Just Passing Through

2 Replies

First off let me apologize for this massive lapse in updates. Since everyone in Romania knows it, I might as well just spill. Unfortunately, one day while I was listening to some music on my laptop, the thing just shut itself down. When I went to turn it back on… nothing. Really, nothing, not even the fan. So began a very long process which still continues to this day regarding the replacement of the machine’s motherboard. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that according to my computer’s manufacturer, the big D, Romania does not exist – at least as far as service is concerned. So for the past four weeks I’ve had no computer.

Negatives: Unable to download daily dose of Mike Malloy – Unable to chat at leisure – Forced to use public computers which are always lacking something (if it has Microsoft Office it has Windows 98, and if it has XP it has Open Office… and so on.)

Positives: Have read a large number of books and actually began to study for the GRE – Cleaned apartment – talk to other people – catch up on old Mythbusters shows on Discovery channel.

———-

The 2nd semester of school began today. Of course things did not begin without a hitch. One of my schools decided to change the schedule entirely as of tomorrow, thereby giving one of my classes an “excuse” to leave early. But really, it’s to be expected. I am in fact looking forward to this 2nd semester if only for the reason that I am now going to teach more of what I want to do. Of course I had this freedom from the beginning, but I didn’t know what to do with it. Although I still am not sure what I’ll do with all my damn conversation classes, I’m going to worry less about activities and more about content.

Also, I intend to go into things absolutely clear with my students regarding grading. In fact, just today I distributed to a class my detailed requirements and hints for essay writing. I took some time coming up with this document, and it is quite clear. I hope that this proactive measure will forestall such events as mass whining or crying come grade time. I know I am more difficult than the other English teachers, but honestly, these students must do better – and they can.

———-

I guess that the routine of life here has slowly but surely taken hold. Think about routine events that you do in your life – stopping by the drugstore or shopping at the corner market. You probably don’t put much, if any, effort into such activities. Part of the challenge of the Peace Corps is having such events present themselves as major tasks. Only having been a newcomer now in two very different societies can I appreciate the difficulty of this task. But now that I’m over a year in the Peace Corps and longer here in Romania than Uzbekistan, I finally feel like I am settling down into my little existence. It is comforting. Like I said in a lecture to my students last semester, any good essay has a strong thesis, or foundation. You don’t build without a foundation, and you must make sure the foundation is strong and can support what may come next. No, the hassles are not gone, but I feel that my concrete is pretty solid and ready to be tested. This is going to be it, and what will come is largely up to me.

———-

On the way to school today I took the long route, looping through the center of town. On the sidewalk by the large abandoned hotel (The Grand) I saw a man. I first noticed him taking a quick look in the garbage can. As he resumed walking toward me, I noticed his face. It was scraggly, covered with lines and furrows, and a white fuzz protruded from its lower half. His jacket was dark green and dirty. In his hand, a tan leather case – larger than a briefcase but smaller than a suitcase. We didn’t really make any eye contact, the snow being too bothersome, or perhaps a larger and mutual indifference, but as I continued toward the bakeries, cell phone stores and the McDonalds, I wondered about that man. What happened? Who is he? There is a lot of tragedy here and sometimes it takes a face to perfectly display it, if only for a moment.

Not Freaking Out Too Much

8 Replies

So I received a comment, “Less Bush More Romania!” This is, indeed, understandable. Although I can not keep my mouth shut at the current atrocities that are occurring back home, I will try to include more information about day to day life in RO.

This post is a tribute to having sitemates – i.e. other Peace Corps volunteers who live in the same city. This week has not been good. In addition to the approaching end of the semester (evidenced by the piles upon piles of paper on my couch,) I am having some technical difficulties. So, needless to say, my mood was a little sour the other day when coming home from school. Taking a different route than usual, I happened to run across my sitemate who was herself on the way back from work. I waved and said hi, and she could tell that I needed to talk. Inviting me over to her place, we had tea and soup and vented a bit. It made me feel much better and I think it was more therapeutic than brooding in my apartment. I really should join that gym these days…

The job is chugging along and I find that I am slowly developing some relationships with my colleagues at one of my schools. This is important because it makes me look forward to going to work – I can’t however say the same about the other… perhaps with time. I feel quite busy most of the time, but I am making myself keep up with reading. Currently I’ve read “A House for Mr. Biswas” by V.S. Naipaul – a great and sweeping story of a man. I like Naipaul, and it’s been interesting to read his stuff in reverse chronological order. You see how an author has evolved, perhaps becoming more self conscious.

