Orientation


Advertisement
Published: July 6th 2010
Edit Blog Post

Driving north from Lafayette, Indiana, was uncharted territory for me. I’ve travelled to Chicago before, but that was by bus and for a long weekend. This time, however, I had a Ford Ranger filled with a bike, table, chair, clothes, and fishing pole, destined for East Lansing, Michigan and Michigan State University-Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, or MSU-SCALI. Not a vacation, not a distracted weekend, but a destination with mental as well as physical baggage- I am to study Arabic for two months. Why? Well, that’s an involved question. The best answer may come next summer, when I may have finagled a means to practice the language in a sub-Saharan West African nation. Until then, I’ll just try to learn it as best as possible, and fulfill not only my vague intentions, but also the requirements of the federal FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) grant which is funding my studies. Phew.

My apartment is relatively nice. I like it more the longer I am in it. The rooms are comfortably large, there are windows on half of the walls, and the bathroom and kitchen are clean, especially now that I had a go at the appliances and floors with a scrubber and some bleach. The complex is in a simple neighborhood, if appearances are to be believed, and MSU campus is not far away- maybe a mile. All along this stretch of campus are shops and restaurants. I look forward to exploring local eats, as well as the trails and gardens throughout campus and the city.

As for what I brought with me, I am living minimally. Fortunately, the apartment is fairly well-furnished, so although my bedroom has only a cot and a table, my clothes ‘folded’ in my luggage, the living room and kitchen are filled with comfortable furniture, minus a television but plus someone else’s bike. I am not eating dinner off the floor or using candles to write.

My roommate for the summer is also in SCALI, learning Wolof. Wolof is the native language of Senegal, also used in the Gambia. She’s cheery and enjoys cheesy witticisms- we’re getting along well. We had our first adventure in search of Target and a grocery store- her navigation gizmo gave us different routes to and from, so we had a bit of a tour of the area. After a stop for dinner, we wound our way back home. As we were putting away our things, she accidentally dropped a glass measuring bowl on the counter, which shattered into large and small pieces, as is glass’s broken nature. A piece of it hit my thigh. I thought it only bruise worthy; I discovered later that the piece had not only bruised me, but also cut my pants and my skin. The cut was bloody only enough to make it look bad, and Kelsey feel horrible, but all is well. (She says, “Hello, my name is Kelsey! Don’t let me near glass.”)

Tomorrow is a reception for all SCALI participants, and Monday begins the orientation and placement tests for the language classes: Wolof, Hausa, Arabic, Swahili, etc. I hope they believe me when I say I know nothing in Arabic- I really don’t need a placement test to tell me that!

In the mean time, I am missing family gatherings and the quiet of home. Instead, and gratefully, I am looking a challenge in the eye, spinning my hair and contemplating.

Advertisement



6th July 2010

You Go
....feeling excited and full of hope for you as you venture toward some future draped in Arabic.... and looking forward to more blog entries, too!! Love You!
6th July 2010

Dad
Navigation Gizmo? It should not be a half hick name, it's either a navigational device or a a gizmo that tells ya where to go.

Tot: 0.186s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 17; qc: 79; dbt: 0.1387s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb