So I wanted to write another blog post just to catch up on current events. In terms of the day-to-day, very little has changed down here in the southwest of Tanzania. The O-level classes have closed and it is quieter around school with just the A-level kids hanging around. Currently we’re also in the middle of mock exams for form 6 so that keeps half the kids studying furiously in a corner in an attempt to prepare for their tests. My class’s exam was relatively easy. There were few tricky questions, as most of them were very straightforward and asking for very mainstream concepts to be produced. There were two questions that I thought were out of line as they were never mentioned in the syllabus but I suppose they were probably concepts taught in O-level which would make them fair game for an A-level exam, as they are supposed to be fully cumulative. However, partial fraction decomposition and (less so) the equation for a circle were concepts that we never went over and I’ll be surprised if the students score very well on them. Although, I guess I should be grateful they showed up here and not on the exam for the first time. Other than exams, school is continuing, if only at a seemingly sluggish pace. Since I lost my physics periods, my work load is down hovering around that line where I don’t have to do any work to still get by and at times it can be hard to motivate myself to do quality work day in and day out. However, I am attempting to use the time to give effort in my secondary work, library and presentations, to counter when I regain my physics periods in the coming weeks. However, I find I do better work when I have more of it so it may take that additional responsibility to trigger a consistent quality response.
The seasons are one thing that is changing, and rather rapidly, right now. It has looked like a storm several times and even spit rain while grumbling thunder, but until quite recently the actual precipitation has been lacking. That all changed this last Sunday when I could see the storm clouds gathering in the early afternoon. Part of the difference was the fact that the storm approached about 3 hours before they had been gathering lately, and part of it was the cloud structure, which was much more defined and solid. One of the cool things about tin roofs is that you can hear what is coming for a little bit before it arrives. The storm came in like a continuous crescendo of applause and once the rain showed up the wind picked up too. It got to the point where I was waiting outside to watch the tree that would inevitably fall, do so. I turned out to be correct, although it was only a large branch as opposed to the full tree this time, but I missed it because I was driven inside by the pea-sized hail (yes hail!) that was blown sideways compromising my porch as a shelter. Ever since that storm, we’ve had pouring rain every night, and even some showers during the day. It was clearly the beginning of the season which now looks to stay quite wet. Well, at least it feels like Tukuyu again!
I watched the movie Saving Private Ryan the other day for the first time. I’d wanted to see it ever since I remembered hearing Ian got to go see it in theatres when we were not even teenagers. I’d even seen some of the opening scene once, but never the entire movie. I have no idea if a World War II vet would consider that a good representation of the experience, but it moved me in a way few movies have in recent memory. I have levels of quality in my mind and often movies are good but do not get up to that highest rung, but this one certainly did. From the opening scene where the fronts of the boats open at Omaha Beach to greet a wave of bullets, I was filled with the feeling that I did not appreciate what that war meant to America and the world. We hear the words about how our soldiers are fighting in the name of freedom etc. in Afghanistan and Iraq but somehow, with all the disagreement on where we should be fighting and if we should still be there, the words lose their meaning. But to know that failure meant the conquest of pure evil in the world, the call to fight must have been undeniable. Yet, war in those days was so much different. Casualties were expected and you were happy with numbers lost in a battle that today are unacceptable in a war! Men went to fight, knowing it was likely they would die, and yet they did it anyway; literally for family, god, and country. I don’t think my generation can truly appreciate what war was for those fighting in WWII because I don’t think we think we equate war with such a high likelihood of death. Obviously today’s soldiers have to be willing to give their lives and indeed many have already given themselves mentally to the cause. But at least for me, “going off to war” doesn’t mean what it must have for the men in the 40s.
I think the other element of the movie that struck a chord with me was the camaraderie of the men in battle and dying for your fellow soldier. At the end of the movie, Tom Hanks’ character says to Matt Damon simply, “Earn this.” What an inescapable burden the survivors of that war must have felt from those they left behind on the battlefield. By some inexplicable roll of the dice, they were the ones that got to go home to their wives, girlfriends, and unborn generations that lived only because they did. I have never claimed to understand Post-traumatic Stress Disorder because I’m not sure what it could possibly feel like. But the moment where Private Ryan has grown to an old man and is begging for his wife to tell him he’s lived a good life, earning every life that was sacrificed to save his own on the battle field, I think I got a glimpse of what that burden must have been like to the survivors and how it could cause some to never recover. I’m not trying to say that from one movie I am suddenly privy to even a small portion of what that war did to America, but I think that movie did exactly what a great film does; it gave, if even for only a few moments, the sense of being in the experience and not behind a screen.
Given that today is December 7, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to every veteran that fought in World War II and every other veteran who has served to keep America and her people safe. And thank you to those who continue to do that duty today, especially my friends and family who are serving. I could not do what I am doing without your work.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A Transit Tangent!
To those who have read my blog in the past you may have consistently come across a reference to a transit project that I have spent a significant amount of time designing. While it seems at times like a colossal waste of time given I live in Africa having limited contact with people who could identify the merits and faults of my proposal, it has been an enjoyable exercise and a good creative outlet. However, often my ideas aren’t finished until I’ve reached some sort of tangible ending point to the project. A few months ago, I put the idea into an actual document that I sent to be produced into a physical booklet (thank you Katie!) and sent to people who could indeed have an effect on it. I was rewarded with a thoughtful response by the director of Wichita Transit, giving me a look at the document they have chosen to guide them in the future.
However, I have since found an additional solution to my list of kinks to be worked out, which brings me here, in search of another end. So therefore, I’ll present the plan and its associated update.
I have been working on this idea in one form or another since my freshman year of college, when I realized that the city had an interesting situation in that in every direction from the city, towards every other town nearby, there were rail corridors in various states of use. Then, I further recognized that most every major destination had one of these corridors in close proximity to it. Over the course of the next few years I developed several iterations of my plan until settling on open-ended bus-rapid-transit (BRT) corridors as the best use of the facilities. I admit, some would require more significant construction than others, and the costs could be significant, but with a commitment to the project, other necessary improvements (that will be constructed without the system) could be modified to make the project even cheaper.
Anyway, the system is based around consolidating the current offerings of the Wichita Transit into branches of an effectively high-capacity corridor where service would be dramatically increased. In places where buses run on nearby streets, they would be consolidated to one corridor and timed to cut the wait time for the next bus in half. The further you travel from city center, the less frequent travel is on the transit corridor, as buses turn off to offer local service on various streets. In the center of town, this does shrink service coverage, but if the corridor offers truly frequent service, people will walk to take it. The other advantage, and biggest gain, of the system is an assistance of non-downtown-oriented trips. Since stations on the busway could be used as a transfer point, the rider could ride one bus to the transitway and then switch services to another destination without going downtown, as is required now.
The busways with the most potential boil down to four different routes. A northeast busway which follows abandoned railroad tracks from Washington, just north of Central, to Wesley hospital before turning north towards WSU, and then turning east to travel at roughly 17th street to Rock Road. A second busway would follow Southeast Blvd from its break off with Washington all the way to 47th Street South and the Oaklawn community. This could be constructed concurrently with an effort to raise the train tracks paralleling the boulevard by sacrificing lanes on a street that is redundant to Washington, Hydraulic, and I-135 in the north, and has sufficient space for additional lanes further south. The western branches both begin in Delano, just north of Douglas, then the southwest splits to follow the active railway past Friends and then branches off to travel along the southern side of Kellogg to the airport. The northwestern line would travel parallel to the rails heading northwest along Zoo Boulevard. Perhaps, with the construction of a rail connection between Maize and North Broadway, the railroad could be convinced to abandon the right-of-way and the transitways would require very little property acquisition. There are other potential corridors, including a southern transitway I included in phase three that follows the western edge of the river, however, these four are the foundation of the system.
The product being put together for Wichita Transit’s expansion, currently focuses on decreasing wait times and increasing transfer opportunities which is a necessary goal. However, the busway concept allows users to take advantage of potential redundancies closer to the region’s core as buses converge on the downtown area, all the while seeing more comfortable transfer facilities. Even initially at the start up, frequencies at transitways are often much better than 10 minutes between buses. The following is a diagram of my hypothetical build out after the second phase:
*Sorry for the crazy colors. I messed with it in Picasa to try to improve the contrast, but I really couldn't get it to look all that good.
However, I have since found an additional solution to my list of kinks to be worked out, which brings me here, in search of another end. So therefore, I’ll present the plan and its associated update.
I have been working on this idea in one form or another since my freshman year of college, when I realized that the city had an interesting situation in that in every direction from the city, towards every other town nearby, there were rail corridors in various states of use. Then, I further recognized that most every major destination had one of these corridors in close proximity to it. Over the course of the next few years I developed several iterations of my plan until settling on open-ended bus-rapid-transit (BRT) corridors as the best use of the facilities. I admit, some would require more significant construction than others, and the costs could be significant, but with a commitment to the project, other necessary improvements (that will be constructed without the system) could be modified to make the project even cheaper.
Anyway, the system is based around consolidating the current offerings of the Wichita Transit into branches of an effectively high-capacity corridor where service would be dramatically increased. In places where buses run on nearby streets, they would be consolidated to one corridor and timed to cut the wait time for the next bus in half. The further you travel from city center, the less frequent travel is on the transit corridor, as buses turn off to offer local service on various streets. In the center of town, this does shrink service coverage, but if the corridor offers truly frequent service, people will walk to take it. The other advantage, and biggest gain, of the system is an assistance of non-downtown-oriented trips. Since stations on the busway could be used as a transfer point, the rider could ride one bus to the transitway and then switch services to another destination without going downtown, as is required now.
The busways with the most potential boil down to four different routes. A northeast busway which follows abandoned railroad tracks from Washington, just north of Central, to Wesley hospital before turning north towards WSU, and then turning east to travel at roughly 17th street to Rock Road. A second busway would follow Southeast Blvd from its break off with Washington all the way to 47th Street South and the Oaklawn community. This could be constructed concurrently with an effort to raise the train tracks paralleling the boulevard by sacrificing lanes on a street that is redundant to Washington, Hydraulic, and I-135 in the north, and has sufficient space for additional lanes further south. The western branches both begin in Delano, just north of Douglas, then the southwest splits to follow the active railway past Friends and then branches off to travel along the southern side of Kellogg to the airport. The northwestern line would travel parallel to the rails heading northwest along Zoo Boulevard. Perhaps, with the construction of a rail connection between Maize and North Broadway, the railroad could be convinced to abandon the right-of-way and the transitways would require very little property acquisition. There are other potential corridors, including a southern transitway I included in phase three that follows the western edge of the river, however, these four are the foundation of the system.
The product being put together for Wichita Transit’s expansion, currently focuses on decreasing wait times and increasing transfer opportunities which is a necessary goal. However, the busway concept allows users to take advantage of potential redundancies closer to the region’s core as buses converge on the downtown area, all the while seeing more comfortable transfer facilities. Even initially at the start up, frequencies at transitways are often much better than 10 minutes between buses. The following is a diagram of my hypothetical build out after the second phase:
There are some obvious shortfalls of the suggestions and service does lack to some important parts of the city. I had to create a hypothetical implementation in order to effectively show the potential of my system and this is the map for one potential solution. Two places that would really require service that I have not served well are the manufacturing hubs of Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna Aircraft. I would also advocate better north-south connections on the near east side (Hillside and/or Oliver service). With this level of investment in the system, it would develop beyond one of basic mobility service to one riders could truly plan their day around.
The current plan for Wichita Transit is to significantly increase frequencies, in some cases to every 15 minutes. Since this is already under consideration for improved bus service, I adopted it into my proposal as well. Each line is upgraded to 15 minute service, which creates very busy transitways where over half the system stations have frequencies of 6 minutes or less!
That is the express version of the plan, which is all about focusing on serving a transit district completely, as opposed to trying to serve the entire region with basic mobility. I’m not sure if it would be possible in this economic climate, but Wichita Transit has suggested perhaps seeking a transit tax or some other increase in funds in order to fund their ambitious expansion. I would perhaps suggest defining the transit district and levying the tax on those individuals residing and businesses operating within it, and people living outside the district could vote on if they want more basic mobility based services, funded by a smaller tax. I find that system both more fair, and more likely to get passed. As the people who need it are the people in the core but also are often overruled when the suburban vote is added to the mix.
The gap at the center of the map where the busways seemingly end in the downtown area is the subject of my recent work. I have been bothered by that problem since I finished the project. I will admit the idea came from a fun little hypothetical redesign of the Union Station site as a redeveloped transit center with the expansion of the Heartland Flyer. Connecting it to the bus network was a priority and developed the idea of William as an exclusive transit corridor. During the inevitable upgrades required at the station, a connection would be built from the back of Union Station to the William Street corridor to allow transit vehicles to pass underneath the railroad tracks above. To the west, William Street becomes Water street after curving northward next to Century II and the busway could extend northward following Water and the abandoned railway it comes to join. The recent downtown master plan has identified that the downtown area has an excess of lanes, which I agree with whole heartedly. However, the suggestion of a Douglas St transit facility takes away lanes from the one place in downtown where they are actually at a shortage. With a few connections, using excess lanes on other streets, the William/Water bus facility could be connected to the busways radiating out from town. The following is my drawing of such designed facilities:
The current plan for Wichita Transit is to significantly increase frequencies, in some cases to every 15 minutes. Since this is already under consideration for improved bus service, I adopted it into my proposal as well. Each line is upgraded to 15 minute service, which creates very busy transitways where over half the system stations have frequencies of 6 minutes or less!
