Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Parent Letter

After YEARS of searching we have finally found a way to pawn one of our children off on a different hemisphere of the planet.

Though we technically have to pay the other hemisphere in order to take her off our hands, I think it’s totally worth it. We don’t need 401k’s, Roth IRAs or to think about our futures.

OK, not true at all, but we are most likely sending Carrie to Japan in April of next year. It’s a study abroad program. Three months in some part of Japan. I have feeling thhat it might be a bad idea to send her to Akihabara, you know?

Anyway, we as her nomial parents had to write a letter, talking about why we think she should be able to go loaf about in Japan for three months. This duty fell to Reha. (of course) She is supposed to talk about why Carrie would excel studying in Japan and why she’d be a good fit “over there.” This is the letter Reha wrote. It chokes me up more than a little, I have to admit.

Parent’s Letter
Carrie Deal

Dear Prospective Host Family:

Thank you in advance for opening your home to my daughter. I am thrilled that she will have the opportunity to live in Japan, experience a culture in which she is so interested, and improve her language skills. I am pleased to be able to introduce Carrie to you as I am one of her biggest fans.

Carrie has a very strong desire to study in Japan. She has been very selective about extracurricular activities, preferring to keep her life simple and preserve personal, quiet time. But she is passionate about Japan and its culture. My impression is that she is very talented at learning languages, and I believe she will be able to reap the full benefit of study abroad. She is working at a pizza restaurant five evenings a week to earn some of the cost of her study abroad program, which demonstrates her commitment. Carrie is maturing into an engaged and focused young adult. She has begun to dream bigger dreams about her future, deciding, for example, that she would like to attend a competitive liberal arts college in the Northwestern United States. I believe her study abroad experience will help her get into the college of her choice and succeed as a new college student.

Carrie is also excited to live with you and experience Japanese family life. I am certain you will find her to be a respectful and helpful long-term visitor in your household. I can say with complete honesty that we have not had any “typical teenager” problems with Carrie. Her behavior and activities have never given us cause for concern. She has consistently treated me and her father with respect, even giving us the impression that she likes us! Beyond that, she is a kind and inclusive big sister to three younger siblings. She loves all young children, especially her three-year-old sister, and is very good at teaching and explaining things to them. She sets an excellent example for her younger siblings and they are lucky that she is blazing the trail for them.

Carrie is a bright, interesting person. She is articulate and has an amazing memory. When she was 10, she was the only person on a full tour bus at the San Diego zoo who knew that the closest relative of the hyrax is the elephant. Throughout her life, Carrie has consistently amazed me with the number, variety, and obscurity of the facts she has absorbed and can recall. “Where did you learn that??” is a question I ask frequently. Starting at an unusually young age, she has been observing, processing, and making insightful comments on the world around her. Because of her awareness of the world outside her individual experience, I am not surprised that she has developed an interest in Japanese culture and a desire to study abroad in Japan.

Carrie is very down to earth, especially for a teenage girl. She is not overly concerned about her appearance. She does not spend a lot of time primping, does not feel compelled to adopt the latest fashion fad, and is not “boy crazy.” She is frugal and prefers to shop at thrift stores for many items rather than paying full price at a department store or boutique. She may be the only teenage girl in America who has actually chastised her mother for buying her clothing that she thought was too expensive. Carrie is not a person who needs to be entertained; she appreciates the simple pleasures in life, many of which she enjoys at home. She is not a demanding person; she is not critical of others or easily offended. She has a keen social conscience, is concerned for the environment, and despises inequalities that she perceives in American society.

Carrie is open-minded, accepting, even-tempered. But at the same time, she has a strong sense of self and is not easily persuaded to vary from her own idea of what is best for her. She is not easily intimidated; in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it happen. When she was four, she and a small group of children were asked if they would like to touch a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach at the Salt Lake City zoo. Each of the other children, including much older boys, shrunk back in fear and disgust. But Carrie unhesitatingly reached out to pet the insect. The character she demonstrated that day has not changed. Carrie approaches new experiences without fear and is interested in almost everything. Just today, her pediatrician of eleven years said she is “very well put together.” I think that is an apt description. In many ways, she seems older than her 16 years, yet she is fun loving and exuberant as young people should be.

Carrie certainly adds joy to my life, and I’m sure you will find her to be delightful. Of course, I will miss her terribly while she is gone. But I’m sure you will send her home with experiences and memories that will remain with her for the rest of her life. Thank you again for helping to make this wonderful experience possible.

Sincerely,

Reha Deal
Mother of Carrie Deal

Jon scribbled this mess on 10/24/06 at 12:04 AM, best we can tell it fits in the category of Regular Post. This many folks had something to say about that, The permanent home of this entry is here: Link

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