Having the room set up the way it is now really provides space to think and for the instructor to move around and be a bit more dynamic. One of the students, H, told me that one of our assistants (N) who took the previous class said that I was very friendly with the students, but that this time around I was very formal. I got to thinking about how H was right and why. Well, last time round I set the tone by building a snowman before class on the first day and getting into snowball fights with the students—so I guess acting like a 12-year-old will shatter any perceptions of formality right away. Anyway, I’ve tried to loosen up and joke around a bit and I think I’ve been successful with that.
Here's a look at the new class setup:
H is this sort of slack-jawed short guy with long hair and I realized, sans the long hair, he looked like Vin Diesel. I asked him if he knew who Vin Deisel was and he said something to the effect that his father had done the pilgrimage (the haj) and didn’t really allow movie-watching. Later he asked for time in the afternoon to go pray. We had a break planned and I told him, yes we would have a break around 2:30. The following day he said “Our God tells us to be good to people who help us and I prayed for you.” Allah knows, I can use it.
The computers are going to live much longer, happier lives! During the first round of the course, the University IT people were out of the country doing a training in Germany. So Pragma paid some hack $200 to network the room and he did a terrible job. Now the KU IT staff are back and have done a great job for us. The computers, along with their annoying battery packs, are now on top of the tables instead of on the floor getting kicked and collecting dirt and mud. Also, the process of turning the computers and batteries off at the end of the day is much easier. The computers are networked (or nearly so—IT is still working on it), but not connected to the internet—this is to reduce the risk of viruses. Well, students still bring their portable USB drives to class to save copies of their work or upload their resume for us to review. And we use USB flash memory as well for trading information and distributing the Excel templates for the course. We’ve had issues in the past with Dr. J’s laptop infecting our USB sticks when we try to trade information with him (like when he has to translate a test or quiz). So, something must have happened to my USB stick and I had viruses on it—well I went around saving a folder full of templates to each computer in the class and I’m sure I’ve infected them all. I’ve downloaded AVG Free 7.5 anti-virus software (thanks for the recommendation, Tarek!) and have cleaned up Dr. J’s laptop, all our USB sticks, and will now have to go around the classroom.
It got me thinking that these anti-establishment hackers and virus builders who likely have a chip on their shoulder about Microsoft or something, end up punishing the people who are struggling to catch up in technological development. Who knows how many computers out there in developing countries have been rendered useless because of a virus and no one knew what the heck was going on?
We’ve had visits from a few of our old students and it’s been great to see them. K is working at a bank and has Saturday’s off, so he said he’d come back and see us again. Z is teaching English somewhere outside the university (he came in to see the scores from the previous class—he was miffed that he didn’t get selected to be an assistant this time around). Sh is now a junior at Kabul U. And Sha stopped by yesterday—he said he’s taking a job in Dubai with this huge tea company. That will be a tremendous step for someone from Afghanistan. Man, I’d take work in Dubai—that place is pretty awesome.
I’ve also had the pleasure of hearing from quite a few people after my recent email blast. It’s great to be able to maintain contact with people over such large gaps in time and distance. The wonders of the internet, I guess. It makes me feel very fortunate about all people I’ve met in various corners of the world.
I thought you might like a taste for what it’s like being in the class—the dynamic of translation and all. So here’s a clip—nice and short because it is accounting, after all:
My friend Arantxa (Professor at University of Hawaii!) emailed to ask about women in the classroom. We had three in our last round of the class and just one this time—though another gal showed up yesterday and we allowed her to begin the course precisely because she is female (but she will have a VERY hard time catching up). I see females on the university campus walking around and going to class—all with headscarves and none with males. The sexes don’t really mix much—men hang with men and women with women. If there are no other women around, a woman sits by herself off to the side. Mary said she notices that the gal we have in class now seems the most “normal” in that she is fine with sitting on a bench with other men. When we arrived at the university yesterday, though, and went over to the bench where this gal was sitting with two other guys, the guys stood up and shook my hand to say good morning—M stepped away from me and just said hello from a distance. This is pretty common, though—there is a horrible fear among women that they will be perceived as flirtatious or loose or something if they have contact with men. Perhaps because the Taliban didn't allow females to go to school and whipped women who showed their ankles... Mary seems to do fine—she doesn’t like wearing a headscarf much but I haven't noticed any issue with respect from the students or anything like that. We do notice that when someone wants to talk to us about our plans, they will typically address me and not her. But she’s pretty laid back about it and I try to include her or defer to her on decisions anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment