Japanese White-Eye

Some bird names are just great. Click to see a larger picture, look towards the center. There's a bird with a greenish back, and a bright white eye-ring. I'm pretty sure it's a White-Eye, and almost as sure that it's a Japanese White-Eye.

My bird book says they're 10-11.5 cm, and that looks about right to me. This weekend, I took a ton of pictures, trying to get one that was clear and showed the eye well, and this is the best I got.

I was thinking about why I enjoy birding the other day. Face it, I'm not a good birder at all. I'm slow recognizing birds I know, and slower figuring out what I'm looking at, even if the bird is cooperating by hanging out and letting me look for a long while. And yet I do enjoy it.

Partly, I enjoy that birding makes me slow down and look around, and look more carefully at what I see. I notice birds more, and feel okay about just standing still, listening, and trying to relax my eyes so I see things better. I'm not one of those Enclyclopedia Brown people who notices everything, so thinking about birds helps me notice more. (I think my lack of paying close attention also contributes to my difficulties finding my way in newish places, too.)

I also like that way that I learn birding. Starting out, you basically see a bird. Then, after a while, you see a duck, or a gull, or a passerine. And as you get more familiar in a given area, or with a given sort of bird, you see a Glaucous Gull or a Black-Headed Gull. And as someone who's got a lot to learn about birds, I'm constantly aware of what and how I learn them.

For example, this weekend I saw some ducks. On the most basic level, ducks are pretty sexually dimorphic, with males generally being quite a bit more colorful than females. Beginners such as myself generally focus on the males, because females are quite a bit harder to tell apart. So, there were these ducks. And when I first started looking at them, they looked like they had sort of cinnamon colored heads. And I couldn't find anything that looked quite right as I glanced through the book. Then I started noticing a yellow patch on the underside of the tail. And then as I got closer, I could see that the cinnamon head actually had a beautiful green patch to it. And that helped me see it as a Green-Winged Teal. Once I got a sense of the coloring and shapes from the book and from looking at some birds, then I could see the green patch a lot more easily on the head, even at a distance. And more reliably, when I came across another group later. So for now, I have a sense of Green-Winged Teal, and I recognize them. (The color on the picture doesn't look as green or yellow as the bird looked in less glaring light, but it was the best picture I took.)

So I like the way that learning even basic bird identification makes me think about how I learn, how I look at things.

Lunch!

I had a most delightful lunch today with a student who will be visiting NWU next semester. S had come to talk to me last week (but just before my class) because one of her profs suggested talking to me, since she'll be at NWU. And she did! So we made an appointment to have lunch today, and we did.

I'm continually impressed by my students' English skills. It's not that they're perfect; it's that they're so willing to give it a go and seem so interested in improving. S, too!

So S and I had a nice conversation; we talked about the cold, and I tried to reassure her that she'd be fine with a warm jacket and such, and that she could get them in the Northwoods should she need to. And we talked about the river and places to go near campus, and living in dorms, and so forth. And she helped me understand a few things about living here, which were very helpful!

So, I thought I'd try having lunch once a week, or maybe twice a week at the student cafeteria with whatever students from my class can and want to come. I suggested it this afternoon in class, and several students looked enthusiastic. So I hope we'll all enjoy it!

Class seemed to go well today. I'm guessing it takes time and a half or longer for me to teach something to this class compared to my usual first year classes. Partly that works out because I'm consciously trying to give an extra example, and to make things clear from two directions if I can. (I should probably try that in my regular classes!) Partly it takes these students longer to write sentences in English to practice whatever we're working on.

For example, today we worked on Christensen's paragraph organization. I'd planned to do that. And my reading of their introductory journals this weekend reinforced how helpful it might be. It's got to be doubly hard to try to be organized when you're working in a second language. For me, for example, speaking my second language, I'm pretty much thinking of the sentence I'm trying to say at the moment. But in writing or speaking English, I tend to think in whole paragraphs sometimes, at least when I'm really aiming to get a point across. But since I can't do that in my second language (though I do "think" in that language when I'm hearing or speaking it), I'm sure my sentences are more disjointed than they are when I use English.

It took a bit longer for them to write their practice sentences and paragraphs.

Thinking about the journals they handed in last week, and comparing how relatively well-written those were, I'm guessing they put a TON of time into writing those. I'm impressed.

Walking the River

My Host City is bordered on the west by a large river, and near the city center, a smaller river joins the large one. I'd been told about paths along the rivers, and today was a gloriously beautiful day out, so off I went. Today is National Foundation Day, a national holiday, so no classes; all the more reason to take a long walk. I found my way to the smaller river, and from there to the big river, and it was great. The smaller river is paved. Yep, as weird as that sounds. (If you've seen pictures of the Los Angeles River when it actually has water, you have the basic idea.)

There are weird looking things built into the water. This, for example. I think it's a sort of fish ladder, to help fish get up against the current. It's unlike any fish ladder I've seen before, but that's my best guess. (If you have other ideas, feel free to let me know, please!)

And, of course, I took some bird pictures. I saw some Green Winged Teal, and some European Widgeon, and some other birds, including a total mystery bird.

Here's the mystery bird. I actually broke down and ordered a Field Guide to Birds of Japan today, to the tune of almost $100. I've been limping along, and it's frustrating, and I'm really not good enough at birds to do well without a fairly specific field guide.

Along the smaller river, there are several bridges, and under some, it looks like homeless folks have set up housekeeping. I also saw that along the river in the imperial city; somehow, I guess I didn't think Japan would have homeless people. But of course, every place that has homes probably has homeless people. And along the larger river footpath, there were also some small tent sites that looked like they were inhabitate pretty long term.

The most unusual thing I saw along the path, though, was a small shrine looking thing. Some (Shinto, I think) shrines are basically small stone statue things, or marker things. I saw them before in the temple complex in the imperial city. Sometimes there are offerings of various sorts in front of them.

So here's this fairly typical looking little statue thing, and offerings? Soccer balls? Bottled water? The flowers and fruit (in back) seem typical, but soccer balls?

I may be totally wrong about the offering thing, however. This little shrine thing was only about 50' away from a tent set up, so maybe there's some storage going on here? Or maybe the offerings are brought to be used?

I'm not sure.

I met another teacher here the other day, and he invited me to a party this evening with some other teachers, which was a wonderful treat. But I have to admit, I feel like a completely boring person when I compare my life to theirs. I don't know how they've traveled and done all these amazing things, live abroad here and there, learned this and that, all sorts of coolness.

We discussed favorite cities, and they had some amazing international choices. I don't know any international city well enough to have it be my favorite, alas. And only a couple cities I know at all really enter the competition. Still, it's an interesting question, no?

It's the Same, only Different

My second day of class today. We started working on an essay assignment based on personal knowledge and analysis. Basically, the assignment asks students to analyze their experience of something familiar and to think about it along some specific lines.

It's a good assignment for my English speaking first year writing students because it takes something familiar, but asks them to think and write in a college level way. They don't have to absorb and learn a ton of new material before starting to write and think about a college assignment. And it works pretty well at being what it is.

Writing well is sometimes counter-intuitive; sometimes it doesn't make sense right off the bat.

In this case, I ask students to start by listing some basic ideas. Then I share a list, and get them to work more on their lists. Then we share ideas on the board, and I ask them to add more to their list. They also give each other feedback about possible essay topics. The goal is to get them to think broadly and openly about possible "topics" for the essay they'll write within the assignment parameters. Intuitively, many students want to just grab a topic as quickly as possible, and start in.

But, counter to that, sometimes the writer makes a better choice after mulling a bit. It's hard to convince students to take the time to mull, though. In class, I do it by having them pre-write about several potential topics. Sometimes, they seem to think I'm nuts. But sometimes it works.

I learned a lot teaching today's class. We went a bit slower than I expected, because I needed to take time to explain some vocabulary on the syllabus and the short reading for today. That's important, and well worth the time, but I hadn't accounted for it fully. So we didn't get as far freewriting and pre-writing for the essay assigment as I had hoped we would. So I gave homework: take another thing from the list and freewrite/pre-write about it.

The class nodded when I gave the assignment and asked if they understood. All nods. And then about half the class came up afterwards to clarify one or another aspect.

So, obviously, I need to be clearer in giving the basic assignment! I sometimes need to be clearer with English speaking students, too. It's always something I work on.

