Filed under: Culture, Depression, Home, hosting | Tags: chef, Dogs, Home, Husband
I am home. I love home. I missed Husband and the doggies. Husband missed me, GoodDobie looks great, but BadLab is a porker. I can’t feel his ribs, and he has a little pot belly. No more rice and hamburger for him. My baby Dell is here, with new innards. I’ve been adjusting and installing today.
The other big news? Chef and Mrs. Chef moved in with us. They arrived a few days after I left. Mrs. Chef had never been out of Chile before. Chef was last here in August, and they married in April. They’re looking for engineering jobs here. They have lots of free time. I thought it would be easier for Mrs. Chef to settle in without me around. I want her to be comfortable here. She’s adjusting well, and the dogs love her.
I returned home at 2:30am today. (GoodDobie jumped all the way up to kiss me. He hardly ever stood up even when he was healthy and strong.) I walked in, and the changes were staggering. The kitchen, and both living rooms. Our house is over 100 years old, and we have 2 living rooms. I assume one was once the parlor. The upstairs bathroom and third bedroom were rearranged, too. Anyone who knows me in real life knows I am oblivious to a lot. I don’t notice things. For me to be exhausted and notice all the changes was a surprise. I still haven’t been to the basement. Can’t take the shock.
Husband requested they not ‘clean’ his office, toolbench, our bedroom, and the third bedroom. I use the third bedroom to keep my clothing and ironing board. They haven’t touched the first three areas, but ‘my’ room is all rearranged. I had clothes in different piles on the headboard/bookcase to sell on eBay, donate, or be mended. They are all ironed, damp, and folded nicely on the bureau. The shelves were cleared off except for junk, my scarves moved, the ironing board moved, and everything rearranged. Apparently, she likes to iron. She irons everything, including washcloths.
The bathroom door was closed, shower curtain closed, handwash in the bathtub, 3 scatter rugs on the floor, tp hung backwards, and blinds slanted differently. I know it sounds petty, but we’ve lived in this house for 30 years, and Husband grew up in this house. It’s all different. I emptied out my travel cosmetic and bathroom bags onto the small table in the bathroom. She lined everything up in neat rows.
We’ll skip the kitchen and backyard, but my bookshelves. My bookshelves. Husband built a wall of bookshelves in our front room. I have them arranged just so, and they’re accented with photos and tchochkes picked up from our travels. I regularly purge books by moving them to the attic or donating. I’m anal enough about the books that they’re arranged down to Chile-travelogues, Chile-language, and Chile-history. I have Spanish dictionaries on one shelf, and all other languages on another. Half of the shelves are nonfiction reference and travel, and the other half is fiction and art books. The books are now arranged by size. “Diving in the Caribbean” is now next to a Diane Arbus photography book. I don’t see my little piece of the Berlin Wall anywhere. “Lamb” by Christopher Moore is next to “The Book of Nothing.” The photos, boxes, and decorations are all rearranged.
Most women would probably feel violated by someone going through their clothes or makeup, but the books are what killed me. I want to move it all back into place, but it would hurt her feelings. Thankfully I have an appointment with the wacko doctor on Monday.
I’m going on a business trip for 2 weeks. I’m leaving you in the hands of an excellent typist and s0-so storyteller. She’s writing about an end of the year bus trip that inbound exchange students participate in if they wish to see the West.
Her blog is like a miniseries. It’s only for 3 weeks. I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s good Summer vacation reading.
Filed under: Home
GoodDobie is a happy boy. He’s gaining weight on people food diet. He’s getting strength back, and is playing with BadLab. He hasn’t had a seizure in a long time. He looks great. We even took him for a short walk around the block this afternoon. He pranced. We’re mixing dog food in with the people food for him.
BadLab refuses to eat his Iams food. He wants people food, too. The little guy is spoiled. BadLab has curly fur, so he can hid a few pounds by appearing fluffy. I couldn’t get his collar over his head for the walk. The little porker’s collar had to be let out over an inch.
