Odds & Ends

It's snowing. I pulled out my blazery thing/spring jacket and wear it the last three days and I think, hey, it's the end of March, out like a lamb, right? Well no, it's not. Just about all the ice and snow had finally melted here and I didn't have to wear my boots. But then I wake up today and we've got 4-5 inches of snow all from last night/this morning. Really, if I was back home, I wouldn't be surprised by this at all, but seriously, Armenia--I thought you were gonna be different.

Oh well. Here's a rather old picture from this little bakery in a town that is exactly the halfway point between Vanadzor and Yerevan where the Marshutni often stops. A sort of rest stop of sorts has opened up there with bakeries and little stores lining the street.

In this picture you see a tandoor oven. This is right in the middle of the store when you walk in and you can actually see them cook the bread, and then buy the bread as they pull it out of the oven. If you are hungry on the trip up and the Marshutni stops, you need to get bread to munch on, if only because other people will get it and the smell will make you want some, so it's just better to have some. And if you're visiting me, then bring me some too!

In my language class yesterday I brought in a story I have seen several times in various classes/workshops/seminars on cultural differences, negotiating with people, etc.

I don't know what it's officially called, but I found it by the name "Alligator River Story." Pretty vague, I know, for something rather specific that I was looking for but I found it. Below you'll see the story:

The Alligator River Story

There lived a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the same river. The river that separated the t

wo lovers was teeming with dangerous alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out by a heavy flood the previous week. So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would consent to go to bed with him prior to the voyage. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want to get involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only alternative was to accept Sinbad’s terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory. When Abigail told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and rejected, Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun set on the horizon, people heard Abigail laughing at Gregory.

Least Reprehensible 1 -------------------------------- Most Reprehensible 5

___ Abigail

___ Gregory

___ Sinbad

___ Ivan

___ Slug

So what the students must do is read through the story then rank each character from most to least reprehensible. They first do this individually. Then they join a small group, which must discuss and come up with one list for the entire group. Whenever anyone does this, put them in a group or 4-5 other people and they will not have the same order. So then the group must negotiate the order they want. Then after each small group has done this, the whole class must come up with a single ranking for the whole class.

I had two worries while trying this exercise. Armenia is a very h

omogeneous society, and I was worried that they would all actually come up with the same ranking and there would be no discussion. I was also worried that my students just wouldn't be up to speaking and arguing about this in English and would resort to Armenian.

I am happy to say that my students all had different answers, and they spent the entire time speaking English. I am going to try it today with another group of students at a slightly lower level than my first group, and hopefully it turns out well.

Oh and here is another picture from my Georgia trip. I really enjoy when you see the coca cola written with the script of a foreign country. I have seen it only once or twice with Armenian and it looks really cool. And also it can help you learn a new alphabet!