That is the express version of the plan, which is all about focusing on serving a transit district completely, as opposed to trying to serve the entire region with basic mobility. I’m not sure if it would be possible in this economic climate, but Wichita Transit has suggested perhaps seeking a transit tax or some other increase in funds in order to fund their ambitious expansion. I would perhaps suggest defining the transit district and levying the tax on those individuals residing and businesses operating within it, and people living outside the district could vote on if they want more basic mobility based services, funded by a smaller tax. I find that system both more fair, and more likely to get passed. As the people who need it are the people in the core but also are often overruled when the suburban vote is added to the mix.
The gap at the center of the map where the busways seemingly end in the downtown area is the subject of my recent work. I have been bothered by that problem since I finished the project. I will admit the idea came from a fun little hypothetical redesign of the Union Station site as a redeveloped transit center with the expansion of the Heartland Flyer. Connecting it to the bus network was a priority and developed the idea of William as an exclusive transit corridor. During the inevitable upgrades required at the station, a connection would be built from the back of Union Station to the William Street corridor to allow transit vehicles to pass underneath the railroad tracks above. To the west, William Street becomes Water street after curving northward next to Century II and the busway could extend northward following Water and the abandoned railway it comes to join. The recent downtown master plan has identified that the downtown area has an excess of lanes, which I agree with whole heartedly. However, the suggestion of a Douglas St transit facility takes away lanes from the one place in downtown where they are actually at a shortage. With a few connections, using excess lanes on other streets, the William/Water bus facility could be connected to the busways radiating out from town. The following is my drawing of such designed facilities:
The portion of Douglas between Water and the Delano district has a portion with 6 lanes, in front of Century II and 4 lanes across the river connecting to a two lane portion through Delano. Taking two lanes from each section should not significantly impair the traffic flow on the street, as it is simply moves the funnel east to near the Waco/Douglas intersection. The southeast busway would be accessed by converting one of the side-streets west of Washington into a transitway to connect to the back of Union Station and the northeast busway could connect to the William/Water transitway through dedicated lanes on Murdock St. A future redesign of Washington Street for service as both a street and transit facility could create Wichita’s own version of the loop, connecting all the major downtown facilities.
Implementing this also creates the potential for several transit oriented developments with a focus on residential (near Cleveland/Central), office and light industry (near Washington/Kellogg), or shopping (west of Delano). While the focus at this time should be the true core of the city, success of such a transit system could feed the need for additional transit focused space to be developed in the areas immediately surrounding the downtown core.
Another aspect of the design that I really like is the attempt to make downtown truly a multimodal travel center with the introduction of full bicycle facilities. Blue lines on the map represent fully separated bike paths, and dashed blue lines represent prominent bike lanes. With these facilities, the entire area from I-135 to the river and from Lincoln to Murdock would be bicycle friendly. With the improvements in walkability being promoted downtown, it would create a truly multimodal hub with walking, biking, potentially intercity rail, and transit given a significant presence, although I will not say equal footing, compared to cars. The first street corridor could be designed to look something like this:
Implementing this also creates the potential for several transit oriented developments with a focus on residential (near Cleveland/Central), office and light industry (near Washington/Kellogg), or shopping (west of Delano). While the focus at this time should be the true core of the city, success of such a transit system could feed the need for additional transit focused space to be developed in the areas immediately surrounding the downtown core.
Another aspect of the design that I really like is the attempt to make downtown truly a multimodal travel center with the introduction of full bicycle facilities. Blue lines on the map represent fully separated bike paths, and dashed blue lines represent prominent bike lanes. With these facilities, the entire area from I-135 to the river and from Lincoln to Murdock would be bicycle friendly. With the improvements in walkability being promoted downtown, it would create a truly multimodal hub with walking, biking, potentially intercity rail, and transit given a significant presence, although I will not say equal footing, compared to cars. The first street corridor could be designed to look something like this:
Tired yet? I have one more thing :P When I made my proposal, I based it on population and income distribution data from more than a decade ago. The recently released Wichita Transit Plan has a section showing the population and employment densities for 2008 of the Wichita Metro Area. I combined them into a product that suggested transit suitability, as follows below:
*Sorry for the crazy colors. I messed with it in Picasa to try to improve the contrast, but I really couldn't get it to look all that good.I have drawn on the Phase 2 build out of my transit system for reference. I think it does a pretty good job of hitting the biggest concentrations of high transit potential. The pink dot (highest score) just northwest of downtown would be near a transit stop built at Murdock and Waco. However, the other pink dot, between Lincoln and Harry on Oliver, is not served directly by a busway. It does make an interesting case for bus lanes on Harry street between Southeast Blvd. and Rock Road however, and I wonder if the Wichita Transit officials have considered that when advocating a BRT-light system for Douglas between the shopping malls. The map also demonstrates there may be potential for express buses to Andover and Derby then local service within their respective city limits.
And there you have it: my official update. It’s not perfect, and it would require significant investment, in both time and money, from the city. But I think it would start to develop a system that promotes non-automobile orienting living. A denser city is a cheaper one to supply basic infrastructure to so from an economic standpoint as well as an cheaper on to live in, especially if the price of gas starts to climb again. I think it's in the city's best interest to be actively seeking things that support enhanced density.
Hopefully I was reasonably articulate. It’s easy to see to see my maps and know all my ideas but not always simple to put those into words. Please feel free to comment and question the idea below! And if you’re still reading, thanks so much for actually considering it all!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
One year finished, what did we learn?
So it has been official for nearly a month now but I feel it’s still relevant to address the fact that I’ve reached the halfway point in my service. It makes complete sense to me, standing here, now why the Peace Corps asks you to commit two full years to service. It took me this long to even get an idea of what I can do if I want to. Granted, that makes it sound like my abilities are fully known and my options are listed on a sheet of paper, which is of course, not even slightly true. I will be learning and developing relationships till the day I leave, that’s just how it goes. But all in all, I feel as though I have command, albeit limited, of the situation. They say during training it takes a year to become fully comfortable; it does. They also say it takes a year to get the Swahili skills; it does not. It takes longer….at least for me. But I am working on it and I do see improvements. But I’m not going to worry about that because I’ve written plenty on that topic.
I had a productive exercise the other day. I took what I feel I can do, and wrote down what projects within that I think I would like to do in the coming year. I came up with a semi-surprisingly attainable list of goals. It was mostly made up of quality education and adding valuable non-academic information about lifestyle and health. But things like develop a library, within a Tanzanian budget, are things that are happening. It made me somewhat reflective on what I have learned while in country, and so I present to you, with no order whatsoever, and a range of sincerity, the things that I think I’ve learned in the last year:
1) Whoever made the connection between cocks crowing and dawn isn’t awake at any other time of day. It doesn’t matter if it’s day, night, or twilight. Those annoying birds will crow at any time, making eating them all the easier.
2) How to study. I used to think I knew what it meant to study, and to some degree I was right. But when I have to teach a concept I’ve never seen before, based in a science I didn’t do so well in, the true meaning of understanding becomes much more apparent. I’ve shared this anecdote several times, but my sitemate Theo and I were once discussing over lunch our preparations for class. In our commenting about the 3-5 textbooks open at a time, working slowly through material to get the details, and the vigorous note taking, I realized that I had truly studied for the first time. They say the third step in learning is teaching, and I believe it 110%. You wont learn more material faster but still effectively than if you’re expected to teach it to 40 kids the next day.
3) I have some really strange hobbies, and very selective commitment to them. In the same way that I could spend hours looking at weather forecasts and stories when I was a kid, I’ve developed, if possible, even further my affinity for transportation planning. Perhaps the time consumption is so high because I don’t have the tools I could potentially acquire in the states to speed up production. But I have filled nearly 100 pages of a workbook with ideas for a transportation plan for Wichita. I do want it to be considered but I recognize the impracticality of it, especially right now. Still, it is satisfying to produce something that, at least when looked at through my biased eyes, would effectively serve, and even develop the community.
4) I just don’t do as well with languages. I am able to learn when I give it effort and use it frequently, but if it is not something I am forced to use every day it can fall by the wayside and I don’t learn via osmosis in the way I can with the sciences. It still takes lots of practice and I have to give the effort, but for now it just seems like a lot more work than it’s worth, given I can get what I need day to day.
5) I really can cook; I just don’t think I want to most of the time. I actually enjoy cooking, when it’s a shared task. It is also quite satisfying to produce an enjoyable meal that is both filling and tasty. The problem is, when it’s just me, cooking for an hour for 10-15 minutes of eating seems not worth it. Therefore I end up with the same pasta every night with the same spices and the same filled but unsatisfied stomach. This should be a fairly limited issue as once I have someone who would get upset by the blandness of my meals, I’ll have someone to help me cook something better!
6) Apparently drugs are even less effective on me than I had previously thought. So I’m taking Mephaquin once a week, which is an anti-malarial medicine. The side effects can include insomnia and vivid dreaming. I know I’m a big guy, but when we arrived in country, we took a large dose to get it into our system. Many people didn’t sleep for two whole days but I actually slept really well considering the fact that I was also suffering from jet lag. Another side effect has been an upset stomach but that has only happened when I took the pill on an empty stomach.
7) Speaking of upset stomachs, they can ruin your day if you’re not careful. My time in country has been somewhat marred by a recurrent digestive issue resulting in abdominal cramping and long stints in the bathroom. At this point, I’ve accepted it as part of the experience and I work around it. I usually can recognize the onset of trouble and take appropriate action. I have yet to have it be a debilitating issue but we’ll see where the adventure goes!
8) Staying in the same theme. Weight loss has been fantastically easy! All you have to do is not eat anything of nutritional value very often and consume all filler foods. It’s worked without any real attempt to control the situation on my end. I eat fairly well on the weekends and I’m still significantly slimmer. I think it’s all the stuff in American food but between my digestive problems and the lack of worthy nutrition in the food I do eat, I have effectively returned my weight to the range I should be.
9) Culture runs so much deeper than ethnic clothing and dance. Maybe this was obvious for other people but I remember a discussion of culture always being accompanied by a picture of some non-Caucasian in ethnic get up doing some sort of dance. Still today, even in Tanzania, tribes who define themselves independently of Tanzanians can be identified by the clothing they wear. Yet, I’m finding cultural differences extend to everything from outlook on life to food preferences. For example, the people of Tanzania are very often fatalists and feel that what happens to them is out of their hands. (Yes Peace Corps I acknowledge you did teach that but I, predictably, didn’t file it away as important). Mungu akipenda (literally translated: if God likes), I will go to school next year. I think in America we would generally agree that that is mostly in our hands to decide and work through but here it really is mostly left up to God. Unfortunately, that approach also removes one from responsibility for failure, as it wasn’t my fault! God just didn’t want it to happen so it didn’t matter how hard I tried. While, there are obviously exceptions to the rule, they also are a culture of reproducing what’s given to them. I have seen a tailor turn down business because he was asked to make a shirt out of cloth that was sewn together as a skirt. it was plenty of cloth but because it wasn’t started from the simple flat sheet he was used to, he was unable to make the shirt.
10) I imitate not innovate. On the same lines as my Tanzanian students, I have a hard time thinking outside the box sometimes. I take what I see as a good idea and I apply it to a situation. My teaching is mostly made up of lecture since my students are a step away from college. Although, when I do try and make the experience more engaging, I find myself reverting to those who taught me and trying to emulate their very successful teaching methods. When I work with my transportation things, I tend to choose the most appropriate already-established idea for the given situation (or at least recently I have, LRT for Wichita notwithstanding :P), not thinking of some creative new system. (Although it could just be that there aren’t better alternatives :P) I recognize being truly innovative is really hard and perhaps beyond me, so I’ll take what I can be good at and further develop those skills.
11) I’m irrationally devoted to things at times. I have finished tv shows and books while I’ve been here just to say that I did. On more than one occasion despite not really enjoying the subject of my attention but I finished it to say I had. I’m not really sure what this says about me as a person, but I find myself wondering why I do it, only to realize three hours later I’m back watching the tv show “to finish it.”
And I’m out of ideas that come immediately to mind. Back to serious, I think it’s easy to look at something like Peace Corps service and see only the few central goals. Teaching school and educating about health issues are the really obvious surface issues. But 2/3 of the point of Peace Corps is cultural exchange and establishing relationships and developing them. Inadvertently, you begin to discover things about yourself which you’re then forced to acknowledge, develop, and utilize. I have my goals for the second half of service, all of which are attainable if I put my mind to it. I have to see the potential places where I can fail and either mitigate the risk or recruit someone else to help where I’d fail. I’m excited about the next 6-8 months with the possibilities, so we’ll see how it goes!
I had a productive exercise the other day. I took what I feel I can do, and wrote down what projects within that I think I would like to do in the coming year. I came up with a semi-surprisingly attainable list of goals. It was mostly made up of quality education and adding valuable non-academic information about lifestyle and health. But things like develop a library, within a Tanzanian budget, are things that are happening. It made me somewhat reflective on what I have learned while in country, and so I present to you, with no order whatsoever, and a range of sincerity, the things that I think I’ve learned in the last year:
1) Whoever made the connection between cocks crowing and dawn isn’t awake at any other time of day. It doesn’t matter if it’s day, night, or twilight. Those annoying birds will crow at any time, making eating them all the easier.
2) How to study. I used to think I knew what it meant to study, and to some degree I was right. But when I have to teach a concept I’ve never seen before, based in a science I didn’t do so well in, the true meaning of understanding becomes much more apparent. I’ve shared this anecdote several times, but my sitemate Theo and I were once discussing over lunch our preparations for class. In our commenting about the 3-5 textbooks open at a time, working slowly through material to get the details, and the vigorous note taking, I realized that I had truly studied for the first time. They say the third step in learning is teaching, and I believe it 110%. You wont learn more material faster but still effectively than if you’re expected to teach it to 40 kids the next day.
