Metrics & a foreign language!
I remember learning about metrics in 4th grade and that was about it. They should teach it all the way through primary & secondary schools.
All the travelers we’ve come across from Europe or Asia use metrics, so when they measure something by kilos or meters, I really don’t know what they are talking about (Exactly how does a kilometer compare to a mile? Is a meter deep? Or shallow??).
I keep thinking of 10k as in 10k run= approx. 6miles and then convert from there. In addition to converting the dong and the baht with USD, it’s tiring. I have to use my Jim-o-lator a lot…lucky for me he is good at math! 🙂
For the foreign language, I took 2 years of French in High School. All I remember was “F’erme la bouche” (close your mouth) from my teacher; she used that phrase a lot to get us to be quiet! Granted maybe I didn’t apply myself in High School, but where I was coming from I couldn’t see the use of learning another language when everyone around me spoke English. Once we had the elective to choose another year or not, I chose not.
In Vietnam we met some nice French people poolside one day who were practicing their English; we managed to communicate okay…but lucky for me they spoke more English than I did French. I felt bad, they were trying so hard and making effort using their translation dictionary.
I took a few immersion courses in Spanish while working on my MA in college, but not enough classes to grasp the language fully.
Any rate, we Americans are lucky that most other countries speak English as a common language. But then I feel lazy like we just expect them to learn it if they want to talk us. What?!!
Goals: 1) learn metric system fully, 2) get Rosetta Stone to learn another language!
Gone to Asia! 