When I was in school, my parents opened our home to a number of foreign exchange students over the years. I don’t remember a single year that passed by when an unusual or exotic student from a land far away was staying in our spare bedroom. This exposed me to a lot of new languages, cultures, and people; something for which I am deeply appreciative. Another eye opening aspect of this arrangement was that I gained a new perspective on the many things I was accustomed to that were unknown to the students. Our country is truly a prosperous place; every one of us lives with amenities unknown to others. So many of the exchange students were fascinated by the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in our house. It was not the most costly air conditioning system, even by the standards of that day, but, most of our guests had never seen a real cooling system unit before. The cool, fresh air that blasted from the vents seemed to enthrall them, even though it was a regular feature to me. An air cooled home was practically alien technology to some of them. I had taken air conditioning for granted. Now, with a new perspective, I realized how lucky I was to have it. Truthfully, most of these students needed climate control systems in their homes a lot more than I did, but I’ve never felt guilty for having heating and cooling on command when the less fortunate do not. It just means I don’t take it for granted. I’m lucky to have such good heating and cooling in my home and it’s okay for me to be lucky!