“Hold strong and be proud of where you come from. It is the continued journey to find the common good in humanity that has put you, and thousands of others, in this position.”
The Zhuangzi Zhuangzi
The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco
Sphere Michael Crichton
Playgrounds of the Mind Larry Niven
Attack of the Derranged Killer Monster Snow Goons Bill Watterson
The Elegant Universe Briane Greene
Flyboys James Bradley
A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
Kinder und Hausmärchen The Brothers Grimm
Designing Multimedia Environments for Children Allison Druin & Cynthia Solomon
The Film Sense Sergei M. Eisenstein
Currently The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
These are the books I have read so far. The list is meant to represent the hidden gems and overall randomness of the selection in the Peace Corps and my school library, and give an indication of where my interests currently lie. If you are thinking of sending books the list might give you a reference point if you do a Wikipedia or Amazon search for the authors. Other authors that I am keen of include: H.P. Lovecraft, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Douglas Adams. Of course personal favorites of your own are also more than welcomed. Enough self-serving material, onto the meat of it.
I realized that I still haven't posted what my assignment is here. Keeping in mind that two-thirds of the PC mission is cross-cultural exchange, this is what I've been up to technically.
1. My high school is a rather prestigious place and therefore we have a lot of solid materials (for West Africa). The campus is a nice mix of large trees covering stone benches, coconut trees, and dirt paths. We have about 50% reliability for power from a central station in the capital area. There are two computer labs to service 10th and 11th grade students. We have machines ranging from older Pentium IIs to roughly three year old Pentium IV machines. This is sublime equipment for most high schools in West Africa. We are sponsored by a small city in Northwest Germany so we get solid funding through that resource. I work with two Gambian teachers to try and teach basic computing skills of windows competency, word processing, typing, excel, and MS Access. Mr. Bah (my main counterpart) and I hope to start a computer club to cater to those who want more time of the computer. Currently classes are only 35 minutes once a week per grade, hardly enough time to teach a traditional subject, let alone a skill that rewards frequent practice.
2. The YMCA Digital Studio. We are starting to get our video productions unit online. This week I will start teaching some media theory classes as a general introduction to the history and lead up to modern video productions. Right now there will only be a few students in the class, as they are the ones who will replace me when I leave in two years, so this is much more of a hands on training session than a true class. There is tremendous burden due to a total lack of familiarity and access to concepts/materials that would help in explaining topics such as: advertising, camera basics, composition, scripting, scientific method, etc. However, this does allow us to roam free creatively unhampered by stereotypes and common templates. There is a high level of enthusiasm for the project from those who will soon be the students, and I will report more as we get the ball rolling full speed.
The fasting of Ramadan is almost over. I have been fasting, but still drinking water due to my quick decline into de-hydration sickness. I would say overall my body feels significantly fatigued. A large change, and mentally stressful, from the peak fitness I was feeling at the end of the college school year.
I showed my family a book of the different regions of the U.S. It was the first time they had a chance to see the geographic diversity of the landscape. In spite of the cold, my host father Darbo wants a mid-western farm.
There is a struggle living in a world you want to change but can't. When you step outside your door you begin to have children yell and point "TOUBAB!" (white person). It fades in the distance until you pass the next house, the wailing chorus once again opening in full. You can stop and explain to them you have a name, but the children just giggle and yell out more vehemently than before. Can you just ignore it? Some can, and some cannot. It's part of the ups and downs of being a Peace Corps volunteer.
No comments:
Post a Comment