I would really hate to see a transcribed conversation between 15-year-old me and my judgy 40-year-old uncle.
At least she spoke in complete sentences with some positive emotion.
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The most surprising part of your conversation was this little bit:
I don’t get the joke, or even the context of the comment in relation to Australia. It makes you come across creepy.
Your niece sounds like an energetic, normal, lovely girl.
The problem with the gratuitous “pregnant” remark is that it lets everyone know that you are thinking of your 15-year-old niece sexually.
The whole conversation seemed quite normal to me, except for the shocking pregnancy remark by the adult. That was way out of line. If I heard a family member say that to my 15 year old daughter, I’m not sure I’d let him be around her unsupervised any more.
Fwiw:
It’s nice she would converse with you. Many high schoolers of my acquaintance are too self-absorbed or phone-absorbed to willingly hold up their end of a conversation with an adult.
The rapid context switching seems normal for a youth, even more so for one of the internet generation. It’s been joked that attention span has been dropping steadily since the MTV generation. I am inclined to agree.
I’ll also blame the geography thing (to a small extent) on the internet. People talk about the (never quite materialized) “end of history”. The internet is the end of geography. Where something comes from rarely matters or is even easily evident. It’s exceptional and weird when a national border gets in the way of something on the 'net.
The pregnancy comment was actually brought up initially by her mother.
I just added a little bit more to it. IT WAS NOT INTENDED IN ANY OTHER WAY.
Of note, she was named after her great grandmother who did have her first child at the age of 16 which is common knowledge in the family.
It was in that context that this comment was made.
I was surprised at her reaction of “Never” as opposed to “Maybe in a few years”
I was also surprised that the pants she had on were purchased already pre ripped as opposed to being ripped from usage.
I just found it interesting listening to a 15 year old girl who I have known since she was an infant.
Thanks
Huh? I stopped geography lessons at 14 and was able to name far more.
Our continent only has 3 countries. You can throw a rock at probably 6. 
I find it very hard to believe that in 2018 you were unaware of the decades-old practice of retailing pre-ripped jeans.
I don’t mean to be rude here, but I found nothing particularly interesting or unusual about her comments.
Also note that her father, and her mother. As well as the grandmother and grandfather of her father were also there.
20 years ago, I knew a couple of elderly ladies who had both been school teachers.
They bemoaned the fact that “students these days” were so dependent on their calculators.
Do you see a potential pattern?
I am well aware of the marketing of pre ripped jeans. I am just surprised at the extent of it.
I think it’s far more important to have the wherewithal to actually look up knowledge, than necessarily retaining that knowledge. So many people don’t know anything, and they ALSO refuse to look it up, despite having a smartphone in their hand with the sum of the world’s knowledge if you only bother to look. If she doesn’t know, but says, “I don’t know, but I can find out!” that’s far better than “I dunno.” as they stare at you and don’t do anything. Eventually after looking things up, you retain the most important things to you. Geography, unless you have the funds or job to travel…really not that important to the average person’s daily life. So I think she’s doing just fine. At age 15 it’s easy to believe whatever your friends tell you, and it’s also easy to spread bad information because you heard it from a friend who was told a tall tale by their older brother as a joke, and nobody verified it. Encourage her looking things up on her phone even MORE, even, to verify facts. Tell her to look up the ozone layer and how NASA put out a report that it’s doing better, for example. The ability to look things up, be flexible, and come up with solutions is how you get ahead in the world.
And if I knew MORE pop culture as a kid, I’d have fit in more. Nobody likes the kid who says their favorite music is Mozart and has never seen South Park. You need that small talk connection of pop culture to make friends. So don’t hate for her knowing a lot about Marvel movies. It’s how you make friends and don’t grow up socially isolated.
Some people are good in some subjects, some people are good in others.
I have known adult Canadians who could not state how many provinces Canada has. The number is 10, which you would think is more or less the easiest number one could be asked to remember. However, in no way were these people especially stupid. It’s just not something everyone’s got a firm grasp of.
Thanks for the comments.
Yes, she does look things up on her “Smart Phone”. I have known her for most of her life.
I am just amazed how quick she can transition from texting to a conversation.
She is a splitting image of Susie from the Calvin and Hobbes comic in her actions and looks, if I had to describe her.
Well then you win.
mmm
The ozone hole has not repaired, it is hoped it will reach pre 1980 levels by 2075. New Zealand ozone levels drop by 10% each year after the Antarctic hole breaks up dispersing ozone depleted air outward from the pole.
Anecdotally, I get burnt far worse in NZ than I ever do in Australia. It’s not high temperatures that cause sunburn.
Seems I don’t know diddly about the ozone hole. I have learned a couple of things today.
I’ve never had sunburn while living 30 years in New Zealand. I just got horizontal rain.
You were living in the wrong parts!
Exactly. We all have our strong suits and our weaker ones. My wife has a master’s degree in English and has taught at the college level. She probably knows less geography than the OP’s niece. Somehow that shortcoming has not yet ruined her life. Marrying me, on the other hand…