I think it's especially hard because the assignment is counter-intuitive; it's asking them NOT to get started on the essay writing in any obvious way, but rather to step back and do "other stuff." IF I do my job well, then the "other stuff" does actually help them get started, but there's a sort of leap of faith in an instructor to doing that work in good faith. And then it's luck if it pays off quickly, rather than at some later date.

So, I'm taking it as a hopeful sign that they were willing to clarify the assignment with me, because it means they're willing to try that leap at least once. I hope I am worth the try.

What else I learned? All of my students have these amazing little computer dictionaries! WAY cool! And once I got them started at the beginning, they were really great at asking about vocabulary and such they weren't sure of. And really good at helping each other through my explanations. (The winners of today were "monstrosity" and "sprawl." You have to imagine me trying to explain "monster" along the way to "monstrosity." Yeah, I'm nothing if not graceful and suave in the classroom.) (One of my profs did the most amazing coelemate worm impression when I was an undergrad. He somehow got a whole hydrostatic "skeleton" thing going. I aspire to be half as memorable!)

They also had really cool sounding lists going once the got into the sharing phase. I hope that bodes well for interesting essays!

I'm aiming to play tourist in the imperial city tomorrow, and to visit something called the Path of Philosophy. Sounds cool, doesn't it?

I'm planning to take my camera along, hoping to take some pictures of some of they WAY cool birds I've been seeing!

Chestnut Munias

Chestnut Munias. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia.

Yes, it's more birds!

These little guys were hanging around on the lawn at the resort. On some of the walls and balconies of the resort, there were vines and such all over, and the Munias were nesting there. It was really cool, but the only clear shots I got where you can really see them are on the ground.

Tungurahua

I've been trying to read what's happening, and where the evacuations are. But, on US sites, Britney's latest drug and family issues are way more important.

Here's what El Comercio (the main Quito newspaper) says. And here's an interview with more information.

It looks like Banos (with a tilde, however one does that on a computer) hasn't been evacuated (since you can find pics of people praying there; it's a big pilgrimage site for miracles).

What's this, you wonder? Tungurahua is one of the great volcanos in the central Andes of Ecuador, and it's erupting. The city of Banos is a few kilometers towards the north, on the road down into the upper Amazon basin. Ambato is a bit further north, 30 kilometers, perhaps?

Here's a satellite image: WAY COOL! Though it doesn't show the volcano erupting.

If I were a praying person, I'd be praying now. Keep Ecuador in your thoughts. Here's the website for the Cruz Roja Ecuatoriana, which has more information about the emergency.

In the Interests of Education

Go to Dr. Virago's place over at Quod She, and you'll see some great pictures of Norwich, England. Seriously, she's got great pictures of churches, and talks about medieval Norwich.

In contrast, here at Bardiac, you're getting a tour of my bathroom fixtures, because people asked. And you ask, you get educated; that's the way I try to work!

First off, when I say bathroom fixtures, what I really should do is explain that in my apartment, there are two rooms, adjacent, but not adjoining. The first is basically a small toilet room. There's a toilet, there's a little toilet paper thing, and enough room to turn around and stuff. Just a few steps down the hall from that is a washroom, with a sink and a washer/dryer combo (because, I'm told, they realize that foreigners aren't necessarily into hanging laundry out), and a door into the bathing room. The bathing room has a tub, which is shorter than standard US tubs I'm familiar with, but also quite a bit deeper. The bathing room also has a shower thing, and a little stool, along with a drain in the floor. In Japan, the practice is to wash with the shower thing, perhaps sitting on the stool to really scrub clean. And then when one is scrubbed clean, you get into the nice tub and soak for a bit. I gather that in family situations, the same water gets used several times over in the tub, since the bodies going in are all nice and scrubbed clean.

Here, then, is the command center for the toilet. Yep, it's a bidet. I'm not sure what the difference is supposed to be between the blue and the pink buttons (I've tried them both), but I'm guessing they're somehow gendered. The red button turns it off. The buttons below that control for warmth. (Because who would want an icy bidet? Not me!) To the right, where you can only see the edge of a button, is the control for the seat warmer. Yes, the seat is warmed. It's really, really nice on a cold morning!

Even the flush mechanism has instructions. If you're a faithful reader, you'll recognize the kanji for "big" (person with arms outstretched); the other is, I guess, small. You know when a kid tells you about fishing, and holds out his hands to show you the size? You can now imagine what I'm thinking when I decide which flush to use. You'll never think of my toilet in quite the same way again, will you?


This is how the toilet looks from the front. So you also get an idea of how small the room itself is. I have to admit, I like the icons for the bidet thing, except they're deceptive. Rather than a sort of reverse shower on one's bottom, it's more like a semi-sharp stream, aimed a bit further back than seems quite effective for optimal cleaning. Or maybe I'm sitting wrong? (I've never worried much about sitting wrong on a toilet before. Hmmm.)

Notice the spigot on top, running over a decorative blue thing? I'm not sure what that's about, but it's fresh water that's filling the tank for the next flush. Maybe I'm supposed to wash my hands there? (Rather than walking into the next room?)

The tub is it's own matter. There's this control panel on the wall above it. It's on in the picture. The top left button turns it on and off. The top right button adds water. The lower right button seems to reheat the water that's in the tub. And the lower left button seems to turn on an intercom thing. I have this scary idea that the intercom somehow goes to the guardhouse at the main gate of the university, and that they're supposed to come help somehow if I start yelling that I need help. But really, I think it's an intercom to the living room/kitchen area of the apartment, where there's a main control for the tub. (Sort of funny, because it would be standard easy talking/yelling distance in the US households I'm familiar with.)

The center information tells the temperature the tub is set to, I think; I turned it up a bit from 40 (Celsius, of course!), but when it fills, it seems to be fairly moderately warm. When it reheats, it's incredible!

In my last post, I talked about the tub talking back. Here's the thing; it doesn't say anything when you turn it on, but if you hit the intercom button, a bright and cheery, and stereotypically high/female voice says something and you can also hear the voice out in the main room. And when you hit the reheat button, the same voice says something different, but also in a bright, almost excited tone. I keep thinking she's saying "here comes the hot water!"

So there you are, a tour of my bathroom fixtures. This blog is nothing if not educational, right?

Naive and Privileged

I'm slowly meeting some of the other faculty folks here, slowly. There seem to be four broad categories of faculty, the Japanese tenure line folks, the semi-permanent foreign folks, the not so permanent foreign folks, and the exhange from another home university folk (that's me). When I signed up for the exchange program, I was sort of under the impression that there would be more faculty like me, visiting from a home university for the semester. But this semester, I'm it for that role.

What I have been surprised to discover, but shouldn't have been, is that there's a veritable army of adjuncting people here, working with little job security, putting together classes to teach at multiple universities. There seems to be a common thread of ABDness, starting in on adjuncting while finishing the phud, and then getting caught in the loads of teaching it takes to support oneself and one's family. That's a fairly familiar story through adjunctland, I know. Some of the folks I've met here are here because their research interests led them to the area, others because they've made international families.

The semi-permanent and not so permanent foreign faculty here seem to have little job security; some tell me of working at various universities or colleges around the world with all sorts of hiring and firing weirdnesses.

When I was going into the Peace Corps, I rather romanticized what it might mean to be an ex-patriot, based, no doubt, on my High School teachers' romanticizing of Hemingway or something. While I was in the Peace Corps, in my early to mid-20s, I got to know a few ex-pat teachers, people in their late 20s and early 30s, almost all men, who'd teach at X American School for a while, with plans to move to another school in another country at some point. But all of them worked hard, and none seemed to have any romantic notions of Hemingway-esque adventures, and I lost mine along the way, which was healthy and good for me.

Of the people I've met, several express a sense of permanence here, and yet even these folks don't seem comfortable with the language, really, not like people I knew in SA were comfortable in Spanish.

To be honest, it's really hard work living and working in another language. I'm doing it probably as easily as it can be done: teaching in English and working with people who are at least bi-lingual in English. And it's still work to figure out what to get at the store, how to take the bus or train, how to license a bike, get my alien card, all those things that just have to be done in another language. (I keep that in mind when I meet immigrants to the US; I have a lot of respect for people who make their way in US culture as immigrants.)

And yet it's still an adventure, still special to live deeply within another culture (or shallowly, in my case here). And it's exciting, and satisfying on some important level for me.