3) I have some really strange hobbies, and very selective commitment to them. In the same way that I could spend hours looking at weather forecasts and stories when I was a kid, I’ve developed, if possible, even further my affinity for transportation planning. Perhaps the time consumption is so high because I don’t have the tools I could potentially acquire in the states to speed up production. But I have filled nearly 100 pages of a workbook with ideas for a transportation plan for Wichita. I do want it to be considered but I recognize the impracticality of it, especially right now. Still, it is satisfying to produce something that, at least when looked at through my biased eyes, would effectively serve, and even develop the community.
4) I just don’t do as well with languages. I am able to learn when I give it effort and use it frequently, but if it is not something I am forced to use every day it can fall by the wayside and I don’t learn via osmosis in the way I can with the sciences. It still takes lots of practice and I have to give the effort, but for now it just seems like a lot more work than it’s worth, given I can get what I need day to day.
5) I really can cook; I just don’t think I want to most of the time. I actually enjoy cooking, when it’s a shared task. It is also quite satisfying to produce an enjoyable meal that is both filling and tasty. The problem is, when it’s just me, cooking for an hour for 10-15 minutes of eating seems not worth it. Therefore I end up with the same pasta every night with the same spices and the same filled but unsatisfied stomach. This should be a fairly limited issue as once I have someone who would get upset by the blandness of my meals, I’ll have someone to help me cook something better!
6) Apparently drugs are even less effective on me than I had previously thought. So I’m taking Mephaquin once a week, which is an anti-malarial medicine. The side effects can include insomnia and vivid dreaming. I know I’m a big guy, but when we arrived in country, we took a large dose to get it into our system. Many people didn’t sleep for two whole days but I actually slept really well considering the fact that I was also suffering from jet lag. Another side effect has been an upset stomach but that has only happened when I took the pill on an empty stomach.
7) Speaking of upset stomachs, they can ruin your day if you’re not careful. My time in country has been somewhat marred by a recurrent digestive issue resulting in abdominal cramping and long stints in the bathroom. At this point, I’ve accepted it as part of the experience and I work around it. I usually can recognize the onset of trouble and take appropriate action. I have yet to have it be a debilitating issue but we’ll see where the adventure goes!
8) Staying in the same theme. Weight loss has been fantastically easy! All you have to do is not eat anything of nutritional value very often and consume all filler foods. It’s worked without any real attempt to control the situation on my end. I eat fairly well on the weekends and I’m still significantly slimmer. I think it’s all the stuff in American food but between my digestive problems and the lack of worthy nutrition in the food I do eat, I have effectively returned my weight to the range I should be.
9) Culture runs so much deeper than ethnic clothing and dance. Maybe this was obvious for other people but I remember a discussion of culture always being accompanied by a picture of some non-Caucasian in ethnic get up doing some sort of dance. Still today, even in Tanzania, tribes who define themselves independently of Tanzanians can be identified by the clothing they wear. Yet, I’m finding cultural differences extend to everything from outlook on life to food preferences. For example, the people of Tanzania are very often fatalists and feel that what happens to them is out of their hands. (Yes Peace Corps I acknowledge you did teach that but I, predictably, didn’t file it away as important). Mungu akipenda (literally translated: if God likes), I will go to school next year. I think in America we would generally agree that that is mostly in our hands to decide and work through but here it really is mostly left up to God. Unfortunately, that approach also removes one from responsibility for failure, as it wasn’t my fault! God just didn’t want it to happen so it didn’t matter how hard I tried. While, there are obviously exceptions to the rule, they also are a culture of reproducing what’s given to them. I have seen a tailor turn down business because he was asked to make a shirt out of cloth that was sewn together as a skirt. it was plenty of cloth but because it wasn’t started from the simple flat sheet he was used to, he was unable to make the shirt.
10) I imitate not innovate. On the same lines as my Tanzanian students, I have a hard time thinking outside the box sometimes. I take what I see as a good idea and I apply it to a situation. My teaching is mostly made up of lecture since my students are a step away from college. Although, when I do try and make the experience more engaging, I find myself reverting to those who taught me and trying to emulate their very successful teaching methods. When I work with my transportation things, I tend to choose the most appropriate already-established idea for the given situation (or at least recently I have, LRT for Wichita notwithstanding :P), not thinking of some creative new system. (Although it could just be that there aren’t better alternatives :P) I recognize being truly innovative is really hard and perhaps beyond me, so I’ll take what I can be good at and further develop those skills.
11) I’m irrationally devoted to things at times. I have finished tv shows and books while I’ve been here just to say that I did. On more than one occasion despite not really enjoying the subject of my attention but I finished it to say I had. I’m not really sure what this says about me as a person, but I find myself wondering why I do it, only to realize three hours later I’m back watching the tv show “to finish it.”
And I’m out of ideas that come immediately to mind. Back to serious, I think it’s easy to look at something like Peace Corps service and see only the few central goals. Teaching school and educating about health issues are the really obvious surface issues. But 2/3 of the point of Peace Corps is cultural exchange and establishing relationships and developing them. Inadvertently, you begin to discover things about yourself which you’re then forced to acknowledge, develop, and utilize. I have my goals for the second half of service, all of which are attainable if I put my mind to it. I have to see the potential places where I can fail and either mitigate the risk or recruit someone else to help where I’d fail. I’m excited about the next 6-8 months with the possibilities, so we’ll see how it goes!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Shadows!
So last week I got my first official taste of being a year older. I hosted shadows for the week from the new class of ed volunteers incoming this year. It was interesting to be on the other side of that exchange for sure. It’s funny, every time I find myself in a position of authority or “power” for lack of a better term, I’m increasingly realizing that there I have nowhere near the command and comfort of the situation that I attribute to those who are in those positions over me. I looked up to the guy I shadowed as some wise volunteer who knew the ins and outs of the situation and really had the situation under control. But for me, while I do generally have a handle on the situation, I definitely don’t have my life in perfect order like his seemed to be back then.
Anyway, the shadow process was extended this year so I had them for a full 7 days. We received them on Sunday evening and then hosted till the next Sunday when they returned. It’s strange to think about how the routine of a volunteer can get kind of overly comfortable. I’m able to walk into my 7:30 am class on Monday with a few notes and the notes I wrote for last year and be comfortable, whereas I could see neither felt like teaching was something they could do without preparation. I know for a fact I felt that way back then so it’s cool to think I have grown in some ways. I’ve always been generally ok with public speaking (although public performance hasn’t always been easy) but once I know my kids I have no worries walking into class. Anyway, the result was a day off on Monday while the shadows grew accustomed to my house and welcomed being generally lazy which hadn’t been an option for several weeks. They also grew accustomed to my cats. When I first got in contact with them, I asked what their cat situation was and both are, of course, allergic. However, Paul was way more so than Veronica and after a night of what I think was actually pretty painful allergies, we tried to set him up in my mattress-less third bed.
Tuesday did result in teaching, which I was glad about. While Peace Corps generally does a good job of preparing their volunteers for teaching, they can sometimes focus only on the lower levels of the system, which is reasonable given the split in volunteers between O and A levels. Therefore, I felt it is important for the shadows to get a chance to stand in front of an A-level classroom and see what the issues are. English, while still a challenge, becomes less of a problem. Presentation of material is much more lecture-like. Creative teaching gives way to solid explanations. While it’s all part of the natural shift to higher level teaching styles, I felt it important to show that difference so they felt more prepared.
Wednesday morning was a little bit of teaching, then a trip to Katie’s site, which in my opinion, has the best view in Tanzania. Unfortunately, the rains are only just starting so the sky was still hazy and not all way visible. It was still enjoyable as we made a feast of bean burgers and lots of toppings! Katie’s dog had apparently acquired a girlfriend. And one of her shadowers developed a love for Chuck! (It’s spreading!)
Thursday was an Ngozi hike with the shadows. I’ll refer you to photos in other posts but it was just as gorgeous as ever! And Friday we went into Mbeya, introducing them to the tastes of Metro cuisine! The rest of the weekend was mostly spent hanging out with various groups of people. As always, the kitchen at Anita’s house was a busy place and everyone chipped in for good food. When everyone gets together in Mbeya it is such an enjoyable atmosphere as everyone lounges with a beer and stories. And we just hang out for hours on end doing very little. Again, I’m starting to feel old. I remember back when I couldn’t understand how my parents would just sit at family gatherings and talk the whole time. Now I’m wondering why they didn’t bring a six pack to share :P It’s just amusing to see how the tables have turned.
So it seemed like a pretty uneventful week, and it most certainly was. Given my excuse that I had to take care of my shadows, and using the fact that they were teaching my classes, my week turned into one big lethargic break. Alas, how I suffer! Anyway, moral of the story: shadows were great and I had a really restful week!
Anyway, the shadow process was extended this year so I had them for a full 7 days. We received them on Sunday evening and then hosted till the next Sunday when they returned. It’s strange to think about how the routine of a volunteer can get kind of overly comfortable. I’m able to walk into my 7:30 am class on Monday with a few notes and the notes I wrote for last year and be comfortable, whereas I could see neither felt like teaching was something they could do without preparation. I know for a fact I felt that way back then so it’s cool to think I have grown in some ways. I’ve always been generally ok with public speaking (although public performance hasn’t always been easy) but once I know my kids I have no worries walking into class. Anyway, the result was a day off on Monday while the shadows grew accustomed to my house and welcomed being generally lazy which hadn’t been an option for several weeks. They also grew accustomed to my cats. When I first got in contact with them, I asked what their cat situation was and both are, of course, allergic. However, Paul was way more so than Veronica and after a night of what I think was actually pretty painful allergies, we tried to set him up in my mattress-less third bed.
Tuesday did result in teaching, which I was glad about. While Peace Corps generally does a good job of preparing their volunteers for teaching, they can sometimes focus only on the lower levels of the system, which is reasonable given the split in volunteers between O and A levels. Therefore, I felt it is important for the shadows to get a chance to stand in front of an A-level classroom and see what the issues are. English, while still a challenge, becomes less of a problem. Presentation of material is much more lecture-like. Creative teaching gives way to solid explanations. While it’s all part of the natural shift to higher level teaching styles, I felt it important to show that difference so they felt more prepared.
Wednesday morning was a little bit of teaching, then a trip to Katie’s site, which in my opinion, has the best view in Tanzania. Unfortunately, the rains are only just starting so the sky was still hazy and not all way visible. It was still enjoyable as we made a feast of bean burgers and lots of toppings! Katie’s dog had apparently acquired a girlfriend. And one of her shadowers developed a love for Chuck! (It’s spreading!)
Thursday was an Ngozi hike with the shadows. I’ll refer you to photos in other posts but it was just as gorgeous as ever! And Friday we went into Mbeya, introducing them to the tastes of Metro cuisine! The rest of the weekend was mostly spent hanging out with various groups of people. As always, the kitchen at Anita’s house was a busy place and everyone chipped in for good food. When everyone gets together in Mbeya it is such an enjoyable atmosphere as everyone lounges with a beer and stories. And we just hang out for hours on end doing very little. Again, I’m starting to feel old. I remember back when I couldn’t understand how my parents would just sit at family gatherings and talk the whole time. Now I’m wondering why they didn’t bring a six pack to share :P It’s just amusing to see how the tables have turned.
So it seemed like a pretty uneventful week, and it most certainly was. Given my excuse that I had to take care of my shadows, and using the fact that they were teaching my classes, my week turned into one big lethargic break. Alas, how I suffer! Anyway, moral of the story: shadows were great and I had a really restful week!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Feeling Successful!
I gave my sleep presentation last night and I would consider it a moderate success! I made a powerpoint because I knew the novelty would attract students, and I used my towel, which was shown to be fairly dirty, as a screen to project on. Unfortunately hanging from a tree it didn't turn out quite as smooth as I would have hoped, but the effect was the same. I suppose this is where I need to thank Theo as he let me borrow the projector for the project.
Anyway, although I think the presentation lacked super engaging qualities beyond the technology, I think it hit its target audience. I found students who freely admitted they sleep 4 hours a night, and by then end they were asking questions about how to ensure they sleep better. I'm not sure I kept everyone interested as I started with essentially the entire A-level population and whittled it down to maybe 30 students by the end of the hour. But those that stayed asked questions for 15-20 minutes and we discussed what they could do to improve sleep and when to worry about waking.
I even got a request for another presentation! So I think the next time we'll do the study skills and time management presentation! Then from there, who knows. Maybe this could even develop into a research education sort of thing where I have students do the research and production, which will help them as they go to universities. We'll see what unfolds but for now, I'm feeling pretty good about the situation :)
Anyway, although I think the presentation lacked super engaging qualities beyond the technology, I think it hit its target audience. I found students who freely admitted they sleep 4 hours a night, and by then end they were asking questions about how to ensure they sleep better. I'm not sure I kept everyone interested as I started with essentially the entire A-level population and whittled it down to maybe 30 students by the end of the hour. But those that stayed asked questions for 15-20 minutes and we discussed what they could do to improve sleep and when to worry about waking.
I even got a request for another presentation! So I think the next time we'll do the study skills and time management presentation! Then from there, who knows. Maybe this could even develop into a research education sort of thing where I have students do the research and production, which will help them as they go to universities. We'll see what unfolds but for now, I'm feeling pretty good about the situation :)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A little of this, a little of that
So again I've lapsed on my blogging. I apologize for the gaps, but I'll do my best to bring you up to date. I finished break in mid-October which essentially means for a week I was typing 4-5 exams a day, which in perspective, isn't an issue at all. However, what I'm realizing is that many of the exams could be typed by the teacher who puts them together. So one thing I have considered trying is to do a basic computer education and typing seminar type thing to introduce computers as a resourse in the school. While most teachers in my school have used computers before and have a basic knowledge, it doesn't go far enough to where they can really utilize it to make their lives easier. Granted, having them type their own tests would infringe up responsibilities which have been clearly defined and although it may make sense, it's just not right. Things that are done a certain way are often not to be questioned and are that way for a reason, regardless of our ability to explain that reason. However, on occasion that argument does not apply. I'm still working on figuring out when these things matter and when they don't because, often, there is little rationale, or so it seems to the volunteers.
The biggest news, in the short term at least, is the embracing of my seminar series for student life by my school administration. I have finished preparing my sleep presentation and am really just looking forward to an opportunity to give it. In that process, I asked my headmaster if I could present and he began suggesting not only do we do this, we expand to talk about studying habits and nutrition and everything I had been thinking from day 1!! So, I'm currently focusing on a study habit and time management presentation and looking to present the original sleep presentation. I still have at least two more presentations with one on extracurriculars and creativity and another on nutrition and wellbeing. The issue came up between a sitemate of mine and his students and they admitted it was information they had never heard before. Nutrition is a part of the biology syllabus but often the connections between the books in the classroom and real life are lost on the students. So that project is alive, and honestly, doing much better than I expected!
Finally, I'm getting back into reading. I've recently been watching shows and working through them. One downside of having several seasons is a commitment to watch a show requires strong dedication! I recently have watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (a bit extreme for my tastes, just too ridiculous and edgy most of the time), How I Met Your Mother (enjoyably entertaining, but somewhat mindless), and Sports Night (a witty comedy that does a good job of blending the real and the hilarious). The downside to this is that I haven't read as much. I just finished the first book of the Uplift Triology, which is the 4th book in the series. It finally got quite interesting in the final pages (which is not a good ratio considering there were 659 of them) as my favorite story from book 2 comes back to play a prominant part. But now I've decided to take a short break. Due to a limited time opportunity (in other words, someone else wants the book) I've began to read the book The God Delusion. Just as it sounds, it's a book written by an athiest about why religion is a bad thing. Acknowledging that I've only read maybe 25 pages, he brings up some very good (and often ugly) points about religion as a whole, but I find myself feeling he assumes any truely rational thought will give the reader only his conclusion about the situation. And if it does not, it is somehow misguided by the force fed religion of our previous generations. Granted, he admits to writing the book as a rallying cry to athiests so it is reasonable to expect it to be a solid voice advocating that ideology. I think it will be interesting to read on and see if there are new arguments to be delt with or if all his scientific evidence will be made up of ideas I have already encountered.
Inevitably, I have more I could say, but I'll wait for another post. I'm getting tired and my bed looks awfully inviting! Anyway, I hope things are going well wherever you are!
The biggest news, in the short term at least, is the embracing of my seminar series for student life by my school administration. I have finished preparing my sleep presentation and am really just looking forward to an opportunity to give it. In that process, I asked my headmaster if I could present and he began suggesting not only do we do this, we expand to talk about studying habits and nutrition and everything I had been thinking from day 1!! So, I'm currently focusing on a study habit and time management presentation and looking to present the original sleep presentation. I still have at least two more presentations with one on extracurriculars and creativity and another on nutrition and wellbeing. The issue came up between a sitemate of mine and his students and they admitted it was information they had never heard before. Nutrition is a part of the biology syllabus but often the connections between the books in the classroom and real life are lost on the students. So that project is alive, and honestly, doing much better than I expected!
Finally, I'm getting back into reading. I've recently been watching shows and working through them. One downside of having several seasons is a commitment to watch a show requires strong dedication! I recently have watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (a bit extreme for my tastes, just too ridiculous and edgy most of the time), How I Met Your Mother (enjoyably entertaining, but somewhat mindless), and Sports Night (a witty comedy that does a good job of blending the real and the hilarious). The downside to this is that I haven't read as much. I just finished the first book of the Uplift Triology, which is the 4th book in the series. It finally got quite interesting in the final pages (which is not a good ratio considering there were 659 of them) as my favorite story from book 2 comes back to play a prominant part. But now I've decided to take a short break. Due to a limited time opportunity (in other words, someone else wants the book) I've began to read the book The God Delusion. Just as it sounds, it's a book written by an athiest about why religion is a bad thing. Acknowledging that I've only read maybe 25 pages, he brings up some very good (and often ugly) points about religion as a whole, but I find myself feeling he assumes any truely rational thought will give the reader only his conclusion about the situation. And if it does not, it is somehow misguided by the force fed religion of our previous generations. Granted, he admits to writing the book as a rallying cry to athiests so it is reasonable to expect it to be a solid voice advocating that ideology. I think it will be interesting to read on and see if there are new arguments to be delt with or if all his scientific evidence will be made up of ideas I have already encountered.
Inevitably, I have more I could say, but I'll wait for another post. I'm getting tired and my bed looks awfully inviting! Anyway, I hope things are going well wherever you are!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
"Sometimes you're ahead. Sometimes you're behind. The race is long. But in the end it's only with yourself."
I have frequently caught myself saying that all the growth people told me would happen to me in college, has more effectively occurred here in the Peace Corps for me. Granted the next question following that is usually along the lines of “what has changed?” Well, then starts the stuttering and the blank mind because putting it into words is often more difficult than I expect. But perhaps it’s not that I’ve changed so much as I’ve become more self aware, and ideally in most situations more confident.
One place where my confidence still lacks is in putting myself into a situation where I have the potential to, at least in my eyes, embarrass myself. I suppose if we looked back in the crystal ball or through some psychological analysis we could come to various events in my development that impeded my growth as a confident outgoing individual. The most obvious was a certain picture of me in clothing not appropriate to my gender that got to school and was that quintessential gaffe that someone becomes known for. I really feel as though it was some time earlier as I can recall those concerns before then, but in elementary school I remember often feeling exceedingly confident and capable, which was, in hindsight, a product of my ability to digest information very quickly. When I was young (haha I’m 23 so that’s kind of a ridiculous statement but you know what I mean), I learned very quickly and so I think I probably was a step ahead of most that surrounded me, which would naturally give anyone confidence. However, I think my early successes did not develop in me an ability to bounce back, for lack of a better way to say it. So as I grew up, I continued to get myself into the company of people who I would consider truly brilliant. Yet I failed to see that while I was not the smartest, best, or most capable, I was absolutely not the other end in any categories. I just failed to see beyond the first part. IB, orchestra, athletics, all of which carried over to college at Cornell where there are herds of geniuses running around. Even now, in Peace Corps, the people here come from a slice of America that is…impressive, at the very least. Just considering these peoples’ secondary education achievements and it is quite the group of individuals. Anyway, I set a high bar for myself, but when I fail to clear the bar, I never really deal with it. I just kind of feel sad for a little while, think self-deprecating thoughts, and sit with my tail between my legs before moving on to the next thing and put it out of my mind.
I’m curious to know what that might have lost me. I think as a musician I was only as good as my concern for failure would let me be. I hate(d) solos because it was me and my warts for all to see where as the further into a group I was the better I felt. I know for a fact my best quality viola playing was in a massive orchestra where I was completely covered. Yet somehow I couldn’t translate that quality to when I would play alone, and that made it all the harder to keep my confidence at a level even basic skills needed to succeed. Vocally, I was much more comfortable and that allowed me to do things like Madrigals. Still, when it came time for me to sing alone in front of a piano, or heaven forbid, in front of the auditorium, I got extremely nervous, to the point where it was difficult to do things that were automatic at most times.
I suppose I could also list the number of relationships that didn’t, or at least couldn’t, happen due to my lack of confidence. I’m fairly certain at least one relationship I had was sabotaged by my lack of self-confidence. And I had several situations when a less concerned person would put himself out there. But despite myself, I’m in a very good place on that front! Since I tried so hard to avoid getting myself into a situation where I could get hurt, I waited until I couldn’t not pursue the relationship and it has worked out wonderfully.
Anyway, to get where this is going, I’ve found my new confidence dependent issue. Language. Somehow, standing in front of a classroom teaching material I learned the night before is not a huge concern for me. However, I can’t deny that the teaching profession is in my blood so maybe I have some help in that department. But my language ability is less than what it should be and even with effort to practice grammar and improve vocabulary, I’m way behind. I have all these excuses ready to flow out for why I don’t understand when all my peers seem to do better than me with the language. My host family spoke mostly English, I teach in English, I don’t live in a situation where I even have to speak English, and the current hot one, it’s easier if they speak so there isn’t confusion so I’ll stand in the back. The reality, however, is that I just don’t try as hard as I should and I don’t try because I’m worried what will happen when I make a mistake. I’m not really sure how to correct this fault of mine but being aware that it is often a problem far greater than trying and failing is a first step. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have agreed with that statement in the past, but I would have found some excuse for why it didn’t apply in that situation. I would rather not ruin a good friendship, or I don’t want to say something offensive. I can’t say I know what I need to do now, or every situation will be met with the appropriate internal preparation, but I do need to deal with this. When it makes me avoid buying wood for months because I’m worried about vocabulary I need to do something. And today I did AND I said something that made absolutely no sense. But I laugh about it, and learn. And tomorrow, I’m that much better a Swahili speaker.
All in all I realize this is cliché. Yet, it’s a battle I constantly wage….still. I’m sure, now, it will be one I fight for the duration of my life, but maybe putting myself here in a world where my ability to survive is tied to doing things that make me uncomfortable will prove to myself I can do whatever it is that makes me so nervous.
One place where my confidence still lacks is in putting myself into a situation where I have the potential to, at least in my eyes, embarrass myself. I suppose if we looked back in the crystal ball or through some psychological analysis we could come to various events in my development that impeded my growth as a confident outgoing individual. The most obvious was a certain picture of me in clothing not appropriate to my gender that got to school and was that quintessential gaffe that someone becomes known for. I really feel as though it was some time earlier as I can recall those concerns before then, but in elementary school I remember often feeling exceedingly confident and capable, which was, in hindsight, a product of my ability to digest information very quickly. When I was young (haha I’m 23 so that’s kind of a ridiculous statement but you know what I mean), I learned very quickly and so I think I probably was a step ahead of most that surrounded me, which would naturally give anyone confidence. However, I think my early successes did not develop in me an ability to bounce back, for lack of a better way to say it. So as I grew up, I continued to get myself into the company of people who I would consider truly brilliant. Yet I failed to see that while I was not the smartest, best, or most capable, I was absolutely not the other end in any categories. I just failed to see beyond the first part. IB, orchestra, athletics, all of which carried over to college at Cornell where there are herds of geniuses running around. Even now, in Peace Corps, the people here come from a slice of America that is…impressive, at the very least. Just considering these peoples’ secondary education achievements and it is quite the group of individuals. Anyway, I set a high bar for myself, but when I fail to clear the bar, I never really deal with it. I just kind of feel sad for a little while, think self-deprecating thoughts, and sit with my tail between my legs before moving on to the next thing and put it out of my mind.
I’m curious to know what that might have lost me. I think as a musician I was only as good as my concern for failure would let me be. I hate(d) solos because it was me and my warts for all to see where as the further into a group I was the better I felt. I know for a fact my best quality viola playing was in a massive orchestra where I was completely covered. Yet somehow I couldn’t translate that quality to when I would play alone, and that made it all the harder to keep my confidence at a level even basic skills needed to succeed. Vocally, I was much more comfortable and that allowed me to do things like Madrigals. Still, when it came time for me to sing alone in front of a piano, or heaven forbid, in front of the auditorium, I got extremely nervous, to the point where it was difficult to do things that were automatic at most times.
I suppose I could also list the number of relationships that didn’t, or at least couldn’t, happen due to my lack of confidence. I’m fairly certain at least one relationship I had was sabotaged by my lack of self-confidence. And I had several situations when a less concerned person would put himself out there. But despite myself, I’m in a very good place on that front! Since I tried so hard to avoid getting myself into a situation where I could get hurt, I waited until I couldn’t not pursue the relationship and it has worked out wonderfully.
Anyway, to get where this is going, I’ve found my new confidence dependent issue. Language. Somehow, standing in front of a classroom teaching material I learned the night before is not a huge concern for me. However, I can’t deny that the teaching profession is in my blood so maybe I have some help in that department. But my language ability is less than what it should be and even with effort to practice grammar and improve vocabulary, I’m way behind. I have all these excuses ready to flow out for why I don’t understand when all my peers seem to do better than me with the language. My host family spoke mostly English, I teach in English, I don’t live in a situation where I even have to speak English, and the current hot one, it’s easier if they speak so there isn’t confusion so I’ll stand in the back. The reality, however, is that I just don’t try as hard as I should and I don’t try because I’m worried what will happen when I make a mistake. I’m not really sure how to correct this fault of mine but being aware that it is often a problem far greater than trying and failing is a first step. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have agreed with that statement in the past, but I would have found some excuse for why it didn’t apply in that situation. I would rather not ruin a good friendship, or I don’t want to say something offensive. I can’t say I know what I need to do now, or every situation will be met with the appropriate internal preparation, but I do need to deal with this. When it makes me avoid buying wood for months because I’m worried about vocabulary I need to do something. And today I did AND I said something that made absolutely no sense. But I laugh about it, and learn. And tomorrow, I’m that much better a Swahili speaker.
All in all I realize this is cliché. Yet, it’s a battle I constantly wage….still. I’m sure, now, it will be one I fight for the duration of my life, but maybe putting myself here in a world where my ability to survive is tied to doing things that make me uncomfortable will prove to myself I can do whatever it is that makes me so nervous.
Monday, October 11, 2010
If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day....
I had an interesting experience today. So this past weekend, after a 2 night stay at Matema Beach, I found my way back home with about 5000 shillingi to spare which was all part of my plan to limit my spending. Although, frequently not taking a lot of money just turns into more excessive borrowing but I like to think it instills some frugality that would otherwise be lacking. Anyway, my fortune in being near an ATM allows me to extend my wallet somewhat in that I can refill the immediate wallet with the bigger bank wallet in less than 5 minutes. However, this also depends on the ATM functioning, which in any western world country would be a valid assumption, but as you might have noticed, I am not in the western world. Therefore, the ATMs break down with some frequency and Sunday night happened to be one of those nights. Compounding that problem was my friends’ needs to travel places either that night or the next day and they had essentially no money themselves. Therefore, my 5000 shillingi went to travel expenses for the friends and I was left with about 400 shillingi in change. Not to worry! I had a just eaten a small pack of spaghetti and a sauce made of my spices and some oil. I also had a couple slices of bread.
