It's been long enough since I've blogged that I almost feel like I've forgotten how. But since I leave for Ukraine tomorrow, I figured it's time to start this up again.
Ukraine, you say? Yes, I'm going back for the summer to do research for my M.A. thesis on communicative language teaching in Ukrainian schools. I'll be in Balaklia for the first month or so, I expect, with possible short trips for data collection, and then will be at Ivan Franko University in L'viv from early June through almost the end of July for Ukrainian language study through the University of Kansas. Then one week at the end, which might be wrapping up data collection, going back to Balaklia, or heading down to the Black Sea...it's a play-it-by-ear week.
I'm excited, albeit a bit nervous tonight. I loved Ukraine and my life there when I was there as a PCV, and leaving was hard. I always thought I'd go back, but a few years later down the line, not a year and a half later. (And I also thought I'd be paying for more of it...being mostly funded is nice.) Ukraine has changed. My friends there have changed. And I've changed, too.
But overall, I think it will be good. I'm looking forward to the chance to do research on a topic I'm interested in (and simply to get to try out all the research techniques I've been learning about this semester). I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends again (I'm staying with the Yukhymetses for the first month! Andrey and Ira just had a baby girl, Yanna!). I'm looking forward to studying Ukrainian again...and simply just to speak it on a regular basis. And I'm looking forward to whatever else God has in store for me. He's provided for me abundantly in so many ways over the last year and a half, and this is at the top of the list.
~*~
For the record, I think I have just finished the busiest semester of my life. Note to self: do not take on a double teaching load in your practicum class, a PhD level research methods course, and a seminar with a lot of reading in which you decide to do a research option all at once. Especially not when planning a trip overseas. To add to that, housing and employment for the fall were both in flux for quite some time, and employment is not yet resolved. I'm sort of looking forward to being on the plane tomorrow, because I won't have things I should be doing.
~*~
Saw the new Star Trek movie with the game night crew and Brandi's family tonight. Greatly enjoyed it, although I'm more familiar with the Next Generation series than the original. We may possibly have been the geekiest group there.
~*~
I should follow Lisa's advice--"Go to bed, Sally." It's 10:30 now, and I need to get up at 4 a.m.
Showing posts with label lisa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lisa. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
vindication
I had a really cool thing happen yesterday. Several, actually, including going out for Chinese food for a classmate's birthday, buying an inscribed copy of Madeleine L'Engle's poetry, and having a goofy, low-stress evening hanging out with Lisa as she snarked her way through a video game and I alternately read articles for the lit review I have to write and snarked along with her. Oh, and the random tour bus that was parked in front of our apartment for several hours. We never quite figured out why.
But the thing that made me decide to blog wasn't any of those things. I've been on http://www.vkontake.ru/ for a couple of weeks now--it's an equivalent to Facebook for Russian/Ukrainian speakers. Another RPCV had let me know about it, and I've enjoyed seeing what some of the people I knew in Ukraine are up to. Well, yesterday, I had a friend request from Firyuza, one of my former students.
Firyuza was one of the best students I've taught. She was one of the very few people I could count on to do their homework, and she was a regular at my English clubs. Her family moved into my apartment building partway through my time in Balaklia, and she and I would often walk home together, having simple conversations in English and playing word games like "I Spy" and "Think of a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word" in English. She was also had a quick temper and could be a bit moody--I remember an "open lesson" for the rayon teachers where I gave both her and another student the same high mark. She felt that she'd done better than the other student and that my grades should have reflected that, told me I could go ahead and give her a failing grade, and stormed off. Nelya and I didn't always agree about her--Firyuza is Tajikistani, and Nelya felt that she often showed "uncultured" characteristics of Tajik village people (Nelya spent several years in Tajkistan), but no one could argue that she wasn't a good student. (Firuyza's family are Muslims, the only ones I knew in Balaklia. Interestingly enough, her brother, Faridun, was friends with Vitaly Yukhymets, which made me wonder if it was because they both weren't Orthodox.)
Anyhow, when I looked at Firyuza's profile, I saw that after she finished 9th form last spring, she had transferred to the junior college in Balaklia and is now studying to be a translator (I assume of English, although it might also be German). I'm beyond thrilled. I loved my time in Ukraine and occasionally felt like I was making some small differences in regard to how people perceived Americans, but I was never sure if I made any difference as an English teacher. I figured at best, maybe some of my kids would realize that there were different ways to teach, that my educational effectiveness had more to do with helping them see English as fun than with actually learning anything. And now I found out that one of my students has decided to go into a language-related professon. As I said, I'm thrilled. It's a tiny vindication that yes, I probably helped inspire someone. And that makes all the days when I got so frustrated with the kids who didn't care worthwhile.
But the thing that made me decide to blog wasn't any of those things. I've been on http://www.vkontake.ru/ for a couple of weeks now--it's an equivalent to Facebook for Russian/Ukrainian speakers. Another RPCV had let me know about it, and I've enjoyed seeing what some of the people I knew in Ukraine are up to. Well, yesterday, I had a friend request from Firyuza, one of my former students.