But, thoroughly boring bourgeoisie Bardiac appreciates the idea of having a home university to return to, a sort of permanent academic place, and with it a real home with a yard, a toilet I know how to work, and a bathtub that doesn't talk back.

Jitters

I've been having vivid dreams of late, and some teaching anxiety dreams. In one of them, all the students sat on the edges of the class, and wouldn't say anything. Happily, students in college are mostly interested in being there, and usually do their part to make a good classroom chemistry. So I'm not really worried about that. And the classrooms here aren't laid out like that, even.

Then I had a dream about teaching fourth grade. Yeah, fourth grade. That really would be a nightmare! I was trying to find someone to ask a question of, or something, but the classroom was in a different building and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Then I woke up.

I am a bit nervous about teaching my first class tomorrow. I got the class list today, and of course, the names aren't quite as easy for the English speaking memory as Sally or Joe. On the other hand, I don't have four Britneys.

I've been thinking about it. My teaching here is going to be at the edges of my experience, and that's really challenging. It's pushing me in composition teaching, which I consider a weak spot. And then there's the whole classroom culture thing, and that's where I expect the real challenges.

I'm also very excited about it. I'm going to learn so much, and I'm looking forward to how what I learn is going to challenge my assumptions about how classroom teaching and such "work" for me.

I still need to get a copy of the course packet I sent in. I hope the copying worked okay, and that it will make sense when I put it into use!

Wish me good teaching, and fun, interesting students! (And wish them a fast-grading, patient, and caring teacher!)

Sunbird

I THINK this is a Crimson Sunbird, but it may be a Scarlet Sunbird. You'll need to click on this and look for the bright red bit at the center. The bird's about 4 inches long. I was about 15 feet away, using my telephoto when I took the picture. (Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia)

I took a series of pictures of this bird, and they really bring out one of the difficulties for me with my new camera. I need to learn how to override and focus manually faster. When I take autofocus shots, the camera tends to look for straight lines and focus on those straight lines. That's okay if you're focusing on something a good long ways away, or with lots of light. But if you're taking telephoto pics of something small under tree cover, then I've got problems and need to learn to focus manually to overcome them.

***

Classes start here soon, which is good. It's been a bit rainy, but I got myself out for a walk today. I need to make sure to try to get at least a walk in when I can for some excercise!

I've found myself surprised by how quiet the city is; the cars seem quieter somehow, and certainly off the main street, walking on the narrow little streets, the noise seems subdued. On campus, I live away from the main street, and don't hear traffic noises at all (though I sometimes hear my neighbors a bit).

Why I Teach Literature

Back on 22 January, New Kid on the Hallway was kind enough to tag me for a meme about why we teach. New Kid wrote that

Craig Smith at Free Exchange on Campus has tagged me for a meme. Inspired by Dr. Crazy's wonderful post about why she teaches literature (and how those reasons are different from the ones espoused at the MLA), he writes, I am challenging faculty to tell us why they teach and do the work they do and why academic freedom is critical to that effort. So, I'll weigh in (and then I have to tag some folks).

This is an interesting charge, asking not only why we do what we do, but also to think about the impact of academic freedom on our work.

This morning, rather than braving the cold to go explore the neighborhood a bit (It's actually Saturday here, though my computer doesn't realize it), I read some of the varied responses to the meme, especially over at a big group site populated by (mostly) males theorizing class issues and criticizing Dr. Crazy for hoping to give her students a chance to talk the talk so they could enter the middle class should they get a break and want to.

It was interesting to me how authoritatively these men (so far as I could tell) feel able to explain that Dr. Crazy's students don't actually need her to teach them to talk about complex issues. One points to hip hop as an example of such a complicated discussion with no influence of white or middle class culture/education, whatever.

Hip hop? My experience of hip hop is admittedly pretty limited to what I hear on the radio, especially these days. I've lived in an urban area, but as a white grad student, I didn't really hang out in the hip hop scene. Nor did the mostly black working class women who were raising their kids in the neighborhood, since they were too busy working and caring for kids. But in my experience, a lot of hip hop is exceedingly conservative in its sex/gender practices; that is, it promotes patriarchal values, violence against women, objectification of women, ad nauseum. No doubt, someone can point to this or that hip hop artist who's so feminist that I'd cheer, but what I've mostly heard isn't.

But I know other white men who seem to think that hip hop is the epitome of radical challenges to "the man." These men hint around that I'm just not cool enough to understand. I am, and will always be, terminally uncool by male standards.

What does that have to do with why I teach? Well, I'm that uncool, and I'm going to tell you.

I teach because I'm paid to. That's right, the Northwoods, in its infinite wisdom, gives me money enough to cover my food and housing and such, in return for certain services, many of which involve various aspects of teaching. I rejoined the middle class (I grew up solidly middle class), and I am glad to be able to buy food without worrying too much about costs, to pay my winter heating bill, to cover my mortgage, and to worry some about retirement! Do you know what a privilege it is to worry about retirement?

I fell in love with Shakespeare and early modern literature, was encouraged by some faculty members to pursue that love, got incredibly lucky on the job market, and here I am, with a job where I teach literature and writing, mostly, do committee work for governance, research and write about what I love. It's hard work, but it's a heck of a lot easier than some jobs I've had.

And it's deeply satisfying. Shakespeare, Chaucer, and the lit I mostly teach are wonderful to read, discuss, and teach. They challenge my understanding and my abilities to communicate. They challenge my students to think about complicated cultural productions, and to think about the hows and whys of culture. If there's anything radical in what I do, then it comes in challenging students to think about "what goes without saying," to think about what we just do without thinking about it. In my case, my most direct challenges are often feminist challenges, using feminism to ask students to think about sex/gender, race/ethnicity, class, language, power.

The literature I teach demands respect. It demands that I attend to what it's saying, not just what I want it to say, or what my ideologies suggest, but to the possibilities of textual meaning. My challenge to my students ask them to treat the text with respect, to really read it, to listen to its intricacies.

Students who can read and listen to Shakespeare, can also use those skills to attend to what loved ones are saying, to what the neighbor says, to what politicians and officials are saying. If I do my job right, then perhaps my students and I can treat other people and their ideas with respect, hear them out, and respond usefully. (Alas, I think there's a lot of evidence in recent political and social discussion that our society is failing in this most basic task.)

I know I disagree in some fundamental ways with my students. But when I see that they can respect texts, work with people respectfully, and discuss complex issues with intensity and care, then I have hope that we can do better as a society.

So what about academic freedom?

On a basic level, academic freedom is important as a principle. We should research, study, and discuss all manner of ideas and literatures (and sciences and stuffs!).

On a practical level, though, too often "academic freedom" is used to protect patriarchal and sexist/racist behavior. Yes, we're allowed to teach women writers, but we're quickly stifled if there's a real feminist challenge. There's a lot of lip service, but real change is another thing.

*****

One of the great things about my time this semester is that being in a different culture makes it really easy to ask basic questions about my basic practices. Why do I live in such a large house, rather than a condo or something? Why do I eat this and not that? What counts as acceptable politeness, and to whom? Why?

On that note, I'm off to challenge myself around the neighborhood a bit!

Wrap up the Week

Black-Crowned Night Heron (I'm pretty sure), Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo)

I've seen one in the states, fleetingly, but this guy posed graciously for me; I saw two, on separate days, so it may have been the same bird. Click on it to make it big, and seriously, s/he's got GREAT eyes!

I'm sort of proud of this picture; I think it's one of the better bird pictures I've taken. It even gets some of the glistening color in his wing feathers!

The orientation schedule for today had a visit to the great, ancient city nearby today, so I asked and they let me sign up. 180+ international visiting students signed up, too. And an almost equal number of Japanese students VOLUNTEERED to show us around. We went in small groups; mine had four Japanese students, three international students, and me. It was wonderful. The school did a great job putting things together, and the students I was with, at least, were good company. (They also got a great chance to practice some English, I suppose.)

Our guides were so fun, and really tried to explain stuff about the temple area, and we walked and walked through an old part of the city, way up the side of a hill, until we overlooked the great city itself. And that was beautiful in its own way.

We walked for several hours, up and up and up and then down and down and down (which was faster). And in the old part, as we were going up the hill through the temple complex, there were all these shops. One of them had a hawker out front handing out cups of steaming hot tea and inviting people to step on in; so we did! Inside, was a sweets shop, with lots of different displays and samples. On a cold day, that hot tea was a perfect incentive!