Minor nuisances continue to occur – as this is Romania. When I went to get a new book at the library, I received some short rude and quickly spoken lecture about how I needed a stamp and that in order to get the proper stamp I had to go downstairs and then come back again. Of course it was agitating, but I held in my annoyance, got the stamp, and then proceeded to be granted the book. On the other hand, I went into a little shop by where I live last night looking for a sponge. I had forgotten the word for sponge, and all I saw was a metal one behind the counter. I point at the metal sponge and say, “dar normal,” “but normal,” and instead of a puzzled look, the lady behind the counter reached down and pulled up a sponge. It was a minor victory for sure, but god, when faced with so many minor annoyances, any victory is sweet.

What We’ve Forgotten

8 Replies

So much is going on these days, that I find it hard just to keep track of things. As you’ve probably already noticed, I have added an “Impeach Bush” banner to the top right-hand of this site. Here’s my rationale for this: By condoning secret wiretaps on American citizens and sidestepping the FISA court, George W. Bush has violated our constitutional protections regarding unreasonable searches. As the President, he swore to uphold the Constitution. Since these actions are contrary to that oath, he must be removed. What I’m really dumbfounded about is how Clinton’s BJ ranked as a more serious threat to our nation than Bush’s current actions. As the right wing continues to melt down and crooks and liars are exposed for who they really are, I hope that this demand becomes more powerful. Even if we are unsuccessful in the actual impeachment, it is crucial that we try; someone like Bush, unlike Nixon (who, while a nut, did at least leave the country with a few good social programs,) will never resign.

Since I’m abroad, I am unable to watch the David Letterman show. I like Letterman. He’s got a wit about him that resonates with me. Well, I’m very sad I missed this live, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to view a segment of his show where he had Bill O’Reilly as a guest. O’Reilly, one of the Right’s most shrill shills, gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter by the king of late night. Enjoy the files in the following formats: (Windows Media – WMV Bittorrent – QuickTime Bittorrent) This is well worth the download – trust me!

I’d also like to announce some new sites that have been added to the Links section of this blog:

MadKane – I stumbled across this lady’s website while looking for limericks for my students. She is a talented humorist who makes political limericks and popular song parodies regarding current political events. Her site includes a blog, lyrics and a podcast.

White Rose Society – I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy listening to the Mike Malloy Show on Air America Radio. Since I’m far from the airwaves, and to listen live I’d have to get up at 6 a.m., I download the episodes from this site. Not only is the Mike Malloy show included, but you’ll find many other liberal talk radio hosts here. Superb service.

GLBT- A new category has been created for GLBT issues.

After Elton – This site discusses the portrayal of GLBT people in the mainstream media.

BlogActive – A very controversial blog, the goal of BlogActive is to illuminate anti-gay types who are found to be gay themselves. Considering that the Republican party is full of such individuals, there is always fresh content.

Uzbekistan – A new category has been created for issues relating to Uzbekistan.

Craig Murray – Mr. Murray was the UK’s former Ambassador to Uzbekistan. Known now as a whistleblower, he refused to keep quiet about the murderous regime of Islam Karimov which was being supported by the US/UK as part of the global “war on terror.” Mr. Murray has recently released some firsthand documents, called the Tashkent Memos – and will soon have a book out on the whole subject. Fascinating reading, and insightful about the dark and dirty side of this new “war.”

Eurasia Insight – This site features articles regarding civil society initiatives in the Central Asia / Caucuses region. This site is mostly sober and article based and offers a good starting point to those who wish to understand the complexities of the region.

neweurasia – This relatively new site is in the list because it purports to be student-run. Some interesting takes on current events.

Registan.net – Arguably the king of Central Asian / Uzbekistan sites, Registan.net provides extensive coverage (and linkage,) along with mostly sound commentary from a libertarian perspective.

