....had the ultimate treat today - a boat ride on the Potomac. We put in at
the Pohick Bay launch ramp and cruised up to the Lincoln Memorial so they
could see the sights from water. They had a super time, and so did we.
(Except for forgetting the camera!) They fly back to Belarus on Tuesday,
but we're already thinking of having them back again next year.

One day we drove by the local fire station, and saw a couple of the firemen
sitting outside. We stopped, explained who the boys were, and asked if they
could look at a fire truck. Well, the two firemen (one of whom was female)
were just falling all over themselves to show the boys a nice time. I was
wondering if they were going to take them for a ride with sirens and all!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:16:10 GMT, John H.
wrote:

...had the ultimate treat today - a boat ride on the Potomac. We put in at
the Pohick Bay launch ramp and cruised up to the Lincoln Memorial so they
could see the sights from water. They had a super time, and so did we.
(Except for forgetting the camera!) They fly back to Belarus on Tuesday,
but we're already thinking of having them back again next year.

One day we drove by the local fire station, and saw a couple of the firemen
sitting outside. We stopped, explained who the boys were, and asked if they
could look at a fire truck. Well, the two firemen (one of whom was female)
were just falling all over themselves to show the boys a nice time. I was
wondering if they were going to take them for a ride with sirens and all!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

They'll never forget that day.

--Vic

Vic Smith wrote:


http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

They'll never forget that day.

--Vic

Neither will JohnH. I believe people who volunteer to help others get
just as much from the experience as those they help.

You can tell from those monster smiles, they had a ball. I would guess
JohnH has a monster smile on his face too.

John H. wrote:
....had the ultimate treat today - a boat ride on the Potomac. We put in at
the Pohick Bay launch ramp and cruised up to the Lincoln Memorial so they
could see the sights from water. They had a super time, and so did we.
(Except for forgetting the camera!) They fly back to Belarus on Tuesday,
but we're already thinking of having them back again next year.

One day we drove by the local fire station, and saw a couple of the firemen
sitting outside. We stopped, explained who the boys were, and asked if they
could look at a fire truck. Well, the two firemen (one of whom was female)
were just falling all over themselves to show the boys a nice time. I was
wondering if they were going to take them for a ride with sirens and all!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

Very cool! Great idea!

On Jul 25, 8:16 pm, John H. wrote:
...had the ultimate treat today - a boat ride on the Potomac. We put in at
the Pohick Bay launch ramp and cruised up to the Lincoln Memorial so they
could see the sights from water. They had a super time, and so did we.
(Except for forgetting the camera!) They fly back to Belarus on Tuesday,
but we're already thinking of having them back again next year.

One day we drove by the local fire station, and saw a couple of the firemen
sitting outside. We stopped, explained who the boys were, and asked if they
could look at a fire truck. Well, the two firemen (one of whom was female)
were just falling all over themselves to show the boys a nice time. I was
wondering if they were going to take them for a ride with sirens and all!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

I was wondering how you all were getting along. I think that was a
great idea of your church sponsoring those kids to come to the US and
stay with you. (that is, if I remember correctly)

I doubt if you can speak any russian, and I don't' think they could
speak any english, but it seems like "ice cream" is universal!

Tim wrote in news:feecded3-83cf-467f-9e65-
:

I doubt if you can speak any russian, and I don't' think they could
speak any english, but it seems like "ice cream" is universal!



Most East European kids speak fluent English and have for a long time. A
friend just came back from Prague. I asked if they learned any Czech.
"Why? Everyone in Prague speaks English. They'll stop you on the street
to speak English to you!", they told me.

The Soviets taught all their kids English so when they took over America,
they'd all be able to tell us what to do.....

All Iranian kids spoke, or tried to speak, English when I lived in Tehran.
English meant you got great jobs working with foreigners. In the 70's,
Tehran had lots of foreigners, especially American and English. Hell, we
had our own TV channel and it was the most popular with Iranians.

Even the street kids in Prague spoke English, they told me....begging for
money and selling their bodies.

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:02:36 +0000, Larry wrote:

Tim wrote in news:feecded3-83cf-467f-9e65-
:

I doubt if you can speak any russian, and I don't' think they could
speak any english, but it seems like "ice cream" is universal!



Most East European kids speak fluent English and have for a long time. A
friend just came back from Prague. I asked if they learned any Czech.
"Why? Everyone in Prague speaks English. They'll stop you on the street
to speak English to you!", they told me.

The Soviets taught all their kids English so when they took over America,
they'd all be able to tell us what to do.....

All Iranian kids spoke, or tried to speak, English when I lived in Tehran.
English meant you got great jobs working with foreigners. In the 70's,
Tehran had lots of foreigners, especially American and English. Hell, we
had our own TV channel and it was the most popular with Iranians.

Even the street kids in Prague spoke English, they told me....begging for
money and selling their bodies.

Belarus is nothing like the Czech Republic. While in Germany, Prague became
a favorite spot to visit. The city is spectacular. The Germans didn't bomb
it, and neither did the allies. The Germans blew up part of the city hall
just to let folks know who was in charge, but everything else in the city
remained whole.

The Czech's loved Americans, at that time anyway. (This was early '90s.)
And many of them spoke English at least well enough to be understood. Most
of the time we camped just south of town, but one night we stayed at an
apartment. Many of the folks in Prague would rent an unused bedroom for the
night to visitors. This was a little illegal, but what the hell. The folks
at the 'America House' on the city market place had a list of people who
would rent rooms.

My wife, daughter, and I stayed in a rented room for what I thought was
about $40 for the night. The next morning the owners were upset when we
paid them. So, they called America House and got someone to translate. The
owners had meant for us to pay $40 PER PERSON! Well, guess what. Their
failure to communicate cost them, because I didn't have the cash and they
didn't take VISA. (Besides, they were trying to rip us off.)

