from Brazil, and I admired Chris being an white South African from a liberal family, who had an older brother, who was banded from university for agitating for letting blacks attend South African universities along with white students.

Glad to hear, that you like to learn about American history. I did to, thou the way of teaching was very old fashion, - in North Dakota I had the football coach as history teacher, - and he sure was better at coaching football than teaching.

Right now I’m using my time mostly on working for the continuation of our 10th grade school in Skive. I enclose and newspaper article, that describes the problem.

Svend, now an 8th grader, is at a swimming contest in Thisted this weekend, and in the fall-vacation he’s going on training camp with the swimming club to the Chezh Republic. It is his first trip abroad without his parents.

Ulla is participating in a weekend seminar in Hals in this weekend, and in the following week, she is going away to a teachers training course.

On Friday, the 8th of October we’re going to Hanne and Jens in Nr. Søby, to dine with your family to, when we’re celebrating my fathers 75th birthday.

As you can se, like your parents, we’re busy as usual."