Firyuza was one of the best students I've taught. She was one of the very few people I could count on to do their homework, and she was a regular at my English clubs. Her family moved into my apartment building partway through my time in Balaklia, and she and I would often walk home together, having simple conversations in English and playing word games like "I Spy" and "Think of a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word" in English. She was also had a quick temper and could be a bit moody--I remember an "open lesson" for the rayon teachers where I gave both her and another student the same high mark. She felt that she'd done better than the other student and that my grades should have reflected that, told me I could go ahead and give her a failing grade, and stormed off. Nelya and I didn't always agree about her--Firyuza is Tajikistani, and Nelya felt that she often showed "uncultured" characteristics of Tajik village people (Nelya spent several years in Tajkistan), but no one could argue that she wasn't a good student. (Firuyza's family are Muslims, the only ones I knew in Balaklia. Interestingly enough, her brother, Faridun, was friends with Vitaly Yukhymets, which made me wonder if it was because they both weren't Orthodox.)
Anyhow, when I looked at Firyuza's profile, I saw that after she finished 9th form last spring, she had transferred to the junior college in Balaklia and is now studying to be a translator (I assume of English, although it might also be German). I'm beyond thrilled. I loved my time in Ukraine and occasionally felt like I was making some small differences in regard to how people perceived Americans, but I was never sure if I made any difference as an English teacher. I figured at best, maybe some of my kids would realize that there were different ways to teach, that my educational effectiveness had more to do with helping them see English as fun than with actually learning anything. And now I found out that one of my students has decided to go into a language-related professon. As I said, I'm thrilled. It's a tiny vindication that yes, I probably helped inspire someone. And that makes all the days when I got so frustrated with the kids who didn't care worthwhile.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
grad school can be fun...sort of...
Not original content, but something fascinating from my reading for LLT 895 this week. Please read the following passage and hazard a guess as to the subject matter...I'm curious who can figure it out. (Mom, Kate, and Lisa are not eligible, as they've already been subjected to this.)
The procedure is quite simple. First, you arrange the items in separate piles. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run, this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put back into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.
The whole idea is that while readers can decode each individual sentence, the overall meaning may be confusing.
(x-posted to Facebook)
The procedure is quite simple. First, you arrange the items in separate piles. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run, this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put back into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.
The whole idea is that while readers can decode each individual sentence, the overall meaning may be confusing.
(x-posted to Facebook)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
settling in
Random little bits:
I found a frame for one of my oddly-dimensioned pictures from Ukraine. Granted, it has no glass, no back, no hook, and is the wrong color, but the dimensions are right. And all of those other things can be fixed.
Fruits Basket rocks. Both the manga and the anime. Yay for roommate bonding and Kyo-hugging. (What do you mean, he's just a stuffed toy? That's just what you think...)
I had tofu for supper. I don't think I'd ever had tofu before. While it doesn't make the top 10 list of best foods I've ever had in my life, it was pretty good.
As I start a new phase of life as a grad student at MSU, I'm going to try to become more organized, eat healthier, and exercise more. We'll see how this goes, but I'm hopeful. I mean, it has to be easier to make lifestyle changes when you're making other lifestyle changes, right? (That sentence apparently doesn't make as much sense typed out as it did in my head.)
I found a frame for one of my oddly-dimensioned pictures from Ukraine. Granted, it has no glass, no back, no hook, and is the wrong color, but the dimensions are right. And all of those other things can be fixed.
Fruits Basket rocks. Both the manga and the anime. Yay for roommate bonding and Kyo-hugging. (What do you mean, he's just a stuffed toy? That's just what you think...)
I had tofu for supper. I don't think I'd ever had tofu before. While it doesn't make the top 10 list of best foods I've ever had in my life, it was pretty good.
As I start a new phase of life as a grad student at MSU, I'm going to try to become more organized, eat healthier, and exercise more. We'll see how this goes, but I'm hopeful. I mean, it has to be easier to make lifestyle changes when you're making other lifestyle changes, right? (That sentence apparently doesn't make as much sense typed out as it did in my head.)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Literature Map
This one's primarily for Lisa: the Literature Map. You type in the name of an author, and it shows you what authors are the most similar, thereby giving you (hopefully) recommendations for new authors.
So Charlotte Bronte shows up the closest to Jane Austen. I'll accept that, even if Bronte had a low regard for Austen's work. However, how on earth did Daphne Du Maurier (author of Rebecca) end up the closest to L. M. Montgomery? Granted, Wilder, Alcott, and L'Engle are close by, but still...
I'd love to know the criteria they're using. For example, Madeleine L'Engle and Dorothy L. Sayers show up next to each other. Okay, I get it. They both deal with theological issues in their fiction (which is often genre fiction, although different genres), and they both have a good grasp of diction. But L'Engle also shows up near Edna St. Vincent Millay, and the only thing I know that they have in common is that I like them both. Probably not what it's based on.