We had one boy from Belarus who could say a few things in English. He was
from Minsk, his parents had money, he was on a dance team that traveled
internationally, and he'd picked up a lot of English in his travels. But he
was the only kid I've seen in the program who could speak any English. They
do, however, all know how to say 'no' and 'Coca Cola' upon arrival!

John H. wrote in
:

We had one boy from Belarus who could say a few things in English. He
was from Minsk, his parents had money, he was on a dance team that
traveled internationally, and he'd picked up a lot of English in his
travels. But he was the only kid I've seen in the program who could
speak any English. They do, however, all know how to say 'no' and
'Coca Cola' upon arrival!



In the Middle East, all the Moslem kids know how to say Chevy and PEPSI,
not Coke. There are no Fords or Coca-Cola which are JEWISH companies. One
of my neighbors in Tehran was an Iranian lawyer of some stature. He had a
Ford station wagon about 15 years old and was so proud of it because it was
such a rare car, sold to him by some Americans when they left for home.
Parts to fix it were awfully hard to get. Every place you go, they serve
Pepsi in Iran or the Arab countries like Bahrain. Israel, of course, is
just the opposite.

English was taught in Iranian schools. Kids entering high schools were
taking courses in chemistry, physics, liberal arts Americans would be
teaching in the 2nd year of college! It was amazing to see the high
standards and hard work Iranian kids were doing to stay in school. Failure
was not tolerated. Those unable to cope or too lazy were moved out of the
schools to apprenticeships in industry or used as laborers. Unlike
America, the Shah didn't waste his energy on those who refused to take
advantage of the excellent education the Shah provided. The poorest
Iranian was afforded the best education, just like the lawyers' kids,
unlike here. Shahanshah used education, unsuccessfully obviously now, to
thwart the religious brainwashing of the Mullahs trying to drag the kids
back into the stone age to become their slaves. How awful.

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:56:49 +0000, Larry wrote:

John H. wrote in
:

We had one boy from Belarus who could say a few things in English. He
was from Minsk, his parents had money, he was on a dance team that
traveled internationally, and he'd picked up a lot of English in his
travels. But he was the only kid I've seen in the program who could
speak any English. They do, however, all know how to say 'no' and
'Coca Cola' upon arrival!



In the Middle East, all the Moslem kids know how to say Chevy and PEPSI,
not Coke. There are no Fords or Coca-Cola which are JEWISH companies. One
of my neighbors in Tehran was an Iranian lawyer of some stature. He had a
Ford station wagon about 15 years old and was so proud of it because it was
such a rare car, sold to him by some Americans when they left for home.
Parts to fix it were awfully hard to get. Every place you go, they serve
Pepsi in Iran or the Arab countries like Bahrain. Israel, of course, is
just the opposite.

English was taught in Iranian schools. Kids entering high schools were
taking courses in chemistry, physics, liberal arts Americans would be
teaching in the 2nd year of college! It was amazing to see the high
standards and hard work Iranian kids were doing to stay in school. Failure
was not tolerated. Those unable to cope or too lazy were moved out of the
schools to apprenticeships in industry or used as laborers. Unlike
America, the Shah didn't waste his energy on those who refused to take
advantage of the excellent education the Shah provided. The poorest
Iranian was afforded the best education, just like the lawyers' kids,
unlike here. Shahanshah used education, unsuccessfully obviously now, to
thwart the religious brainwashing of the Mullahs trying to drag the kids
back into the stone age to become their slaves. How awful.

In the public high school in which I taught, kids were taking Multivariate
Calculus, normally a 4th semester calculus course. They didn't have to be
lawyers kids, or wealthy. They simply had to work.

On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:16:01 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

On Jul 25, 8:16 pm, John H. wrote:
...had the ultimate treat today - a boat ride on the Potomac. We put in at
the Pohick Bay launch ramp and cruised up to the Lincoln Memorial so they
could see the sights from water. They had a super time, and so did we.
(Except for forgetting the camera!) They fly back to Belarus on Tuesday,
but we're already thinking of having them back again next year.

One day we drove by the local fire station, and saw a couple of the firemen
sitting outside. We stopped, explained who the boys were, and asked if they
could look at a fire truck. Well, the two firemen (one of whom was female)
were just falling all over themselves to show the boys a nice time. I was
wondering if they were going to take them for a ride with sirens and all!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha181.jpg

and,

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ndLosha184.jpg

I was wondering how you all were getting along. I think that was a
great idea of your church sponsoring those kids to come to the US and
stay with you. (that is, if I remember correctly)

I doubt if you can speak any russian, and I don't' think they could
speak any english, but it seems like "ice cream" is universal!

You're correct in all.

Yesterday, after their favorite meal (hot dogs at Costco) we took them to
Dairy Queen. They've learned the word 'chocolate'!

It's a great vacation for the kids, and a pain in the butt for us. But when
they leave, we'll have tears running down our face as we say goodbye. It's
remarkable how strong an attachment can be formed in only a few weeks. They
soon seem like part of the family. One of these boys lives with his
grandmother. His mother's in jail for stealing, his father is not to be
found, and his grandfather is dead. The other lives in a two-roomer with
three siblings, a mother, and a father who's an alcoholic. Alcoholism is
the favorite illness over there, it seems. Every boy that's stayed with us,
and had a father at home, had an alcoholic for a father. Damn shame.

We'll probably have them back next year, but don't tell my wife I said
that!

BTW, you sound upbeat about your wife. That's good. Anytime the mood
strikes, give me a call.