Communication Today

Yesterday, I entered an elevator with a man who continued talking on his Smartphone in a foreign language. After I pushed the button for my floor, I looked toward him and was about to ask, "Where to?" He had seen the button I pushed while he was listening to someone on his phone, and he just shook his head indicating he was going to the same floor as I was.

     I have been in elevators when friends who had been speaking together in a foreign language instantly switched to English to ask the floor button they should push for me. I also have been in vans taking hotel passengers to an airport, when the Spanish-speaking driver could switch to English to ask which terminals we needed.

     One of my globe-trotting, English-speaking friends developed a technique for asking directions in a foreign country. She looks for a young woman who she assumes, usually correctly, studied English.
Of course, studying a foreign language before visiting a foreign country works, too.

     Research outcomes based on studies at the University of Pennsylvania provide some useful advice to help adults learn a foreign language and to help parents and teachers enable children to enjoy knowing a new language. I read that babies first put together the word a parent says with the object the parent shows them. A baby's eyes have to go to the object when the baby hears the word for the object. This process reminded me of the German teacher who held up a turkey statue and asked us what is was before she told us the German word for turkey. We tried our best and said something like, "grosse Vogel" to imply it was a big bird.

    The point is, language research found we progress from learning nouns to verbs and finally ideas. We have to build up a vocabulary to be able to infer more meanings. Parents, teachers, and children can begin together to learn a foreign language. Find a foreign language book or dictionary and make a list of the foreign words for objects in the home or classroom, foods, toys, and the like. Practice using these nouns with each other as you go about the day. Then, try to describe these items without each other seeing them. Use gestures and any other means you can think of to help you decide what other words you need to learn for colors, shapes, describing how objects are used or how big they are.

     Exceptions to language "rules" are a special challenge. Some verbs, for example, don't end in "ed" the way traveled and dined do. Counting introduces the need to memorize exceptions. Studies show once an English-speaking child can count to 73, he or she can continue counting indefinitely. I don't know where the so called "tipping point" for infinite counting is in other languages, but a fiend tells me it's sooner in Spanish.

     Studies indicate a child who knows how to count is on the way to mastering basic arithmetic skills. In any language, once a child knows one plus one is two he or she can buy or sell and won't be cheated out of a dime because a nickel is larger. Alexander Hamilton knew how to put the financial system of the new United States in order, because he handled shipping costs and revenue on the docks of Puerto Rico at an early age.

     As we begin to make a list of resolutions for 2019, we might think about adding learning, and helping children learn, bits and pieces of another language.

Refugees at Work

Not all 68.5 million migrants identified by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) live in camps. In the US, for example, asylum seekers can receive work permits, if their cases are not resolved in 180 days. In July, 2018, one asylum seeker from Sudan was given a court date in 2021.

     What do refugees do while they are in limbo? Some drive cabs or work in nursing homes. But refugees who fled a civil war in Ethiopia mobilized family members to bring their home town food-associated hospitality to a restaurant they opened in Washington, DC. Creative employers, such as the Palestinian and Yemen business partners, Nas Jab and Jabber Nasser al Bihani, look for asylum seekers who have skills they can employ. That way, they found chefs for their Komeeda restaurants in New York, NY; Austin, Texas; and Washington, DC.

     The UNHCR adopted an idea from a French catering company, Les Cuistots Migrateurs, that organized a festival to attract immigrant chefs for restaurants in Paris, Lyon, Madrid, and Rome. UNHCR-sponsored festivals have led to numerous international dining experiences.

• Women cook native dishes at Mazi Mas in London.
• Home cooking from Syria is on the menu at the New Arrival Super Club in Los Angeles.
• Detroit is opening Baobab Fare, a Burundian restaurant and market.
• The Sushioki chain in Durhan, North Carolina, advertises the cooking of refugee chefs.

Who can resist trying Zimbabwean chicken stew and crisp baklava triangles with vanilla ice cream?

   

Peaceful Matchmakers

Can the marriage of Meghan Markle from the United States and Prince Harry of Britain revive  matchmaking for peace? Perhaps their romance was inspired by the marriage between King Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president, and his British wife, Ruth Williams, the love story told in the film, "A United Kingdom." It is said, on Meghan's and Harry's trip to Botswana, they got to know each other, and rumors speculate the country is their honeymoon destination.

