Health & Fitness
It’s The End Of The World As She Knew It … And I Felt Fine
A locked cell phone, the end of the world, Polish slang and lots of gymnastics. Maggie marks 3 months as a teenager in the USA.
I loved this song by REM ... “It’s The End of the World as we Know It.” Just a classic.
Three months into Maggie’s stay in the USA we ran into our first REAL crisis. In an absent-minded moment she locked her cell phone screen and could not … TEXT!!!
One thing I have learned in these 3 months is that despite some cultural differences, teenagers from around the world have much in common. This is due to our worldwide digital culture. Our students at Henry Ford Community College text incessantly and Maggie can hold her own with the best of them.
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I sometimes believe she could text using an empty cereal box if the need ever arose. I have not seen any reaction close to what occurred when that screen locked. “I am a pajac!!!” “I am a pajac!!” This is a uniquely Polish adjective that translates roughly into “bozo” or “clown.” We use it quite often at home, even on our dogs Footloose and Toast. (It is pronounced pie yatz). It is yet unclear as to whether they understand Polish yet but they do appear to listen.
This emergency required immediate intervention by the nice people at the local T-Mobile store and made Maggie late for gymnastics. She has discovered a passion for this sport at . (Go Rocks!). She practices 2 and a half hours a day EACH day and hopes to compete in the upcoming months. She has been well accepted by the girls on the team and in particular the GREAT coaching staff.
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She has to catch up on some conditioning, as in her town in Poland there is no comparable organized activity like this. (The first couple of days she said she was so sore that “even her eyes hurt!”) She did not know Nadia Comaneci but strives for perfection in her sport. Her stretching and split exercises on our living room floor rival any moves I have seen on So You Think You Can Dance. She invites me to participate, but I wisely decline.
So for an hour Maggie went “old school” and talked to others and us. Face to Face. Word to Word!! NO OMG or LOL. We “reconnected” in a non-digital sort of way.
This is how the Holidays should be. It WAS the end of the world as she knew it and I DID feel fine.
