Distinguished Visitors
(from Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery)

I learned almost a year in advance that we would be having distinguished visitors coming to stay with us. No one seemed to know for how long, except to say that we should prepare for a lengthy visit, as they were being sent to learn absolutely everything they could about their host community and country, and they came with very little preparation.

People who recently had similar visitors suggested we should treat them as if they were honored guests, even though no one seems to know from whence they come exactly. Everyone agrees they don't speak the same language and know almost nothing about our culture, but they are very malleable and flexible, often -- but not always -- easy to get along with (in fact, they can be very demanding, I was also told), and, above all, fast learners. So quick we'd probably have to struggle to keep up. Luckily, they weren't all expected to arrive at the same time.

And so we prepared our house for the arrival of our visitors as best we knew how. We wanted them to feel comfortable, safe, and secure, as if this were their own home. And once we readied the space, we began to think about what we would want their sojourn to be like.

We'll want them to have the opportunity to explore. We'll try to introduce them to the best that we have to offer - the wonders of our natural environment and a community that will welcome them with open arms. We will share with them what we think to be important - our religion, our culture, our music, our creative arts - but we'll make sure to acquaint them with the religions, arts, and culture of our neighbors, too. We'll make a special effort to introduce them to people different from ourselves, so they can experience the rich kaleidoscope that makes where we are a great place to live. We might even get to take them to all those places we’ve always wanted to visit, but have put off in the crush of our day-to-day lives.

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