And now I'm off to bed. I've been here a week now, and I think I'll be able to find my way to the city over the weekend to try to find the English language book shop, and hope to find a bird book there.

Beautiful Snake

Meanwhile, here's a picture of an absolutely beautiful little snake the guide pointed out while I was on the boat wildlife-spotting thing. It was just hanging out in a tree, right over the water. I never would have spotted it myself, but once I saw it, amazing.

It's very tiny, and beautifully delicate, but the guide said it was related to rattlesnakes, so I opted not to try to pet it. (No, seriously, I don't touch wild critters, not even if they're totally harmless, because I'm not necessarily harmless, and may carry germs or whatever. Best to look, take a picture. In this case, take a picture with a telephoto lens!)

(Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia)

Shopping!

I got here on Friday, and the staff member who showed me around showed me a local grocery store, and helped me pick up a few things. But I was a bit overwhelmed, and feeling the effects of being up more or less a full day and a half, so I didn't buy much.

I also started feeling a cold come on during the first flight Thursday, and by the end of the second flight, I pretty much had a good case of the sniffles. At least, I'm guessing it's a cold, since I don't think Malaria starts with sniffles, a stuffy nose, no fever, aches, or whatever else. I hope not, anyway.

Still, having even a bit of a cold has made me very aware of how illiterate I am. In the states, or even in South America, if I needed a pharmacy, I could have seen the familiar mortar and pestle, or Rx symbol. Here? Not a clue. But it's only a cold, and will probably be better in seven days without any cold medicine, or a week with, right?

I took myself to the grocery store today before my meetings started, and did some basic shopping. I was looking for some hard candy to suck on because my throat feels dry from breathing through my mouth. (How do horses deal with really stuffy sinuses? Do they?) I think I found the candy (it had pictures of smiley kids and stuff), but couldn't figure out what might be hard candy, so I skipped.

When I was a teenager, there were these occasional "news" stories about people buying canned dog or cat food and eating it, based on the pictures on the label. I figured out where the dog and cat food cans are in the store, and plan on avoiding those. Helpfully, there are cans labeled "Frisky" in English there. Even I can read that!

I did manage to buy shampoo by apologizing to a store worker and making the universal idiot motion of washing my hair and then pointing to a product. Happily, she spoke good enough English to say "conditioner" and to point me instead to "shampoo." And was kind enough to do so with a smile.

I have a basic rule for shopping: if I'm not sure if it needs cooked or not, I don't get it. I'm happy to eat sashimi or sushi, no problem with raw foods, so long as I know they're supposed to be raw. But if I'm not sure, I skip it.

I also have to be careful to choose things I can cook pretty basically, because it it has directions, I'm not going to be able to read them anyway. So I'm with pretty basic foods.

Except for the prepared foods. I have no idea what I ate for breakfast this morning, but it tasted GREAT! It was a sort of "rice ball" but with a different wrapping than the usual seaweed, almost a doughish wrapping. And it was a combo of sweet and just a tad soy-tasting, with little black dots in among the rice. No idea, but I hope I can find it again!

The cold seems to be on its way out, and the we had lots of students on campus today, so all in all, I'm really looking forward to classes starting and getting well enough to feel like walking around a lot more.

Adventures in Cooking

I faced facts today and decided to start learning to cook here. Mostly, that means learning to turn on appliances appropriately, because really, I know the basics of cooking. Simple stuff, anyway.

When the friendly and helpful staff member here took me to the grocery store to stock up on Friday (was it really Friday?), I got some stir fry looking meat/bean combo. Tonight's the night, I thought, and started exploring the stove. Here's what I saw.
See that window thing on the left and below the stove top? That seems to be a warming oven. And to the right of that is some sort of switch thing. And directions, which I can't read, of course. So you understand the basic problem. I can see the stove, but there's no way to turn the burners on. Well, there's a way, and a whole direction book in Japanese.

But you know what? My basic Japanese intro materials don't handle cooking situations. Nope, they're going to be GREAT if I need to say "This is a chair." But they don't seem to have basics such as "on" or "off" or "hot burner, don't put your hand down." And those are the things I need. I can't figure out how to look up unfamiliar kanji, though I'm sure there's a perfectly logical way. I just don't know it.

Confident that these folks do in fact cook on the cook top, I looked around some more, and lo and behold, the thing on the right flips open to reveal buttons and stuff. It's a good thing stoves and such are basically idiot-proof, because I took several stabs pressing this and that in different orders until, voila, a burner came on!

And so, fed, I'm wondering how complicated the rice cooker is?

Incongruous

Stilt village; near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

My final morning in Malaysia, I took a cultural tour, and went to see a stilt village. Basically, the stilt village is one solution to the problem of living in a swampy area. You build on stilts, and then add on over the water as you need. The tour company evidently has prior arrangements with this household, and they welcome visitors and show them a typical house. Typical? Well, that's what they said.

You walk on a boardwalk of sorts to get to the house, and then take off your shoes to enter. And in you go. Inside, the entry is a living area, with some couches, then further in a table with some chairs, and a kitchen area, and then bedding areas to the side. And in front of the couches, a huge television. Really, I just about cracked up.

The host served us coffee, and I drank a sip to be polite, but it struck me, there I am, worrying about potable water and such in a house with a huge television. But, of course, no amount of money a single person could throw at the problem of water potability is going to solve it, but a fairly small bit (comparatively) gets you a tv.

It made me think of my weirdest television experience. Remember when MTV was new, and played music videos? Cable wasn't common among my college crowd, so I didn't see MTV while I was in college. But one day while I was in the Peace Corps, I had gone from my site to visit some other volunteers, which we did sometimes on weekends; it was a two hour bus ride, and anywhere else was pretty much a 4+ hour ride.

One of the guys there walked with me to the bus area, and I bought a ticket early to go home, and then we were going to have dinner in a restaurant not far from the bus area before I got on a night bus to go home. We were sitting in the restaurant, in the middle of a rain forest, open air, pretty much your fantasy of a South American rain forest town, and from the back of the restaurant come strains of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" song, you know.

K jumped up, and pulled me towards the back of the restaurant. We walked into the family quarters (he's friends), and sat on a BIG bed with about six kids, and watched Michael Jackson and his zombies scare the dickens out of his girlfriend. It was one of those things, there we were in the middle of no where, low tech land, watching this incredibly technically sophisticated music video with a bunch of kids on a bed.

Universal television.

A Geisha and a Feminist Walk into a Bar

What would they have to say to each other? Or perhaps they're both feminists?

Yesterday, I met a couple other visiting faculty folks, a couple who's been here many times. We ate lunch together at the faculty place (a really good lunch, unbelievably affordable), and then they talked about going to the old imperial city with the famed "floating world" district to visit one of their favorite shrine/temple complexes. I was happy to be invited along.

We took this and that public transportation, and then got off the last and started walking along these narrow streets. Up the hill, I could see the shrine/temple complex. We were, my guides informed me, in a famous geisha district. They were telling me about the shrine, the district, a kanji, when the narrow street became an open area, and a small group of people was crescented back from a big black car. Two women, all made up and ornately dressed, and two men in dark suits were getting into the car. I don't know if the people standing around were tourists, locals, family/friends, or what. But the car drove off.

And then another young woman in full outfit went by in one direction, and into a building, smiling and giving small nodding bows to the onlookers as she went past. And then another women, from a different direction and going in a different direction did the same.

My guides told me that sometimes tourists pay to get all made up to have their picture taken, so maybe that was happening. A guy stopped to tell us about the women, and from what my guides passed along to me, the women we saw walking were trainees, which you could tell by their outfit and shoes, and not full-fledged geisha.

I felt sort of bad gawking, though I wasn't at all alone. And the women seemed to be playing the part on some level, politely acknowledging her specialness in the context.

So I was wondering, what would it be like to have a conversation with a geisha or trainee? It would have to be in English, because my Japanese gets me as far as a smile, a more or less appropriate hello for the time of day, and not much else.

On the surface, I have little in common with someone whose primary job is to entertain wealthy men, who does so in highly ornate clothing and makeup, with highly specialized music, dance, and conversational skills (as I understand it). I'm the anti-geisha of dressing. And entertaining men holds little appeal for me. I do like to think I can take part in conversations with a large variety of people.

