|
|
 |
||||||
 |
Opinion Across The Fence U.S. closely connected to rest of the world I'm technologically impaired. In this era of space-age electronics and sci-fi gadgetry, programming my new bread machine is a challenge. When I upgraded my cell phone, the boys had to show me how to make it stop vibrating and start ringing. They aren't the least bit intimidated by technology. They navigate through the most complicated gizmos without referring even once to the manuals.
When I manage to make some new techie thingamabob work, I'm more excited than a UFO-chaser with new video of a weird hovering craft. You can imagine my glee this week when I first encountered "Skype," an Internet program that magically combines Web cams and a telephone connection. In my experience, I was able to both see and hear my nephew Simon as clearly as though he were sitting in a chair across from me, instead of at a desk in Munich, Germany. Simon is a remarkable young man, engaged to an equally remarkable young woman whose name is Simona. She is an interpreter with a solid command of several languages. He has been working for Lufthansa, the German airline, for the past few years. It was no surprise that as a customer service representative he was most often assigned to international flights, particularly those coming to and going from the United States. His command of English is far more impressive than his father's fluency in German. My nephew was born 27 years ago in Boston, Mass.. His mother is half German and half Maltese. She married my brother when he was a young soldier stationed in Europe. They lived in Massachusetts for several years, where he served as an Army recruiter, and she attended university. One of my favorite memories is the day she and I went to Cambridge and had coffee in a student-filled little shop near Harvard. Simon spoke a mixture of English and German in his early years. It wasn't the least bit unusual for him to be telling me something in English and suddenly switch to German in the middle of a sentence. When my brother transferred to a post in Germany, Simon was totally immersed in his mother's native language, but he had plenty of opportunities to practice his English at home. My brother retired from the Army after serving his country for more than 20 years. His marriage to Simon's mother ended about the same time. When he returned to the Panhandle, Simon and my niece, Nina, stayed behind with their mother. From the time he was about 13 years old, Simon has made regular trips to the United States. He's traveled with my brother through most of America and met most of his American relatives. But every visit, he makes it a point to plan a few hours for the two of us to talk. I've watched him change from a dread-locked teenager with multi-colored tresses to a clean-cut, articulate and responsible young man. He retains his American citizenship, and, during our recent technologically-enhanced chat, the discussion turned to American politics, the global economy, European attitudes toward the presidential races and his choice among the candidates. His reports about how Europeans view America haven't always been favorable. And that doesn't surprise me so much anymore. He told me last week that Europeans and his German friends are closely watching the debates and are very interested in the election outcome. "Is there a favorite over there among the candidates?" I asked. "No, not really," he told me, "as long as it's one of the Democrats. The Republicans are not so popular over here right now. And most Europeans will be very happy when President Bush leaves office. They don't like him." "Why?" I wanted to know. "I don't think it's for just one reason," he said. "There are lots of things that factor into their opinions. The war in Iraq plays heavily. Right now, the euro is strong, but people worry about how a recession or downturn in America's economy will affect the markets over here." I've heard it said more than once that the rest of the world keeps a close eye on what's happening in America. My nephew, who travels throughout Europe, testifies to that fact. Whether we realize it or not, what happens here has ramifications around the world. My brother left for Germany this week. No doubt he's enjoying precious time with his children. It's tough to be able to hug each other only a few times a year. My nephew and his fiancee plan to marry in a couple of years, and I intend to be there for the celebration. I want to visit places I've gotten to know through photographs and stories. In the meantime, I'm going to invest in a new computer system with a webcam. Then I'll be able to "see" my family in Europe more than once or twice a year. Kathie Greer: Columnist and consultant for the Amarillo Independent. She can be reached at kathie@amarilloindy.com. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: January 31, 2008
|
|
