A DP with a two stroke? Damn

I can’t tell if that’s sarcasm or if megachurches just Walmart local churches

It checks out

You have given my husband a new headache, I thank you dearly

Talking to them doesn’t help. I’m a German teacher for new immigrants and I explained how poorly people adjust to a new country when all they wanted was something different, and they condescended to me about not letting my personal experience (with scores of students) color my opinion 🤦

I just hope anyone who’s interested based on what they’re saying adequately prepares themselves. I’m personally a proponent of freer global migration and language teaching, but it’s laughable to think that it’s general advice for people who don’t like their current situation.

My favorite song is 500 Miles by Peter, Paul & Mary, and everyone thinks I’m talking about the Proclaimers version unless I specify, so I think it’s pretty well known.

That’s fair, sorry. There’s going to be unintended consequences if agreeable, optimistic people are suddenly gone from the population, which the original removed comment starting this thread suggested wasn’t an issue.

What about the gradually spreading military juntas in ECOWAS countries?

This is a perfect shower thought, thank you

lol

Teaching abroad without proper preparation and understanding of what you’re signing up for is a recipe for culture shock and depression.

Just like going swimming without proper preparation ( swimming lessons and adequate aerobic fitness) is a recipe for drowning.

Lots of people have the patience for kindergartners, but that’s only because there are eight billion people. Telling everyone who’s depressed to go to a new place where they know no one and have to deal with kindergartners and employers who may or may not fulfill the accommodation or pay promises they made while not having a good working knowledge of the local culture or language is irresponsible.

And money corrupts

Several of those programs are scammy. I know people who’ve been screwed by their company in South Korea, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. I’m glad it worked for you, and it’s a worthwhile thing to try if it calls to you, but it’s a recipe for culture shock and depression if someone doesn’t fully understand and want that experience.

I’m an American living in Germany, and I teach German classes to new immigrants, so I see a lot of people who wanted something different, but didn’t specifically want Germany. It’s much more difficult for them to adjust to a new place than for people who specifically seek Germany out.

I also personally think teaching children is too important to leave to people who are untrained, even if they’re subject matter experts, but I may be biased as it’s my career. I definitely wouldn’t teach kindergarten, because I (like most people) don’t have the patience.

There’s going to be unintended consequences if you intentionally get rid of agreeable, optimistic people.

You see how a lack of scientific reporting on the subject makes it less likely that you find more examples, right?

It’s not really easy for us to tell who’s useful for society, even less so if you want to be even a little bit objective. If your metric is intelligence, that’s not a good one (depression, substance use disorder, and many other things that don’t make for a super happy or functional person are correlated with intelligence).

Eh, they were trying to be helpful. They shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it, it’s a good thing to do.

Also I would not have made the urine-IP address connection without that comment, I just thought they were rambling into nonsense.

A lot of Jews see the Torah as allegorical, just like a lot of Catholics. I went to Catholic school and not a single person tried to tell me that a day really meant a day in the creation myth. Everyone just sort of had an aside that time was funky and people weren’t the best at clear note taking back then, so it’s more a loose allegory than definite fact (given that the Vatican is cool with evolution, it’s not so surprising).

That said, I think this is the wrong comment section

Yeah, I was in therapy at 27 for my ADHD, which was diagnosed fifteen years earlier, when I learned how to make an ADHD-friendly to-do list.

In those fifteen years I never thought “maybe to-do lists are so frequently recommended because they’re actually valuable” and no other therapists or mentors had thought that I might not know that to-do lists for people with ADHD are different from the ones that work for neurotypical people (my list doesn’t say “wash dishes,” it says “collect dishes from the bedroom and kitchen, soak silverware in a pot with hot water, stack plates next to the sink, soak any cookware or cups that need it, wash plates and bowls, wash silverware, wash cups, wash cookware”).

It’s so obvious in hindsight, but I felt almost condescended to when people told me to write a to-do list. Finding out not only were they right, but I need a to-do list that’s broken down into smaller steps than normal was humbling in a good way. I hope I’m less dismissive of seemingly basic ideas now.

I think if someone had seen my therapist’s notes to me and made fun of them, I might not have been able to be open to their advice. Or maybe I’d just be embarrassed about the experience, instead of grateful.

“Snuck in” is a very strange word to use for asylum seekers