Every wedding in these parts should feature a camel, right?
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
New Blog
July is when I, personally, change years.
This will be the last post on this blog. The new one already has it's first posting, http://year3inktown.blogspot.com/
If you don't get an e-mail from me soon, it is because your e-mail address is not in my files. Please update me.
There is a special myspace site dedicated to the wedding:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=220356659
About 80 Pics are posted there. Only a few repeats from here. Having troubles posting the videos.
This will be the last post on this blog. The new one already has it's first posting, http://year3inktown.blogspot.com/
If you don't get an e-mail from me soon, it is because your e-mail address is not in my files. Please update me.
There is a special myspace site dedicated to the wedding:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=220356659
About 80 Pics are posted there. Only a few repeats from here. Having troubles posting the videos.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wedding Pix
Behind us are my best man Otobeck, and his wife Gulnur, also recently married.
They didn't give us a chance to eat. I did, anyway.
Dancing (here with best man) is all about the hands.
They didn't give us a chance to eat. I did, anyway.
Dancing (here with best man) is all about the hands.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wedding Dance
Local dancing involves more hand motions than anything else.
Dance is not a sensual thing. Sister and sister in law in foreground, nephews to the right, Aunt in background.
Dance is not a sensual thing. Sister and sister in law in foreground, nephews to the right, Aunt in background.
In the park
L to R. Otobeck (Uzbeki) Terry (Scot/Irish American) Hamroz, Tanya (Russian). Many believed that Tany is my sister in from the USA. She lives in Dushanbe.
A Wedding Tradition
The bride gets prepared...
And meets the groom outside her apartment...
Together they go to her father's house....
To receive his blessing.
And meets the groom outside her apartment...
Together they go to her father's house....
To receive his blessing.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Bazaar III Jahongir Takes on the World
Standing at the airport in a small Tajiki city you need language tutoring to pronounce, waiting to board the next desert-hopper jet that used a binocular-based navigation system, I was contemplating how boring a blog entry it would make to recount all our unusual trials and tribulations in making our marriage happen. Getting governmental permission was one thing – we are now partially-married in several countries. Sum total of “unreceipted tips” to government officials: $0.00. We navigate in and between countries that are “at war” officially and those that try to hide it; where we live – there is an American backed government, where we marry – layer upon layer of Soviet style beauracracy; Islam is everywhere and in between; we are openly Christian. Central Asian paper pushers make the Latinos look honest, efficient and conscientious by comparison. Buying each appliance and each piece of furniture is an adventure in international, intercultural and intertribal relations (gotta love those Pashtuns on Electric Street). We half-readied a house for the most diverse set of houseguests imaginable (another story for another day).
The potential for writing about all those close calls with death and eternal singleness, about divine appointments and angelic rescues was obvious. But all of those heart wrenching tales (with my heart the one wrenching) would come across as tripe because that kind of stuff embarrasses participating angels, who would rather do their work anonymously, and draws yawns from those believers who struggle to half believe it, anyway. So the morning had started with mundane trials - we had arrived late at the airport, having been confused by the half-hour time difference (don’t ask). I had brought enough cash for our entire wedding and honeymoon (not much of a banking system here). But I had not moved the cash from my luggage, where it belongs during our stay, to my person, where it belongs during our flight. And there we were, last ones on the jet, looking at our bags on the runway. Old luggage jockey’s saying, “No more room, I’ll cart ‘em back”, (or whatever it is Russian speaking people say when that’s what they have in their hearts).
No worries, based on how God had been providing lately, I half expected we’d get to see our luggage flying through the air beside our jet - nothing to write home about. But this time He did something so amazing, so unexpected, something that really manifested His glory on earth. As we sat there praying, the young flight attendant named Jahongir repacked all the luggage in the the rear of the plane, over the objections of his co-workers, until everything fit, even our late arriving bags. This Central Asian man took the initiative and went above the call of his job to make sure that everything worked out all right for everyone. No tips asked for nor received. We were stunned - wherever did he get an attitude like that? I told Hamroz I would write a letter about him (thinking of Tajik Airlines). She got out a piece of paper and said, “give him your blog address, so he can read it.” Exactly what I had decided not to do earlier.
The name “Jahongir” means “One who Takes on the World”. Let us pray he succeeds – his world could use it.
After the plane landed, we went to a bazaar.
