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Post by malibou on Feb 15, 2025 22:03:44 GMT
To say I am appalled by where we are politically in the US would be the understatement of the decade. However, we will still travel to Europe. We have been all over Europe in the past 30 years, and I have never felt judged nor perceived any animosity towards us. While I realize we could encounter those things now, I am hard pressed to believe that perfectly sensible people are going to judge us personally for the asshat that is trying to take us all down. And there is no way I will curtail our love of travel abroad to stay home and fester in the toilet bowl that the FF is creating.
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Post by katlaw on Feb 16, 2025 1:50:03 GMT
Come on north. We have a great place for you to rent and such a great country to come hang out in. Honestly, you are one of the kindest, sweetest peas ever. I am grateful for you <3 And I may just reach out to you if I truly cannot stand to stay here any longer. It's really hard to decide at what point to give up on one's country, ya know? Awww, thanks. I cannot even imagine feeling like that. I keep thinking it cannot get worse and then more happens. It is so crazy right now. |
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Post by katlaw on Feb 16, 2025 2:10:14 GMT
To our American allies, please know that so many of us are upset not only at what he is doing to our own country, but to the horrible actions he is doing to hurt so many others overseas. I'm an American that reads international news, so I'm very aware how we are being perceived. I'm a mixture of sad and furious about what is going on in our country. Yes he won the popular vote, but a lot of us knew what a monster he is and how horrible things would be if he won. We campaigned for Harris, donated to her campaign, made phone calls and did everything we could to not have this happen. But a huge amount of people didn't even bother to vote, and that sealed our fate. I really blame them as much as I blame Trump voters. We have an international trip planned this summer. We're starting in Normandy and ending in Munich so we can see some of the WWII sites where the Band of Brothers fought. It's important to us to learn from history. We booked this before the election results and before we knew that we would end up under a fascist president. Now I feel like we are living in the beginning stages of what happened to trigger WWII. I'm very worried how we will be treated overseas. I don't want to cancel our trip. Frankly, it will be nice to escape our country for a couple of weeks. I guess I will see how things go and we will cancel depending on what type of madness the idiot in the White House creates. As a Canadian I am hopeful you can travel freely. I will say I am surprised at Canadians booing the national anthem at the hockey games. Canadians are really angry at being threatened. |
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 3,410 
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Post by TXMary on Feb 16, 2025 2:30:07 GMT
I keep thinking back to when our nephews were young teens and DH and I took them to Canada several times to share our love of your beautiful country with them and they, too, fell in love with it. I remember standing in Peace Arch Park and talking with them about the close relationship between Canada and the US and how our countries would always be friends. The "may these gates never be closed" and "children of a common mother" made us so proud. Those boys are mid to late 30s now and are just as heartbroken as we are about the current events. I can't even find the words but please know that just as many of us are horrified at what Trump and his minions are doing. I was actually born in Germany (USAF brat) but it wasn't until the last several years that DH and I have begun traveling to Europe as well and have fallen in love with it also. We have a Danube cruise booked for late 2026 and I'm seriously thinking of canceling it. I wonder how safe it will be for Americans to travel abroad by then. He's done so much damage in just a few short weeks. I can't imagine the evil yet to come. We had planned on doing London/Spain/Portugal this spring but had to postpone for family reasons and now I wonder if we should postpone indefinitely. I'm disgusted. Not so much by him. We've known all along what a POS he is but I'm disgusted by the millions of Americans who support him and buy into the lies. Thankfully none of my family (even my lifelong Republican sister-in-law) voted for him but we have friends who did and my feelings about them have changed. I've lost all respect for them. I don't know how we recover from this. If we even can. At 63, it probably won't be in my lifetime. I'm just heartbroken. The bolded part is how I've felt since he was elected, I'm 63 as well. Besides the next 4 years, I worry about who comes after him. The first time around I was beside myself, don't get me wrong, but this time around I cannot shake the dread. Besides the political finagling, the social issues have simply broken my heart. I'm trying not to let them break my spirit too. It's scary. Now that they have kicked the rock over who knows what roaches will crawl out of it? |
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 4:31:52 GMT
I'm very worried how we will be treated overseas. Probably the same as before, unless you show up in a red baseball cap. At least for the moment, it's largely a leadership problem and not a "all USAinians are evil" problem. Still the damage to USA's reputation is pretty bad on the world stage. It's going to be a long, long time before even a fraction of that soft power comes back, if it ever does. I will say I am surprised at Canadians booing the national anthem at the hockey games. Canadians are really angry at being threatened. I'm not surprised at all. Canadians are content with quiet patriotism right up until the moment someone decides to start a fight, then it's gloves off. |