I have a friend who grew up knowing harem communities, and she told me that while the practice does indeed have sexist elements, it also can provide a positive, pro-female community. So maybe there's a community that empowers the women involved? (Though, where there's power, there's also potential abuse of power?)

And while I'm the anti-geisha of dressing, there's an element of performance in teaching that I really do enjoy, so perhaps there's a common ground there?

As I understand it, the whole geisha world thing is pretty much a mystery to those not involved on some level, though there's a whole lot of supposition and "insider" story-telling going around. It sounds like the way non-Amish in the Northwoods think about the Amish. We see them, wave, smile, maybe talk a bit at a farmers' market, but there's a gap for most of us. And some people try to fill the gap in various ways, talking about this or that rule, which you then see someone seeming to break. Or like the way nuns and priests work in US culture. We're likely to know a few, but have we got a good idea of the way things feel within their organizations? I know I was an adult before I knew someone well enough to talk about how his vocation worked for him, how he thought about vowing celebacy, and so forth. And I was a few years older before I knew a nun well enough to chat about her life and decisions.

Or maybe it's like the way people do professions blogging, lawyers blogging about the "real deal" of law practice, or professors talking about our frustrations and difficulties, few of which are usually apparent to our students even.

I wonder if there's a geisha blog out there?

The gawking thing goes the other way, too. The three of us were stopped a couple times by folks who wanted to speak English, or told us about living in the states. I imagine it will get old, as it did when I was in the Peace Corps, but smiles and a nice conversation is a small thing to ask of people who are visitors.

I'm impatient for classes to start, for a chance to get to meet and work with students, and get started on teaching. Soon! Tomorrow, meetings with faculty and orientations and such. And then activities for a week, and classes!

Selamat pagi

Good morning! (That's Malay up there!)

I had the most incredible short vacation in Malaysia (the Borneo part), and now I've settled in mostly to my new apartment at Host University.

Young orang-utan, Sepilok Rehabilitation Center, Sabah, Malaysia

This orang-utan is one that's being rehabilitated, taught to live in the wild again, but supported with regularly scheduled feeding times. They feed the orangs twice a day, at 10am and 3pm, with bananas and milk. As I understand it, the goal is to keep the young orangs fed, but to make the food relatively boring so they'll eat more and more wild food as they grow up, and eventually move away from the feeding area into a completely wild life. The young orangs are also taught some basic skills here, though the very young are housed elsewhere, and cared for much more closely.

My guide told me they've successfully rehabilitated some 160 orangs back to the wild here over the years.

They have a great platform set up at the feeding area, with a raised walkway through the forest a bit to the platforms. People are allowed to visit the platforms (with some fairly strict rules, of course), and take photos. Raised walkways are a great way to let whusses like me avoid leeches!

Wild Orang-utan, near Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia

It's considerably harder to get a good look at a wild orang, but here's probably my best shot. I took a river ride to stay at a jungle resort thing, and then another river ride up further into a smaller river, to look at wildlife. I took over 400 photos, but you'll be glad to know I won't be sharing them all with you!

And now, I'm off to try to figure out how to shower. There ARE extensive instructions on the appliances, but I can't read them. It took me forever to figure out how to turn on the heat in my room last night; it was 13c (in the 50s F) when I finally figured it out. I'm a Northwoods whuss. I hate being cold!

Less Prepared than I'd Planned

Thanks for all your good and kind wishes, everyone!

I didn't turn in my cable box today. I just didn't get it done. I got other things done, though.

What does six months of stuff look like? Here's packing prep. This is the stuff for the big bag, rather than the carry on I'll be taking on my first side trip. And this is just the basics (and not the several books and such I'm stupidly taking).

My mom taught me a trick about packing that she learned along the way somewhere, and it's a pretty good one for my style travel. You pretty much put everything you can into big gallon sized plastic bags, then squeeze as you close them up. Then you just toss in these bags, pre-squeezed, in whatever way makes sense. If you have to go through them for inspection or something, they're easy to see and re-organize. They're easy to pack and unpack because you can keep track of things.

And here's the full monty, so to speak, except for the briefcase I'll be carrying with my laptop. The backpack thing has carry on stuff, and is missing only the camera in this shot, because, yes, I was using the camera and all. It has everything I'll need for a week of travel before I get to teaching/work.

I have tomorrow to take care of last minute stuff, a bit on campus, turning in the cable box, paying some bills (where DID I put the checkbook?). I have to get a couple of small gifts (I'm told that dream catchers are good, and also hats with the local school logo and such. And the state symbol.) But the big part of packing is done. Things are mostly ready to go.

I'm excited and just a tad terrified. I'm sure I'll be fine once I get started, and there's no specific fear, just a generalized excitement with a tinge of uh oh to spice things up. (I'm always like that for new things. You should have seen me getting ready to jump out of a plane!)

Don't Panic Button

I'm just about ready to go. Well, let me put it another way. It's almost time for me to get on an airplane, but I'm not really very ready. I am getting there, though.

Today, I put together my class for the semester, every assignment, reading, this and that. It's all together, waiting to be sent off so that the class packet can be made up for the students. I usually use a fairly sparse set of outside readings, but I want to give students a bit more hands on practice reading some American style essays, so I spent some time looking for appropriate essays in a typical comp reader.

And I'm cranky. What do you expect from a typical student essay that uses outside sources? A works cited section! Right. So how many essays in this book that used outside sources actually included a works cited section? Two.

If our students are reading essays without works cited sections, how are they supposed to get the idea that works cited sections should be automatic for them? They don't.

Dear comp reader publisher: Please, please, please, make sure your readings have works cited sections!

But that's done now. (Fair use and all.) I got a few other things done, too. I sent off my "just in case" information to my sibling. I got a watch to replace the one that died more than a year ago. I fed myself.

Among my plans for tomorrow, I'm going to turn in my cable modem and have the cable connection to the house turned off. That means no more sitting on the couch with the TV on, writing this or that blog post, checking email, reading blogs, checking the news.

I don't know when I'll be back posting. I expect to have internet access while I'm in Asia, but I don't know details and such.

Until whenever, que vayan bien!

Just in Case

So, if I were a responsible adult, I'd have a will and all. I'm not, I guess, because I don't.

So I spent this evening writing a note to my sibling with information about all my accounts, and what to do with things. And I've been writing lists for the person who will be watching over the BardiacShack.

Finally, I wrote a note to a friend to put up a post here should something happen.

I don't expect anything to happen, of course. But then, no one much does, I suppose. Still, it's a weird way to spend the evening.

I also got all organized to do my tax returns. Except I don't have my W-2, and a comparison of last year's W-2 with the corresponding paystub made it clear that I couldn't just use my last paystub from 2007. I also don't have any of my interest/dividend information or mortgage information from those places. So basically, I just listed out everything I have, loaded the tax program, and found out that my state program isn't available anyway.

Northwoods Civics

I went out to practice a bit with my camera the other day, and when I saw this, I couldn't resist.

When I bought the camera, I paid for a 2 hour class, and the class was Tuesday. I was expecting a few people, starting with basics. But it was only me. And some of the stuff I knew from taking pictures before was coming back, so the teacher picked up with what I wanted to learn about my camera, added things he thought would be helpful, and went to town. Yep, I got a two hour personal tutorial, and it was fantastic! I feel so much more confident.

One of the indigenous groups in the Andes uses long woven cloth belt things wound several times around the waste as a sort of belt for their skirts. When I was in the Peace Corps, I used one of these belts to make myself a camera strap. I've been sort of obsessed about my old camera strap since I got my new camera, but I can't find it. I'm guessing it got tossed with the camera when the repair place said it wasn't repairable after all the mold or something got to it.

This afternoon, I went shopping and got some D rings, a cheap guitar strap, and used the leftover from then to make a new camera strap. I'm really happy about the way it turned out. It MAY end up being too long (in which case, it's easy to shorten), but it looks just like my old camera strap, and reminds me of all the good times I had. It's soft and strong, about 2 inches wide, bright blue with a star design. I still have other belts, but that one's softer somehow, and it's what I used the first time.

I don't know why I was so concerned about the camera strap (because really, there are way more important things I should be focusing on), but I'm relieved that it worked out really well.

I also put chicken wire around my pine trees with moderate success, and took care of some of the other things I have to do.

