Life is moving at an unbelievably fast pace. But I am trying to write more regularly. I am finding early in the morning, or first thing, my thoughts are most clear. Just after sleep I am reflective and have energy to write at the computer (unlike after work or in the evenings when spending time with a screen is most unappealing). Another lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way is that my internet connections, regardless of where I am, cannot be counted on. This particular post follows my emotional recovery from seething anger after the experience of losing yet another thoughtful post. The words, expressed and then carefully rearranged on the page, disappeared into the ether. I wish I could find them. But, I digress. Lesson learned and moving on.
Growing Pains
I can feel them in my hands and arms and legs. Something is happening. Something is changing.
Yesterday, I had two classes of first years. I wanted to talk to them about the elections in the U.S. and open up a discussion of similarities and differences between elections in BiH and in America. We started with a short clip from Family Guy, in which Lois, who is running for office, becomes frustrated with voters who hang on every word of her gibberish-speaking political opponent who “looks [them] in the eye” and in exaggerated Family Guy style, jumps into the lap of one audience member and kisses him on the forehead while lovingly combing his hair. Lois then proceeds to answer questions about crime and the environment with phrases like “9/11” and “what Jesus wants.” And the cartoon audience is wild with enthusiasm. We discussed what happened in the scene and began to list different political tactics on the board. They did great. We listed building relationships, trust, bringing up religion, and mentioning a traumatic emotional event. In both classes there were students who immediately realized the similarities explaining to me how politicians try to prove “who is the better Bosnian, the better Muslim, or the greater Serb” and bringing up the war instead of talking about how to improve life in the city now.
In one revealing moment, as I was explaining how Americans abbreviate the events of September 11 as “9/11,” a student interrupted and said, “I don’t want to talk about this.” We paused for a moment while his colleague explained that “people think Muslims did this but you cannot be a Muslim if you kill people.” His eyes searched mine for understanding and I could see on several of their faces their concern about how the world perceives them. It was a somber moment.
Students in the second class brought up similarly challenging ideas when at the end of the class they began asking me pointed questions.
“As an American, do you agree with what the U.S. did after 9/11? What do you think they should have done?”
And another student,
“Do Americans know about all the terrible things they do overseas? Do they know what we know?”
Wow. I gave both students short answers, commended them on their questions, and told them these were big questions we would revisit again later in the semester. This is true. In the first class, I gave them each a slip of paper and asked them to write a question or topic about American language, life, history, politics, etc. that interested them I got a mix of questions – there were the outliers – questions about American trucks, donuts, and JFK, but a large number of students wanted to know about life as an American Muslim and Islamaphobia. I have ideas for how we will engage this topic (hopefully through some real exchanges and conversations). If you have suggestions – I would love to hear from you.
Growing Pains
I can feel them in my hands and arms and legs. Something is happening. Something is changing.
Yesterday, I had two classes of first years. I wanted to talk to them about the elections in the U.S. and open up a discussion of similarities and differences between elections in BiH and in America. We started with a short clip from Family Guy, in which Lois, who is running for office, becomes frustrated with voters who hang on every word of her gibberish-speaking political opponent who “looks [them] in the eye” and in exaggerated Family Guy style, jumps into the lap of one audience member and kisses him on the forehead while lovingly combing his hair. Lois then proceeds to answer questions about crime and the environment with phrases like “9/11” and “what Jesus wants.” And the cartoon audience is wild with enthusiasm. We discussed what happened in the scene and began to list different political tactics on the board. They did great. We listed building relationships, trust, bringing up religion, and mentioning a traumatic emotional event. In both classes there were students who immediately realized the similarities explaining to me how politicians try to prove “who is the better Bosnian, the better Muslim, or the greater Serb” and bringing up the war instead of talking about how to improve life in the city now.
In one revealing moment, as I was explaining how Americans abbreviate the events of September 11 as “9/11,” a student interrupted and said, “I don’t want to talk about this.” We paused for a moment while his colleague explained that “people think Muslims did this but you cannot be a Muslim if you kill people.” His eyes searched mine for understanding and I could see on several of their faces their concern about how the world perceives them. It was a somber moment.
Students in the second class brought up similarly challenging ideas when at the end of the class they began asking me pointed questions.
“As an American, do you agree with what the U.S. did after 9/11? What do you think they should have done?”
And another student,
“Do Americans know about all the terrible things they do overseas? Do they know what we know?”
Wow. I gave both students short answers, commended them on their questions, and told them these were big questions we would revisit again later in the semester. This is true. In the first class, I gave them each a slip of paper and asked them to write a question or topic about American language, life, history, politics, etc. that interested them I got a mix of questions – there were the outliers – questions about American trucks, donuts, and JFK, but a large number of students wanted to know about life as an American Muslim and Islamaphobia. I have ideas for how we will engage this topic (hopefully through some real exchanges and conversations). If you have suggestions – I would love to hear from you.
Pictures from the week
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