an entry somewhere else

It is nearing the end of the national holiday of Thanksgiving in the U.S. I taught two classes and went over to the American Corner at Hasanuddin University on the other side of town for a weekly discussion hour. Something like chat with the all important ‘native speaker.’ One of the myths of that is trying to be deconstructed in my profession is that only a native speaker of the language can teach the language properly or be a good model of pronunication. Of course that’s incorrect. It’s also important to note that native speakers of English are also in the minority in our world today. I’m digressing. The New York Times has an article on the American Corner in Burma. It’s a little capsule of American culture with a significant number of English language books, DVDs and magazines (Rolling Stone always looks worse for wear at the one I go to). But this is all a side story.

I went for a discussion with students. Usually the topics are generated by them, and it sometimes seems like it’s a trial in attention deficit disorder because there are questions one after the other that have no connection whatsoever. Basically, I’m their eye into American culture. Often, talk comes to politics and I spend most of that time reiterating that I’m not an official for the U.S. government; I’m an English teacher. This usually settles them down for a few minutes. Today, I chatted a bit about Thanksgiving and its origins. I’ll do this again at the same place and same time tomorrow. Anyhow, the conversation moved into recalling the events of 9/11. One student started asking questions about technical things regarding those events. I told him nicely that I haven’t researched it deeply, although I had read the 9/11 Report. Basically, the student’s summation was that 9/11 was not done by those it was blamed on. He cited more evidence. I asked where he found this information; I’d like to read it myself. The internet, he said. I then remarked that reliability of sources is an issue with the internet. Anyone can publish something on it. I couldn’t answer any of his questions regarding timing of cameras, placement of fireballs in the Towers, or the identity of anyone on the plane. I kept saying, I have not researched what you’re talking about. After I said it for the 6th or 7th time, he excused himself and left. The conversation continued with another guy who was nicer in tone but still had a somewhat different reaction to 9/11 than many people had–joy. I asked how he could condone killing innocent people. After I asked why, he further explained he wasn’t joyed at the loss of life, but the symbolism of the act. We then moved on to a William Carlos Williams poem I had brought in case we were in need of a catalyst for conversation.

My Thanksgiving dinner: one whole roasted chicken (smaller than you think), one small loaf of banana bread with butter, one bottle Guinness. It was pretty darn good.