Sarah Needs Context
2003-10-08 @ 8:47 a.m.


Oy, I just exploded a bottle of pop all over my backpack. Murphy's Law - 1, Sarah - 0. That's going to be unpleasant for the rest of the day, but at least I missed getting any on the computer and thus being drawn and quartered by the lab techs.

I'm glad it's Wednesday. Today is my calm day. I've already turned in all four of the essays that I had due this week and I've finished all of the readings. Now I just have to worry about Friday's midterm. Le Sigh.

Yesterday in class we talked about tutoring English as a Second Language students. I pleaded for help with my standing appointment. She's originally from Poland, but still has lots of problems writing English. I just don't know what to do. Dr. Bosker is pulling some articles for me that sound like it'll help me contextualize the problem of strattling two cultures.

I just really have no concept of what that must be like - growing up in two drastically different societies. I mean, I'm such an American. My family has been here for, what, over a hundred years. We don't have any extant roots back in Europe or really any carried over traditions. I don't think of myself as Irish-American or German-American, but only as American. I never feel any sort of internal cultural identity conflicts. Sure, sometimes I don't particularly like being an American, but I don't feel like I'm being pulled by divergent loyalties.

Sometimes it isn't so good, though. I only have one view point grounded in experience. I can "see" other view points (I've always been good at empathetic anthropology) but I've never been there. I've never had to "think" in another culture outside of brief, amusing intellectual exercizes. In the case of my tutee, I feel like I can't speak to her situation.

I'm really very frustrated over this. If anyone has any advice, comments, or thoughts about bi-lingualism or cultural dislocation, or anything else, please leave me a note.

Thought of the Day:

I was getting over my "people are dumb!" thing until I woke up this morning to "...Governor-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger..." ::Reaffirms the need for Intellectual Ji'had and casts California from the Union::

before ~ after

Failing Miserably - 2004-10-08
So Not Dead/Catching Up - 2004-09-20
Murphy's Law - 2,629,163,298, Sarah - 2 - 2004-08-23
Listmainia! continues - 2004-08-04
Continuing the list - 2004-08-02