     In earlier centuries, monarchs adeptly used strategic marriages to achieve peace. In the 12th century, Henry II of England picked up French Aquitaine by marrying Eleanor, not by going to war. And Sicily's heiress, Constance, joined the Hohenstaufen dynasty's holdings by marrying a German Henry.

     By the 15th century, Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England, arranged his son Arthur's marriage to Catherine, the daughter of Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. His daughter Margaret was married to King James IV of Scotland, which led to a joint crown for Britain and Scotland in the 17th century.

     By 2020, China expects to have more well-educated women than better-educated men willing to marry them. Could these demographics offer an opportunity for new peaceful alliances?
   

     

Follow the Interest

Just as criminal investigators are advised to "follow the money," "follow the interest" is good advice for those hoping to engage young people in world affairs.

     A variety of interests might draw a student to Africa. Consider fashion. What inspired Ruth E. Carter, the costume designer for Black Panther,  the comic book-inspired movie kids are eager to see? Like Carter, who studied African tribal patterns, colors, and silhouettes, fashion conscious movie goers will be inspired to think about how they too could incorporate the Ndebele neck rings Okoye wears in the movie into their outfits.

     Students interested in film careers won't think twice about casting people of color from any country in the movies they plan to make. They know Lupita Nyong'O, a young Nigerian-raised star won an Academy Award for her supporting role in 12 Years a Slave.

     Fashion designers-in-the-making also have seen Nyong'O modeling African-inspired clothes in Vogue. The magazine also introduced them to Nigeria and the Lagos-based Maki Oh, the designer responsible for the dress Michelle Obama wore on a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013.

     Paul Simon's interest in music caused him to sing with Mama Africa Miriam Makeba in South Africa in 1987 and to record his Graceland album with South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo choral group. The British hip hop grime of Ghana's Stormzy draws the current generation of music trend setters to Africa.

     With the Olympics approaching on February 9, student downhill skiers, cross-country skiers, bobsledders, figure skaters, and speed skaters might want to learn more about what produces champions in Austria, Germany, Russia, Canada, and Sweden.

     Those interested in soccer, already follow their favorite sport in Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester, and Brazil.

     And if students like food and cooking, those interests can take them anywhere in the world.  

   

Space-Searching International Team Sees Results

Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have found 150,000 stars with 4,706 planets casting a shadow, when they orbit past. The February 23, 2017, issue of Nature reported astronomer Michael Gillon at a Belgium university headed a team that used telescopes in Chile, Hawaii, South Africa, Morocco, Spain, and England to find the Trappist-1 solar system with a planet, Trappist-1e, that maintains a habitable temperature above freezing and below boiling as it orbits around its sun-like star.

     Light from stars is scattered and absorbed differently, if orbiting planets have an atmosphere with a chemical composition. Atmospheric gases, such as methane, oxygen, or carbon dioxide, signal the possibility of water and life. The Hubble Space Telescope has been able to tell what atmospheric gases from two of the Trappist-1 planets don't have, but the spectroscopes the James Webb Space Telescope will carry when it launches, possibly in October, 2018, will be capable of more atmospheric analysis.

Oscar Nominations Enlighten the World

This year's Oscar nominations for live action short films provide a view of France, Denmark, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland that is both particular to those countries and inspiring to countries throughout the world.

In Ennemis Interieurs (Enemies Within) and Silent Nights we see French concern for residents from Algeria who might be terrorists and a man from Ghana who finds in Denmark abuse from local and Arab neighbors rather than the income he expected to send to his family back in Africa. In both cases disillusioned men do things they never intended, and we wonder if their new countries could have acted differently to prevent these outcomes.

Sing from Hungary won the Oscar in this category on February 26, 2017. This film tells the story of a friendly elementary school girl with a heart and a new girl who is told by the chorus director to just mime the words to songs because she doesn't have a good voice. By convincing all the children in the chorus to mime the words to every song at a competition, the two clever girls undermine the director who they consider unfair. Children everywhere in the world could benefit from seeing how to treat new kids in their schools and how they can work together to right an injustice.          

Spain's Timecode gives hope to everyone who has ever had a boring job. After his shift as a security guard who watches the cameras that keep an eye on a garage parking lot, he uses the whole garage as a dance floor to practice his moves. The woman who takes over after him sees his performance and decides to do her own routine for the cameras. After the male security guard sees her dancing, they join up for a duet that the manager sees when he is introducing a new guard to the job. The film ends with the new employee telling the manager, "I don't know how to dance."

