They Speak English in the United States?

This was the question posed to me by a local taxi driver.  Trying to hide my surprise I answered, "yes, we speak English in the United States."  Duh, I thought.  The next day a student remarked to me, "Sherise, we are not like you--we can't freely travel where we want."  Right...have I forgotten? Another student remarked to me, "We're not that different.  We want the same things for our life, too."  Yes, our humanity links us. 

Living here I sometimes forget where I am.  You can honestly have your same life in the States here, and if you try hard enough, you can shut yourself from the reality of this place.  Open your eyes and you'll see that this is a country full of disparities--too many to recount.  I have long decided that while here I should wear a t-shirt with the mantra "Life is ma fan...get over it."  Ma fan would translate as 'complicated,' but I find that English lacks the exact translation of this word.

No, I'm not bah humbugging this Christmas.  Rather, I am convinced that the human condition being the same, the only answer is a Rescuer.