Now we are ready to start.

Brian: Knock-⁠knock! Is anyone home?

Mrs. Mitchel: Coming! Just a second! Oh! Hello?

Brian: Hi! I’m Brian. Your new neighbor. And this is for you.

Mrs. Mitchel: What is this? Muffins! How kind! Thank you!

Brian: You are welcome.

Mrs. Mitchel: Oh! So, this is who my friend Becky rented her house to!

Brian: Yes! Becky is my landlady. She told me about you. Mrs. Mitchel, right?

Mrs. Mitchel: You can call me Barbara. So, what brings you to Whitehall, Michigan, Brian?

Brian: I’ve just received my Master's Degree from the University of Arizona.

Mrs. Mitchel: You’ve come here from Arizona? From a desert to a place which gets very cold in winter? Get ready for tons of snow!

Brian: I don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun. I’ve found a good job here. In fact, it was the best job offer out of all that I had. I decided I could deal with the snow for a good salary.

Mrs. Mitchel: Sure! What kind of job is that?

Brian: I majored in engineering. And I found a job at the Howmet Aerospace factory.

Mrs. Mitchel: Good for you! Well, in that case, welcome to Michigan, Brian! It’s too bad my husband and our twin boys are not at home. They left early in the morning to go fishing. Our sons are 17. They will be seniors at high school next year. I’m sure they will be thrilled to get to know you. They love everything technical.

Brian: I would be happy to meet them, too. I went to lake Michigan earlier today hoping to swim. But the water was so cold that I went into the water up to my knees and then couldn’t make myself go any further. Right next to me there were two little girls splashing around and swimming as if it were a waterpark. These little girls really put me to shame. I don’t know how they did it!

Mrs. Mitchel: It comes with practice. This is not Arizona, and you won’t find cowboys here, but Michigan is the land of big and tough people. Lumberjacks. In sunny weather like today, Lake Michigan with its sandy dunes may look like a beach in Florida or Hawai'i, but most of the time, it’s cold. You won’t find it comfortable to swim in until August. But there are very many small lakes around that are already warm enough to swim in. And they are also full of fish. This is where my family went today  — to one of these lakes.

Brian: I see. I will need to explore more. I only arrived two days ago.

Mrs. Mitchel: Listen, Brian! Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? We will have freshly caught fish and then your muffins for dessert, and I will also make a cherry pie  — our Michigan specialty! July is our cherry season.

Brian: Wow! Thank you! What time should I come?

Mrs. Mitchel: Come around 7.

Brian: Great! See you tonight, Barbara!

Mrs. Mitchel: See you!