This summer Americans will enjoy the wonderful aspects of swimming pools, lakes, oceans and rivers. Many young children will learn this summer for the first time how to swim! Many families will leisurely vacation by abundant bodies of water. Some families will actively play with water at water parks or privately in their backyards ( sprinkers, mini baby pools, water guns). The fact is lots of water will be used in America for recreational fun!
My husband and I just started hosting an international student from Mauritania, Africa, named Samba!
I quickly learned some shocking news from him in the car yesterday! The conversation went like this:
Me: Samba did you pack a swim suit for the pool party?
Samba: No, I don’t know how to swim and I don’t have swim clothes.
Me: How did that happened? You never took swim lessons?
Samba: No, in Mauritania we don’t have pools! They are too expensive. The climate I live in is extreme desert so we don’t have bodies of water.
Me: Would you be afraid to be on a boat since you don’t know how to swim?
Samba: No, but really sick.
Me: What do you mean?
( My husband clarified the conversation and Samba was talking about sea sickness in the ocean)
Samba: Many people in Mauritania don’t know how to swim. They are lucky if they get clean drinking water!
Wow! I knew of thousands of people dying a year from contaminated water but I hadn’t made the connection to the extents of swimming!
Readers: What did you recently learn that you take for granted?
.jpg)
