An American Adventure

Maggie just completed her first week in America. It was a whirlwind but nothing compared to when she starts school. The staff at Plymouth Salem, in particular a shout out to Marilyn Jaeger and Michelle Brunsch, did a great job enrolling Maggie and sounding out her particular interests for fall class selection. With all the controversy surrounding public employees coming out of Lansing these days, I wish everyone could appreciate the job these people do hour after hour, day after day and week after week.

There have been many surprises for both of us. I have been introduced to Kult, a Polish metal rock band (I have my own CD!) and I have had some difficulty explaining American football. In Poland soccer is popular and according to Maggie all you do is run and kick the ball in the goal. US football is more complicated. She seems to like it but still has trouble understanding the purpose of the goal posts. I am a Notre Dame fan and my wife is a Michigan fan so there will be a delicate balancing act come fall as to who to root for. It took a bit but I did introduce her to the concept of “tailgating” LOL! Baseball interests her and we will try to get her to a few games before the season ends. Of course Maggie now has her first iPod and is quickly learning iTunes and sampling more American music.

According to Maggs, Americans are friendlier in general than Europeans, who tend to be much more reserved. Try to remember this next time you are on I-696 during rush hour! She has already made some American friends along with a few other exchange students from other countries. She is amazed at the size of the PCEP (Plymouth Canton Educational Park) and all the classes and activities that are offered there. Despite trouble with school funding I think we sometimes overlook the great opportunities offered to our students in the Plymouth-Canton district. In the culinary samplings: Buffalo Wild Wings are OK, Wendy’s too greasy and McDonald's, good! She loves corn and bbq so I think we will eat in most of the time.

After a week Maggie is starting to relax and blend in the household. The first few days are always somewhat awkward, especially for an 18-year-old who leaves her home and friends thousands of miles away to spend a year in a completely foreign land. I admire her greatly for this. After a few days I got her to take off her shoes and “kick back” on the couch. “Kick back” needed some explanation but now is well learned.  

After school starts and things settle down a bit Maggie will write to you. That week I will kick back and enjoy what she has to say in her own words about us and her American adventure.