Having your ignorance on display is never fun, but it's usually a good thing. Chloe's host father told her that America came this close to a nuclear war. Huh? Wouldn't she have heard about that? Yes, she had heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but she didn't know what it was, and he didn't call it that. That's actually come up several times: someone asks her about something, she tells him she's never heard of it, she feels stupid, he thinks she's an ignorant American. Later, she realizes that she does know what he was talking about, but in the translation he called it something different. It's not always possible to hunt the person down and explain that I'm really not that stupid, and here's what I know, just to prove it to you.
He's always telling her things about American history that she doesn't know (or doesn't remember) and she finds it a little embarrassing that a Spaniard (albeit a well-read Spaniard) knows more about her country than she does. I'm just happy that her host father takes the time to discuss these things with her. I realized that I told Alicia things about America that I've just assumed my kids learned in school. They probably did, but I haven't done a good job of making sure they remember what they've learned.
These experiences have made Chloe want to know more, to be more well-read and better informed. That right there is worth the cost of this exchange year. To be fair, this is the year she would have taken a serious American history class at school (she'll have to make it up this summer). I told her that everyone should know more than what happened on The OC last night. "I know, but I want to know what happened on The OC last night." Nothing wrong with that, as long as that's not all you know.
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