Exciting Times Ahead!

Hi everyone!

I've been keeping pretty busy working at American Corner. Yesterday, I led a film club. We watched Million Dollar Baby and will be having a discussion about gender roles and stereotypes at the next meeting. It's a pretty good movie. The only issue is that it can be hard for an ESL student to understand the dialogue. The actors have a pretty heavy southern Missouri accent, and of course, Clint Eastwood is notorious for speaking in a gravely voice.

Today, I led my first reading club meeting. I'm always so thrilled to see students on time and ready to learn. I have a feeling this might be a bit of a struggle in my Teach for America experience next year. This was the first time, really, that I felt like I could employ some of my teaching skills. Discussion is great, and it's really valuable, but reading club gave me a chance to develop vocabulary, listening, speaking, and reading skills. We started with a Level 1 ESL short-story about Aladdin. I had the students read the chapter (about 5 pages) silently to themselves. The we read it aloud through a combination of choral, call-and-response, individual reading, and listening exercises. Throughout the passages, I asked questions for reading comprehension. We also did a grammar exercise to choose "what" or "where" for the beginning of sentences. There would be a sentence, for example, "....did Aladdin find in the cave?" and the students had to read the sentence aloud and decide to use either what or where. I think it was really helpful, and the students recognized their mistakes right away when they read the sentence aloud. We also had a grammar discussion about near synonyms. We discussed the differences between "aim", "goal", and "purpose" and when to use these words properly.

Some things I want to improve on next time. I have a mixture of ages and skill levels. Some students are seven and others are twenty. I tried to give the younger kids more reading practice, but when I asked comprehension questions, one older kid kept answering all the questions. I need to come up with a better way to manage responses--perhaps pair share first or some creative way. Ilana, the other Fulbrighter, used a great technique for over-sharers. She gave the students 5 pieces of candy each, which they lines up in front of their desks. If you answered a question, you got to each a piece of candy, but you couldn't answer the next question (which is GREAT because they are chewing anyway!). I'm definitely going to try this technique out.

After some frustration and going back and forth trying to nail down times and dates, for my adopted project, I finally got a phone call! On Friday, I will be traveling to Istaravshan to conduct teacher interviews for the new Access program in Shahriston. Shahriston is a beautiful little mountain village in Northern Tajikistan. I am kind of taking this project under my wing. I will be starting a new school for bright and disadvantaged students in Shahriston. I may end up relocating to the village, which is going to be another adventure! The trick with Shahriston is to go there before it is winter and the roads get closed. They also speak mostly Uzbek there. In Khujand, I've found most people speak Russian first, Tajik second (opposite in Dushanbe). Ah, I will still plunge ahead and try to become proficient in Tajik! I got the number of a Tajik teacher in Khujand, so I will take classes for as long as I can.

Anyway, sorry for the length of this post. I know it's a lot. Exciting times are definitely ahead, and I'm beginning to really work out a routine.

Ups and Downs

Settling in to Khujand has been rough. To be fair, I've had some really high "highs", but I think as life kind of continues I've been experiencing some lows. Apparently, this is perfectly normal. During orientation is D.C. we received information about the natural mood swings we get during cultural adjustment.

I wasn't going to write a blog post about this, but after reading Nicole's blog, I felt reassured that I'm not the only one out there! I feel extremely isolated up here, since all the other Fulbrighters and the Tajik friends that I made are in Dushanbe. I almost wish I went directly to Khujand when I arrived because picking up and starting over again is pretty hard. I've also been battling stomach problems for the past two weeks, which certainly hasn't helped.

I think the problem is that I don't have a steady schedule yet. I've been leading discussion clubs here and there, but I haven't started a project to really sink my teeth into yet, and I'm unsure of how to proceed.

Don't worry friends and family. I've had some amazing experiences here. Probably my best experiences have been going to the villages. Having several cups of tea and naan with an old woman in the countryside, and afterwards, receiving an embrace from her and being called, "Victoria Khan." There was something so beautiful in being accepted by this conservative muslim woman in Northern Tajikistan. I wonder if Americans would have shown the same generosity and openness. I don't normally write about negativity in my posts, and I've had bad days before, but I figured that this is all apart of the Fulbright experience. The good, the bad, and those in between, every day moments.

I know I am supposed to be here, and I'm working on establishing a routine. And as Nicole said, "according to my guilty pleasure, Psychology Today, big breakdowns lead to big breakthroughs." So here's to these moments of highs and lows. I'm embracing them and am looking forward to the next 8 months of making a difference.

Kanibodom

It's been quite a whirlwind of a week, but I am finally settled into my beautiful apartment. My puppy (yes, a puppy...) is sleeping on the rug, and I have a steaming cup of earl grey tea at my bedside. Although I'm sick--stomach problems and a cold? (can people get colds during the summer???)--I'm feeling perfectly content.

