My teenager is going on her first school trip abroad in January. I have been given a form to fill out, firstly about my teenager and also about the exchange student I will get in return. Except my daughter had already filled it out and signed it with my signature.
Would you be willing to accept someone of the opposite sex? (only if he is cute apparently)
Will your exchange student have their own room? (yeah, what if they are total neeks?)
Does your son/daughter have any special dietary requirements? “Vegetarian but eat fish. No meat, which means no chicken.” (The French need this spelt out.)
Does he/she have any allergies to particular foods? “Anything green!”
Only a French school would have questions like:
Do you give permission for your son/daughter to:
Go out without adult supervision (Yes)
To smoke (No)
To drink alcohol with meals (Yes)
Personality: Do you consider your son/daughter to be:-
Would you be willing to accept someone of the opposite sex? (only if he is cute apparently)
Will your exchange student have their own room? (yeah, what if they are total neeks?)
Religion? My daughter wrote “NO!!!”
Does your family currently practise this religion? “NO!!!”
Does your son/daughter have any special dietary requirements? “Vegetarian but eat fish. No meat, which means no chicken.” (The French need this spelt out.)
Does he/she have any allergies to particular foods? “Anything green!”
Only a French school would have questions like:
Do you give permission for your son/daughter to:
Go out without adult supervision (Yes)
To smoke (No)
To drink alcohol with meals (Yes)
Would you be willing to accept in your home a child who smokes? (NO!!! I finally splutter)
Personality: Do you consider your son/daughter to be:-
She has answered already.
“calm” (yes) “open” (no) “enthusiastic” (no) “easy-going” (no) “young for his/her age” (no) “energetic” (yes) “shy” (yes) “mature” (yes)?
My daughter then wrote under: Any further details which are useful or which would assist in finding a partner for your son/daughter: “David Bowie obsessive and Morrissey. Individualist. Rebel.”
(Bowie is her latest thing. I’ve had to get out my David Bowie fanclub membership material from the early 70’s).
“I just want a crap family like ours. You know. Crap but good.” My teenager says.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQ-S6njQQw&feature=related
Ah yes. God he looked gorgeous then. I remember seeing him for the first time on Top of the Pops doing Starman. I fell instantly in love. I saw him play at The Rainbow, Finsbury Park; Hammersmith Odeon; Earls Court. 1972.
Some people say he is the only English solo popstar. I suppose there is also Morrissey, but he never cracked America in the same way.
You. Saw. David. Bowie. Live.
I am now sooooo in awe of you that I need to take a cold bath (listening to 'Young Americans', of course).
Please may I nominate myself as your exchange student swap? I promise I'd treat your daughter well in Bath. I'm pretty good at 'crap but good' families, too…
Melissa Animaldisco, you are on!
Welcome anytime…
I'd offer to ask my own daughter, who's the same age as ML's teenager, but she's in a bad mood at the moment. She's hardly speaking to me.
When I was little I was convinced that David Bowie was going to come and adopt me.
Ben, offer to ask her what?
Pony and Foxy: I know. I'd still like to be adopted by him. And Iman. I'm not fussy.
ML, To go on an exchange