Several professors here have asked for an hour of my time every week to teach them English. Nevermind the fact that I have zero training to do this, I am presumed an expert in the field.
My second lesson on Monday morning with Zehra proved a fascinating hour on the history of Islam in Bosnia and in Sarajevo. The question I had posed to her was, "Tell me about your work" but at some point it turned into an introductory history lesson. Zehra is a historian and knows Bosnian, Arabic, German, Russian, and is hoping to improve her English. At the Faculty, all students study Arabic intensely and English in their first year.
I'm also now giving a lesson on Wednesday mornings to Džemal Latič, a famous poet and writer. (Trust me, Wikipedia him.) From what I know, many of his writings cover dark topics. He informed me he writes in the genre of "knjižara logor" or literature of concentration camps. My own homework is to read famous works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who spent 10 years in a gulag and then wrote about it, Danilo Kiš, a Jewish man who lost all his family in camps during the second world war in Yugoslavia, and of course, to read Dzemal's own works such as "Srebrenica Inferno" and others on his own imprisonment.
In sum, some light reading.
Yesterday was my first lesson with Prof. Latić and after a semi-awkward but genuinely very warm greeting on both our parts he set down on the desk an enormous TOEFL exam prep book. I audibly gulped since as many of you know, standardized tests have long been one of my sworn enemies. But faking confidence, I found the first lesson (of course! after the pre-test!). After about thirty minutes we were both a bit fatigued from reading about reading ("reading strategies"), I suggested we try some conversation. I asked him about how he became a writer and then listened to an unexpected story about how his father had tied his umbilical chord (he tied his 'pupčinica' I learned) with a pen and then stated grandly, "May my son become a great writer!" (This is a true story, he confirmed.) The unfortunate part of the telling included the casual mention of "you know how people prefer boys." And then when I frowned, he put his hand up and said rather sorrowfully, "It's a fact." Also seemed unfortunate that his mother was not mentioned once in the story of his birth but I digress. Sexism in the Balkans. Big topic. Another day.
In several moments with Zehra, Amira (another professor with whom I am working), and with Prof. Latić, I have been nearly brought to tears. I don't know if it is just the act of trying to absorb the enormity of the experience - seeing myself sitting in a little office in a century-old place of Islamic study, teaching English to accomplished thinkers and writers (despite their imperfections), or if it is what they are teaching me. I am increasingly aware of how little I know of Islam and the more I learn and observe - about the historical roots, the way the religion historically, and presently) guides people in everyday as well as spiritual life; the way every custom has its own unique meaning, the way holidays follow the lunar calendar, the importance and meaning behind food, customs pertaining to dress (and mostly for women), how centuries ago Arabic was the language of intellectuals, and then of course the acts of persecution big and small, misrepresentations in the media, and the use of fabricated political agendas against them - the more this seems apparent:. insert Jew or Judaism or Hebrew wherever one sees fit and the overlaps could not be more clear.
My second lesson on Monday morning with Zehra proved a fascinating hour on the history of Islam in Bosnia and in Sarajevo. The question I had posed to her was, "Tell me about your work" but at some point it turned into an introductory history lesson. Zehra is a historian and knows Bosnian, Arabic, German, Russian, and is hoping to improve her English. At the Faculty, all students study Arabic intensely and English in their first year.
I'm also now giving a lesson on Wednesday mornings to Džemal Latič, a famous poet and writer. (Trust me, Wikipedia him.) From what I know, many of his writings cover dark topics. He informed me he writes in the genre of "knjižara logor" or literature of concentration camps. My own homework is to read famous works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who spent 10 years in a gulag and then wrote about it, Danilo Kiš, a Jewish man who lost all his family in camps during the second world war in Yugoslavia, and of course, to read Dzemal's own works such as "Srebrenica Inferno" and others on his own imprisonment.
In sum, some light reading.
Yesterday was my first lesson with Prof. Latić and after a semi-awkward but genuinely very warm greeting on both our parts he set down on the desk an enormous TOEFL exam prep book. I audibly gulped since as many of you know, standardized tests have long been one of my sworn enemies. But faking confidence, I found the first lesson (of course! after the pre-test!). After about thirty minutes we were both a bit fatigued from reading about reading ("reading strategies"), I suggested we try some conversation. I asked him about how he became a writer and then listened to an unexpected story about how his father had tied his umbilical chord (he tied his 'pupčinica' I learned) with a pen and then stated grandly, "May my son become a great writer!" (This is a true story, he confirmed.) The unfortunate part of the telling included the casual mention of "you know how people prefer boys." And then when I frowned, he put his hand up and said rather sorrowfully, "It's a fact." Also seemed unfortunate that his mother was not mentioned once in the story of his birth but I digress. Sexism in the Balkans. Big topic. Another day.
In several moments with Zehra, Amira (another professor with whom I am working), and with Prof. Latić, I have been nearly brought to tears. I don't know if it is just the act of trying to absorb the enormity of the experience - seeing myself sitting in a little office in a century-old place of Islamic study, teaching English to accomplished thinkers and writers (despite their imperfections), or if it is what they are teaching me. I am increasingly aware of how little I know of Islam and the more I learn and observe - about the historical roots, the way the religion historically, and presently) guides people in everyday as well as spiritual life; the way every custom has its own unique meaning, the way holidays follow the lunar calendar, the importance and meaning behind food, customs pertaining to dress (and mostly for women), how centuries ago Arabic was the language of intellectuals, and then of course the acts of persecution big and small, misrepresentations in the media, and the use of fabricated political agendas against them - the more this seems apparent:. insert Jew or Judaism or Hebrew wherever one sees fit and the overlaps could not be more clear.