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Post by flanz on Feb 16, 2025 5:05:39 GMT
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Post by gillyp on Feb 16, 2025 13:50:37 GMT
Our news right now is awash with details of Russia and USA apparently intending to conduct Ukraine peace talks without the attendance of Ukraine or Europe. There is to be an emergency European Summit tomorrow.  From a well respected news reporter Frank Gardner "Europe’s leaders are scrambling to catch up with America’s plans to end the war in Ukraine, whether they like it or not. Tomorrow will see a hastily arranged summit in Paris to discuss President Trump’s apparent plans to do a deal with his Russian counterpart, despite the objections of Ukraine and its European allies. Breaking a three-year freeze in talks with Moscow, US and Russian negotiators are due to convene in Saudi Arabia in the week ahead - Ukraine is not invited. This year’s Munich Security Conference has been a chilling wake-up call for Europe. After decades of relying on the US as the backstop for its defence the message from the White House to Europe is clear: you can no longer take that for granted, you now need to step up and look after your own security." BBC News report
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,672
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Feb 16, 2025 16:52:20 GMT
To our American allies, please know that so many of us are upset not only at what he is doing to our own country, but to the horrible actions he is doing to hurt so many others overseas. I'm an American that reads international news, so I'm very aware how we are being perceived. I'm a mixture of sad and furious about what is going on in our country. Yes he won the popular vote, but a lot of us knew what a monster he is and how horrible things would be if he won. We campaigned for Harris, donated to her campaign, made phone calls and did everything we could to not have this happen. But a huge amount of people didn't even bother to vote, and that sealed our fate. I really blame them as much as I blame Trump voters. We have an international trip planned this summer. We're starting in Normandy and ending in Munich so we can see some of the WWII sites where the Band of Brothers fought. It's important to us to learn from history. We booked this before the election results and before we knew that we would end up under a fascist president. Now I feel like we are living in the beginning stages of what happened to trigger WWII. I'm very worried how we will be treated overseas. I don't want to cancel our trip. Frankly, it will be nice to escape our country for a couple of weeks. I guess I will see how things go and we will cancel depending on what type of madness the idiot in the White House creates. As a Canadian I am hopeful you can travel freely. I will say I am surprised at Canadians booing the national anthem at the hockey games. Canadians are really angry at being threatened. Canadians have a right to be angry! And while I feel bad for the athletes, I understand why the national anthem is being booed. We love you, Canada! I look forward to the day when this fascist regime is overturned in the U.S. |
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Post by MichyM on Feb 16, 2025 17:15:47 GMT
This video pretty much sums up the world's opinions on USA right now. Only I'd imagine Ukraine and Gaza's are in even greater freefall. You can skip to ~6 mins in if you just want to see the graphs. Canada's is below. I was feeling beat down by the situation when you posted this the other day and just couldn’t watch it. I finally did this morning and I want to urge other Peas to watch it as well. Thanks for posting it. |
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Post by gar on Feb 16, 2025 18:49:23 GMT
Just one more report to indicate how the rest of the world is seeing trump’s actions and words. US isolation threatens global democracy, warns Major www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gwngxdd1vo“US President Donald Trump's policy of American "isolation" was creating a power vacuum that would embolden nations like Russia and China.” “ the gains made since the collapse of the Soviet Union were now being reversed - and that there was "no doubt" Russia would invade elsewhere before long” |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 16, 2025 19:32:51 GMT
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 19:51:03 GMT
"Don't get in your enemy's way while they're making a mistake" energy. Along with the usual russian huffin' and puffin' for state propaganda. That TV set is creepy AF; it looks like some kind of game show out of the dark mirror universe. |
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Post by Delta Dawn on Feb 16, 2025 19:53:20 GMT
This video pretty much sums up the world's opinions on USA right now. Only I'd imagine Ukraine and Gaza's are in even greater freefall. You can skip to ~6 mins in if you just want to see the graphs. Canada's is below. I was feeling beat down by the situation when you posted this the other day and just couldn’t watch it. I finally did this morning and I want to urge other Peas to watch it as well. Thanks for posting it. Am I going to flip out if I watch it? A little heads up would be nice. Is Premier Trump going off his rocker? |
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 20:32:58 GMT
I was feeling beat down by the situation when you posted this the other day and just couldn’t watch it. I finally did this morning and I want to urge other Peas to watch it as well. Thanks for posting it. Am I going to flip out if I watch it? A little heads up would be nice. Is Premier Trump going off his rocker? There's two short clips of the FF in the opening segment that you can easily skip over - it's just his stupid comments about 51st state. Start about one and a half minutes in if you don't want to hear from Team fElon.
