November 4, 2006

4:15 PM

Well I have ensured one similarity between the American and Kyrgyz cultures: When two men are put in charge of a baby, and trying to get her to fall asleep, problems are inevitable. The result today, we left for two minutes thinking Seezim was asleep, only to return minutes later to find her playing with her feet and smiling after a nice shit in the bed. My host father and are still laughing at the site of returning to the bedroom to find her smiling, playing with her feet, all in a pile of her own shit. Naturally, we agreed to get Gulnara (my host mother) to help with the ensuing clean-up. Parents play equal roles in this family, but like in America, it seems sometimes the mother just knows better.


4:30 PM

Jason’s News Analysis from the Headlines of October 31, 2006

“The White House has stepped up warnings (WashPost) against voting for Democrats, saying terrorists will win if the Republicans lose.”

Analysis: Was the score tied before?

“ISN Security Watch reports that Brazil plans to send spies to neighboring countries Venezuela and Bolivia.”

Analysis: Looks like Lula’s secret-agents and financial advisors have the same trouble with secrecy.

“The Los Angeles Times says that a U.S. immigration laws aimed at deporting Central American gang members back to their home countries have fueled the growth of the Mara Salvatrucha gang in the region. The U.S. policy has done little to combat the gang’s growth in the United States; members repeatedly return as though they are on “a merry-go-round” says El Salvador’s vice minister of security.”

Analysis: If we add a merry-go-round to The Fence, things might move a bit smoother.

“U.S.and Hong Kong researchers have uncovered a new strain of Chinese bird flu that is impervious to vaccines. (Scientific American).”

Analysis: Yeah, it’s called Kim Jong Illness.


November 5, 2006

7:30 AM

I begin today with a quote from a fellow PCV’s blog (the link is in the Links Box on the right, Christina’s Blog):

‘What we were taught as children has imbedded itself within our subconscious. Most Americans know a grammatically incorrect sentence when they see it or hear it…[Though] [m]any would be hard-pressed to give the exact grammatical rule for this. And yet, I am supposed to explain to 12-year-olds what for us is instinctive.’
Christina has captured a sentiment that has been the root of my fun and struggles with teaching in the past month. It is one thing to know and do, it is another to know and teach. Teaching requires much more than just an extensive knowledge of a subject; teaching requires a certain care and patience with knowing how to give your “extensive knowledge” to someone else. In this case (mine and other TEFL volunteers), we are given the task to take what has instinctively been ours for the past twenty years or so, and patiently guide others to find those instincts. No easy task, especially when you are currently struggling with the same task (learning Kyrgyz or Russian respectively).

The past week my school has been on break (Kanikul), a ten day break from school following the completion of the first quarter of the school year. This past week has been a crash course in teacher training and lesson plan design. True, PC did a lot of work during PST to give us the necessary information to be ready to teach. But in many cases, the necessary information came in the form of a large stack of books. I have spent the past week lost in these books (I love my TEFL Gray Book!) trying to capture as best as I can the essence of effective teaching.

I have explored the depths of English grammar (I knew I should have forced myself to take Westphal’s class!), basics of teacher methodology, and thorough search through all of the materials I have available to me in my current position. The English grammar part has been especially fun, especially with my complete ineptitude with the subject. Yes, I know what you are thinking right now (most of you): “Wasn’t Jason an English Major?” True, I did graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in English. But at all cost, mostly due to ignorance, I avoided everything that had to do with grammar. I took plenty of literature courses and fine-tuned my ability to critically analyze a book, poem, or short story. I even took a bunch of writing courses, but aimed as best I could for the creative writing type. I love writing, and found that love in college; yet some how I had convinced myself that I could be a good writer without understanding the basics of English grammar.

I am now paying for my ignorant escape tactics (Hanni is nodding her head now, probably saying something like, “I told him sophomore, junior, and senior year that he needed to pay more attention to grammar, especially in his writing!). Well, my payments of late have been a crash course in English grammar and, simultaneously, learning how to teach it. Honestly though, there has not been a point in the past week where I felt as what I was doing was a burden. Everything I have done, read, and/or analyzed has felt incredibly natural. I am going to hold off now on reciting one of Peace Corps’ slogans, but you can use your imagination.

Outside of English grammar, I have also taken some crash course of late on the basics of teaching. I feel now would be a good time to quote another friend of mine, this time Andrew Paul Lewis:

‘I think you are made to teach. Now what you are doing currently I think is the litmus test, you don't really know well enough what you are teaching, and if you are not minding that I am telling it to your face. But this is the real deal, real will be full, and the deal will be plenty also, baba. If you can cut your teeth on this, it will only be more natural from here. I think you know how well self-depreciation goes over with an audience, no matter what the age or the subject matter, and I think that will bode well for you. Likewise, you can't fake it. When one of your kids writes/emails/messages in a bottle to me a sonnet, I will know that you are on your way. '

Andy, like most great friends, knows how to be brutally honest. And in that honesty comes inspiration and, as I have discovered, a chance to really take a step back. I truly believe we are nothing unless we take the time to question our actions and/or path in life. For me, it’s a healthy (if not compulsive) way to look upon myself and question if what I am doing is the right thing. Not necessarily in terms of good and bad, but more so in the pursuit of knowledge and my ever-growing passion with sharing my acquired knowledge. This past week I came to the very obvious realization that I know nothing about formal teaching. Methodology is non-existent in my head. Somewhere in my head I knew this before came here, but it has taken facing the reality of it and hearing inspiring words from friends.

I have tried to take this passion that Andy mentions and use it to fuel my recent studies of effective teaching. I have grown a respect for many of the PC books I possess. Not necessarily because they are answer keys to some of my problems, but more so because they do a great job of spurring thought. I have really taken a look at my classes for the past month. In short, I failed in many ways. But the tiny victories I had with the students have shined bright enough to show the direction for a few new paths to head down. Overall, for the past month, I was a pretty bad teacher. I was unprepared in many ways and, at times, impatient with myself (which inadvertently would transfer to students sometimes).

I barely utilized the materials I had available to me and not once did I think about how to teach my lessons. I just went to school and did it. I used some different approaches, but many of them were bland and only half grabbed the interest of my students. I have accepted this, and have decided to change it. Hence the past week of “studying.” The wise never stop being students; and I have just added a new subject to my schedule: Teaching English 101.


November 7, 2006

7:45 AM

Last night I made fajitas!

Yesterday was a wonderful day with the family. I had some incredible conversations about America (inter-racial marriages, women in the workforce, and movies!) and we spent the entire afternoon preparing fajitas (thanks to some ingredients sent here from my parents).

First, thank you mom and dad, the food is wonderful. I plan on sharing most of it with my family, and they have loved it so far!

Next, a quick explanation in the process of making chicken fajitas here in Kyrgyzstan:

Step 1: Pick out two chickens from the backyard
Step 2: Pleasantly wish their heads and feet goodbye
Step 3: Clean the insides and outsides of the chickens
Step 4: Cut all of the meat off of the chickens, and dice it up.
Step 5: Marinade the chicken meat for 20 minutes
Step 6: Make dough, and eventually tortillas and tortilla chips
Step 7: Fry up the chicken with peppers, onions, and jalapenos
Step 8: Make salsa with whatever you can find in the house
Step 9: Make a small separate salsa and fajitas for yourself (super-spicy!)
Step 10: Eat with the family and enjoy the hard work of four hours of cooking and prep!
Step 11: Give the family Wintergreen Lifesavers to cool down their mouths!

** See the picture site for pictures! **