Today is Election Day in the United States.  Normally, the first Tuesday of November is an election day every year for different political offices (positions) at the state and local level.  Every four years, however, we have a national election for president.  This year, you probably know, the two main candidates are Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain.  Obama is leading (is in first place) in the polls (opinion surveys about how people will vote) and is considered a favorite to win (someone who is expected to win).

Although the election of the president is the most important part of today’s election, there are also many other elections taking place.  All 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are being elected today, and about one-third of the 100 U.S. Senators.  In addition, there are many state and local elections, including votes on certain specific political issues or laws (called propositions) that people will decide directly.

Who will win?  We’ll find out by tomorrow morning, unless the vote is very close.  However, it is important to note that the U.S. presidential election is determined by a somewhat complicated system and is not just the candidate who gets the most votes nationally, although usually this is what happens.  If you want more information on how we elect the president, listen to our English Cafe #118 where I explain it in more detail.

~Jeff

If you want to come to the United States and meet a handsome (attractive, good looking) single (unmarried) man or beautiful single woman, where should you go?

Recently someone looked at the number of single men versus single women who live in large cities in the United States.  In some cities, there are many more single women than single men, meaning these would be better places for a man to meet a single woman.  In other cities, there are far more single men than there are women, meaning that these would be  good places if you want to meet a man (and a bad place if you want to meet a woman!).

According to the Boston Globe newspaper, here are some of the best places to meet single women (or at least, the cities that have a lot more single women than single men):

• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Detroit
• Chicago

In general, large cities in East and Midwest tend to have more women than men.  The exception to this rule seems to be the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where I grew up.  Perhaps it is a good thing that I left there!

The following cities would be the best ones for a woman to meet a man (or the worst places for a man to meet a woman):

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Phoenix
• Seattle
• San Francisco
• Las Vegas

Large cities in the West and Southwest have more single men than single women.  So although many men come to Los Angeles to become famous in the movies or on television, it’s not the best place to meet your future girlfriend.

What explains this difference in the number of single men and women in different cities?  One theory is that men are more likely to leave their hometown (the place where they were born or grew up) and move to another city that has more job opportunities.  In the last 30 years, many of the new jobs have been created in places such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and other large cities in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest (in states such as Washington and Oregon).   States in the East and Midwest have lost many jobs, and since women are less likely than men to move to find a new job, you find more single women in eastern cities than in western cities.

What city can you go to where there is an almost equal number of single men and single women?  The answer is Boston, Massachusetts, although no one understands why that is.

~Jeff

In the past few years, several organization have decided to promote (to let people know about, to advertise) their cause (some issue or problem they want to solve) by using bracelets, a thin piece of plastic, metal, or other material that you wear around your wrist (where your arm is attached to your hand).  These bracelets are often sold to raise money for these organizations and causes, and to let other people know about them.

I think the first one I remember seeing was a yellow “LiveStrong” bracelet that was to support the fight against cancer.  This was started back in 2004 by Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist (someone who races bicycles) who won the Tour de France.  Now every group is making its own bracelet, each with a different color.  Here are some of the colors that you will see people in the US wearing and what cause or organization they support.  Notice that some colors are used by several different causes, but many are related to some disease people are trying to cure or prevent:

• Green – kidney (part of your body that cleans your blood) disease, but also muscular dystrophy and the crisis in Darfur, in Africa.
• Purple – Alzheimer’s disease, lupus
• Orange – multiple sclerosis
• Blue- Crohn’s disease, autism, stopping childhood bullying (when children make fun of or threaten each other)
• White – poverty
• Red – diabetes, AIDS

Although the popularity of colored bracelets is a recent phenomenon (happening, situation), bracelets originally became popular back in the 1970s and 1980s to show support for soldiers who had died in a war or were prisoners of war (POWs), and are still worn for that reason as well.  These are usually black or made of stainless steel.

Are bracelets like these popular where you live?  Do you wear one?

~Jeff

Earlier this year, I had a pretty bad sinus infection. The sinus is the passageway (long, narrow way) in your nose; an infection is when something that causes disease in the body makes that part of your body red and swollen (bigger than its normal size), and pus (thick yellow or green liquid) comes out. Yes, you’re right. That is gross (disgusting) and not too comfortable either.

However, one symptom (sign of illness) surprised me. I lost my sense of smell. I only lost it for a short time during the infection, and it slowly came back in the three weeks it took to fully recover (get well). In that time, however, it became very clear to me what every doctor knows: The flavor of food comes largely from the smell of the food and not from the taste in your mouth.

I like to eat. I like to eat a lot. Not being able to smell the delicious foods that I normally ate made eating a much less enjoyable experience. In fact, it became just a necessity (requirement) and no longer a pleasure.

There are many flavors I would miss if I lost my sense of smell permanently (forever). What flavors would you miss if you lost your sense of smell? What flavors would you be happy to never experience again?

~ Lucy