Ok, so fastforward 18 hours. I figure when I start getting hungry I can go out to get money then food today. Well, that didn’t quite go as planned as the ATMs were out of money today. At this point, my food intake has been about 2 slices of bread dipped in some olive oil for the last 22-24 hours, not entirely as planned but fixable when the ATM is working. But alas, it is not. So, my friend Linda and I scrape together 1000 shillings between us. I have an avocado and an onion at home, so we decide to buy chapati (basically tortillas) and make some rudimentary guacamole for food. With 2 and a half small-plate-sized chapati and maybe 4 spoonfuls of guacamole, I am now satiated for the short term. However, given the money situation, I’m not sure what I am going to be able to do. I do have a couple potatoes, so I wont starve, but after that, if the ATM doesn’t work tomorrow? Well, fortunately, we were able to go back to the ATM a bit ago and I’m happy to say they are restocked and we were able to take out money. However, I can’t remember a situation where I was literally out of food and out of money to the point where I was worried about where my next meal would come from.
Now, at this point, a lot of people would point out that many people here in Africa do live that way, and maybe that number is larger than what I see, but I find that it’s not the situation most frequently found here. Granted, a caveat for me is that I live in quite possibly one of the most fertile valleys in the country, and perhaps the continent or even the world. Growing food here is not hard. With the frequency of rain and the rich volcanic soil, sustaining yourself is as simple as throwing seeds out back. What we do have here, and it is present even in my school, is malnutrition and an unbalanced diet. People here can afford food to sustain them. Maize grows at least as fast as the weeds here and they ground that up into the country’s favorite dish: ugali. Imagine a cornbread batter that’s half cooked and that’s kind of the idea of ugali. The problem is it is ALL filler. It has almost no nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals etc. Yet that is the base of every meal here, then you add beans and maybe some greens, which gives you malnutritioned kids with full stomachs. It’s interesting, the biology syllabus in school is supposed to teach about nutrition and healthy diets, but no one sees that as more than an academic exercise. But then again, why would you try to eat healthy if sickness isn’t a product of what you put in your body but rather God’s will alone.
In my experience, education is what is most needed. Education that eating a balanced nutritious meal will save you time and money in the long term with better health even if it cost a bit more in the short term. Or passing on gardening techniques to maximize the product they get from their land. They know the land produces a lot, so very few question if they can get more out of it. Also, educating in terms of finances would help significantly. In my experience, people do not look long term here. No one begs for seeds for their garden, they beg for a soda, or in even worse cases, alcohol. If they should find a 5000 shillingi bill on the ground, most people would have that mentally spent as 3 beers and a soda. Granted, if I find money on the ground in the states my mind goes to what fun things that would buy pretty quickly. My point is, few people are actually starving, but a lot of people are not healthy and I think don’t think money is the answer to the problem. Now, I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from donating to the International Children’s Fund or whatever charity they feel most directly benefits those in need in the third world, I’m just saying that writing checks will not solve these problems. I suppose that’s easy for me to say as someone without a job or daily responsibilities preventing me from volunteering, but maybe think twice about what your money goes? Does it just go into some third-world government “aid fund” where it can be misused, or does it go to someone doing aid work in the field? Someone who is doing the education and the community work to make a lasting sustainable impact. Just thought I’d offer some food…..for thought :P
Ok, so fastforward 18 hours. I figure when I start getting hungry I can go out to get money then food today. Well, that didn’t quite go as planned as the ATMs were out of money today. At this point, my food intake has been about 2 slices of bread dipped in some olive oil for the last 22-24 hours, not entirely as planned but fixable when the ATM is working. But alas, it is not. So, my friend Linda and I scrape together 1000 shillings between us. I have an avocado and an onion at home, so we decide to buy chapati (basically tortillas) and make some rudimentary guacamole for food. With 2 and a half small-plate-sized chapati and maybe 4 spoonfuls of guacamole, I am now satiated for the short term. However, given the money situation, I’m not sure what I am going to be able to do. I do have a couple potatoes, so I wont starve, but after that, if the ATM doesn’t work tomorrow? Well, fortunately, we were able to go back to the ATM a bit ago and I’m happy to say they are restocked and we were able to take out money. However, I can’t remember a situation where I was literally out of food and out of money to the point where I was worried about where my next meal would come from.
Now, at this point, a lot of people would point out that many people here in Africa do live that way, and maybe that number is larger than what I see, but I find that it’s not the situation most frequently found here. Granted, a caveat for me is that I live in quite possibly one of the most fertile valleys in the country, and perhaps the continent or even the world. Growing food here is not hard. With the frequency of rain and the rich volcanic soil, sustaining yourself is as simple as throwing seeds out back. What we do have here, and it is present even in my school, is malnutrition and an unbalanced diet. People here can afford food to sustain them. Maize grows at least as fast as the weeds here and they ground that up into the country’s favorite dish: ugali. Imagine a cornbread batter that’s half cooked and that’s kind of the idea of ugali. The problem is it is ALL filler. It has almost no nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals etc. Yet that is the base of every meal here, then you add beans and maybe some greens, which gives you malnutritioned kids with full stomachs. It’s interesting, the biology syllabus in school is supposed to teach about nutrition and healthy diets, but no one sees that as more than an academic exercise. But then again, why would you try to eat healthy if sickness isn’t a product of what you put in your body but rather God’s will alone.
In my experience, education is what is most needed. Education that eating a balanced nutritious meal will save you time and money in the long term with better health even if it cost a bit more in the short term. Or passing on gardening techniques to maximize the product they get from their land. They know the land produces a lot, so very few question if they can get more out of it. Also, educating in terms of finances would help significantly. In my experience, people do not look long term here. No one begs for seeds for their garden, they beg for a soda, or in even worse cases, alcohol. If they should find a 5000 shillingi bill on the ground, most people would have that mentally spent as 3 beers and a soda. Granted, if I find money on the ground in the states my mind goes to what fun things that would buy pretty quickly. My point is, few people are actually starving, but a lot of people are not healthy and I think don’t think money is the answer to the problem. Now, I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from donating to the International Children’s Fund or whatever charity they feel most directly benefits those in need in the third world, I’m just saying that writing checks will not solve these problems. I suppose that’s easy for me to say as someone without a job or daily responsibilities preventing me from volunteering, but maybe think twice about what your money goes? Does it just go into some third-world government “aid fund” where it can be misused, or does it go to someone doing aid work in the field? Someone who is doing the education and the community work to make a lasting sustainable impact. Just thought I’d offer some food…..for thought :P
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
28 Miles, 3 days, 2 Peaks
One of the goals of Peace Corps is to have the American volunteers experience their host country and bring it back to America. In fact, two of the three goals of PC are simply cultural exchange on the part of the volunteer. Part of that process is seeing what your community has to offer. Now, granted, what I, as a westerner, want to see and what the local community wants to see seem vastly different. In Mbeya, we have a long list of quite impressive natural wonders and, in my experience, I’ve seen at least twice as many of them as my fellow Tanzanians. Perhaps this is a work issue, where we have defined off days but the pattern here seems to be just take a little time off each day. Or maybe it’s just an appreciation thing. I can understand how the work required to get to some of these sites is not worth the effort if you’re not terribly interested. Anyway, given that this week is as complete a break as we have in Tanzania, as all forms were off school (save form 4 who are taking their national exam but that doesn’t involve me at all), it was (technically still is!) the perfect week for outdoor activities. I completed two hikes, Ngozi Crater Lake and Rungwe Mountain. According to Google Earth, the land that I walked over during those three days amounted to 28 miles, 24-25 of which was in two distinct hikes. Needless to say I’m quite sore and my feet don’t want to touch the ground.
Saturday we took a coaster to the stop on the side of the road, where we began the Ngozi hike. It is a substantial walk on a dirt road before finding a path off into the forest. Walking along this path continues for 45 minutes or so before coming to a staging area of sorts and the path continues, in much smaller form up the side of the mountain. The first time we did this, which was outside of hiking season, we were required to push through vegetation that was in our way, while this time the path was very clear. I suppose that money that we pay to enter really does get some of the path cleared. Anyway, after rising for maybe 30 minutes you walk along with ups and downs, with understandably more ups, until you reach the overlook. At this point you can see the entire lake within the crater. The area looks like some untouched oasis, and to some degree it is. The last time we did this, however, we didn’t get to go down into the crater, while this time we figured it out. Of course, descending 200m in a short distance requires a lot of climbing, but there is a path and plenty of vines and roots. It felt very Tarzan. Then at the lake shore we sat for a while, throwing volcanic rocks into the water and watching them float. After a while, we climbed back to the overlook and returned to the road. All in all, that day was around 9 miles of hiking.
The final climb up to the rim:
Saturday we took a coaster to the stop on the side of the road, where we began the Ngozi hike. It is a substantial walk on a dirt road before finding a path off into the forest. Walking along this path continues for 45 minutes or so before coming to a staging area of sorts and the path continues, in much smaller form up the side of the mountain. The first time we did this, which was outside of hiking season, we were required to push through vegetation that was in our way, while this time the path was very clear. I suppose that money that we pay to enter really does get some of the path cleared. Anyway, after rising for maybe 30 minutes you walk along with ups and downs, with understandably more ups, until you reach the overlook. At this point you can see the entire lake within the crater. The area looks like some untouched oasis, and to some degree it is. The last time we did this, however, we didn’t get to go down into the crater, while this time we figured it out. Of course, descending 200m in a short distance requires a lot of climbing, but there is a path and plenty of vines and roots. It felt very Tarzan. Then at the lake shore we sat for a while, throwing volcanic rocks into the water and watching them float. After a while, we climbed back to the overlook and returned to the road. All in all, that day was around 9 miles of hiking.
The final climb up to the rim:
The view from the outlook:
Climbing down to the shore:
At the lake shore:
Sunday I took off to recover, for the most part. I did have to hike to a friend’s house to start prepare for the Rungwe hike, which was another 2 miles or so. But I felt reasonably recovered by the time we left Monday morning and headed up the mountain. The Rungwe hike is an interesting one as you start out hiking through modern rural Africa, then get to a less modern rural Africa, then in the matter of about 5 feet you’re in Jungle Africa. It’s kind of amusing because upon entering the forest, you immediately drop down probably 50-75 feet to reach a creek (and yes you can drink from it!). It’s the gorgeous setting with trees everywhere and birds calling. There is an occasional monkey (as rungwe has its own species) but they aren’t always around. Anyway, the upward hike begins and goes on forever it seems. Eventually, the trees thin and you start to get peeks of your surroundings. It’s about this time my stomach seems to realize that it’s out of food. So eating is a priority. Then as the trees continue to thin, they eventually give way to bamboo, which is a really cool setting. After some time in the bamboo, you find yourself in a group of scratchy scrub bushes and the last segment of vegetation. Finally, escaping the bushes, it’s a quick climb to the summit of the peak through short grasses and rocks. All in all it takes between 4-5 hours to get up to the summit. However, this time, my Ngozi weakened legs had to rest quite frequently near the end. At the onset of the bamboo, I had to let Andrew, my hiking partner (yes it was two Andrews hiking together :P) go ahead and I came along at a slower pace. Regardless, it was a lovely hike, and although it was hazy we could see Tukuyu, although not all the way to Lake Malawi. Anyway, after an hour or so we returned to my friends, and then continued to the road to catch a dala dala (remnants of a van that acts as a bus). All in all, that hike was around 17 miles giving me my 28 miles in three days. Thank you Google Earth :P
The bamboo forest:
The view from the top:
The monkey is from my first hike of Rungwe but still quite exciting to see!
And here you can see the hike almost in its entirety. We start just out of the picture to the right and work our way up the ridge on the right side of the picture until reaching the summit.
