My fellow Americans…

March 12, 2012 by Ann Larson 1 Comment

OK, you probably know that I borrowed that title, but if it’s good enough for a president, it’s good enough for me!

Although I’m a fan of social media, blogging and the like, I one of those types who often rail against them. I worry that this generation no longer engages in real conversations, but talks in buzz words and text speak. (can anyone still spell?) I also worry that some of the silly things said in forums such as Facebook will come back to bite some of my young friends!

But I have to admit, I am constantly amazed at the number of people I have ‘met’ via these devices. From my blog, I’ve ‘talked’ to people in many different countries. Even some people in our own village say that by reading my blog, they can keep up with what’s going on in their absence. I like that.

And via Facebook and email, I manage to keep in touch with people I haven’t seen in years and extended family that I haven’t seen since I was a teenager. I have met some really nice people, and found I have things in common with a wide variety of characters.

My cousin in New York City passed some interesting contact information last year – an American woman living in Spain went to Northwestern University, just as my cousin did. So I dutifully emailed her, and after a series of emails back and forth, the lady (Janet Mendel) visited us with her son Ben one chilly day in January. Janet is a well-known cookery writer in Spain, and has lived here for years. She was enthused by our Yunquera Gold venture, and wanted to know how a little South Dakota girl came to be living on an olive farm in Spain!

So we talked for hours. She blogged about us, and now I’m blogging about her! Today, via her blog, I have also ‘met’ a Spanish teacher in Alabama! I am sending him a bottle of our olive oil, and in a month or so, I’ll be Skyping with his Spanish class to answer questions about living in Spain. And so the world turns.

Only in this modern technological age could events like this come about – a truly modern miracle!

Click here to read Janet’s blog!