It's mostly about Canada/Canadian reactions and a bit about our political parties, but probably isn't going to rocket your blood pressure the way some mainstream media feeds would. The presenter is mostly baffled/incredulous over the situation. It also talks about some USA polling on what's important to USAinians. And a bit about Canadians choosing to buy more Canadian goods. This is a fairly typical example of what news coverage looks like up here.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 16, 2025 20:41:12 GMT
Am I going to flip out if I watch it? A little heads up would be nice. Is Premier Trump going off his rocker? There's two short clips of the FF in the opening segment that you can easily skip over - it's just his stupid comments about 51st state. Start about one and a half minutes in if you don't want to hear from Team fElon.
It's mostly about Canada/Canadian reactions and a bit about our political parties, but probably isn't going to rocket your blood pressure the way some mainstream media feeds would. The presenter is mostly baffled/incredulous over the situation. It also talks about some USA polling on what's important to USAinians. And a bit about Canadians choosing to buy more Canadian goods. This is a fairly typical example of what news coverage looks like up here.
Why do you keep saying USAinians? That is not what we are called. |
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Post by bunnyhug on Feb 16, 2025 20:59:33 GMT
This is the Manitoba premier talking about tariffs on his instragram page. He's someone in politics who I think is there for the right reasons, and not just for his own personal gain. Wab Kinew on Canadian/American relationsHere's the text of his post, in case you can't watch it ... "Canada will never be the 51st state, but can be your number 1 friend. We fought in World Wars together. We defeated fascism and communism. We stand up for democracy. We have answered the call on fentanyl and on the border. We don’t want tariffs. Because we’re so close together, it’ll only raise prices for all of us. We’re a nation of hockey players. We know how to stand up for ourselves. At the same time, we know how to go for a beer together once the game is over. 🍻 The winds of change can blow through politics, but they’ll never change geography. We will always be neighbours. We should always be friends. 🇨🇦 🤝 🇺🇸" |
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 21:02:50 GMT
There's two short clips of the FF in the opening segment that you can easily skip over - it's just his stupid comments about 51st state. Start about one and a half minutes in if you don't want to hear from Team fElon.
It's mostly about Canada/Canadian reactions and a bit about our political parties, but probably isn't going to rocket your blood pressure the way some mainstream media feeds would. The presenter is mostly baffled/incredulous over the situation. It also talks about some USA polling on what's important to USAinians. And a bit about Canadians choosing to buy more Canadian goods. This is a fairly typical example of what news coverage looks like up here.
Why do you keep saying USAinians? That is not what we are called. American includes Canadians, Mexicans, US Americans, and all Central/South American countries. We're all Americans, because we live on the continent of America. So when I'm referring just to folks in the USA, I don't use "American" because you are not the default or common denominator. It's a bit long to write out "United States Americans". If you'd prefer I could switch to "USA-folk"?
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 16, 2025 21:09:12 GMT
Why do you keep saying USAinians? That is not what we are called. American includes Canadians, USAinians, and all Central/South American countries. We're all Americans, because we live on the continent of America. So when I'm referring just to folks in the USA, I don't use "American" because you are not the default or common denominator. It's a bit long to write out "United States Americans". If you'd prefer I could switch to "USA-folk"?
If it bothers you that much to say "Americans" the way it has always been then I guess citizens of the USA is better. I get that there are two continents that have the term "America" in them. But we are the United States OF America. Not saying we are the only people that live on the continents. It is disrespectful and USAinians or United States of Amercininans sounds really stupid. |
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 21:30:20 GMT
If it bothers you that much to say "Americans" the way it has always been then I guess citizens of the USA is better. I get that there are two continents that have the term "America" in them. But we are the United States OF America. Not saying we are the only people that live on the continents. It is disrespectful and USAinians or United States of Amercininans sounds really stupid. Yeah, no, that's still too long. Hilariously it wasn't meant as an insult, but if you want to take it that way I can't stop you. Also serious concerns that y'all are going to be citizens of anything if things don't turn around right quick. And just to get out ahead of this train, I am very very VERY VERY VERY much in favour of the continued existence of a democratic US of A. |
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Post by MichyM on Feb 16, 2025 21:54:33 GMT
American includes Canadians, USAinians, and all Central/South American countries. We're all Americans, because we live on the continent of America. So when I'm referring just to folks in the USA, I don't use "American" because you are not the default or common denominator. It's a bit long to write out "United States Americans". If you'd prefer I could switch to "USA-folk"?