In other news, there was a massive fire in Tukuyu. Some PC friends and I were visiting an acquaintance that does work in the Tukuyu area and were walking back when we met a group of people on the road who were walking into town saying there was a fire at a hardware store. When we reached the top of the hill in town, you could see red colored smoke rising from main street. The flames were about two stories tall by the time we got there and the entire town, it seemed, was out to watch or empty the stores adjacent to the fire. The experience gave me a new perspective on the dangers of fire. For the first time in my life, I actually could see the fire getting out of control. I’ve seen the forest fires on TV but in real life I’ve always felt like fire was something that could be contained to what it already had affected. Here I could see people scrambling to save whatever they could from a building a block away and I couldn’t argue with their logic because the fire did not seem as though it could be stopped from reaching those buildings. Fortunately, it ran out of fuel before it spread too far and only the hardware store burned, but it was a humbling experience knowing the town was at the mercy of the fire. The firetruck from Mbeya even made an appearance although it was after the fire had subsided to well within control. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone was injured and only one store was lost. The area is already back to normal, just with one less business.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thoughts well beyond TZ
So in the past I’ve tried to keep this exclusively a Peace Corps related blog, commenting on things from my daily life and occasionally throwing in my thoughts about things that make it here from America. But I’m realizing that daily occurrences in America are actually a part of my life here. My access to information has indeed been set back, but only slightly. I have daily access to the internet, albeit through an expensive choice compared to the US where it is more standard. But still I’m constantly reminded about my connectivity. Be it following a tornadic supercell, or learning of the shooting at UT Austin within an hour or two of it happening. So, due to this fact, I thought I’d break from thoughts on Peace Corps and PC related material and ideology and discuss the things that roam around in my head way more than they should :P
There were two studies recently released that have particular interest to me. The first, and perhaps most obvious, was the downtown development study for Wichita. If you’re interested in the documents, they can be found here! I think it’s the American symbol of prosperity to have a downtown core full of skyscrapers making an identifiable skyline for the world to see. Iconic buildings give us a sense of pride and place. Even the terrorists on 9/11 knew that and took out the two biggest symbols in America. So when someone suggests downtown development, the first mental response is really big, tall buildings. However, the study for the Wichita downtown redevelopment did not suggest new high-rise buildings putting the Epic Center to shame, and I’m finding I agree with the plan. While the goals seem modest at best, I think they are the right focus for the city right now. The city council has had a chronic issue of approving things project by project and figuring it will all congeal into a neighborhood of sorts. Now they have a blueprint on which to build their plans and something to lean on if they want to say no this isn’t something we’re looking for. At the same time it puts their plans out there so developers can see if the plan fits a project they’re interested in. I like consistent plans, but I also appreciate the fact that the plan is not too grandiose. While I’m all for more high-rise construction in the city, I think building from the ground up works better than the sky down. Developing the area as a denser multi-use neighborhood ensures that services are available once someone does become interested in building big and tall. There is no advantage to putting a 30 story building downtown if all that surrounds it is its own parking. That option is available very cheaply and readily, with better highway access too, at the edges of town. Therefore, in order to make the CBD more appealing than say, The Waterfront, the residences and services have to be in place. I would also complement the study on prioritizing transit in the core, as higher density is sustainable when transit is a prominent part of the equation. However, I have A LOT of thoughts on that topic so I’ll leave it for now :P
The second study (found here) is the release of Amtrak’s dream plan for the Northeast Corridor, connection Boston and Washington via NYC and Philly. It’s suggesting a 220mph high-speed train on separate tracks, similar to California’s system, for a tidy sum of $117 billion. Now before sticker shock sets in, let’s remember that the last NEC report issued suggested that the current right-of-way requires $52 billion to be brought up to current standards. I admit, that’s still over double the cost but let’s think about what we’re buying with this. The proposal is about as ambitious as one can get without getting ridiculous. It asks for new tunnels through the center city in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC. But when you consider the fact that doing all that only slightly more than doubles the maintenance costs it seems like a potentially good investment. The report suggests the line would generate a $900 million operation surplus annually (which is getting close to Amtrak’s current budget). It would certainly change the lifestyles of those in the corridor as it suggests that travel times will be shortest on rail, once security and travel from the airport is considered. I’m not really justified in saying whether it is “worth it” or not but I foresee many more studies like this one suggesting the development of HSR in corridors like this (although admittedly not as ideal). We’ll see what comes of this!
I’m noticing a shift in my ideas as to what makes good policy when it comes to urban development. It was not that long ago that I had a build big early and make what you want happen. But as I’m spending time living in a situation where sustainability is such an important part of being effective, I see how sacrificing the day-to-day for the big spectacle can be very dangerous. Now if the government wrote a blank check for the NEC project and work started next month, I’m fairly sure that the project would be well utilized and the benefits would hide the cost. However, the report suggests instead of a one-time payment, committing to a $4.something billion per year plan and make the improvements over 25 years. Building in increments fixes the worst parts of the system first and builds the hype for the rest of the system. Building the downtown core of Wichita with the basics first, then slowly add the eye-candy allows the system to be sustainable. What qualifies as basics and the most needed fixes is always up for debate, but I’m learning how much of the battle is in the implementation, both sequentially and quantitatively. It’s a huge balancing act, and it doesn’t help when the ground is moving underneath you so your support isn’t stable. I can’t say with any confidence that I know this is the case but I think the Interstate system had much more universal support, always standing on solid ground where it is understood to be part of the future. Much of development today has no consensus on what is “the future” so it is a challenge to implement anything sustainably because someone often has a different idea of which way things should be heading. In reality, I’m surprised long-term projects do really ever get done because the people leading them can destroy them so easily. I suppose that’s one of the dangers of democracy, but the security of checks-and-balances is worth the roller coaster for sure.
Anyway, I’m trying to keep my rambling in check, so I’ll stop there. I’d be interested to hear thoughts from those affected by either project because, as one person, I certainly do not have a full view of their significance.
There were two studies recently released that have particular interest to me. The first, and perhaps most obvious, was the downtown development study for Wichita. If you’re interested in the documents, they can be found here! I think it’s the American symbol of prosperity to have a downtown core full of skyscrapers making an identifiable skyline for the world to see. Iconic buildings give us a sense of pride and place. Even the terrorists on 9/11 knew that and took out the two biggest symbols in America. So when someone suggests downtown development, the first mental response is really big, tall buildings. However, the study for the Wichita downtown redevelopment did not suggest new high-rise buildings putting the Epic Center to shame, and I’m finding I agree with the plan. While the goals seem modest at best, I think they are the right focus for the city right now. The city council has had a chronic issue of approving things project by project and figuring it will all congeal into a neighborhood of sorts. Now they have a blueprint on which to build their plans and something to lean on if they want to say no this isn’t something we’re looking for. At the same time it puts their plans out there so developers can see if the plan fits a project they’re interested in. I like consistent plans, but I also appreciate the fact that the plan is not too grandiose. While I’m all for more high-rise construction in the city, I think building from the ground up works better than the sky down. Developing the area as a denser multi-use neighborhood ensures that services are available once someone does become interested in building big and tall. There is no advantage to putting a 30 story building downtown if all that surrounds it is its own parking. That option is available very cheaply and readily, with better highway access too, at the edges of town. Therefore, in order to make the CBD more appealing than say, The Waterfront, the residences and services have to be in place. I would also complement the study on prioritizing transit in the core, as higher density is sustainable when transit is a prominent part of the equation. However, I have A LOT of thoughts on that topic so I’ll leave it for now :P
The second study (found here) is the release of Amtrak’s dream plan for the Northeast Corridor, connection Boston and Washington via NYC and Philly. It’s suggesting a 220mph high-speed train on separate tracks, similar to California’s system, for a tidy sum of $117 billion. Now before sticker shock sets in, let’s remember that the last NEC report issued suggested that the current right-of-way requires $52 billion to be brought up to current standards. I admit, that’s still over double the cost but let’s think about what we’re buying with this. The proposal is about as ambitious as one can get without getting ridiculous. It asks for new tunnels through the center city in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC. But when you consider the fact that doing all that only slightly more than doubles the maintenance costs it seems like a potentially good investment. The report suggests the line would generate a $900 million operation surplus annually (which is getting close to Amtrak’s current budget). It would certainly change the lifestyles of those in the corridor as it suggests that travel times will be shortest on rail, once security and travel from the airport is considered. I’m not really justified in saying whether it is “worth it” or not but I foresee many more studies like this one suggesting the development of HSR in corridors like this (although admittedly not as ideal). We’ll see what comes of this!
I’m noticing a shift in my ideas as to what makes good policy when it comes to urban development. It was not that long ago that I had a build big early and make what you want happen. But as I’m spending time living in a situation where sustainability is such an important part of being effective, I see how sacrificing the day-to-day for the big spectacle can be very dangerous. Now if the government wrote a blank check for the NEC project and work started next month, I’m fairly sure that the project would be well utilized and the benefits would hide the cost. However, the report suggests instead of a one-time payment, committing to a $4.something billion per year plan and make the improvements over 25 years. Building in increments fixes the worst parts of the system first and builds the hype for the rest of the system. Building the downtown core of Wichita with the basics first, then slowly add the eye-candy allows the system to be sustainable. What qualifies as basics and the most needed fixes is always up for debate, but I’m learning how much of the battle is in the implementation, both sequentially and quantitatively. It’s a huge balancing act, and it doesn’t help when the ground is moving underneath you so your support isn’t stable. I can’t say with any confidence that I know this is the case but I think the Interstate system had much more universal support, always standing on solid ground where it is understood to be part of the future. Much of development today has no consensus on what is “the future” so it is a challenge to implement anything sustainably because someone often has a different idea of which way things should be heading. In reality, I’m surprised long-term projects do really ever get done because the people leading them can destroy them so easily. I suppose that’s one of the dangers of democracy, but the security of checks-and-balances is worth the roller coaster for sure.
Anyway, I’m trying to keep my rambling in check, so I’ll stop there. I’d be interested to hear thoughts from those affected by either project because, as one person, I certainly do not have a full view of their significance.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Uniqueness and Fantasy
So here in Peace Corps we have a rather large network of media sharing. Favorite shows (Chuck!) are passed around and time is spent (or wasted) watching the ridiculousness of the American cultural addiction to highly over dramaticized versions of life where romance, death, and song are as likely as meeting your friend in the hallway at school. But it made me think about why. We tend to criticize Tanzanian television because half the time it is two people sitting in a room with some alcoholic drink talking, or often yelling, about daily life. Yet, we also think it is amusing that so many people in the third world look at American media and assume we all live these lives that they see on TV. I think that’s a cultural difference I hadn’t really considered until now. We use the media, theatre, and other creative outlets to play out our fantasies and it builds the capacity for dreaming within us as a community. I know there are a lot of us who would love to have our lives run in musical format where significant events were always punctuated by song but we’re not THAT creative to the point where we can do that to any great effect as a people. Yet, here these fantasies are often built on a foundation of reality. Dance and theatre are present but the dance is all still within the confines of a reproduction of a tribal product that has been around for a long time and theatre is rarely punctuated by more than dialogue. I feel like here the prized way of expressing yourself is repeating something widely known, and repeating it very well. Meanwhile, in America uniqueness is heavily valued and when it is produced with quality it hits the spot much more effectively. We love our glitz and glamour and strive for it, even at inappropriate times.
Of course I’m not trying to say one is better than the other but it is interesting how those two ideals tend to come into conflict. I’ve tried to pull creativity out of the students by giving them less rigor in their instructions and the results are nearly disastrous. I take questions until every student finds some sufficient amount of instructions in what I say. I had a group of students doing a lab once where they had thought of an original (well original in that they were the only ones doing it that way) lab and had already produced valid, useful results. Once the rest of the class came up with very similar versions of the experiment that differed dramatically from this group’s, they practically begged me to allow them to change their experiment and take new data. It was incredibly frustrating, considering growing up in America, we tend to encourage uniqueness and focus on appreciating our differences. (Obviously this is a wild generalization and there are many parts of America that are significantly more narrow minded on many issues than even the most stringent of cultures).
There are the ideas in America that you should enjoy what makes you happy, it’s the journey that matters not the destination, etc. I mean, framing a lot of what we do in certain ways can make us look of questionable intelligence. For example, why do people go outside and intentionally let the sun damage their skin while doing nothing but resting? Because it feels good. Why do people spend money on a pair of jeans that costs them twice as much as another perfectly reasonable pair? Because they like the way they feel while wearing them. For all this short term gratification, Americans still have a surprisingly effective work ethic. What I’ve seen here suggests that the basic premise is those who have the tools to work their way up in the culture do so doing whatever is available to them. If the best job they can get is teaching, they do so despite any aversion to truly analytical grading, lesson preparation, or sometimes even standing in front of a class. The phrase “those who can’t do teach” is taken as truth here and teachers often don’t like what they do and the students don’t like that they do them. Even students, if they have an interest in something, but struggle at all, they give it up for the next easiest path to a “decent sized” paycheck.
Obviously there needs to be a balance. There are the people that look at everything as a means to an end and find their life passing them by without any worth or enjoyment. There are also the people who are totally encamped in the live-for-now clan and a good day is measured by how many drinks they can buy that night. I think that’s an understanding I’ve made it a goal to pass on. People here tend to fall on one side or the other and balance is significantly lacking. I would imagine though, if you took a close look at the variations between the two cultures you would find fewer differences in terms of the goals and motivations but mostly just a change in materials, or lack thereof. Yet I think we tend to identify and be aware of this balance (and how we don’t have it) whereas I’m not sure that is the case here. The reasons for that are numerous and not worth trying to recount but the general ease with which information and ideas moves in America plays a large part I think.
Of course I’m not trying to say one is better than the other but it is interesting how those two ideals tend to come into conflict. I’ve tried to pull creativity out of the students by giving them less rigor in their instructions and the results are nearly disastrous. I take questions until every student finds some sufficient amount of instructions in what I say. I had a group of students doing a lab once where they had thought of an original (well original in that they were the only ones doing it that way) lab and had already produced valid, useful results. Once the rest of the class came up with very similar versions of the experiment that differed dramatically from this group’s, they practically begged me to allow them to change their experiment and take new data. It was incredibly frustrating, considering growing up in America, we tend to encourage uniqueness and focus on appreciating our differences. (Obviously this is a wild generalization and there are many parts of America that are significantly more narrow minded on many issues than even the most stringent of cultures).
There are the ideas in America that you should enjoy what makes you happy, it’s the journey that matters not the destination, etc. I mean, framing a lot of what we do in certain ways can make us look of questionable intelligence. For example, why do people go outside and intentionally let the sun damage their skin while doing nothing but resting? Because it feels good. Why do people spend money on a pair of jeans that costs them twice as much as another perfectly reasonable pair? Because they like the way they feel while wearing them. For all this short term gratification, Americans still have a surprisingly effective work ethic. What I’ve seen here suggests that the basic premise is those who have the tools to work their way up in the culture do so doing whatever is available to them. If the best job they can get is teaching, they do so despite any aversion to truly analytical grading, lesson preparation, or sometimes even standing in front of a class. The phrase “those who can’t do teach” is taken as truth here and teachers often don’t like what they do and the students don’t like that they do them. Even students, if they have an interest in something, but struggle at all, they give it up for the next easiest path to a “decent sized” paycheck.
