I really must apologize for all the stuff I am missing about the exchange student Host family experience.  I am mostly just trying to take it all in, as it is kind of a non-stop-full-attention-type thing.

You know "Help these kids experience America.  You have two weeks.  Go."

You might as well say "Give a marxist-feminist analysis of Mobey Dick.  Give careful attention to the issue of the futility of man's struggle against nature.  Be focused, complete, and original.  Fifty words or less."  (I have to just interject here and remark that the greatest irony I ever encountered in my study of literature was an admonition to stay focused in a deconstruction of Mellville.  That's like asking someone to keep clean during their mud bath.)

Today I spent most of the morning with the young man who hurt his finger on the waterslide.  The school nurse brought up to the clinic, and we sat around for hours.  He was worried that he would miss the pizza party and ice skating.

Needless to say, his injury is painful, but not serious.  He does not have any breaks (they took an x-ray) he has full mobility in the finger, and keeping it clean is the main concern.  He's has a tetnus shot, as we didn't know if he has had one in China or not.  He lost a fair amount of skin on the inside of the finger, and has a cut on the outside.  Also, he will probably lose the nail, but it will grow back.

He has started refusing pain meds now.

This morning the kids had a special treat.  The school's technical people rigged up a Skype connection between Loudi and Eden Prairie Highschool, and the kids got to see and speak to their parents.  There was much exceitment.  One girl cried a couple of times.  It was very emotional.

And then the US host parents discovered what was probably our most significant contribution to the student's command of English:

The connection between Eden Prairie and Loudi was temporarily interrupted, and as soon as the screen went blank, all went silent, and one student said:

"oops."

Immediately, there was a chourus of "oops" with every possible inflection that could express every possible shade and nuance of meaning.

One of the most widely and highly educated states in the nation, and what do we teach the exchange students?  "oops". 

Genius.

By the way, the young man with the hurt finger got to the pizza party at the City Center OK.  Where there is another cute story.  The students were being treated to pizza by the school board.  When the school board was introduced, they heard the words "School Board" , and got completely silent, and got to their feet, standing in respect.  For the School Board.

I'm starting to feel a little trepidatious about the manners and habits of the students we will be sending over there.  How are we going to find 18 kids that will stop talking, stand up and show respect for the school board?

Finally, Dracut's admonition to avoid sports involving water was terribly apt.  One boy fell during ice skating and needed two stiches in his chin.  It's not just liquid water.

I tell you, these kids are intense.  They don't do anything half-way and they don't ease into stuff.  They just throw themselves into it.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  I think I got the best possible compliment on my Chinese the other day.  The boys got a phone call, and they were jabbering away happily, passing the phone back and forth and talking and laughing...and then they stopped, looked at me, and took the phone down into one of their rooms and continued the conversation.