I'm reading Cathy Davidson's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan now. Davidson writes about her experiences teaching abroad in Japan several times, starting in the early 80s. It's interesting because of the ways she talks about having thought about living in Japan, and coming to realize that while she loves Japan, she loves parts of it, and not really the whole experience. That seems very familiar to me from being a Peace Corps volunteer.

I think a lot of Peace Corps folks think about living overseas (and some do stay), but most of us realize that while there are things we love about our adopted countries, there are also things we're not willing to deal with for a lifetime, things we'd miss too much from home.

All of which reminds me how many people do leave homes behind and emigrate to new places to stay. That can't be easy, even if you're leaving really difficult circumstances. At this point I should transition seamlessly into some insightful commentary on the US political process or something, but my mind is wound up being self-concerned.

During the last election, for the first time, I volunteered at the local party headquarters. That just didn't seem conceivable when I lived in large cities, but around here, somehow it is. I also saw one of the candidates speak. I can't imagine a candidate speaking on my phud campus because s/he would have been busy with a big money fund raiser and not going to a campus. But here in smaller cities, if they come through, they're stumping.

It's going to be weird to miss the primary. I should run down and see about an absentee ballot, perhaps. It doesn't seem hugely important for the primary, and I'll be back in early summer, well before the real election.

Sensei

For the first time today, I got an email to "Bardiac sensei" from my university across the sea. "Sensei" is basically a title of respect for a teacher.

My stereotypical associations give sensei an almost mystical connotation for me. One of my friends is a ceramicist, a potter, who's studied with masters from different areas of Asia; that sort of mastery is what I think when I think "sensei." Or I think of stereotypical martial arts masters, especially with the mystical connotations of mastery that come across in US culture about Asian martial arts. And as much as sensei gives me mystical connotations, I don't feel that I deserve it; I haven't gone through the apprenticeship of the sort I associate with such titles. (Though I've done my time in US grad school.)

My understanding is that sensei is used for everything from grammar school teachers, to people like me, to masters of various arts, so while it's a title of respect, it's not necessarily got mystical connotations.

But the mystical connotations make it weirder to think of myself being addressed as Bardiac sensei. I'm a pretty non-mystical person, not even a very spiritual person in the ways people talk about spirituality.

And I have some rather typical US type reactions to titles of respect. I grew up calling all adults Mr/Mrs/Miss (and then adding Ms when that became a possibility). When I was young, I rather resented having to show all that respect, especially to people who showed little respect for me. Eventually, I got to a point where I actively value respecting others (and they usually respect me), so I don't resent using titles for people. But I'm also a fairly informal person in a fairly informal profession.

On the other hand, it took me a while to feel comfortable calling my college president by her first name.

I invite my students to call me by my first name, and am comfortable with that. But I respect that others don't prefer that, and I always refer to other instructors as "Professor X" to students. (Professor is the best I can do for a working compromise for colleagues who do or don't have doctorates, do or don't have whatever official position; it's perhaps not entirely accurate, but it's good enough for government work.) I was old enough when I started teaching that I didn't need to use a title for students to know that I was the one with power.

It's important to realize that power is part of the whole title thing. And I have enough sense of that in the US to talk about it with my students when I invite them to use my first name, and to tell that to use a more formal address with others unless invited to use a first name or something. I have a sense of how to manipulate power relations in address here. I know that when someone uses my first name, and then their own title, power's in play.

But my understanding of formality and power across the sea is minimal. So I'm bemused at my own reaction to becoming "Bardiac sensei," the pleasure of a title, the discomfort of a title, all at once. And unsure how to use titles and such myself in return.

This is going to be interesting!

Responding to a Comment

Every so often, someone responds to a comment from an old post. I only know about it because blogger emails me. Today I got an email about a comment from a post I did in 2006, about teaching Chaucer. It was one of those comments that reminded me how glad I am to be where and what I am, if that makes sense.

So I thought I'd respond to it here:

Anonymous said...
u guys are gay. no one really cares bout these lame storys? hahaha wow NERDS

To which I'm thinking:

Well, yes, and I'm guessing a fair percentage of folks are.

Clearly, we care. May I suggest a taste from "The Miller's Tale"?

Aw, you're just flattering us now!

The I Hate Rabbits Post

Have I mentioned that I hate rabbits? Not as much as I hate clothes shopping, but pretty much. Here's what they've done to my little dogwood so far this winter. They almost killed a hawthorn the first year I had it (before I got smart enough to put a tube thing around it).

And here's what they've done to one of the white pines!

Here's the best solution I've come up with so far for smaller stuff, but I need to get more wire mesh for the pines.

They've got a whole field of stuff, but they seem to like my plantings best of all. Grrrr! I need a fox to take up residence!

In the Land of Panic

I'm so potentially screwed. Or not. Depending on someone's whim.

I'm not a very experienced traveller, especially internationally. I'm pretty good at getting in my car and driving hither and yon in the US, but internationally, I'm pretty inexperienced.

So, I've been planning my trip abroad. I'm going early, going to leave my bags where I'll be teaching and then leaving the next day to go to another country on a tourist trip for 5 days. Then I'll come back in plenty of time for the teaching orientation, and do my teaching. It just so happens that I'll be coming in on a Saturday afternoon, and leaving on a Sunday. Then coming back in a week.

I was reading the other day, and just realized that my visa is a single entry visa. I can enter the teaching country ONE time, and then stay for six months. OOPS!

In order to leave the country, I need to get a re-entry visa at a local government office. Except, of course, the local government office wouldn't be open over Saturday and Sunday.

I just talked to the consulate, wondering if I could do something ahead of time, and the consular officer suggested that I should ask on my first entry to be put on a standard 90 day tourist visa, so that my one entry on my teaching visa will count when I re-enter the country. And that should work, IF the customs person at my first entry agrees.

I'm at a loss. I thought I had everything pretty well worked out, but I've screwed up, I think.

Just how much did you know?

At a couple blogs I read, there've been some discussions about grad school applications from the admissions side. Some of the comments sort of blew me away because they expect the undergrad applying for admission to know the quirks of the potential grad faculty.

Let's acknowledge that the field is very different from mine, and maybe things work very differently.

Here's how I chose my phud program, coming from a regional university where several faculty were encouraging me to go on. I talked to faculty members, and made lists of places I was considering. My advisor called someone she knew at the local flagship and asked him about programs in the field. He suggested a couple as being strong. I also looked at the Newsweek grad school information for my field.

What I didn't know, and really had no way of knowing, was that the flagship scholar was incredibly conservative in his scholarship, and suggested only the most conservative schools, including none with prominent feminist scholars, because he didn't think feminism had anything to do with scholarship. And he hated theory.

And so, I ended up at a pretty conservative English department, where out of 25+ tenured faculty, two were female (things did improve while I was there!). Theory was weak there, but improved tremendously with a couple of hires and a tenuring. I wasn't a great fit, but I made it through and the rest was history. But how was I supposed to know? I didn't have the resources, really, given where I was, to know about all sorts of grad departments. (And while it was conservative, it was an overall strong, large department with fair depth in most fields.)

And yet the comments on the other post suggest that I should have known which schools in my field had the best scholars interested in what I wanted to work on, which would be supportive of women, and so forth.

Maybe I'm totally clueless, but I don't think most people actually know that much detail about schools they aren't closely associated with, and those that do know, don't necessarily talk to people applying for grad school.

Here's an example. While I was a grad student, through a mutual friend in my program, I met a grad student at Berkeley who'd chosen Berkeley to work with Stephen Greenblatt. The student had done his undergrad at Yale, and gotten into Berkeley. He had the right connections. He was white, male, upper class, had gone to the right prep school. I'm assuming if his advisors at Yale had been able to warn him of a problem, they would have, right? Within a year or two of his arriving at Berkeley, Greenblatt had moved elsewhere. The student ended up working with a fine scholar, finishing his dissertation after several years, and then leaving academia.

Another example: in my grad program, there was a famous scholar. Every year, students applied to the program thinking they would work with him. Once in the program, no one worked with him. And a year after I got there, he took early retirement in a settlement to avoid a lawsuit brought by a male undergrad for inappropriate sexual behavior. No one warned all those grad students ahead of time, not their undergrad advisors, not when they were at interview dinners alone with other grad students, no one. But pretty much everyone knew this guy was a problem. But no one said anything, until students came, and then they figured things out pretty quickly, realized they'd better keep their mouths shut, and found someone else to work with.