I can’t take BadLab for a long walk without GoodDobie. GoodDobie becomes stressed and anxious even with Husband staying with him. We’ll think of something.
Since I’m going away for 2 weeks, I’ll have to leave lots of Dobie Chow made up in the fridge.
Filed under: Home
My five month old Dell Mini 9 died Friday night. I’m mourning. I love that dinky computer. It worked fine until then. I turned it on, and a black screen popped up with the dreaded words “Operating System not Found.”
I chatted online with Dell for an hour trying different fixes. They’re sending a call tag for it to go back. At least it’s under warranty. I can’t be the only one who had a catastrophic failure since they’re discontinued already. Dell Mini 9 has only been out in the USA since last Fall.
Santa brought it because it’s great for travel. (Santa thinks it’s stupid, and calls it a toy.) I can carry it in my purse. It was wonderful on my Chile trip. Quick to boot up, nice long battery life, too. It should take 5-8 days to return it to me.
I’m leaving Saturday on a 2 week business trip. without my computer. I’ll be twitching and bitching. While I’m gone, I found a blog about exchange students for you to read. The blog is about a bus full of horny howler monkeys travelling in California and Nevada. It sounds amusing in an “I’m glad that’s not me” kind of way.
One month to go until my program has a new leader. I hope we make it. That’s not hyperbole, either. Every time I think we hit rock bottom, we go deeper.
The latest disaster is losing our program’s State Department certification. I was too upset to write about it, or blog about anything. It’s taken care of now, but it was a nerve-wracking few weeks.
Our current President didn’t send in the re-certification paperwork. It’s the government; how many reminders do they send out? She’s been trying to kill this program, and almost succeeded this time. The State Department employee in charge sent out one final reminder that we lost our certification a month earlier to several people, not just our President. That’s the only way we found out-by accident.
Can you imagine being so vindictive? We wouldn’t be able to host the 30 incoming exchange students. The State Department wouldn’t issue DS-2019’s to those kids if they weren’t coming with a ‘real’ program.
The CSIET paperwork wasn’t completed in time, so the kids can’t play sports again this year. We haven’t had an audit since she took over, either. She’s not going out gracefully. She’s not doing anything, not coming to meetings, but not sharing any information. 30 days to go…
Filed under: Exchange Program, Inbounds Inbounds, hosting | Tags: CSIET, Horror, news
Dear Aspect Foundation and Senator Bob Casey,
Thanks for making all of our jobs a little tougher today.
Do we think it’s a coincidence that Bob is from Scranton?
Dear Secretary Clinton,
I am writing you today out of concern for foreign exchange students who were placed in unsanitary homes in Pennsylvania and what it means for the welfare of our nation’s youth exchange programs. It has recently come to my attention that nine foreign exchange students between the ages of 15 and 18 are now in the care of the Department of Human Services in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania because they were placed with unsuitable host families. According to Lackawanna County officials, some children were in need of medical attention due to malnutrition and dehydration while others were living in unsanitary conditions and in a home recently condemned.
The stories from these children are disturbing. One story was of a 15 year-old girl from Nigeria who was living in a house surrounded by dog feces. According to news reports, this exchange student was living with the Area Coordinator of the sponsoring organization, the same person responsible for ensuring that other host families were living up to their obligations. The investigative reporter visited the house and confirmed the exchange student’s allegations and found dirt and feces throughout the house. The situation this student found herself in is simply unacceptable.
It is my understanding that both the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Department of Homeland Security, share responsibility for overseeing and implementing youth exchange programs. Through an independent third party – the Council on Standards for International Education Travel – the State Department provides accreditation and audits for private and non-profit international educational travel and youth exchange programs (also referred to as sponsors) on an annual basis. The USCIS Student and Exchange Visitor Program is responsible for tracking and monitoring foreign exchange students, schools and programs as long as they reside in America. When allegations of abuse arise, according to the secondary school student guidelines issued by the State Department, it is the sponsor’s responsibility to report and notify the incidents directly to the Department of State.
