When I was 17, I could ask for a bathroom in French or Spanish. I could get directions to the post office and slip in a “s’il vous plaît” or “gracias” as required. I thought my language skills were obvious. So the letter delivered a jolt. It shattered the visions I’d created since learning I’d received a scholarship for an international summer exchange program. In 1959, I would be just the second student from Lebanon Union High School to participate in the American Field Serv