I could give other examples. My point is that even when people know, they don't tell undergrads everything for a variety of reasons. And people often don't know a whole lot about the intricacies at other schools, about Joe Schmoe's sexism, drinking problem, whatever. Or maybe they don't consider the sexism or drinking a problem.

So I'm wondering, how much did you folks know about graduate programs when you applied? How did you know what you knew?

Expedition: Success!

So, just what does one pack for 6 months abroad?

I hate shopping. I hate shopping with the white hot passion of incredible loathing. Let me be more specific. I'm happy to do grocery shopping, and more than happy to spend forever in a used book store. I actually enjoyed trying out bikes last summer. But clothes shopping? Shoe shopping? Gah!

However, I really needed some new slacks, slacks that would be okay for teaching and walking around, comfortable enough in fairly cold and fairly hot weather. I used to get chinos from LandsEnd, but lately, they seem only to have either capris or low on the hip slacks. So I went on an expedition today, searching for slacks. Basically, the goal was a cotton twill or light canvas slack. Or several.

I started out at a local sports type store. As usual, there was a limited selection of women's slacks, heavily favoring the smaller sizes. Seriously, I'm willing to bet the average woman around here wears something more than an 8, you know? I sure do! I found and I tried some on. A couple were okay, but low on the hip, with tiny pockets. I tried again at a different store; same deal.

And this store had tons of sale because they're moving. Racks and racks of mens pants. So finally, that's where I went. A quick memory check, and I was trying on several pairs, and found one that I liked, that fit well. Bonus, it had nice deep pockets AND didn't ride low on the hips. But the selection was higher in camo than in slacks. Still, I got one pair on sale!

Once I'd gone for the men's section, it was easy. I went elsewhere and found three other pairs. They're good colors (dark grey, dark green, tan), with good pockets, and a comfortable fit. I need to do some hemming, but other than that, I'm very happy!

Why does it take me so long to go over to the men's section for slacks? I'm quick to get tops there, but way slow for slacks (jeans don't count; 501 is it, period).

Next up: walking shoes!

Warm

I talked to some of my college friends today, arranging to see them for a flyby dinner on my way overseas. Whenever I talk to my college friends, I realize that I hate being so far away and hate not being more part of their lives. I should call more often, really. I feel so good after talking to them, warm in the heart and happy.

It's been well above freezing today, and there's major melt. It's stunning how much melt happens so fast. I joked with my neighbors about putting on a swimsuit to sit outside. More seriously, I was nearly tempted to throw open a lot of windows to air out the house. I managed to control myself.

For whatever reason, my nose started getting way better yesterday, and was great when I woke up this morning. I hope it stays that way!

I barely slept last night, having realized a potential visa problem. I'll call on Monday, and hope it's not really so much of a problem! EEP!

Wrapping Up Thoughts

We get emailed grade reports for our advisees, so I went in yesterday and filed them away, and then I wrote my advisees the usual monthly letter. Except, of course, it wasn't usual.

It's weird, because it's not like I socialize lots with my advisees, or even see them really very often, but I'm going to miss them. I'm sure they'll do just fine without me around, but I'll miss seeing them in the halls. Universities, even small ones, are fairly big places, and it's nice to recognize some of the faces.

New Kid wrote about the difficulty of doing the first day(s) of classes yesterday, and she's so right. It's hard to walk into a classroom filled with folks and try to make it a good learning environment and a good overall environment.

Seeing my advisees among a group of new students makes it easier for me, makes me feel more comfortable right off. Saying hello in the halls makes the whole world feel friendlier.

Take good care, advisees! And don't forget to keep in touch!

First Rant of the New Year

When I was a kid, I really did think adults had it good. They understood things, got along well with family, and so forth. That may be true for other adults, but dang, I missed the boat.

Somehow, by this point, I should be able to get along with my Mom. I should just let things flow, not get irritated, not get impatient. But I just am not there.

I feel disloyal complaining.

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I'm still reading Kyoko Mori's Polite Lies. I was talking to one of my friends about it, a friend who's read several of her works, and my friend said she gets the feeling the Mori writes about the same thing over and over. Once my friend said that, I started to get that feeling as I worked through the book. It's still a good book, but there's a sense that she's working through different aspects of the same issue using the same lens of her mother's suicide. In some ways, it's very informative because I get a sense of how she sees her bicultural life over time.

I was reading the chapter on lying last night, about how often we lie, many times a day, perhaps. Most of the lies are social lubricant sorts of lies, the sorts of things we say just to say what's socially expected or what's not going to needlessly hurt someone's feelings.

I was about to say that I'm not really good at the social lubricant lie; it's not that I try to be rude, but that I tend to keep my mouth shut at times. But as I was about to say that, I thought about how often people say things about themselves that are the opposite of other peoples' perceptions. For example, I've noticed that when someone says "I'm easy to please," they rarely are. And when someone says "I'm not critical," and then goes off on how I screw everything up, I don't buy their self assessment. So maybe I'm so expert at the social lubricant lie that I don't even realize how often I'm doing it?

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I've had a stuffy nose since late November, and I'm getting tired of it. I'm pretty sure it's not so much infection as irritation, since I haven't had a fever, sore throat, chest cough, or anything actually worth complaining about. I mean, seriously, I'm whining about a stuffy nose. Could I be more of a whuss? I'm going to pretend that I actually am only worried about flying with stuffy sinuses, but really, I'm just tired of having a stuffy nose.

I checked WebMD and it said helpful things about not getting exposed to really cold air, or big changes in temperature, and avoiding dry air. Yeah, no problem. It also says to try a saline nasal wash, so I've done that. It's disgusting to have the saline go through my nose into my mouth.

I hate being such a bleeping whuss! I hate the dryness of the air, and how icky it makes everything (static, dry skin, you name it!).

Kid in a Camera Store

I've been having fun with the camera! I'm remembering how much fun I had with my camera while I was in the Peace Corps, how much I enjoyed taking pictures and seeing what I came up with. It's been a while, but I promise I'll calm down soon! (How's the loading time for folks?)

I cleaned out the bluebird house, and while I was near, took a close up of my sugar maple. Very photogenic, eh?



And I cleaned my office! You can actually see the desk! And the hip phone. Why, yes, I work for the state, why do you ask?


And there are books, lots of books! I've even read some of them.



Here's the computer desk. If you look carefully, you can see my Einstein action figure with POWER CHALK in his upraised fist (lower left of the computer screen). And a picture of my conure, done by my friend, B. There's also a kitsch collection of finger puppets.

Camera Play

I've been slowly gaining a bit of confidence with the camera, learning to take basic pictures, and now, downloading them.

I thought I'd share a couple shots from snow country.



This first shot is the indoor ride, set up in the sun room, otherwise known as the Red Room, for obvious reasons. The flash shocked me by going off automatically, without me even thinking about it!

I have to totally admit that I'd never paint a room red. I just wouldn't have the nerve or imagination. But this red is amazingly wonderful, and I love the room. Goes to show me! (I think it's officially a "glaze" rather than paint, but that's only because it looks sort of like what I saw called a glaze on one of those home improvement sorts of shows once.)




This is what I like to call the Prairie Restoration Project, or, when I'm in an optimistic mood, the Northwoods Project. This area was more woods than grassland, though it's hard to tell in some areas now. The black tube sticking up is the deer protection for the sugar maple tree I planted when I first moved in (it almost died from being chewed on the first winter). I need to plant a couple more trees back there, but they grow so slowly! (The tree's pretty close to the edge of the property line, at least according to the markers out there.)

To the right is where a bird house blew down off it's pipe stand. And to the left, the stubby thing is a more official BlueBird box (which, I think, was actually occupied this past year). I need to tromp down and clean it before I leave. (Add to list.)

And finally, here's the view over the valley which is partly my neighbor's yard and partly who knows. I was told when I moved in that there's a chunk of land that can't be built on because it's too steep, and that leads into the valley. So who knows in the future.



I mostly go down there a couple times a year to clean up the plastic garbage that ends up there from the local freeway (slyly hidden just out of the camera shot) and the other houses across the little valley (also slyly hidden so that it looks like I live out in the country!).

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I finished Pullman's The Amber Spyglass the other night; it was good, but not as good as the first one.

