1st of September
It looks like my blog is turning into a zoo keeper's notes. I promise I will write more, and post more pictures. My camera is so huge that I keep forgetting to bring it with me. Must buy new, tiny camera.
I finally started the job that I moved here for. I must say the first two weeks of teaching during the registration/add/drop period wasn't the most enjoyable period of my life, but hopefully now that it's over, and I know how many students I have, and which room I am teaching in, things will get better. And, some of my students are really smart, and pleasant people, so I have to try for them.
The biggest challenge that I encountered in my first college-level teaching attempt was
1. Students here in Kyrgyzstan didn't really understand what a creative writing workshop was at first. Also, the way I described it to them didn't seem to appeal to them. They wanted good old Soviet-style lecturing, and going over definitions of literary terms, etc. As those who know me can imagine that is not my style. I had two kind of awkward classes before things smoothed out a little. Four female students left the writing class. I was actually really sad at first. Writing is my first love, and academia plays a secondary role in my life. But, I have a few brave students who are launching themselves into writing, and experimentation, and that makes me really happy. I do wish more people would be interested in the arts here and not just business administration, but then again I don't blame them for trying to have careers that actually pay. Especially since in Kyrgyzstan unless you work for international organizations, NGOs, or are an entrepreneur, your chance to have a decent (in economic terms) life is very low.
2. I am also teaching a class on New Global Narratives. We are reading Don DeLillo. And of course I had to say at least something about post-modernism. After thirty minutes of trying to say something coherent, I ran out of things to say. I am still enamored and puzzled by those short sentences. What can you possibly talk about for one hour and twenty minutes?
3. Since the books that we are reading in class are unavailable here, I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time scanning things onto CDs to give to my students. Photocopying six novels is basically unaffordable for me and for them. Also, I lost the Joe Sacco book, and the Orhan Pamuk book that I was going to teach. I ordered two more copies from Amazon. Hopefully they will arrive on time.
Otherwise...
Things are okay. I made one friend who is also a Kyrgyz girl who moved back from the U.S., and is also younger than the rest of the department faculty. I am happy that at least her and I can talk about our teaching experiences, and so on, since nearly everyone is much older and experienced in the department.
Yesterday was the day of Independence. It's been 15 years since Kyrgyzstan has been an independent country. I too went out in the evening to celebrate, tried to go to different restaurants in the city, but everything was extremely crowded. We stopped by Aoyama, an expensive Japanese restaurant, but it just looked too expensive and there wasn't a single person inside. Then we tried to go to Adriatica for Italian food, but that street was blocked off. We ended up going to an Armenian restaurant called Landau where we ate delicious chicken shashlik and the best french fries in the city of Bishkek. Later we went to Solo Karaoke Club. It basically looks like any Karaoke club anywhere in the world, but the English language selection is really strange and patchy. There was a lot of Bony M. and some strange Communist-era Italian songs by the likes of Tuto Cutunio and Andriano Celentano. I ended up finding a Bee-Gees song, a Madonna song, and of course I sang Moon River. I think you can write a dissertation on the karaoke song selections of different countried.
My brother's friends sang all these Russian pop songs. That's when I realized how poetic Russian pop songs are. They had such amazing, original lyrics that the songs I sang in English seemed so bland and trite. They sang this Viktor Tsoi/Kino song that was beautiful. When we left the karaoke club, it was already fall outside. A few dry oak leaves rustled under foot. I was suddenly glad that I was standing in this well-like apartment block courtyard. I had missed out on a whole different set of emotions by spending most of my youth in Europe and the United States. Driving home, there were drunk men lying in the streets. I was worried they will get run over since there are hardly any street lights on the streets of Bishkek. That's life in Bishkek where vodka is cheaper than water...
The first of September is always the first day of school in Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, and most likely other post-Soviet places. On this day, kids bring flowers to their teachers. It's such a touching vision to see these Kyrgyz grandmas walking their grandchildren on the first day of school, holding flowers. They have a whole life of learning in front of them. So exciting. I remember when I was a kid I couldn't sleep the night before the first of September because I was so excited, and looked forward to seeing/making friends, learning things, using new pencils, etc. I was talking to my brother about it this morning in the car, and he said he never felt that way. I then talked to my cousin about. She too said she hated the first of September. Why was I so exicted is a mystery, especially since I was never a great student. School, and education is something people take really seriously here in Kyrgyzstan, and that's something that's left from our Communist, Russian-inspired past. It's such a great tradition to value and believe in education. Of course since the fall of the Soviet Union, this great strength of our country like the high level of education, and the high rate of literacy is also sadly falling.
It's so beautiful and dusty here in the fall. I love how seasonal the food is here, and how the fruits and vegetables taste so real. Every month people get excited for the harvest of different fruits and vegetables. Right now is the season of pumpkins. We made steamed manty dumplings with pumpkin and ground beef. The pumpkin flavor was so sweet, and mellow. Perfect for the weather cooling gradually.
