How to Train Your Optimism

19 February 2015

“This is Burke. It is 12 days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It is located solidly on the Meridian of Miserable. My village.”

         This is how the honest, frank, direct Hiccup starts off the movie How to Train Your Dragon. While it may be an accurate, the tone of which he addresses the audience portrays his contempt with it. He goes on to explain about the biggest problem being the local pests: “You see most places have mice or mosquitoes, we have dragons.” While he admits that “most people would leave,” he also recognizes that leaving isn’t going to solve the problem and that  “. . . we’re Vikings. We have stubbornness issues.” The village of Burke is hard, but it isn’t bad.

While I’ve been accused of being “excessively optimistic” by a fellow PCV, I’d be lying if I let that that be my only portrayal. I’m not always optimistic. I get frustrated, discouraged, disgruntled, fed up, whatever. You’ve been there. I see my students’ semester grades and criticize myself for them. I start comparing myself to others and the assumed expectations I’ve established for myself. But I need to take a step back and remember Gobber’s ill-placed but accurate advice to Hiccup: “The point is: Stop trying to be something you’re not.”

I’m not a miracle worker. I can’t get all my students to pass when many barely know their letters. I’m never going to be the expected, perfect person I wish could describe as myself. But what am I? I am the teacher that goes to school early, even when students don’t show up. I am a native English speaker who knows little Tigrigna. I am the twirler of children. I am the eater of cabbage and carrots and guavas who buys from people who call my name. I am the try-er of new ideas and the rearrange-er of the textbook to make it fit my students better. I am the listener to friends, young and old, telling me about their days. Instead of trying to be something I’m not, I need to keep being me. 

    

Yes, I try things that aren’t conventional. I don’t lecture for 30 minutes of a 42-minute class like other teachers tend to. I make my students give me authentic work each and every class. I hold them to high standards, because I know they can do it, if they take the step. Many don’t take that step. They come late or miss class. They don’t do the homework. They don’t ask questions. Again, Gobber comes in with wisdom, stating “You can’t stop ‘im, Stoick. You can only prepare ‘im.” While he is referring to Hiccup, the same holds true for students. I can’t stop my students from following cultural standards of skipping school after break. I can’t stop them from playing football after school instead of doing homework. I can’t stop them from taking tests and being scared of the results. What I can do is prepare them. I can prepare them for the tests. I can prepare homework and hold them accountable for it.

   

          “What are you going to do about it?” Astrid asks Hiccup.

         “Eh, probably something stupid,” he shrugs.

         “Good, but you’ve already done that.” Is her calm reply.

         “Then something crazy.” He lights up and takes off.

         “That’s more like it” she comments.

         Some of my lessons have been stupid. Lack classroom management at the beginning was stupid. Having only one assignment last semester for 10% of their grade and knowing that students were going to be absent was stupid. But, crazy works. Crazy is bringing in food to teach superlatives and comparatives adjectives to student, but they didn’t forget it. Crazy is making dry erase boards out of old sleeves of plastic to have students practice editing on. Crazy is redesigning a semester to have multiple assignments and short tests to better understand students and prevent even the frequently absent individuals from getting a 0 on their assignment grade. Teacher have called me crazy (in the nice way) for bringing in so many visual aids, making students move about the room, and trying to teach most of the period in English. This semester is going to be about trying new and potentially crazy things in class and out of it.

    

“This is Burke. It snows 9 months out of the year and hails the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. The only upsides are the pets. While other places have ponies or parrots, we have dragons.”

         This is how Hiccup concludes the movie. He still acknowledges that life is rough (Hmmmm, but there was no hail or snow throughout the movie). However, this time, instead of concluding about the biggest upset, he focuses on the positive. Instead of seeing his town, his place, his life as worst than others, he shows how it is special, unique, different. That’s what being optimistic is about. Not ignoring the negative, but rather acknowledging the good in a heap of pessimistic aspects.

Synonyms and Antonyms

18 February 2015

            I first taught these two terms to my students after teaching about homonyms, homographs, and homophones last semester. “Nym” means name. “Syn” means same. So synonyms are words that mean the same things. “Ant” is for opposites or words that are against each other. While small and tiny are synonyms. Short and tall are antonyms.