In my American History classes, we are now up to World War II, and I’ve set aside the whole month (translation – four 50 minute periods) to study this subject. In my Culture and Civilization classes, we are discussing Iraq. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and teach both classes the infamous Supreme Court case, Korematsu v United States (1944.) This case regards the internment of Japanese Americans from the West Coast during the war. The basic idea was that since some Japanese Americans may have retained loyalties to the Emperor of Japan, it was not safe to have such individuals living near the West Coast, where they might possibly assist the enemy. FDR approved of this, and the internment was carried out.

The majority opinion of the court agreed that this was Constitutionally valid. Here is some of what the judges had to say:

“Exclusion of those of Japanese origin was deemed necessary because of the presence of an unascertained number of disloyal members of the group… it was impossible to bring about an immediate segregation of the disloyal from the loyal… when under conditions of modern warfare our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger.”

A strong dissent was also penned:

“That this forced exclusion was the result in good measure of this erroneous assumption of racial guilt rather than bona fide military necessity is evidenced by the Commanding General’s Final Report on the evacuation.. In it, he refers to all individuals of Japanese descents as “subversive,” as belonging to “an enemy race,” and as constituting, “over 112,000 potential enemies… at large today.” … No reliable evidence is cited to show that such individuals were generally disloyal.. to infer that examples of individual disloyalty prove group disloyalty and justify discriminatory action against the entire group is to deny that under our system of law individual guilt is the sole basis for deprivation of rights… [this is to] open the door to discriminatory actions against other minority groups in the passions of tomorrow.

Amazing, isn’t it? This was 1944. But if we were to substitute a few words, how easily does this translate into today’s “passions….” ? I think as a nation we suffer from historical amnesia. Maybe it’s because the idea of America is progress… out with the old and in with the new. We are so constantly moving away from where we have come, that the actions of the past seem almost irrelevant. Having been in Europe now for half a year, it is clear that the burden of the past, though spoken or implied, weighs heavily on all that is done. Bush often states that our “war on terror” began on 9/11. The absurdity of this statement is tremendous. 9/11 was not the beginning, it was, instead, a culmination. The world did not suddenly change after 9/11, rather American’s woke up to the fact that there is a larger reality beyond the borders of our cities and towns.

I lived for half a year in the country of Uzbekistan. Baring any radical changes, Uzbekistan is headed toward a bloody future. I’ve seen how repression twists people – kills them in a way. And I’m starting to understand why people who come from such situations may be willing to strap some explosives to their chest and give it the good college try. Our support of tyrants, given in the name of fighting terror, but in reality as a desperate measure to ensure that our liquid lifeline keeps flowing, makes us not only weak but also hypocritical. And with Bush in power, the level of these offences has reached a new high (or shall I say low,) and the rest of the world is not so stupid to get upset over the “war on Christmas.”

As Bush himself is fond of saying, these are difficult times. Let us respond to the challenge in the best way we can, first, by cleaning house. Only when those types of individuals who are currently in power are gone can we possibly hope to undo the damage already done, and then, perhaps, try to shape a world that is truly more free and just.

Away…

10 Replies

I recently returned from a visit with my first gazda. These were the people I stayed with when I first arrived in Romania – which was, as many of you may recall, a very rough time. Although there were many factors in my decision to stay here, they were certainly one of them. Since Christmas is a big deal here, I figured it would be a good time to go back and see the family. Below are two pictures from our little reunion:

I write as Josh, over at the other end of the room, is packing up his bags for the big trip. As of tonight, if all goes well, we’ll be on a train to Vienna. Yes folks, Western Europe, Skiing, and what will certainly be a damn good time. I’ll have lots of stories when I return.

Have a happy new year everyone!

Winter Begins

3 Replies

First day of the last week before vacation – complete. After this week, I can say goodbye to school until the 9th of January! For those of you who don’t know, I will be taking a ski-trip over New Years’ with Josh and Johannes. The plan is for Josh to come visit here in Romania, and then the two of us will hop a train to Austria where we will be met by Johannes. After a few days in Vienna/Graz, off to Tyrol for some great skiing. I am so very excited, especially because when I agreed to Uzbekistan, I kinda ruled out skiing for those entire two years. So yes, winter is here and as I speak it is snowing gently – covering up all the icy spots on the pavement…. My apartment is looking good, as I recently purchaced some candles. School seems to be going better as well. I’ve come up with some interesting longer term projects for many of my classes, and due to popular demand, will be starting an English club when I return. Below is a picture I took while visiting another PCV’s site: