Stupid-silly

I had to stop at the market today after my volunteer stint, and while walking the aisles I was taken by this display.  These are all air fresheners - plug-ins, sprays, oils, scented candles, fresheners to hang in the car.  Americans are obsessed with making things smell "pretty," building the market for these products.  Just look at how many there are!  Trying to find unscented products, such as laundry detergent, gets more difficult all the time.  Especially now that people are being asked not to wear fragrance in public places to spare people with allergies from distress - this makes no sense.  We suffer from olfactory overload.

I worked with Thanh again today, and he had compiled a list of adjectives he wanted to know how to use.  He takes such a serious and practical approach to building his English skills.  Some of the words on the list weren't adjectives, some of them were no longer in common use ("groovy") and some of them were just really difficult to characterize ("dapper.")  Then we read an article about unemployment among deaf people, which is incredibly high.  40% of them are unable to find full time work, even after applying for hundreds of jobs.  I always learn something new from the pieces he brings in.  There is a real discrepancy between his ability to read, speak and understand, and his ability to produce really comprehensible English.  He's highly intelligent and well-educated, but his speech makes him seem less so.  I hope I can help him to change that.