[quote=Allan from Fallbrook] Why no mention of Latin? Command of Latin opens the door to all of the romance languages, especially Italian.[/quote]
I agree that a base of Latin and Greek completes a well-rounded education.
Allan, I was having a little fun in the context of the Republican nomination process.
I’m complimenting Romney for being well bred.
In America, there is an implied litmus test that a president be a person of religious faith.
In the same vain, I believe that speaking French or a foreign language is a good quality in a president. Speaking French is part of Romney’s character.
Also, I vould definitely vote for, campaign, and donate to an atheist candidate.
BTW, Romney doesn’t speak French that well. He probably hasn’t had much practice since his missionary days.
According to Wikipedia:
Romney developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and speaks French.[37] The experience in the country also changed him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
[quote=briansd1][quote=walterwhite]Spanish is mandatory at our house. Trying send the oldest down to Mexico w a Mexican friend for the summer.[/quote]
Mexico is a hidden gem that Americans are afraid to explore these days. I love the megalopolis that is Mexico City. Not at all what we, in Cali, generally think of Mexico and Mexicans.[/quote]
Brian: If you enjoy Mexico City and Paris, you should definitely visit Buenos Aires. Place is amazing and the main boulevard (Avenida Santa Fe) is very reminiscent of the Champs Elysees. Quite metropolitan, very upscale and beautifully scenic.
[quote=Allan from Fallbrook]
Dave: Brian has visions of himself spending a quiet Sunday afternoon in a cafe on the Left Bank of Paris, sipping a Pernod, smoking a Gauloise and idly leafing through either Camus or Sartre. Far, far away from the Great Unwashed of America, with nary a Walmart in sight.[/quote]
Oui, Carrefour is much better. Conviction for false advertising, sweatshop practices and €220k fine for 2500 violations not
withstanding.
I have met Americans who have made lives and built families in Europe.
A number of American GIs after WWII, thanks to their US Dollar salaries, bought apartments in ruined capitals of Western Europe and became well-to-do. It was an age of opportunity for ordinary young Americans, something that will never be repeated again.
At that time, it seemed better than going back to populate the levittowns developers were building across America.
.