Obviously there needs to be a balance. There are the people that look at everything as a means to an end and find their life passing them by without any worth or enjoyment. There are also the people who are totally encamped in the live-for-now clan and a good day is measured by how many drinks they can buy that night. I think that’s an understanding I’ve made it a goal to pass on. People here tend to fall on one side or the other and balance is significantly lacking. I would imagine though, if you took a close look at the variations between the two cultures you would find fewer differences in terms of the goals and motivations but mostly just a change in materials, or lack thereof. Yet I think we tend to identify and be aware of this balance (and how we don’t have it) whereas I’m not sure that is the case here. The reasons for that are numerous and not worth trying to recount but the general ease with which information and ideas moves in America plays a large part I think.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Quick Check-In
So my first post of break falls on the 5th day of break; a product of my attempts to write every day but the inevitable tiredness that befalls me later in the day when I had planned to write my blog post. I saw my friend’s blog sign in screen the other day and I saw she has written 42 posts to my 19, and she doesn’t have access to the internet as frequently as I do. Oh well, it’s not a real issue, just thought I’d vocalize my guilt for not writing more often.
Current news in the area isn’t too exciting. That’s mostly because I’m on break. I have a tentative plan to do some hiking at the beginning of October with a friend of mine. He’s in the previous class so he’s sort of doing a farewell tour so it’ll be fun to hit the highlights!
I’m trying to be productive every day and work a little bit on my projects. The big ones are my time management presentation, an AIDS day my fellow volunteer and I are trying to organize for the end of next month, more Kiswahili studying with a larger application approach, more consistent blogging, and a full clean of the house. I have two articles to really work through on my plate currently. One is material I was given by a grad student from the Cornell Psych department in response to an email I sent my Intro Psych prof at Cornell. He specializes in sleep and it’s affects on productivity and lifestyle so I’m hoping I’ll be able to use it to make a pretty impactful presentation! As for my house, I think if I can buy wood and build a set of shelves in addition to the one I found in the house that would really solve a lot of issues. Organization has been troublesome and I’m realizing I really do need to hang a lot of my clothes which I cannot do here. Dad will be happy to hear, that I’m taking this with an approach where everything has to have a place or it has to go. My room is significantly more livable and my extra room is much more organized. Next is the office/guest bedroom which has become a dumping ground for all that “extra” stuff so we’ll see how this turns out.
Not much else is coming to mind. I’m still working on The Uplift War in terms of my reading ventures and the cats are doing well. They did bring a dead bat into the house the other day which has made me consider getting them rabies shots if it’s not too difficult. The election cycle is starting to seep into my life over here (Oh! I have to get my absentee ballot!) so I can only imagine it is getting quite intense on the American side. Seems like people are generally upset with the situation in the states but I fully admit I’m too removed to know who to blame. I’ll have to take some time over the next few weeks to educate myself for voting.
Sorry for so little to say. Hopefully in the coming days I’ll have specific issues to discuss and generally be more interesting. I guess until then, I’ll wish you all well!
Current news in the area isn’t too exciting. That’s mostly because I’m on break. I have a tentative plan to do some hiking at the beginning of October with a friend of mine. He’s in the previous class so he’s sort of doing a farewell tour so it’ll be fun to hit the highlights!
I’m trying to be productive every day and work a little bit on my projects. The big ones are my time management presentation, an AIDS day my fellow volunteer and I are trying to organize for the end of next month, more Kiswahili studying with a larger application approach, more consistent blogging, and a full clean of the house. I have two articles to really work through on my plate currently. One is material I was given by a grad student from the Cornell Psych department in response to an email I sent my Intro Psych prof at Cornell. He specializes in sleep and it’s affects on productivity and lifestyle so I’m hoping I’ll be able to use it to make a pretty impactful presentation! As for my house, I think if I can buy wood and build a set of shelves in addition to the one I found in the house that would really solve a lot of issues. Organization has been troublesome and I’m realizing I really do need to hang a lot of my clothes which I cannot do here. Dad will be happy to hear, that I’m taking this with an approach where everything has to have a place or it has to go. My room is significantly more livable and my extra room is much more organized. Next is the office/guest bedroom which has become a dumping ground for all that “extra” stuff so we’ll see how this turns out.
Not much else is coming to mind. I’m still working on The Uplift War in terms of my reading ventures and the cats are doing well. They did bring a dead bat into the house the other day which has made me consider getting them rabies shots if it’s not too difficult. The election cycle is starting to seep into my life over here (Oh! I have to get my absentee ballot!) so I can only imagine it is getting quite intense on the American side. Seems like people are generally upset with the situation in the states but I fully admit I’m too removed to know who to blame. I’ll have to take some time over the next few weeks to educate myself for voting.
Sorry for so little to say. Hopefully in the coming days I’ll have specific issues to discuss and generally be more interesting. I guess until then, I’ll wish you all well!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
An update
So my situation has continued to develop into an interesting mix of nothing and piles of work at the same time. I'm learning how a job can take as much or little time as you want to give it. I want to be thorough on preparing my Form VI math class for their exam since my work load has been siginificantly reduced in the teaching department. I have such a good model to work from in my high school math teacher Mr. Reimer. I realize that it wasn't just his test prep work that got such consistently high-quality results but his results speak for themselves and are therefore my foundation. We just took a test of the material we reviewed due to its higher difficulty and we have a lot of ground to cover but we also have some time. So I'm trying to make my review the best it can be.
In other non-classroom work, my list seems to grow ever longer of things I would like to do. I recently realized I probably could have done PCV of the week, which I had not applied for due to my perception that there were many more qualified than I. This realization left me bummed but I've realized that I should have been more confident or this situation wouldn't have happened. So, I'm using it to motivate myself to fix the things I thought I lacked: Kiswahili skills and a solid outside project.
I'm trying to ramp up my studying to even more than the one lesson a day. I'm currently doing two lessons and after this week will start more intensive vocabulary work. It's hard to place a finish line but I have a general idea of what I want to be able to do. I want to feel comfortable enough in pretty much any conversation where as now I know I'll survive but not necessarily get everything. Future phases are book reading and listening to the radio or tv. I know this has been a never-ending issue but that's what happens when you live in a country that speaks a different language :P
As for the outside project, the library is going....slowly. I had hopes initially that things would go faster than standard Tanzanian pace but I forgot that the project allowing the library work to happen is being run by others so alas, I'm finding little things to do to fill the time between now and whenever it is that we move the library. I also have made some progress in the hypothetical sense about a new building for the computers and library. The reality is the school is going to have additional students living on the campus next A-level year so the need for a new building is inevitable. However, I think we planning we can make it the library and turn the current one back into the dorm space it is right now. So that's very long term. More practical and in reach is the reorganization of the library into a bigger room with more shelves. I think the biggest change I'm aiming to make is still making it available to students at more hours than one person can offer, but we'll see what we can do.
My idea of making a time management presentation is still hanging around but it has kind of fizzled to the background for now. That's not to say I wouldn't appreciate any articles on sleep patterns, effective study skills, or extracurriculars. I would definitely like to pick this up during my break, so we'll see how it goes.
But the new development is an AIDS day in coordination with my sitemate Katie. We're looking at getting our schools together and teaching the students about the situation here in Mbeya and what they can do about it. It's still in the developmental stages but we've made some contacts and got some agreements. Even though AIDS education is very common around here, there is an issue with the it going from the classroom or seminar to practice in the real world. AIDS is rampant, nearly one in every five or six people has it and much of that is due to the disconnect between awareness and practical applications of education. For example, the students here learn in their Biology class the process for putting on a condom but many school officials feel having a condom demonstration in school is promoting sexual activity. That's an understandable concern but we volunteers often find ourselves arguing for a more practical approach because the age at which people become sexually active here is surprisingly low and often they don't have the proper education by that age. So I will let you know how that progresses! It's exciting to see something start to come together that could really affect someone's life in such a big way as helping them avoid HIV and AIDS!
Other than that, not a whole lot is going on. I saw Kikwete (the TZ prez) last week in a campaign "speech" (it was more of a list of things he did). The cats are doing well and are getting quite big! I'm not sure how much more they'll grow but it can't be too much. That's it for now, I hope things are good in the states!
In other non-classroom work, my list seems to grow ever longer of things I would like to do. I recently realized I probably could have done PCV of the week, which I had not applied for due to my perception that there were many more qualified than I. This realization left me bummed but I've realized that I should have been more confident or this situation wouldn't have happened. So, I'm using it to motivate myself to fix the things I thought I lacked: Kiswahili skills and a solid outside project.
I'm trying to ramp up my studying to even more than the one lesson a day. I'm currently doing two lessons and after this week will start more intensive vocabulary work. It's hard to place a finish line but I have a general idea of what I want to be able to do. I want to feel comfortable enough in pretty much any conversation where as now I know I'll survive but not necessarily get everything. Future phases are book reading and listening to the radio or tv. I know this has been a never-ending issue but that's what happens when you live in a country that speaks a different language :P
As for the outside project, the library is going....slowly. I had hopes initially that things would go faster than standard Tanzanian pace but I forgot that the project allowing the library work to happen is being run by others so alas, I'm finding little things to do to fill the time between now and whenever it is that we move the library. I also have made some progress in the hypothetical sense about a new building for the computers and library. The reality is the school is going to have additional students living on the campus next A-level year so the need for a new building is inevitable. However, I think we planning we can make it the library and turn the current one back into the dorm space it is right now. So that's very long term. More practical and in reach is the reorganization of the library into a bigger room with more shelves. I think the biggest change I'm aiming to make is still making it available to students at more hours than one person can offer, but we'll see what we can do.
My idea of making a time management presentation is still hanging around but it has kind of fizzled to the background for now. That's not to say I wouldn't appreciate any articles on sleep patterns, effective study skills, or extracurriculars. I would definitely like to pick this up during my break, so we'll see how it goes.
But the new development is an AIDS day in coordination with my sitemate Katie. We're looking at getting our schools together and teaching the students about the situation here in Mbeya and what they can do about it. It's still in the developmental stages but we've made some contacts and got some agreements. Even though AIDS education is very common around here, there is an issue with the it going from the classroom or seminar to practice in the real world. AIDS is rampant, nearly one in every five or six people has it and much of that is due to the disconnect between awareness and practical applications of education. For example, the students here learn in their Biology class the process for putting on a condom but many school officials feel having a condom demonstration in school is promoting sexual activity. That's an understandable concern but we volunteers often find ourselves arguing for a more practical approach because the age at which people become sexually active here is surprisingly low and often they don't have the proper education by that age. So I will let you know how that progresses! It's exciting to see something start to come together that could really affect someone's life in such a big way as helping them avoid HIV and AIDS!
Other than that, not a whole lot is going on. I saw Kikwete (the TZ prez) last week in a campaign "speech" (it was more of a list of things he did). The cats are doing well and are getting quite big! I'm not sure how much more they'll grow but it can't be too much. That's it for now, I hope things are good in the states!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Quick Update
So I think a short update is warrented today. I learned that I was elected to be the Mbeya Region VAC (Volunteer Advisory Council) representative for the coming year. It's not much of a burden, requiring a few trips to Dar over my service but I'm excited to represent other volunteers in a meaningful way, solving real issues that arise in the field. I would not consider myself the kind of person that goes out and takes leadership roles but I do enjoy being in a position to enact change (when warrented of course!) and improve people's lives, even in small ways. I suppose that's true of all of us here in country, as why would anyone come without the intention of helping those here? Regardless, it's a position I'm looking forward to :)
Speaking of doing little things, I've spent this week organizing and taking inventory in the library. My enthusiasm for the project comes and goes but I find myself enjoying it when I'm in the room. I've come to realize many of the issues with the system in place are just a lack of concern for organization. I know when I was a kid, the parental requests for cleaning and organizing didn't really seem worth it, but as I got older I found myself wanting a clean organized space, especially with information. Now it seems almost ridiculous to ever be so disorganized. Things don't have to be super available but at least know generally where they are so you can get to them if you need. Anyway, things are going well and I'm taking stock of what's available. The actual moving should be happening soon (in Tanzanian terms so within the month). I'm trying to take a long term approach to this and see what it will be like 5 years after I leave, but we'll see what happens. I'm a little concerned I'm getting dangerously close to the giving something and someone take care of it rather than having them build it and see it as something they have to work for. Well for now, it's going well!
That's all for now, I hope things are going well!
Speaking of doing little things, I've spent this week organizing and taking inventory in the library. My enthusiasm for the project comes and goes but I find myself enjoying it when I'm in the room. I've come to realize many of the issues with the system in place are just a lack of concern for organization. I know when I was a kid, the parental requests for cleaning and organizing didn't really seem worth it, but as I got older I found myself wanting a clean organized space, especially with information. Now it seems almost ridiculous to ever be so disorganized. Things don't have to be super available but at least know generally where they are so you can get to them if you need. Anyway, things are going well and I'm taking stock of what's available. The actual moving should be happening soon (in Tanzanian terms so within the month). I'm trying to take a long term approach to this and see what it will be like 5 years after I leave, but we'll see what happens. I'm a little concerned I'm getting dangerously close to the giving something and someone take care of it rather than having them build it and see it as something they have to work for. Well for now, it's going well!
That's all for now, I hope things are going well!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The only constant in the world is change
So, as I continue my efforts to maintain a dialogue here for those following elsewhere, I have some fairly significant news. The school has aquired, temporarily, another teacher (to add to the seemingly endless stream as of late) that can teach A-level Physics and Math. He is waiting for either a permanent teaching post or an opportunity to continue his higher-education to become a lecturer at university. In the meantime, he can help us here at school. I was not aware of his coming but Monday morning my headmaster cuts into my first period lecture to introduce him. After I finished teaching for the day we began to discuss the situation and what responsibilities he would take on. It became clear that he was looking at teaching all of A-level Physics, to which, I will freely admit, my first reaction was negative. They're my students! I want to be responsible for their education and lead them! It was refreshing to see my own desire to ensure the students' success, as teaching lately has become somewhat monotonous and long. Anyway, after stepping back a bit I'm starting to see this as a very good thing.