ETA:
So "God" showed up on the map, and I clicked on it, just to see who would be on His map. The list had Jesus next to Him (so far so good), and then a baffling variety of names around them. They included Drew Carey, Joseph Smith, the Holy Spirit, Arthur C. Clarke (of 2001: A Space Odessey fame), Tim LaHaye, Gary Paulsen (Hatchet), Saint Paul, Satan, and Einstein. Wow...
ETA2: Apparently the point is not so much that the authors are similar as that people who will like one will also like the other. It still seems massively flawed to me.
So Charlotte Bronte shows up the closest to Jane Austen. I'll accept that, even if Bronte had a low regard for Austen's work. However, how on earth did Daphne Du Maurier (author of Rebecca) end up the closest to L. M. Montgomery? Granted, Wilder, Alcott, and L'Engle are close by, but still...
I'd love to know the criteria they're using. For example, Madeleine L'Engle and Dorothy L. Sayers show up next to each other. Okay, I get it. They both deal with theological issues in their fiction (which is often genre fiction, although different genres), and they both have a good grasp of diction. But L'Engle also shows up near Edna St. Vincent Millay, and the only thing I know that they have in common is that I like them both. Probably not what it's based on.
ETA:
So "God" showed up on the map, and I clicked on it, just to see who would be on His map. The list had Jesus next to Him (so far so good), and then a baffling variety of names around them. They included Drew Carey, Joseph Smith, the Holy Spirit, Arthur C. Clarke (of 2001: A Space Odessey fame), Tim LaHaye, Gary Paulsen (Hatchet), Saint Paul, Satan, and Einstein. Wow...
ETA2: Apparently the point is not so much that the authors are similar as that people who will like one will also like the other. It still seems massively flawed to me.
Friday, February 22, 2008
"you had the world's smallest nail stuck in your tire..."
Yesterday was a day I don't need to repeat again any time soon.
It started out with me packing my car for a trip to East Lansing to visit the MA TESOL program.
Then, I got a mile away from my house and decided, "Oh, I'll just take this extra half mile of dirt road to get me to the highway, which will be cleared, rather than go on snowy paved roads for several miles." This started well, and I was within an eighth of a mile of my goal, when the sheet of ice that I was driving on became problematic. I slid and spun off into the snowbank...and got a flat tire in the process.
Thank goodness for cell phones, random strangers driving by, and fathers.
Close to two hours later, I was on my way again. I got to MSU only about 20 minutes later than I needed to be there (I'd originally scheduled plenty of time beforehand to do random things). I sat in on a class, had an interview for a TA position, and had a very good conversation with Professor Ron Dorr, who I'd had for Religion and American Literature and was one of the two best professors I had at MSU.
Then I went back to my car, intending to head to Quiz Bowl practice and see people. However, to my utter dismay, I discovered that in my rush to not be quite-as-late when I showed up, I had inadvertently locked my keys in the car.
Called H&H Mobile, got it taken care of, and eventually made it to Quiz Bowl practice. Then I went to Tina and Lisa's, where I'm staying this weekend, exhausted after a stressful day. Within ten minutes of arriving, Tina had a pillow, a cup of tea, and a back rub for me. Bless her heart!
Although, as my mom said, no car trouble and a bad interview would have been much worse.
~*~
I'd forgotten how much I love the Lansing area and the MSU campus. I don't know for sure what I'm doing this fall yet, but it's been great to be back here for a few days.
It started out with me packing my car for a trip to East Lansing to visit the MA TESOL program.
Then, I got a mile away from my house and decided, "Oh, I'll just take this extra half mile of dirt road to get me to the highway, which will be cleared, rather than go on snowy paved roads for several miles." This started well, and I was within an eighth of a mile of my goal, when the sheet of ice that I was driving on became problematic. I slid and spun off into the snowbank...and got a flat tire in the process.
Thank goodness for cell phones, random strangers driving by, and fathers.
Close to two hours later, I was on my way again. I got to MSU only about 20 minutes later than I needed to be there (I'd originally scheduled plenty of time beforehand to do random things). I sat in on a class, had an interview for a TA position, and had a very good conversation with Professor Ron Dorr, who I'd had for Religion and American Literature and was one of the two best professors I had at MSU.
Then I went back to my car, intending to head to Quiz Bowl practice and see people. However, to my utter dismay, I discovered that in my rush to not be quite-as-late when I showed up, I had inadvertently locked my keys in the car.
Called H&H Mobile, got it taken care of, and eventually made it to Quiz Bowl practice. Then I went to Tina and Lisa's, where I'm staying this weekend, exhausted after a stressful day. Within ten minutes of arriving, Tina had a pillow, a cup of tea, and a back rub for me. Bless her heart!
Although, as my mom said, no car trouble and a bad interview would have been much worse.
~*~
I'd forgotten how much I love the Lansing area and the MSU campus. I don't know for sure what I'm doing this fall yet, but it's been great to be back here for a few days.
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