In no particular order, some interesting things that the kids have said since leaving –

• “I’m excited to take Spanish lessons so that I won’t be locked out of the Spanish-speaking world….but I guess that is how Spanish-speaking people feel about the English speaking world.”  Mac – after a week in Costa Rica.
• “If it was up to me, I would give $1,000 to each family so that they could have a safe place to live and all of the basic things they need.”  Lucia – while driving through the countryside.
• “I thought that slavery ended after the Civil War?” – Mac on Cape Cod after observing that all of the people working in the front of the restaurants are white and all of the people working in the kitchens are black.
• “Now I know why you wanted to take us on this trip – so we could see just how much stuff we have that other people don’t.”  Lucia.
• Similarly, Mac said, “You guys sure know how to spend our wealth well” – when I asked him what he meant, he followed up “By taking us on this trip so we can see what the rest of the world is like.”
• “What is that sticking out down below his tail?”  both  kids regarding testicles on a dog….apparently they have never seen an intact male before.  They know what testicles are, but have never seen them on a dog because all the ones we have had are neutered.

This is stuff that you couldn’t possibly script.  Now the question is do they become numb to it after a while?

Also, as a clarification about the “I thought slavery ended” – the reality is that Cape Cod experiences a huge influx of tourists during the summer and have to hire foreign workers to meet the need.  Many of these workers come from the Caribbean Islands.  This, of course, brought up a discussion about guest workers and immigration policy with an 8 year old….