First of all, this dramatically reduces my teaching responsibilities, a bit ridiculously. I'm now looking at a schedule of 4 double-periods a week, although that could change as well. Secondly, someone who has been through the material before in a Tanzanian system is in charge of the lecturing. Admittedly, for the Form VI group, we were getting into physics I had seen only once in my life and to a depth much further than I had gone. If it works out that he can only teach through Electronics, then it still will have been worth it because they had that material taught by someone more qualified than I. And thirdly, I now have time to concentrate on projects that are outside of my teaching responsibilites.
In response to this proposition, I decided to go to my headmaster and talk about my options. I explained that while I didn't mind passing on my physics periods, it would leave me dangerously low in the teaching periods I had and I wanted to fill them with another project if nothing else. Through the conversation it became apparent, my suggestions for the library have put me in line to really influence the project by running the transition. Let me explain, the current library is a small room in part of an old house on the school property. There are two other storage rooms and two larger rooms. When the dorm ran out of space for new students at the beginning of the year, a small group of students were put into the library to sleep. Recently, the headmaster decided to have a new room added on to the library to move these students into and then he would like to expand the library into the larger room(s). This new construction had slowed somewhat and a roof was lacking but he said he would call yesterday to check on the progress. Today, there was a wooden frame for the roof up and the metal sheets were sitting beneath them so one way or another things are getting done!
So it appears as if next week I'll be working in developing a new, more functional and most importantly useful, space to work with. I think the idea they have for the library is based on the right ideas, but it has become something that is offered because it is expected to be and motivations for quality are lacking. Anyway, I can further detail this when I get going with real facts and base it less on speculation. Regardless, it seems my reduction in workload and increase in outside of class activity is the ideal scenario, let's hope it works out that way!
That's the big news, and I can't think of much more to add beyond that. I read an interesting passage in my old text book for my urban studies class which I found interesting.
"The problem is not that our suburbs and cities are lacking design but that they are desiged according to failed priciples with flawed implementation. They are designed in accord with modern principles and implemented by specialists. The modernist principles of specialization, standardization, and mass production in emulating our industrial economy had a severe effect on the character of our neighborhoods and regions."
- "Designing the Region" by Calthorpe and Fulton
It goes on to say more specifics about how those factors cause issues on the neighborhood scale but essentially it's pointing out the issues with having highway engineers plan the freeways, retailers plan the commercial developments, and single family home builders planning neighborhoods. You get very bland, repetitive products that have no synthesis between the different functions. In other words, you get suburban America. It makes me wonder what the right amount of specialization is, in everything from urban planning to education.
First of all, this dramatically reduces my teaching responsibilities, a bit ridiculously. I'm now looking at a schedule of 4 double-periods a week, although that could change as well. Secondly, someone who has been through the material before in a Tanzanian system is in charge of the lecturing. Admittedly, for the Form VI group, we were getting into physics I had seen only once in my life and to a depth much further than I had gone. If it works out that he can only teach through Electronics, then it still will have been worth it because they had that material taught by someone more qualified than I. And thirdly, I now have time to concentrate on projects that are outside of my teaching responsibilites.
In response to this proposition, I decided to go to my headmaster and talk about my options. I explained that while I didn't mind passing on my physics periods, it would leave me dangerously low in the teaching periods I had and I wanted to fill them with another project if nothing else. Through the conversation it became apparent, my suggestions for the library have put me in line to really influence the project by running the transition. Let me explain, the current library is a small room in part of an old house on the school property. There are two other storage rooms and two larger rooms. When the dorm ran out of space for new students at the beginning of the year, a small group of students were put into the library to sleep. Recently, the headmaster decided to have a new room added on to the library to move these students into and then he would like to expand the library into the larger room(s). This new construction had slowed somewhat and a roof was lacking but he said he would call yesterday to check on the progress. Today, there was a wooden frame for the roof up and the metal sheets were sitting beneath them so one way or another things are getting done!
So it appears as if next week I'll be working in developing a new, more functional and most importantly useful, space to work with. I think the idea they have for the library is based on the right ideas, but it has become something that is offered because it is expected to be and motivations for quality are lacking. Anyway, I can further detail this when I get going with real facts and base it less on speculation. Regardless, it seems my reduction in workload and increase in outside of class activity is the ideal scenario, let's hope it works out that way!
That's the big news, and I can't think of much more to add beyond that. I read an interesting passage in my old text book for my urban studies class which I found interesting.
"The problem is not that our suburbs and cities are lacking design but that they are desiged according to failed priciples with flawed implementation. They are designed in accord with modern principles and implemented by specialists. The modernist principles of specialization, standardization, and mass production in emulating our industrial economy had a severe effect on the character of our neighborhoods and regions."
- "Designing the Region" by Calthorpe and Fulton
It goes on to say more specifics about how those factors cause issues on the neighborhood scale but essentially it's pointing out the issues with having highway engineers plan the freeways, retailers plan the commercial developments, and single family home builders planning neighborhoods. You get very bland, repetitive products that have no synthesis between the different functions. In other words, you get suburban America. It makes me wonder what the right amount of specialization is, in everything from urban planning to education.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The rest of that travel post
This is part two of a series about my recent vacation. For part one, start here.
Post Venice, we had a scheduled day at sea, which was the opportunity for rest, Chuck Season 3, relaxation, Scrabble in the Crow’s Nest, the formal dinner, and a show to finish it off. All in all a very relaxing day.
Little did we know, we would need it as the next string of days were all full of lengthy excursions that, while entirely worth it, would drain our energy. It began in Greece, with Olympia, the site of the original Olympics. We had a bit of a bus ride to get up to the site from the port for our ship. The site is kind of cool but really relies on your ability to construct imaginary buildings from the rocks that are laying on the ground. It’s cool to think these are 2500 year old ruins but it can be hard to see beyond the rocks. The first picture is actually ruins from a settlement prior to the establishment as the site of the Olympic Games but it seems to be little more than the outline of a house. I don’t want to sound terribly pessimistic about all of this as I would definitely suggest a visit but it lacks the overwhelming reality of other comparable sites from that era.
After a night on board the ship, we sailed to Corfu, an island city off the northwest coast of Greece. Its site to see was a fort built on a hill that rises above the city and water. It is mostly unused, save a few parts that have modern buildings with things going on in them and a church. There was a lot of unused space but it is easy to see how defensible the position was, rising above its surroundings in all directions. In our infinite wisdom, we took on the hike without water resources and found ourselves quite dehydrated. After a water recharge, we walked leisurely walk through the shopping areas of the city getting souvenirs and gifts on our way back to the boat
The trip overnight brought us to the port of Kotor, Montenegro, beginning my shameless love affair with the small infant nation. The first experience that impressed me was looking out the window to see a large mountain towering over us.
Now I show you this photo so you can get some perspective. The mountains loom large but I had no idea how big they really were. I wish I could show you the progression as we drove up a switchback road along the side of the mountain. It’s one of those “we’re still going?” sort of experiences. Apparently, this road was the most difficult project in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it shows. But once you get to the top…..
Once we were back on the ship, and we began to cast off, we were told to stay on the decks to watch the sail out. We were so glad we did as the country’s majesty didn’t end at the port. We hadn’t realized during the night that when we came into the port we had traveled through a series of channels to a very well protected body of water, but on the way out we saw it all. There were also two islands, one man-made and one natural, that held a monastery on one and a convent on the other. We sailed between them and the shore trading horn blasts for church bells before orienting ourselves so we could pass through a very narrow channel that was the access point to the bay. No matter which way you looked it was absolutely beautiful and looked like something out of a fairy tale. Believe me when I say I have about 200 pictures I would love to post here, but I just don’t have the means.
Post Venice, we had a scheduled day at sea, which was the opportunity for rest, Chuck Season 3, relaxation, Scrabble in the Crow’s Nest, the formal dinner, and a show to finish it off. All in all a very relaxing day.
Little did we know, we would need it as the next string of days were all full of lengthy excursions that, while entirely worth it, would drain our energy. It began in Greece, with Olympia, the site of the original Olympics. We had a bit of a bus ride to get up to the site from the port for our ship. The site is kind of cool but really relies on your ability to construct imaginary buildings from the rocks that are laying on the ground. It’s cool to think these are 2500 year old ruins but it can be hard to see beyond the rocks. The first picture is actually ruins from a settlement prior to the establishment as the site of the Olympic Games but it seems to be little more than the outline of a house. I don’t want to sound terribly pessimistic about all of this as I would definitely suggest a visit but it lacks the overwhelming reality of other comparable sites from that era.
After a night on board the ship, we sailed to Corfu, an island city off the northwest coast of Greece. Its site to see was a fort built on a hill that rises above the city and water. It is mostly unused, save a few parts that have modern buildings with things going on in them and a church. There was a lot of unused space but it is easy to see how defensible the position was, rising above its surroundings in all directions. In our infinite wisdom, we took on the hike without water resources and found ourselves quite dehydrated. After a water recharge, we walked leisurely walk through the shopping areas of the city getting souvenirs and gifts on our way back to the boat
The trip overnight brought us to the port of Kotor, Montenegro, beginning my shameless love affair with the small infant nation. The first experience that impressed me was looking out the window to see a large mountain towering over us.Now I show you this photo so you can get some perspective. The mountains loom large but I had no idea how big they really were. I wish I could show you the progression as we drove up a switchback road along the side of the mountain. It’s one of those “we’re still going?” sort of experiences. Apparently, this road was the most difficult project in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it shows. But once you get to the top…..
It’s soooo worth it! When we finally made the summit of the road, we had a couple of kilometers into a small community to sample some local food, smoked ham and cheese :D. It was quite tasty.
After snacks we continued on our way, seeing more or the interior of the country. We saw the home of Montenegran Royalty during their time as an independent kingdom. After a highway trip, and a short tour of the tourist town of Budva, we returned to Kotor to see the old city. While the city itself is much like the walled cities of the region on its own, the setting makes it infinitely more Lord of the Rings. The walls actually extend up the side of the mountain to a fort part of the way up, although we didn’t have time to go.
Once we were back on the ship, and we began to cast off, we were told to stay on the decks to watch the sail out. We were so glad we did as the country’s majesty didn’t end at the port. We hadn’t realized during the night that when we came into the port we had traveled through a series of channels to a very well protected body of water, but on the way out we saw it all. There were also two islands, one man-made and one natural, that held a monastery on one and a convent on the other. We sailed between them and the shore trading horn blasts for church bells before orienting ourselves so we could pass through a very narrow channel that was the access point to the bay. No matter which way you looked it was absolutely beautiful and looked like something out of a fairy tale. Believe me when I say I have about 200 pictures I would love to post here, but I just don’t have the means.
That night was the World Cup final between Spain and The Netherlands, and as we were on a boat based in Rotterdam, it was quite the festive atmosphere. They decked out the theatre and we watched the game on the big screen.
Overnight we docked in Split, Croatia, although our excursion took us immediately out of the city to a national park an hour or so away. There is a series of waterfalls on a river that forms quite the experience. The really unique thing there is the area immediately upriver of the main falls where the water lacks a defined channel or path, so it meanders through the woods forming pools and little ponds all over the place. It's almost as if you're walking through a perpetually flooded forest. People living here had learned to use this as an advantage and built mills along the river, creating a community next to the falls. It was even the site of one of the first hydroelectric dams, and the nearby city was one of the first to be electrified world wide. At the base of the falls is a massive community meeting and swimming point.
After the park, we traveled to a small town for some lunch before heading into the coastal city of Sibenik to see the church in the old city. It was apparently important for the advancement of structural designs although I was quite tired and less interested at that point.
The bus ride/nap back to Split was enjoyable and we boarded the ship on the second to last boat from land. The evening was the second formal dinner of the trip and so I got to wear my suit one more time, which is good since I hadn’t used it since arriving in Tanzania.
The bus ride/nap back to Split was enjoyable and we boarded the ship on the second to last boat from land. The evening was the second formal dinner of the trip and so I got to wear my suit one more time, which is good since I hadn’t used it since arriving in Tanzania.
The following day was a stop in Trieste, Italy. Originally, the ship was supposed to head to Ravenna but a few days into the cruise we received a letter from the captain saying they had discovered World War II munitions in the bay, so we were changing ports. Quite understandably, in my opinion. However, Katie and I decided we weren’t interested in walking aimlessly around the city for an hour or two and chose to stay aboard. We were also kicked out of Trieste early as there was some event taking place right below the ship on the shore and they wanted us gone before it began. So we sailed back to Venice and arrived by 6 pm. That night, we spent an extra $20 to eat in the fancy restaurant on the ship. Our meal consisted of a massive steak (mine a 20+ oz Porterhouse!) and sides. It was a fine dinner indeed considering it only cost $20 extra and it was definitely a very expensive meal anywhere in the US.
I failed to take many additional pictures once we returned to Venice, although we did little that was terribly exciting. After making our way to the hotel near the airport, we stored our stuff and caught a bus into the city. We found a nice restaurant for lunch and sat watching one of the many small streets in the city. We walked around for a little longer and then returned to the bus. By the way, I found the opposite side of the city to Piazza San Marco much more enjoyable as the crowds were not overwhelming and the atmosphere was essentially the same. The bus was super cheap and with only a little extra walking, you could still see all of Venice you want, but something for next time I suppose!
The next morning, I had to catch an early ride to the airport while Katie waited until noon. The return flight was relatively uneventful although much much longer than I would have liked. I spent an extra day in Dar before returning to site, which was a much needed recharging opportunity. The bus trip went relatively well as I arrived by 7:30 in the evening. Now I’ve been at site for about 2 weeks and things have been going well. School is getting going and we’re making progress. Hopefully I’ll have things to say for that soon as well!
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