         This week, Unit 7’s vocabulary had diversity in the list. In all three of my classes, a student raised his or her hand to give the definition of “different” for diversity. We then talked about differences that we could see in our classroom that makes it diverse (color, language, age, nationality, etc.).  When I asked them if bad was a synonym or antonym for different many just froze.

What do you think? Do your actions reflect that?

        

       Even though I’ve almost lived in Selekleka for 5 months (on the 20^th), I still am reminded that I am different. Today a kid laughed as she placed her small hand in mine at the TPLF celebrations, and said I am sooo white. Teacher friends laugh at me when I pronounce something accidentally in Amharic or with a very foreign stress.  After twirling kids, one of the kids mentioned that I am the only forengi (foreigner) that will do this. I’m different. But that’s not bad.

            I have people call out to me everywhere I go. No matter the time of day, kids flock towards me. People know where I am and who I’m with, so I’m always safe and easy to track down if one needs me and the phone network is not working. Different is okay.

            So, what about hard? Is that synonymous or antonymous with bad or different?

            Over break 4 more people from my Peace Corp group went back to the States on their own choice (early terminating (ET) their PC service). I’ve heard and had many frustrating conversations about school administration, land families, liaisons, sites, curriculum, etc. The water is still out. Phone network doesn’t work. When we do check Facebook, we often realize we are missing lots of events that are happening to people we truly care about. Only a handful of people really understand what we are going through. This isn’t to complain or vent, just to show you that this life is hard. Our jobs are hard. Our lives outside of the classroom are sometimes harder than teaching 70 students.

            But, in my opinion, it’s not bad.

            It’s not bad to have morals reexamined by administration. It’s not bad to fumble in language. It’s not bad to miss friends. It’s not bad to be disconnected. It is how the individual deals with the hard that determines the good or bad of it all. Not buying bottled water or saving it ahead of time, giving up on the language, creating more barriers--that is bad. Rising above, talking about moral compasses, planning new action plan--that is good.

 My mom always asked us when we came complaining and upset about what someone had said to us:  “Why are you giving him/her the power to upset you? You decide what his/her actions do to you--not him/her.”  The same is true about the hard things that rise in our lives. The event happened, that cannot be changed. What we do have the power over, is how we are going to react. That reaction can either be good or bad. For, as my students will tell you without pausing, those are antonyms.

      I know many people put the happy in the blogs. It’s easier to write about that. Sometimes we just have to focus on the happy to forget about the hard. But please remember that behind every PC blog (mine and others) are hard times that can turn bad. Living lives that are different, can be extremely hard. Peace Corps’ motto: the “hardest job you’ll ever love” is emphasized in all the differences. 

No Water? No Problem

Monday, 15 February 2015

I remember when I was growing up, there were storms that would shut down electricity for a day or two. I’ve seen news reports of hurricane victims going to shelters. I remember filling up gallons of water before heading out to my Grandparents’ Newman Lake cabin. But how does that compare to going into week two without water in Selekleka? Here, people flock to the river to get water. The same river where people wash clothes, bathe, relieve bladders, dump waste. On Peace Corps standards three weeks is starting to be a long time. I know friends that haven’t had water for over a month. So, here is a list I’ve compiled on how to make the most of whatever water you do have.

1              Don’t wash dishes. I’m sure there are sanitation workers and germophobes out there that just cringed. Here’s the thing: I am the only one using this fork. Instead of washing dishes I turn them over to prevent flies from getting in and wait for the next meal till they are needed to flip them over to use again.

2              Make meals that don’t require water. Contrary to some, I don’t have to use water for each of my meals. Cabbage and carrots are cheap and safe to eat without soaking in water. Just peal back the first layers and cabbage is good. Peal off the nasty outside of a carrot and the rest is ready to use in 10 seconds. Chop them up with an onion, add some salt and lime juice and you’ve got a nice salad that didn’t require washing vegetables like tomatoes. Or, (if you’ve had American care packages) make a p b & j sandwich.

