Newest Twitter Updates ||>
10.21.2004 ||>
Yesterday some Germans came to my school. I have no idea who these people were, maybe they were just pulled in off the street. They looked like just normal tourists anyway: grungy backpacks, Tevas and looking like they hadn't bathed in awhile. This was interesting for the kids as they all take English classes and either German or French. Anyway, my 11th grade got pulled out early to meet them (which is fine) but they weren't going to introduce them to my 10th grade, which should be criminal. So as they walked by my classroom, all my students gave me the puppy dog eyes and cried, "pleeease let them come in, pleeeeaase!!" So I did what any wannabe hero does in a time of crisis and ran out into the hall and did some cajoling myself. The Germans were easily distracted and came for a visit. Suddenly my very outspoken 10th graders became Stepford children. They stood up when the visitors entered, raised their hands when they wanted to speak, and stood up to ask a question. They looked like coiled springs, full of energy. Of course as soon as the foreigners left, they burst into babbling about how exciting it all was.
They were like that with me for the first week. Now I'm old hat and so are the other Americans I bring. Now it's the Germans who are interesting. I totally prefer it that way.
In some movies, a "westerner" lives amongst the "natives", and when tourists or other people come into town this local westerner makes caustic comments about the tourist's naivete and tries to protect the natives against the exploitation that the "west" brings. I disagree with that. If someone has something to bring to Uzbekistan that will help my students or anyone else here, even if it's just the ability to speak a language that they're studying, I'm all for it. No one is a tourist attraction, but if you can help, then it's all good.
0 snow blossoms