The potential for writing about all those close calls with death and eternal singleness, about divine appointments and angelic rescues was obvious. But all of those heart wrenching tales (with my heart the one wrenching) would come across as tripe because that kind of stuff embarrasses participating angels, who would rather do their work anonymously, and draws yawns from those believers who struggle to half believe it, anyway. So the morning had started with mundane trials - we had arrived late at the airport, having been confused by the half-hour time difference (don’t ask). I had brought enough cash for our entire wedding and honeymoon (not much of a banking system here). But I had not moved the cash from my luggage, where it belongs during our stay, to my person, where it belongs during our flight. And there we were, last ones on the jet, looking at our bags on the runway. Old luggage jockey’s saying, “No more room, I’ll cart ‘em back”, (or whatever it is Russian speaking people say when that’s what they have in their hearts).
No worries, based on how God had been providing lately, I half expected we’d get to see our luggage flying through the air beside our jet - nothing to write home about. But this time He did something so amazing, so unexpected, something that really manifested His glory on earth. As we sat there praying, the young flight attendant named Jahongir repacked all the luggage in the the rear of the plane, over the objections of his co-workers, until everything fit, even our late arriving bags. This Central Asian man took the initiative and went above the call of his job to make sure that everything worked out all right for everyone. No tips asked for nor received. We were stunned - wherever did he get an attitude like that? I told Hamroz I would write a letter about him (thinking of Tajik Airlines). She got out a piece of paper and said, “give him your blog address, so he can read it.” Exactly what I had decided not to do earlier.
The name “Jahongir” means “One who Takes on the World”. Let us pray he succeeds – his world could use it.
After the plane landed, we went to a bazaar.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Passionate Taking of Advice
Several improvements were made through the counsel I received from my Principal. The spirit with which the counsel was offered was particularly helpful – it was not imposed but rather suggested - allowing me to not only change in the area under consideration, but also to allow a braoder change in my teaching style.
We use a spiraling mathematics system covering level 1 in 6th grade and level 2 in 7th grade. I have allowed advanced students to move on to level 2 and even level 3 (unused at ISK). The Principal believed that it would be better to slow the advanced students down, to hold them in level one with different activities. In spite of the fact that I disagreed, I devoted many hours to producing extra worksheets and finding games tailored to the objectives of each of the lessons in September and October. I firmly believe that the extra games and worksheets were inferior to work and problems already set out by the mathematical masters who composed the level 2 and level 3 texts. The principal was momentarily convinced and dropped pressure to change. This added a positive dynamic to our relationship, she had used persuasion and not command, and that left me in control of student learning, which was to pay dividends before the year ended.
Later, the Principal made suggestions about having the students rewrite all grammatical and spelling errors in their first attempts at five paragraph essays until they got them right. Because our Principal acts through persuasion, I considered myself at liberty to consider and apply her suggestions according to my own understanding, by the spirit, not by the letter. To me, having students recopy five paragraph essays would have been stifling – it would interfere with the flow of ideas. And, more important than that, teaching coercively was something I almost never did. In the inner city we have a name for coercive teachers; we call them ex-teachers, because they are gone by Halloween.
Free to consider the wisdom in her suggestion and apply it to the benefit of the students, I found what I considered to be more appropriate venues, such as the short answers on our reading comprehension, to enforce perfect writing rules – coercively – do it until you do it right. And I found that our students respond positively to these coercive assignments. That is a source of meditation for the upcoming school year. Thanks to a supportive Principal, coercion will be a more important part of my teaching repertoire, not just something I do in one area because I have to. We are both passionate for education; may we never completely agree!
We use a spiraling mathematics system covering level 1 in 6th grade and level 2 in 7th grade. I have allowed advanced students to move on to level 2 and even level 3 (unused at ISK). The Principal believed that it would be better to slow the advanced students down, to hold them in level one with different activities. In spite of the fact that I disagreed, I devoted many hours to producing extra worksheets and finding games tailored to the objectives of each of the lessons in September and October. I firmly believe that the extra games and worksheets were inferior to work and problems already set out by the mathematical masters who composed the level 2 and level 3 texts. The principal was momentarily convinced and dropped pressure to change. This added a positive dynamic to our relationship, she had used persuasion and not command, and that left me in control of student learning, which was to pay dividends before the year ended.
Later, the Principal made suggestions about having the students rewrite all grammatical and spelling errors in their first attempts at five paragraph essays until they got them right. Because our Principal acts through persuasion, I considered myself at liberty to consider and apply her suggestions according to my own understanding, by the spirit, not by the letter. To me, having students recopy five paragraph essays would have been stifling – it would interfere with the flow of ideas. And, more important than that, teaching coercively was something I almost never did. In the inner city we have a name for coercive teachers; we call them ex-teachers, because they are gone by Halloween.