This past week I did a lot of traveling in the villages. The first place, Kanibodom (bodom = a Tajik nut) is in the western Fergana Valley. I had meetings with the teachers to discuss our programs there and my role, and I visited the classrooms and met the students. There was a little bit of downtime, so I asked the girls, who pretty much held onto my curtails, if they could show me their village. We walked around the dusty roads through their village and saw a beautiful, ancient mosque and minaret. The town is incredibly small, but the people here are so proud of their village and were extremely excited to show me around. Kanibodom is absolutely beautiful. There is a kind of peacefulness in the air, the kind of tranquility I needed after leaving Dushanbe. When I first stepped foot in this small village, I realized why I had applied for Tajikistan and why I wanted this Fulbright grant. This is the Tajikistan I had dreamed about, and I am so grateful to learn from these girls in the villages and share cultural experiences.

The girls were wonderful and extremely bright. They are planning on studying in the United States on a FLEX scholarship, which entails a rigorous entrance exam. They are also very involved in their local community. One girl, who is in her second year of language study and has nearly perfect English, started a program to help people with disabilities in her village. I'm just really impressed with everyone here. Yes, we of course talked about Justin Bieber, Twilight, and A Walk to Remember (one girl's all-time favorite movie), but over the course of our conversations, I began to understand the connection we all share, no matter geography or background. They invited me to their homes next time I'm in town so I can meet their families and stay the night. I am definitely going to take them up on that.

As for my work there, I will be teaching English classes and lead cultural activities (i.e. Halloween). I am also hoping to get TOEFL certified and teach free TOEFL classes in the villages. I'm trying to figure out the funding problem. It's about $300 for certification. I've had meetings with several directors of non-profits and the U.S. Embassy but no such luck. I'm sure funding for TOEFL is somewhere, even if I pay out of my pocket. A TOEFL class in the villages would be a great asset. The classes here are so expensive and not taught by native English speakers. Passing the TOEFL exam is also a requirement to apply for university out of country. Everyone I've met wants to study in the United States, and I think U.S. universities would greatly benefit from enrolling Tajik students. Anyway, before I close this post, I found this quote which sums up my feelings about Northern Tajikistan:

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts."

Thirsty for English

After a five hour bumpy drive (usually it takes 8!) through the gorgeous mountains, I finally made it to Khujand, the city where I will live for the next ten months. Khujand is absolutely beautiful. The city is smaller than the capital, Dushanbe, but it is the perfect size for me--not too big, not too small, and surrounded by a backdrop of old mountains and the Syr Daria. In Khujand, I had my first experience of the legendary (at least for us Central Asia-philes) Tajik hospitality. I lived with a family for about five days with another Fulbright fellow. Parvina and her husband run the independent news station and are extremely well-educated and progressive. It was so valuable to their perspectives on the media and the government. My understanding is that the state controls all of the media, except for these pockets of independent news stations that receive all their funding from advertisement. Once, her husband published something vaguely critical of the government, and he was picked up by the government and put in the military for two years. There is definitely a veneer of democracy, but if you dig an inch deeper, you find so many autocratic policies. Most of the youth are in Russia, so there isn't that critical mass necessary to push for reforms. I've found that this is particularly a problem in education. All educational materials must go through the Ministry of Education, so it takes years and years to have books, lesson plans, etc. approved by the government. There isn't the debate and critical thinking so prominent in the United States, but it is completely understandable. If the schools don't comply, they will be shut down, and the educators will lose their jobs. It's a struggle, especially as an educator, to spark critical thinking and debate, which forms the base of civil society.

I had a meeting with the dean of university in Khujand (not sure how much info I can give out). After a great meeting, she told me that she wanted me to be a professor at her university. The students here are "thirsty for English, thirsty for information about the world." She is unable to bring in current events or have discussion about foreign policy and American history. Her materials are extremely limited and she does not have the resources or the background to hold productive classes. I will be teaching modern American history and foreign policy. I did a lot of thinking, and I decided that I will push the envelope. I can teach a class full of debate and discussion about government because I will be under the auspice of the university that already has its curricula approved. As an educator, I am not just teaching modern American history, but I am sharpening critical thinking skills and encouraging independent thought. In no way am I trying to start a revolution (ha!), but it is important to encourage civil society and democratic norms. I'm designing a module that will have current events, media, etc. and hopefully, I can making an indent.

And so it begins...

Hello friends and internet strangers,

After 23 hours in transit (the Fly America Act blows), a near kidnapping in Istanbul, and bribing my way out of Turkey, I made it to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. I will spend the next 10 months as a Fulbright ETA, teaching English language and cultural classes and conducting independent research.

So before I begin blogging, some disclaimers:
I am not a regular blogger, and after some persuasion, I decided to write a bit. Please excuse poorly written reflections, occasional inappropriate language, and rants about international development, cultural authenticity, the government, and corruption.

I hereby acknowledge that this is not an official Department of State website or blog, and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, my colleagues, my family, or my dog.