If it bothers you that much to say "Americans" the way it has always been then I guess citizens of the USA is better. I get that there are two continents that have the term "America" in them. But we are the United States OF America. Not saying we are the only people that live on the continents. It is disrespectful and USAinians or United States of Amercininans sounds really stupid. I will add that I also have been scratching my head (not offended but just perplexed) over how Embri has been referring to citizens of the USA. I cannot believe that typing "citizens of the USA" is really all that difficult personally. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 16, 2025 22:02:08 GMT
If it bothers you that much to say "Americans" the way it has always been then I guess citizens of the USA is better. I get that there are two continents that have the term "America" in them. But we are the United States OF America. Not saying we are the only people that live on the continents. It is disrespectful and USAinians or United States of Amercininans sounds really stupid. Yeah, no, that's still too long. Hilariously it wasn't meant as an insult, but if you want to take it that way I can't stop you. Also serious concerns that y'all are going to be citizens of anything if things don't turn around right quick. And just to get out ahead of this train, I am very very VERY VERY VERY much in favour of the continued existence of a democratic US of A. That's why we go by Americans. Canadians are part of North America, and therefore North Americans. As are people of the US. But since our name has the word America in it at the end, we are referred to as Americans. It really isn't that difficult to understand. I'm pretty sure everyone in the world knows what it means, and that there are other countries in North and South America. But nobody refers to them as simply Americans. |
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Post by katlaw on Feb 16, 2025 22:05:41 GMT
Oh my. I haven’t seen anything like this snd I have seen some bad stuff but nothing against Canada. I just don’t understand how anyone could think like this. I hate that it’s just a small portion of our population can ruin it for everyone else. I can’t see us recovering in my lifetime. I really wish the people that voted for him could see how other countries feel about him and then us because he won the election. I don’t understand how they can’t see what we see. Every day is worse than the day before with no hope in sight 😢 I hate that everyone just rolls over for him and so few have stood up to him. Please know that most Americans have no ill will towards Canadians. Living in Southern California we appreciate your brave fire fighters that have helped fight our recent fires. You have always been there when we needed and I hate that now FF thinks we don’t need any help and insults all of our allies. Such a fool. I keep hoping that people wake up soon but it seems they are just digging in more and defending what’s happening. I am afraid it’s going to get really bad in the next few years. I also haven’t seen any comments like “we will take Canada” or the like. I’m not saying it didn’t happen or that some of his supporters might say that. But I also think that we all have to take what we see in social media comments with a grain of salt. There is a lot of pot stirring. I mean, yesterday I clicked into X to read a post that looked interesting. I saw several comments from people who said they are from Canada and that everyone they knew wanted to be part of the US. I don’t think those were “real” genuine comments from people in Canada. But some people sure want us to think that. I am sure there are bots out there stirring the pot but a lot of the ones I have seen are not. They are redneck, jump on the bandwagon social media keyboard warriors. I come from Alberta, unfortunately we have a lot of those here too. People joke we are the Texas of Canada. |
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Post by malibou on Feb 16, 2025 22:12:22 GMT
Yeah, no, that's still too long. Hilariously it wasn't meant as an insult, but if you want to take it that way I can't stop you. Also serious concerns that y'all are going to be citizens of anything if things don't turn around right quick. And just to get out ahead of this train, I am very very VERY VERY VERY much in favour of the continued existence of a democratic US of A. That's why we go by Americans. Canadians are part of North America, and therefore North Americans. As are people of the US. But since our name has the word America in it at the end, we are referred to as Americans. It really isn't that difficult to understand. I'm pretty sure everyone in the world knows what it means, and that there are other countries in North and South America. But nobody refers to them as simply Americans. I am feeling a bit feisty today as something happened at the grocery store that has me really MAD. I'm not going to lie, it does kind of read like a weird new word, but the first time I saw her use it I read it as US asinines, and totally cracked up.😁 |
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2025 22:18:24 GMT