Free to consider the wisdom in her suggestion and apply it to the benefit of the students, I found what I considered to be more appropriate venues, such as the short answers on our reading comprehension, to enforce perfect writing rules – coercively – do it until you do it right. And I found that our students respond positively to these coercive assignments. That is a source of meditation for the upcoming school year. Thanks to a supportive Principal, coercion will be a more important part of my teaching repertoire, not just something I do in one area because I have to. We are both passionate for education; may we never completely agree!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Fire in Math Class
Righteousness has everything to do with relating to people. You can not be righteous when you are alone, but you can be a righteous (or unrighteous) son, father, student, wife, teacher, friend, man before God, etc. when you fulfill that role completely (or not). Every religion has rules for righteousness that define the way that adherents should fulfill life’s various relationships. But Jesus’ followers stand alone with the amazing declaration that righteousness comes through faith – not by obedience to a set of laws. Other “Christians” throughout the ages have denied this central doctrine, but the relational roles of Jesus’ true followers are counted as fulfilled through faith, not through religious obedience and ritual.
In sixth grade, I teach level one Math. Seventh grade math is level two. You should see the look in the students’ eyes if I decide to take their 6th grade book away and present them with the seventh grade book. There is a spark lit in the heart - they get pacing guidelines instead of assignments - and they take off. They “own” what they learn. Some parents complained that there is too much math homework. In every case, I hadn’t assigned their children ANY Math homework, they just wanted to be ahead of the guidelines, (and blamed me). Half the class passed every chapter test for both level one and level two (they will skip 7th grade math and go straight to pre-algebra). Three students passed every test in level 3. Two students maintained test averages above 100%. Not because of heavy assignments, but because that fire in their hearts was ignited and allowed to burn.
No one fulfills all of their relational roles on earth well – we are all “unrighteous” to some degree. But blessed are those who hunger and thirst for perfect righteousness, (they will be satisfied). God, in Christ, took our punishment on Himself, so that we could be free to let our hearts burn for righteousness, without fear of overwhelming punishment when we fall short. God is holy; He does not forget about sin – His wrath is heavy against it- yet we are free. Should any man decide to truly believe in Jesus Christ, then that spark of faith, that hunger for righteousness in every relationship, burns within him.
When a student fails a level 3 test they have a problem with me. Oh, they will have an A at the end of the year (that now depends on the teacher, not on the student – I saw their heart’s fire in action!!! No further evaluation really counts for the final grade!!!). They will have to remediate, they will have to go through something and face a similar test again. Their hunger and thirst for mathematical righteousness (not the rules in the lesson plan) wins them the blessing.
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Romans 4:13 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:8,9,10a NIV
In sixth grade, I teach level one Math. Seventh grade math is level two. You should see the look in the students’ eyes if I decide to take their 6th grade book away and present them with the seventh grade book. There is a spark lit in the heart - they get pacing guidelines instead of assignments - and they take off. They “own” what they learn. Some parents complained that there is too much math homework. In every case, I hadn’t assigned their children ANY Math homework, they just wanted to be ahead of the guidelines, (and blamed me). Half the class passed every chapter test for both level one and level two (they will skip 7th grade math and go straight to pre-algebra). Three students passed every test in level 3. Two students maintained test averages above 100%. Not because of heavy assignments, but because that fire in their hearts was ignited and allowed to burn.
No one fulfills all of their relational roles on earth well – we are all “unrighteous” to some degree. But blessed are those who hunger and thirst for perfect righteousness, (they will be satisfied). God, in Christ, took our punishment on Himself, so that we could be free to let our hearts burn for righteousness, without fear of overwhelming punishment when we fall short. God is holy; He does not forget about sin – His wrath is heavy against it- yet we are free. Should any man decide to truly believe in Jesus Christ, then that spark of faith, that hunger for righteousness in every relationship, burns within him.
When a student fails a level 3 test they have a problem with me. Oh, they will have an A at the end of the year (that now depends on the teacher, not on the student – I saw their heart’s fire in action!!! No further evaluation really counts for the final grade!!!). They will have to remediate, they will have to go through something and face a similar test again. Their hunger and thirst for mathematical righteousness (not the rules in the lesson plan) wins them the blessing.