3              Save water for things that make you happy. My hair has never been longer than it is right now. It does pretty well with being nicely gross for 1-1 ½  weeks between showers, but after that I want to shave it off or attach an air freshener to my headbands. So, instead of washing dishes and feet daily, I save the water to wash my hair (and the rest of my tall self) with a liter (about 4 cups) of water.** The water is reused from first soaking to rinse which also prevents me from wasting water. It’s the little things like clean hair the give pleasure to situations that could be discouraging.

4              Be male. (Doesn’t work for me!)  If you’re going to go to a place with frequent water outages, it helps to be male. At least in Ethiopian culture, males are not required to cook food or wash clothes that are big hogs for little water. Instead you have a sister or worker get water and take care of things for you. You may be sent to get water, but you can use your donkeys or camels as you never strap water jugs to your back. Eating out prevents dirty dishes and usually those places have water for you. You also tend to have shorter hair.

5              Watch sugar and salt intake. As much as I love tea, jolly ranchers, and popcorn I also have to realize that these foods often cause me to crave water more.  Tea and coffee may taste good, but they also dehydrate which isn’t helpful when your hydrants are few. You may have had a killer day and need a pick me up but jolly ranchers or dark chocolate peanut butter cups might discourage you more after consuming. Popcorn may require no water to make, but if too much salt is added it will make you thirsty.

6              Have friends. No one likes to face anything alone. It is good to have friends at site that can help you with water, or you can help eat a larger meal. It’s also good to have friends that understand what you are going through and can support, complain, laugh, joke and whatever about the lack of water. These will also be the people who know what shuks (neighborhood stores) still have bottled water at the low prices. Besides having friends at site, it is important to have friends in surrounding areas that do have water. I may smell disgusting. My clothes that are considered clean, even on Peace Corps standards, are dwindling. But I know that this weekend, I’ll visit her. I will have more water than I can drink. I will be able to clean every day. I won’t have dirt under my fingernails. That glimmer is important to stay positive.

7              Plan ahead. This gets tricky after three weeks, but always assume that water is going to go out for an unknown amount of time at some point. Have water stored in whatever container you want. Never let buckets get partially empty if the water is working.

** I just took a shower and had water left over in my liter bottle, so this is possible and not an exaggeration. You can get clean with a water bottle full of water and be okay. I even put too much conditioner in and was still okay. If you are feeling adventurous go find a bucket and a water bottle and see how little you can do it with. 

Mini Q & A Sunday, February 8, 2015

       I’ve recently received word via a little bird across the World Wide Web, that people have questions about some my life. So, to make it easier for that little birdy to properly answer, I thought I would answer them here. That way, not only will she know the answers, but others may also gain an understanding.

Question #1: How you're doing?

         Although I do not agree with Disney’s interpretation of Pocahontas (and agree with my mom that the music isn’t the absolute best) her metaphor of life being like a river is applicable to me here. Some days are absolutely perfect: calm, collected, peaceful, together. Other days are wild: rapids, splashes, mess, spray, speed. There are times when I just want to dock the canoe to get out of the river, but you can’t pause your life. Instead you keep learning, adapting, growing and realizing more about yourself than you thought was possible. I am doing well. I’ve learned what I need to do to keep myself on course, to laugh instead of complain, and to enjoy the new. I am doing all right.

Question #2: What you're doing?

         This week I have been relaxing and doing very little that would be considered “productive” while being with friends in Adwa, a city about an hour northeast of Selekleka. I’m looking forward to getting back to my small haven of hospitality and being productive. I am teaching 9^th grade English 2-3 hours a day, learning Tigrigna, and planning future projects. Some of these projects at my school include: English Club, school garden, STOMP Out Malaria Club and creative writing club. I am also looking into doing more routine projects with a kindergarten class, even though there are little resources and their English skills are really low. My vision for this is lots of music and games that gradually build their ABCs, 123s, and the like. I am also constantly on the look out to build relationships, integrate into the culture through various events, and twirl kids around. In my “free time” (this has to be scheduled in or it’s missed) I am reading The Lord of the Rings and Stiff, embroidering ABC squares, writing, and trying to understand Tigrignian music. My traditional instrument is finally ready for me to pick up from the maker so I will be learning from a teacher how to play that in the near future. 