[I'm a lit person. I don't give spoiler warnings because being a lit person is all about talking about books and stuff.]

However, I have to say, the harrowing hell bit was amusing in all sorts of echoing other lit ways. And I liked that the "authority" faded away, killed accidentally rather than purposefully, and already pretty much totally out of things. I'm not quite sure what the "big temptation" was; anyone want to clue me in? (Was it for Lyra to choose to stay with Will rather than to separate into their own worlds? Or to leave a hole open?)

I'm semi-unsatisfied with the supposed atheism. How atheist is it if you feel the need to kill whatever diety you're supposed to worship? I mean, if you're really an atheist, there's no authority. And, of course, in our world, it's not like there's some magical power that's going to smack me down for saying there's no magical power. But in most fantasy series, there's a magical power that has real effect in the world, and so can't just be left aside while you go on to other things. And so in Pullman, there are all sorts of magical goodies, and they get fetishized and it becomes important to get them, sort of like some relic that actually has power or something.

There's a level that's satisfying about magical stuff in books, of course. But there's also a point where it doesn't work for me. I suppose that's why I don't read as much fantasy as a lot of people do.

I'm now reading Kyoko Mori's Polite Lies, and it's fascinating. Mori grew up in Japan, but moved to the US (midwest) as a young adult. In Polite Lies, she talks about similarities between Japan and the US midwest, and the ways both cultures use politeness, and how offputting she finds that in both cultures. And she talks about visiting Japan as an adult, visiting family, and dealing with family relationships. I'm really enjoying it.

Sometimes, midwestern politeness drives me nuts. I get impatient if someone asks me multiple times if I want X. It feels manipulative to me, or maybe as if the person asking isn't listening when I say "no, thanks." It's probably going to be easier when I'm away if only because I won't understand much.

I went to see Charlie Wilson's War this afternoon with a friend, after going to another's New Year's party, which was pretty fun. It was a good movie in that way that a good movie makes you think about how complex things are. Laws of unintended consequences and all that.

So much for my New Year's Day. I also dug out my deck a bit (worried about snow weight) and learned a bit more about using my camera (seriously scary!).

The Year in Review

Last year at this time, I posted about what had happened in the previous year. Can it really be two years now since I visited the Everglades? On December 31st, I talk about going for a bike ride. I'm not biking outside nowadays because we've had snow, loads and loads of snow, and we're due for more. And it's colder this winter right now than last.

On the other hand, I got a new bike this year, and it's great fun, and I've been biking a lot more than last year. Except not so much lately. I'm just not as happy at indoor biking.

And getting ready to teach abroad is very much at the center of my mind these days; I leave in a few short weeks. [Stop for a momentary panic attack.]

I had three goals for the year that I didn't put in writing, and I'm happy to say I've done pretty well with two of them. The first is about grading in a more timely manner. I really succeeded at that pretty darned well this past semester especially. I'm not perfect, but I did a whole lot better.

I'm mostly happy with my teaching this year. I'm not so happy with some of the university politics, and less happy with regional and national politics. I need to focus on what I can change, rather than on what makes me unhappy. That's the big goal for the year. New Kid has a post today on being mindful as her goal, and that seems like a great goal to me: think about what you do, and act with purpose.

The one I didn't do well with is still a goal, and something I need to focus more on.

On January First of this year, I posted about trying to get my retirement planning more organized and thought out. Now, indeed, my friend has retired. And I did go talk to the campus retirement planning person, and it was helpful. Before going abroad, I've rebalanced some stuff, mostly to give me more cash day-to-day while I'm overseas. And I've cancelled some of the monthly charge stuff (and still need to cancel the TV cable).

My travel plans are in place, tickets purchased.

All in all, then, a year in which I had good health, did decent work, enjoyed riding my bike, tried to be a good friend (and sometimes succeeded) and a good relative (and sometimes succeeded). Good bye, 2007, and welcome 2008 and a really big adventure!

A List of Lists

I'm so overwhelmed that I need to make a list, and the first thing on the list is to make several lists.

I'm waiting on a couple things:
My visa. Yep, I sent my application off, and the consulate said they'd have plenty of time, but until it's in my hand, I'm waiting.

A bird book for Asia. I'm okay with the one I ordered, but if anyone has reasonably priced suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing.

A battery for my laptop. I'm one of those naughty laptop users who tends to leave the laptop plugged in, and that messes up the battery, especially after 5+ years. So I ordered a new one, hoping that I'll be able to work without plugging in for at least a couple hours at a time.


I need to take care of some things:
I need to get a pair of decent walking/hiking boots, and break them in. I should go try some on, now, very now. I should also get a pair of walking shoes anyway, with good support and stuff. And break them in.

I want to get a camera. I'd like to wait for the credit card to close, but it's cutting it close for my departure date, and I want to learn how to use the camera, first. I've pretty much decided on a digital Canon Rebel. I loved taking pictures when I was in the Peace Corps, but my camera died from mold or fungus and the repair place declared it unreparable, and I haven't chosen to replace it (for like 20 years, because rent and stuff seemed more important). [Added: I got a camera! And I bought myself a class session to learn to use it, too!]

Taxes. They've got to be done! I'm hoping to get everything I need so that I can do them and get them taken care of before I leave. So I need to run over and get a tax program. (I've used TaxCut in the past, and it seems to work well for me.) Otherwise, I gather that I need to apply for a delayed filing. [Added: I got the program, so that's a start.]

Luggage! I need some actual luggage that will be acceptable on an airline and all.

Prep the class I'll be teaching! Yes. I need to work up everything, the assignments, the readings, everything, so they can be printed out so students can get the course packet. I'm not usually a course packet sort of person, but I need to be this time.

Finish up some grad paper notes. And grade/respond to a portfolio from a class several years ago for which a student took an incomplete.

Clean the offices (home and school). I really made progress with things this year. Serious progress, but I need to have a second go and really take care of it. I put all my financial stuff in organized envelops and stuff, but it's still a mess with research stuff. I need a better way of organizing photocopies and stuffs.

I've decided to get rid of some of my books, mostly novels. I figure most of them I don't want to read again, and won't ever need/want to teach (because seriously, 19th century American novels aren't what I usually need to teach). And if I suddenly decide I really want to teach Billy Budd, I'd need to get a new edition. Happily, there's a free books shelf on my floor at work, and I'm certain that some students would be happy to find some paperback novels there. And books are made for reading and sharing!

I also need to get back to studying language #4, and to learning the writing system.


And books, because it's all about reading!
I'm about halfway through Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, the third book in the His Dark Materials series (which begins with The Golden Compass). I'm enjoying the series in that quick read over vacation way. Growing up, I had a habit of reading tons, but the best reading was over vacation, when I could read late without getting in trouble, or read early, or whenever. It's a real pleasure.

Digression
One of the dark secrets about being a lit prof is that you read tons, but not much of it is the sort of reading that brings most of us to loving literature. I read tons of student papers (some of which are great, but the shear amount of reading is overwhelming), texts I teach (which I love, generally), and then there's criticism, historical stuff (including some deadly dull sermons and stuff), and endless committee work. So doing some vacation reading without thinking about how to teach the texts is a pleasure! /End Digression

The Constructivist suggested a couple other books for me to read, and I went and got one at the local library. The suggestions look great, and I'd appreciate more!

Digression
The local library catalog system is really counterintuitive. I'm pretty decent at figuring out library catalog systems. At least, I've had reasonable success at any number of libraries. But when I did a search on this system, I had problems. First, it gave me different results with the author and title searches. I wasn't successful with one, but was with the other (and yes, I checked my spelling). Weird! And then the system searched the entire area libraries, and listed other libraries first. Wouldn't it make more sense to list the library where the person actually is first? And then when I looked for a catalog number with the book list where I was, it merely told me that the book was in non-fiction. So I looked around and there's no map of the library to say where collections are. Then I asked a librarian, and she said I need a number. But to get a number, I have to click on the book in the list. Doh, I didn't realize that I could click on it because it didn't show up in the usual way. But I was able to find it.

I think the local library thinks I'm illiterate because I usually just walk around the books on CD area and pick out whatever looks interesting at the moment. This is the first book I've checked out from there. End Digression

I actually feel better not that I've done a sort of master list. Okay, deep breath. If I get a couple of things worked on each day, I'll finish just fine. Right?

I don't even know where to start.