I am concerned that the current oversight system is reactive not proactive and permits the ongoing abuse of foreign students without any effective intervention until the situation is dire. The situation these students found themselves in only came to attention once teachers voiced their concerns. Therefore, I request answers to the following questions:
• The Council on Standards for International Education Travel (CSIET) is the independent nonprofit organization that reviews sponsors on an annual basis and provides a public list of those who have received accreditation. How does the Department of State determine whether the audits performed by CSIET meet agency regulations? How often, if at all, does the Department of State perform checks on the various sponsors approved by CSIET?
• Sponsors are required to “exercise due diligence” to ensure that the host families are screened properly and are found satisfactory. The Department of State has previously stated that “a mere superficial compliance with this regulatory requirement will not be tolerated.” If it is determined that an approved sponsor has failed to demonstrate due diligence in their host family selection process, what are the consequences for that sponsor?
• How much contact, if any, does the State Department have with sponsors? With CSIET?
• Are sponsors required to make home visits with students and their host families? If so, how many times must a sponsor visit the home during a student’s stay?
• If a sponsor loses its accreditation, is the sponsor allowed to reapply for accreditation the following year, if at all? If so, what steps must a sponsor take to have its accreditation restored?
• How many Department of State employees work on youth exchange programs?
I am supportive of the cultural and educational exchange programs the Department of State promotes and funds. Such exchange opportunities assist in dispelling negative images of the United States and helps convey our nation’s best attributes. It is for these reasons that I am deeply concerned about allegations of abuse and mistreatment of foreign exchange students. Stories like those emanating from Lackawanna County tarnish our reputation and undermine the mission of youth exchange programs. I look forward to hearing your responses and working with you on guaranteeing the safety and welfare of foreign exchange students in the United States.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Filed under: Home
The official diagnosis is a brain tumor in GoodDobie. The diabetes is completely unrelated. The tumor is squishing his brain as it grows, so that’s why he’s had seizures. He was doing so well last week, but had a seizure over the weekend.
He’s still active and eating well. He doesn’t seem to be in pain. He’s gained 5 pounds back on a lovely homemade diet of hamburger, chicken, and hard boiled eggs for protein, with rice, barley, or lentils for carbs, and various vegetables. I don’t mind cooking for him, but hate all the dirty pots and pans.
Filed under: Exchange Students
Two questions. How did this kid get to a third family? Why is it even a question?
A student in another country is exhibiting bizarre behavior, and the volunteers in the other country want to know if the student should be shipped home.
The little freak is cutting himself and licking the blood. He’s popping zits and eating the pus, and eating boogers. He’s also checking out depraved websites, not just the typical teenage porn.
That’s a new one for me, and I’m quite relieved he’s not one of my kids. I don’t know how the boy got this far, poor thing.
GoodDobie is a good, used Doberman. We adopted him from Hand Me Down Dobes out of Columbus, Ohio. They have volunteers all throughout Ohio and nearby states. The dogs range from puppies to senior dogs. The dogs live with foster families, and tested for behavior with small children, cats, and other dogs.
GoodDobie is between 10 and 12. Our 5 other Dobies have lived to age 10. We’ve only had him three years. He didn’t recognize us last night, and backed away when we came toward him to bring him in the house after peeing. Husband grabbed him and carried him in. We think he was remembering his old families, and was afraid. He had a good, strong day today. We’ve upped the insulin to 12 units, and lowered the phenobarbital to ¾ of a tablet. We didn’t have anything to lose by playing with the dosages. We don’t want seizures, or a zombie.
I made doggy food for him yesterday. 5lbs of hamburger, box of barley, half a box of rice, frozen asparagas, and frozen broccoli all cooked. He enjoyed it all but the broccoli, but BadLab loves broccoli. He also has hardboiled eggs for treats.
I wrote this while I was in Chile last week. It goes well with my earlier ‘living differences’ posts.