A woman's daily gesture of waving a Swiss flag at a passing TGV train before she rides her bicycle to her pastry shop leads to an exchange of messages and gifts of cheese between the woman and the train's engineer in  La Femme et le TGV. You never know where simple gestures might lead. 

Are You Someone Who Says, "I don't cook?"

When I was helping out at a church luncheon yesterday, I was surprised to hear a woman say she had relatives coming for the weekend and she didn't cook. Unlike her, I look forward to having a house full of visitors who will gather around the table for meals and talk, which, I understand, is described in Spanish by the word, "sobremesa."

     With the joy of cooking fresh in my mind, I saw an internet item about the Common Threads program in Chicago and New York City that teaches low-income kids, in grades three to eight, to shop and prepare healthy, nutritious meals, when parents are busy and money is tight. In one aspect of the program, students learn about the history of a particular country's food, nutrition, and ingredients. It's a hands-on program that teaches cooking techniques and how to follow a recipe.

     Common Threads introduces students to new foods, like granola, whole wheat bread, cage-free chicken eggs, pesto, and various cheeses. Kids learn to make and love whole wheat pancakes, as well as salads and smoothies. There also is a gardening program, where kids might grow carrots and kale.

     Instead of expecting families to make radical new food choices all at once, Common Threads invites families to make gradual changes by adding just one or two new items to each shopping list. Families who grow their own food could try planting just one or two new crops.

     For more information about Common Threads and to sign up for a monthly newsletter, go to commonthreads.org/programs.

Will African Roses Replace Dutch Tulips?

World events can have both positive and negative effects on countries. By voting to leave the EU, Britain's new tariff relationships hold promise for Africa. On the other hand, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explosion on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 1, 2016 casts doubt on a deal between a US and Chinese company and much more.

     While the UK currently imports most of its fresh fruit from Spain and 70% of its fresh vegetables from Spain and the Netherlands, African countries anticipate they will gain a larger share of the UK market for flowers, vegetables, fruit, and tea, should tariffs on EU goods increase and tariffs on African imports end. South Africa already is the second largest source of the UK's fresh fruit, and a quarter of Kenya's fresh produce exports go to Britain. Changes in taste also might continue to boost UK imports of African produce, like pineapples, melons, and avocados, not grown domestically. Retailers caution African exporters, however, that regulations require imported produce to be safe and responsibly produced.

     Although African countries might gain from Britain's EU exit, they suffered from the Falcon 9 rocket explosion. The Amos-6 satellite that was destroyed would have given Africa internet access to Facebook.



   

   

A Salute to Flags

Flags are a ready reminder that the world is divided into countries. In front of teams marching during the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics, athletes are honored by being chosen to carry the flags of their countries.

     Just as families often keep track of the state license plates they see, flag authority William G. Crampton suggests noting the date they see various country flags in person or on TV at school, post offices, hotels, parades, and sporting events. In Usborne's spotter guide to Flags of the World, Crampton includes an alphabetical list of 201 flags. Like a field guide to birds and wild flowers, this pocket-sized book helps spotters by illustrating flags in full color and by providing short descriptions of what colors and flag emblems represent. Another good source of the world's flags in full color is the website, printableworldflags.com.

    Vexillology is the study of the symbolism, history, and usage of flags. Countries assign meanings to the colors on their flags. Surrounded as they are by water, islands often choose blue. White is used to symbolize Buddhism and peace. Haiti and some African countries include black to represent their citizens. Yellow can mean mineral wealth, a royal color, or the sun. Green, the color of Mohammed, also has been used to represent jungle vegetation. Red may stand for bravery, courage, or a bloody struggle for independence.

     The three-colored flags, known as tricolors, that represent independence throughout the world have their origin in the 16th century orange, white, and blue Dutch flag that is considered the first republican tricolor. In turn, the Dutch flag inspired the blue, white, and red tricolor associated with France's 1789 revolution and, ultimately, flags flown throughout the world from Armenia to Yemen. When mass production began in the 18th century, flag manufacturers welcomed this type of         three-color design simplification.

     Just as many flags are associated with the struggle for independence, others express dedication to a religion the way Christian crosses do on the flags of Greece, Malta, Switzerland, and Tonga. Throughout the Muslim world, the crescent and star symbols of Islam and/or the green color of the Prophet Mohammed appear on numerous flags in the Middle East and Africa. South Korea and Mongolia fly flags with the yin and yang symbols of opposites associated with Buddhism, while symbols of the Jewish faith, the prayer shawl and Star of David, appear on Israel's flag. Of special interest are flags of countries that recognize that their citizens practice more than one religion. The white stripe on Pakistan's flag represents Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and other religious minorities in this mostly Muslim country, while Sri Lanka's flag includes an orange stripe for Hindus and a green one for Muslims.