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Romans 4:13 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:8,9,10a NIV
Thursday, May 31, 2007
High Standards
Grade Seven Final Exam
Mr. Drew
50 minutes
Language Arts
Construct an original poem covering a deeply relevant and controversial theme. In the poem, ensure that you take one strong position and prove it true, using similies and metaphors. Ensure that the poem has perfect meter, rhythm and rhyme. Translate the poem into two other languages that do not share the same alphabetic system. Ensure that meter, rhythm, rhyme are maintained in each new language.
Math
Assume that the speed of light varies by the formula C’ = AU * C where C is the presently measured speed of light, C’ is the actual speed of light and AU is one astronomical unit from a solar sized star. Using E=M * C’^2 calculate the number of uranium atoms that would need to undergo fission to power navigation, sensing, and communications equipment (that you must design) for an enriched uranium-powered space probe on a 17,000 year constant speed voyage from earth to within 2 AU of Alpha Centauri. Recalculate the same power functions at 500 year intervals.
Science
Create life. Use of any organic materials will be considered cheating.
Social Studies
Take the evolutionist or the creationist position. If you are an evolutionist, explain how the existence of the life form that you created (in the science section) 50 million years ago would have altered the life forms that presently exist on the earth. If you are a creationist, explain how the relationship of the creator with the beings he created would have been altered by the presence of this life form at the time of the creation.
Mr. Drew
50 minutes
Language Arts
Construct an original poem covering a deeply relevant and controversial theme. In the poem, ensure that you take one strong position and prove it true, using similies and metaphors. Ensure that the poem has perfect meter, rhythm and rhyme. Translate the poem into two other languages that do not share the same alphabetic system. Ensure that meter, rhythm, rhyme are maintained in each new language.
Math
Assume that the speed of light varies by the formula C’ = AU * C where C is the presently measured speed of light, C’ is the actual speed of light and AU is one astronomical unit from a solar sized star. Using E=M * C’^2 calculate the number of uranium atoms that would need to undergo fission to power navigation, sensing, and communications equipment (that you must design) for an enriched uranium-powered space probe on a 17,000 year constant speed voyage from earth to within 2 AU of Alpha Centauri. Recalculate the same power functions at 500 year intervals.
Science
Create life. Use of any organic materials will be considered cheating.
Social Studies
Take the evolutionist or the creationist position. If you are an evolutionist, explain how the existence of the life form that you created (in the science section) 50 million years ago would have altered the life forms that presently exist on the earth. If you are a creationist, explain how the relationship of the creator with the beings he created would have been altered by the presence of this life form at the time of the creation.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
New House I
The new house is just around the corner from the International School. It gives the optical illusion of being slanted away from whichever side you are on - the roof is flat and needs its own internal drain (and shoveling in the winter).
The garden has grapes (to the left), an apple tree (the trunk visible at the far right), nuts, veggies and pretty stuff. There is a well with both handpump and electric pump. Our water tank sits on our roof.
We have Pakistani wood that has a shiny finish inside. Nice trim.
The garden has grapes (to the left), an apple tree (the trunk visible at the far right), nuts, veggies and pretty stuff. There is a well with both handpump and electric pump. Our water tank sits on our roof.
We have Pakistani wood that has a shiny finish inside. Nice trim.
New House II
There is an elegant feel to the inside of our house. Even though the furniture hasn't been bought yet.
The International folks have been great to us. Here are some of the gifts that were "showered" on us.
The International folks have been great to us. Here are some of the gifts that were "showered" on us.
New House III
We are buying furniture little by little. Notice the hotplates where a stove will eventually go. But Hamroz knows how to take care of business. Manzura, behind her, is a dear friend from Khujand who lives in the downsairs part of the house. Our renters are like extended family members.
You are not supposed to take pictures during prayer, but, as my sixth graders say, sometimes I am bad.
Eating outside next to the garden. You start to perceive that the house is a walled in compound - as are all similar houses in Kabul. To the right is Lydia, from Denmark. For years, she worked in Hamroz' hometown of Khujand with Manzura in an orphanage. Now, the two ladies rent rooms downstairs in our house.
From our balcony, looking out of the compound towards, "TV Hill". ISK security lurks off the screen, right around the corner
You are not supposed to take pictures during prayer, but, as my sixth graders say, sometimes I am bad.
Eating outside next to the garden. You start to perceive that the house is a walled in compound - as are all similar houses in Kabul. To the right is Lydia, from Denmark. For years, she worked in Hamroz' hometown of Khujand with Manzura in an orphanage. Now, the two ladies rent rooms downstairs in our house.
From our balcony, looking out of the compound towards, "TV Hill". ISK security lurks off the screen, right around the corner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