Oh geez, no it's not meant to include ass in any way. Rhymes with "Canadian". I was trying to stick with the narrative that it's not fair to get mad at individual people simply because of *gestures at all the things that have happened in the last two weeks*. But hey, message received. USA is no longer on friendly nickname terms. Maybe the EU is looking for a new BFF.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 16, 2025 22:30:12 GMT
Oh geez, no it's not meant to include ass in any way. Rhymes with "Canadian". I was trying to stick with the narrative that it's not fair to get mad at individual people simply because of *gestures at all the things that have happened in the last two weeks*. But hey, message received. USA is no longer on friendly nickname terms. Maybe the EU is looking for a new BFF. It's a made up word. I've noticed it for the last few weeks and it's been gradually bugging me more and more. I've never heard or seen anyone say it before and it doesn't really make sense in my mind to say or even type. As for your last statement.... Most of us here agree with you that Trump is a danger to society and don't like what he is doing at all. We are angry, frustrated, worried and fearful of what will happen in the future. There is often a fine line between commiserating and stepping too far. Kind of like if I am complaining about my husband or mother and my friend goes from being understanding and validating my feelings to tearing down my mother or husband. At some point it doesn't feel supportive anymore. Does that make sense? And I do get that this thread is intended for people from outside the US to express their feelings, and I hope that the peas who need to hear those opinions are reading. |
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Post by malibou on Feb 16, 2025 23:07:04 GMT
Oh geez, no it's not meant to include ass in any way. Rhymes with "Canadian". I was trying to stick with the narrative that it's not fair to get mad at individual people simply because of *gestures at all the things that have happened in the last two weeks*. But hey, message received. USA is no longer on friendly nickname terms. Maybe the EU is looking for a new BFF. The ass part is my fault. I'm the one that initially read it as US asinines. And quite frankly, there are a lot of people in the US right now that fully deserve to be called an ass. Bottom line, I have no issue with it other than its hard to say out loud. My tongue fumbles. I want you as a friend and ally. |
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Post by MichyM on Feb 17, 2025 1:59:58 GMT
Oh geez, no it's not meant to include ass in any way. Rhymes with "Canadian". I was trying to stick with the narrative that it's not fair to get mad at individual people simply because of *gestures at all the things that have happened in the last two weeks*. But hey, message received. USA is no longer on friendly nickname terms. Maybe the EU is looking for a new BFF. That's not what anyone on this thread has been saying at all. At all. |
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Post by Embri on Feb 17, 2025 13:39:55 GMT
Oh geez, no it's not meant to include ass in any way. Rhymes with "Canadian". I was trying to stick with the narrative that it's not fair to get mad at individual people simply because of *gestures at all the things that have happened in the last two weeks*. But hey, message received. USA is no longer on friendly nickname terms. Maybe the EU is looking for a new BFF. That's not what anyone on this thread has been saying at all. At all. That was in reference to the hostile words and actions of the USA's President. Hence the second part, "Maybe the EU..." and naming USA specifically. We're well aware "Not All USAmericans - (insert thing FF has said/done)". But the reality is, he's your representation on the international stage. He's the one threatening our sovereignty, economy and national identity. And none of that is okay.
The longer the people of the United States fail to stand up to this wannabe home-grown Hitler and his techbro oligarch friends, the more damage they do to your own democracy and that of the rest of the world. I'm hoping it's just a lot of troll farms, bots and mainstream media interference and the folks south of the border aren't nearly as apathetic about this as they're being made to seem. But I'm also not very hopeful. To those who are actually doing something to protect their democracy, you have my support and please keep fighting. Hopes and prayers are not going to cut it. |
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Post by Embri on Feb 17, 2025 14:05:46 GMT
The US President has destroyed the USA's soft power and international relations. I for one would be in favour of Canada joining the EU and abandoning NATO/the USA. Belle puts it well "Countries don't have friends, they have interests." It's clear the USA no longer supports Canada's interests. Quote from the Polish Foregin Minister "The credibility of the US depends on how this war ends. Not just the Trump administration, the United States itself."
And here's the video of that:
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Post by janet on Feb 17, 2025 15:30:11 GMT
I'm supposed to go to London to visit my daughter in April, and right now I'm frankly worried that I may not be able to, as quickly as things are going south here. I wish there was some way for her to extend her student visa and finish college over there.
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