Question #3: Daily routine?

         Non-existent.

         Here’s the deal: I rotate from morning to afternoon shift every week. People call me in for coffee ceremonies and meals whenever. No matter what I plan, it rarely goes that way.

         Rough sketch: Before my shift, I go 30 minutes early and stay till the end. This is either from 7:30 a.m to noon-thirty or 11:30am to 6:15pm. As the school is 2.5/3 kilometers (1.55/1.86 miles) from home this means that I have to leave 30 minutes before I want to arrive there. I make a majority of my meals at my house, but do occasionally eat at the school. (This is always on Fridays as I am there all day for English Day.) In the half of the day I am not working I do the necessary house chores, plan lessons, create teaching aids, read Bible, drink lots of tea, write letters/blogs/poems, study Tigrigna, shop, and run other errands. In the evenings I usually go for a walk or two, play with children, talk with teachers, go to tea houses with friends to catch up, and journal. My goal is to go to bed around 9:30 and wake up from 6:30-7:30 a.m.depending on what shift I am in that week.

Question #4: Foods?

         See previous blog. Just kidding. Here is some more information.

         At market: tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, kale, bananas, guavas, garlic, onions, carrots, lemons, papaya (sometimes), peanuts, various beans, various grains, spices and oil.

         Typically I eat some sort of scrambled egg mixture for breakfast. Salad for lunch. And shiro or tagamino for dinner. Popcorn with shiro is extremely messy but delicious! I sometimes go to the bakery for fresh rolls or get them from kids selling them on the side of the road. AH! At night kids (usually boys) carry around large bowls of yummy goods to sell. This includes two types of baked chick peas, hard boiled eggs, and sambusas. 

        

Question #5: What's Selekleka like? (how 'civilized'?)(aka - running water?)

While Selekleka claims to have 8,000 people I believe that number includes many of the outlaying areas and isn’t what the town is like. It is larger than a village, but much smaller than a city. It’s a town that happens to be the center of the woreda (like “county” in American context) and between two larger cities of Aksum (or Axum) and Shire. It’s nestled on one side by a big hill (some refer to it as a mountain) and on the other by fields.

As to being ‘civilized,’ Selekleka does have water in the forms of pumps throughout town. Some compounds have running water, but that is not the norm. I am blessed that mine does (though it is currently shut off). There is one paved road through the center of town while streets connecting to that are dirt. There are no cobblestone roads like in Shire, Axum and Adwa. Electricity is pretty common with poles up all over the place. Both water and power go out, but I don’t think that constitutes as being ‘uncivilized.’ There are various businesses around town:  carpenters, stores, hotels, bank, mill houses, post office and cafes. There is an internet house where three computers are sometimes hooked up to internet.

Weather is varies. In the mornings it is cold, but by noon it is very warm. I don’t know how hot it gets here (my phone doesn’t have an app for that), but I would guess high 70’s or so. We are cooler than Adwa and Shire, but about the same as Aksum (if any one wants to google that information). Soon we will be getting into the hot season, where I’ve been told that there is no cold even in the morning and it gets really hot. I’ve also been told water shortages are more common so I will be going to market soon to get a large barrel to hold water. Nights are clear and cool so many people walk around to get a breath of fresh air and catch up with others.

Question #6: What are the people like?

         I read this question and hundreds of faces pop up in my mind’s eye. The people here are like family. There are the goofy, loud, energetic, talkative, demanding attention, laughing, crying, with screaming children that give you a head ache sometimes, but always make you smile. There are the old, respected, gray individuals that use canes, but whose eyes sparkle most when they hear you speaking Tigrigna. There are the moms who carry kids on their backs, keep track of others’ kids and laugh when you play with their children. There are the fathers who carry their kids on their shoulders, have calloused hands from working and enjoy a good cup of sewa after work. Shaking hands is the common greeting, but letting go isn’t. If people feel comfortable with you they will pull you in for a shoulder bump or three alternating kisses on the cheeks. Hospitality is key. They invite you to sit with them no matter what they are eating or drinking. Rinsing the right hand is important before and after eating every meal. They are patient and kind, open and welcoming, inquisitive and knowledgeable. There are some that rub you the wrong way and those you always want to hang out with. Many know English to some extent, but most are relieved when I speak in Tigrigna (or at least attempt it).

