Backstory: Am I smarter than a 5th grader? We’ll find out!
Around the time I was putting together my Nudges list, the capital city of Michigan came up in conversation. No one in my little group could come up with it. (Detroit, FYI.) In addition to feeling embarrassed that I couldn’t come up with the answer on the spot, this planted a seed in me as I thought about how much fun I have had learning: spelling bees, vocabulary tests, geography, algebra (oh, how I loved algebra!). I miss using the part of my brain that loves the process of looking things up, learning, memorizing, and testing.
But that was only part of the inspiration for me. Earlier this year a dear friend became a U.S. citizen and I had the privilege of attending her naturalization ceremony. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Afterwards, she shared with me her test materials, which Thor and I were sure we would ace. Actually, there were a few answers we didn’t know!
So I’m going to take this opportunity to (re)learn a bit about my beloved country.
If this particular nudge doesn’t appeal, here are some options: learn the capitals of countries in a specific region, memorize a portion (or all) of the periodic table, look up the Latin names for the plants in your backyard. Do something the tickles your curiosity bone and have fun with it!
What Happened: After printing out a list of the capitals, I spent a few minutes every day reviewing them. It was Wednesday night when I asked Thor to administer a practice test. It was not pretty. Whenever I couldn’t come up with the correct answer, I simply yelled “CHARLESTON!” because I knew it was the capital of something. (My apologies to West Virginians.)
Last night was the final exam. I was on a roll till the very last one: Georgia. “AUGUSTA!” I yelled. “NO!” Thor yelled (with a little too much glee, I thought). ATLANTA! Dang it! I’ve even been there, so I have no excuse (except than earlier in the week we were talking about the Masters Golf Tournament, the one with the green jackets, which takes place in Augusta, Georgia, but I got no bonus points for knowing the trivia). Still 49 outta 50 is commendable.
The Ah-Hahs: Gosh, it was fun to learn about some of the cities. It was interesting to consider how some of the capital cities must have once been thriving centers of commerce, but over the centuries have been eclipsed by other big cities. I thought about places I might like to visit some day. Epic road trip, anyone? Mostly though, this was simply of week of having fun learning.