     Stars representing mankind's heavenly goal have been a popular flag motif for centuries. In fact, stars also communicate a number of modern day messages. As in the case of flags representing the U.S. and Brazil, stars denote the states in each country. The Philippines, the Comoros, Cape Verde, and Tuvalu use stars to number their principal islands. Malaysia's flag, on the other hand, represents its 13 member states and its capital's territory with 14 points on one star.

     Countries also use their flags to recognize features that make them unique. Cambodia's flag pictures its famed 12th century temple, Ankor Wat. The coat of arms on Slovenia's flag includes the country's Triglav Mountain, and Lebanon places a cedar tree that grows in its mountains in the center of its flag. Granada touts its nutmeg production and Belize its lumber industry; while Kenya, Lesotho, and Swaziland display traditional tribal war shields and spears on their flags. Iran's flag repeats the inscription, "God is Great," 22 times to mark the date of its victorious 1979 revolution. Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa note their position in the Southern Hemisphere by including the Southern Cross constellation on their flags. To symbolize the Equator, Nauru draws a yellow stripe on its flag and then uses a star to indicate its position south of the Equator.

     Various activities can involve children with flags. At the pbskids.org website, they can play a "Bingo" game with countries and flags by going to the Arthur icon, then clicking on the picture of the bunny, Buster, and "Connect the World." Staging a parade of nations is a fun party or rainy day activity, especially when children wear hats or other pieces of clothing from foreign lands. United Nations Day on October 24 is a great time to organize such a parade. In addition to marching behind the Stars and Stripes, children can use construction paper to make less complicated parade flags for: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Indonesia, Japan, Chad, Gabon, or Mali. Tape these flags to straws, play a John Philip Sousa march, and a parade begins.

Flags change

Like children, flags change. From 10,000 public suggestions for a new flag, New Zealand has selected 40 designs that will be reduced to four for a public vote later in 2015. In 2016, there will be a referendum to decide between the current flag and the new design.

    After Columbus's voyages, Spain changed the motto on its flag from "There is nothing more beyond (Gibraltar)" to "There is more beyond." Once the U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia broke apart, their flags disappeared and countries that were part of these nations, such as Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and Croatia, created new flags. Likewise, when countries become independent from former colonizers, they create new flags. South Africa no longer flies the orange, white, and blue tricolor based on the Dutch flag that was raised when colonists arrived in 1652.

     When other countries achieved independence, they, like Kenya, Mozambique, and East Timor, often adopted flags similar, if not identical, to those of the nationalist groups that led the struggle for sovereignty. Antigua and Barbuda, although they elected to remain in the British Commonwealth after achieving independence, use their flag to proudly announce victory over colonialism by showing the sun of a new era rising out of a "V."

     At the beginning of the American Revolution, George Washington's troops fought under what is known as the Grand Union flag which displayed England's St. George and Scotland's St. Andrew crosses in the upper left hand corner where the stars are today. On June 14, 1777, however, to represent the original states, a circle of 13 stars, suggesting a new constellation, joined the 13 alternating red and white stripes already on the Grand Union flag. As new states joined the Union, both stars and stripes were added to the U.S. flag until 1818, when Congress decided too many stripes would make the flag's design unwieldy. Since then, stars have represented the current number of states and stripes represent the original thirteen. Between 1776 and 1801, England's flag changed as well. Today the flag of the United Kingdom combines the 13th century red cross of St. George, patron saint of England, with the Scottish cross of patron, St. Andrew, which was added in 1606 and the modified Irish cross of St. Patrick added in 1801.

     One way to demonstrate the notion that a flag represents a country's changing history is to create new flags for children as they get older. At first, a little white bunny might be pasted on light blue or pink felt that is looped over a dowel and hung on a string. By helping children design their own flags as their personalities develop, they will get a feel for the decisions a country made when creating its flag. What colors will they choose and why? Will they use a symbol to represent their favorite subject, hobby, or pet? Finally, they might include a motivational saying or slogan, such as "Throw strikes" for a baseball player or "Break a leg" for a budding actor.