Question #7: Stuff like that.

            Not sure what else y’all would like to know about so message me for more details. This upcoming week I am starting to teach Unit 7 themed around “Cities of the Future” with lessons on comparing, points of view, linking sentences, descriptive writing, formal letter, talking about future, predictions, passive voice, comparatives and superlatives, and various vocabulary. That’s two weeks of learning. I have about 6 weeks till Mid-Exams at which time students will be tested on 3 units, so I have to get them ready by finding common links between lessons. The Mid Exam accounts for 25% of their semester grade. I am also going to start typing up all my lesson plans, complete evaluations on the units I have taught, design action plans for various clubs and projects and complete my Volunteer Reflection Form (VRF) that summarizes everything I have done in the previous three months. February 18^th is a holiday to celebrate the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) as they stood against the Derg, so that’s pretty important around here.

Sorry if this blog isn’t as up and spunky and random as my previous ones. One of my favorite professor at University constantly reminded us that, “If one person asks a question, at least three people have it, but are too shy to ask.” Well, here are the answers to one person for all of you – in case you were shy.  Now, I’m going to enjoy a candy cane (big shout out to Heather for her awesome Christmas/Birthday package that finally arrived) and read before this busy week. Prayers for all of you. 

February 3, 2015 50 Things I’ve Learned in Hard and Easy Ways

About Myself

1. I say “Yes”…..No is very hard for me to say to people

2. I love teaching

3. Tea gets me out of bed on cold mornings

4. I put my whole heart into everything

5. I’m not always messy

6. Walking around room is classroom management & keeps me calm

7. I’m a HUGE travel bug!

8. Love the sunshine!

9. Have to schedule in “free” time

10. Nicknames, inside jokes & sporadic text messages make my day

About Students

1. They learn most through laughing

2. Books are brought if reminded or rewarded

3. Involvement fades during 3rd and 6th period classes

4. Will do more if there is a reason involved

5. Love formulas….even for a language that has more exceptions than rules

6. 1st period is always shorter with students coming in late

7. Will want to do homework for other classes if they aren’t active in the learning

8. Love to ask “Why?”

9. Lemons/Limes are precious

10. “Hello” in Tigrigna goes a long way

About Others

1. Will respond in relation to the authenticity that a question is asked

2. All are different

3. Friendships can be interpreted in different ways

4. Most genuinely care for your response to “how are you?”

5. Many assume you know about cultural days, norms or expectations without explaining them

6. Film, music, weather and sports are common similarities for starting conversations

7. Appreciate effort even if the outcome isn’t perfect (ex. language)

8. They joke because they care and trust you to joke back

9. Chivalry is not dead

10. Deserve to be listened to be really heard, before being told someone else’s opinion is better

About Friends

1.        Send you long letters full of random, thoughtful, philosophical questions to remind you they still know and think of you.

2.        Tell you what you need to hear even if you don’t want to hear it

3. Pausing movies for commentary is sharing a part of their hearts

4. Don’t back away when you are sick, but come closer to make sure you’re okay

5. Keep no records of price of food, phone cards, or shared tickets

6. Say what is on their minds about any topic

7. Recommend books that become your favorites because they know you so well

8. Say more with a look than could ever be dictated correctly

9. Don’t have to know you long to know you well

10. Love helping you expand your horizons, but remind you to enjoy the view

About Life

1.    Find days to celebrate

2. Eating with one hand doesn’t have to be messy

3. Habits can change

4. New things are an adventure to be determined good or bad later

5. A meal can say so many things

6. Celebrate everything between life and death

7. The future is unknown, but nothing to worry about

8. Curve balls come, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be hit

9. Distance and time don’t hinder friendships

10. Hy