I finally started the job that I moved here for. I must say the first two weeks of teaching during the registration/add/drop period wasn't the most enjoyable period of my life, but hopefully now that it's over, and I know how many students I have, and which room I am teaching in, things will get better. And, some of my students are really smart, and pleasant people, so I have to try for them.
The biggest challenge that I encountered in my first college-level teaching attempt was
1. Students here in Kyrgyzstan didn't really understand what a creative writing workshop was at first. Also, the way I described it to them didn't seem to appeal to them. They wanted good old Soviet-style lecturing, and going over definitions of literary terms, etc. As those who know me can imagine that is not my style. I had two kind of awkward classes before things smoothed out a little. Four female students left the writing class. I was actually really sad at first. Writing is my first love, and academia plays a secondary role in my life. But, I have a few brave students who are launching themselves into writing, and experimentation, and that makes me really happy. I do wish more people would be interested in the arts here and not just business administration, but then again I don't blame them for trying to have careers that actually pay. Especially since in Kyrgyzstan unless you work for international organizations, NGOs, or are an entrepreneur, your chance to have a decent (in economic terms) life is very low.
2. I am also teaching a class on New Global Narratives. We are reading Don DeLillo. And of course I had to say at least something about post-modernism. After thirty minutes of trying to say something coherent, I ran out of things to say. I am still enamored and puzzled by those short sentences. What can you possibly talk about for one hour and twenty minutes?
3. Since the books that we are reading in class are unavailable here, I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time scanning things onto CDs to give to my students. Photocopying six novels is basically unaffordable for me and for them. Also, I lost the Joe Sacco book, and the Orhan Pamuk book that I was going to teach. I ordered two more copies from Amazon. Hopefully they will arrive on time.
Otherwise...
Things are okay. I made one friend who is also a Kyrgyz girl who moved back from the U.S., and is also younger than the rest of the department faculty. I am happy that at least her and I can talk about our teaching experiences, and so on, since nearly everyone is much older and experienced in the department.
Yesterday was the day of Independence. It's been 15 years since Kyrgyzstan has been an independent country. I too went out in the evening to celebrate, tried to go to different restaurants in the city, but everything was extremely crowded. We stopped by Aoyama, an expensive Japanese restaurant, but it just looked too expensive and there wasn't a single person inside. Then we tried to go to Adriatica for Italian food, but that street was blocked off. We ended up going to an Armenian restaurant called Landau where we ate delicious chicken shashlik and the best french fries in the city of Bishkek. Later we went to Solo Karaoke Club. It basically looks like any Karaoke club anywhere in the world, but the English language selection is really strange and patchy. There was a lot of Bony M. and some strange Communist-era Italian songs by the likes of Tuto Cutunio and Andriano Celentano. I ended up finding a Bee-Gees song, a Madonna song, and of course I sang Moon River. I think you can write a dissertation on the karaoke song selections of different countried.
My brother's friends sang all these Russian pop songs. That's when I realized how poetic Russian pop songs are. They had such amazing, original lyrics that the songs I sang in English seemed so bland and trite. They sang this Viktor Tsoi/Kino song that was beautiful. When we left the karaoke club, it was already fall outside. A few dry oak leaves rustled under foot. I was suddenly glad that I was standing in this well-like apartment block courtyard. I had missed out on a whole different set of emotions by spending most of my youth in Europe and the United States. Driving home, there were drunk men lying in the streets. I was worried they will get run over since there are hardly any street lights on the streets of Bishkek. That's life in Bishkek where vodka is cheaper than water...
The first of September is always the first day of school in Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, and most likely other post-Soviet places. On this day, kids bring flowers to their teachers. It's such a touching vision to see these Kyrgyz grandmas walking their grandchildren on the first day of school, holding flowers. They have a whole life of learning in front of them. So exciting. I remember when I was a kid I couldn't sleep the night before the first of September because I was so excited, and looked forward to seeing/making friends, learning things, using new pencils, etc. I was talking to my brother about it this morning in the car, and he said he never felt that way. I then talked to my cousin about. She too said she hated the first of September. Why was I so exicted is a mystery, especially since I was never a great student. School, and education is something people take really seriously here in Kyrgyzstan, and that's something that's left from our Communist, Russian-inspired past. It's such a great tradition to value and believe in education. Of course since the fall of the Soviet Union, this great strength of our country like the high level of education, and the high rate of literacy is also sadly falling.
It's so beautiful and dusty here in the fall. I love how seasonal the food is here, and how the fruits and vegetables taste so real. Every month people get excited for the harvest of different fruits and vegetables. Right now is the season of pumpkins. We made steamed manty dumplings with pumpkin and ground beef. The pumpkin flavor was so sweet, and mellow. Perfect for the weather cooling gradually.
posted by Shirin @ 3:10 AM
1 Comments:
At 4:34 PM,
Falada said…
A zoo's photo diary lately, but a culinary mag before that! Very nice photos. How is teaching? --Mike (little cat's dad)
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