November 5, 2008: Impressionable Minds

Dear Friend,

Corina had asked me earlier last week if I’d be willing to speak at some of her classes about the differences between the Orient and the Occident. The only way I even know what these words mean, much less what the differences are, all has to do with having a liberal arts education.[1] I accepted her offer excitedly, thinking it would be a great opportunity for me to interact with Romanian students, work my knowledge of Occidentalism and combine it with what I had been learning about Romania, and practice some skills I’ve recently become interested in exercising: teaching. This morning was that opportunity.

Speaking at Corina’s high school involved getting up quite early in the morning to catch the bus. The traffic in the mornings is absolutely absurd and packed to the point that vehicles could idle for a good ten minutes. This is a visible fact that Bucureşti was never meant to be the capital city, because it was never meant to have such a crowded population characteristic of a capital city. To get to school on time, and to shower and eat breakfast, I woke up at five in the morning. We did make it to school on time, but I knew I’d be running on reserves for most of the day.

I spoke to three classes during the day. The first class stuck around for another class period, at which point they were joined by the second class. This group collectively was rather quiet and unresponsive, save for a couple of people who answered most of the questions. One in particular, Alex, seemed to have a lot to say and answered most of my questions. Corina told me he had shown up early in the morning specifically to hear me talk. Despite how quiet the class was, I think the morning went alright.

I spent my break with Alex and another student, Peter. They took me to a coffee shop and we had hot chocolate over conversations about the arts and school. Today also happened to be the day after the United States elections, so everyone was interested in my opinion about Obama as president. Most were interested in knowing how racism would change now that the US had an African-American president. I can honestly say that no matter who had been elected, I don’t envy the person at all. There is a lot this president will have to “fix” after the worldwide condemned foibles of the Bush Administration and, therefore, a lot this president will have to change in the projected future, i.e. the world’s condemnation of the United States. Many Romanians are happy that Obama is president, as I’ve also found out are a lot of other people in and outside the US. Racism, though, is an unpredictable scourge of the country, and I had no answer for the students that asked me about it.

The third and final class of the day also stayed to listen to me for two class periods, which I was thankful for as I had finally found my “sea legs” and was excited about the course of the discussion. In large part, I talked about Westernization and how its making the rest of the world like itself, the West, as an all around bad thing. That Justin Timberlake and Titanic are the first things these students think of when I ask about their entertainment makes me feel very depressed. I’m not opposed to sharing my cultures music and movies (I’ll reserve my comments about Timberlake and Titanic) but I’m very concerned when so much of my culture has influenced other cultures. What’s happening with the culture that already exists in Romania? The students seemed equally concerned. Can’t both cultures exist together, without one trying to dominate the other? This was part of what we discussed today. It was a very enjoyable time for all, I think.

The forum theatre piece was performed at Club A. I was pretty beat by the time I got there, the excitement and thrill of academic discussion wearing off, but I managed to make it through. I led some warm-ups (“Boom-Chicka-Boom”) for the actors before the performance. The place was filled with cigarette smoke, so I made sure to remind everyone not to strain their voices. I felt a bit like a director. I would have chosen another venue to perform in, but we were, in a sense, living up to both Brecht and Boal’s desires to take theatre to the streets. This was the kind of place theatre needed to be performed. I just didn’t want the smoke.

Eugen translated as the play unfolded. The forum took a rather long time, but this was because spectators were getting involved, which was good. I was even able to understand some of the funnier aspects of the forum, though it wasn’t necessarily because I understood the language. It was some of the new scenarios presented by spectators that amused me the most. Some of them radically changed the nature of the character they were portraying, changing it from the pre-established interpretation which needed to be partially adhered to.

When the forum was done, the rest of the night was given to group discussions with some international volunteers. This night was the beginning of an international awareness of volunteering campaign that would last through the weekend. I wasn’t in on the conversations, which was alright with me because I really wanted to get home. Much to the disappointment of some, I made my way to the bus stop and rode back to Diana’s flat.

Corina was so happy I had spoken with her classes this morning that she made supper and bought dessert. She, Diana, and I spent the rest of the night discussing the day. The students had given a lot of positive feedback to Corina before the school day had ended. Corina also thought I had conducted the class discussions very well. We discussed the election of Obama and the recent minor ramifications thereof. I was happy about the discussions, as I was interacting with both Diana and Corina at the same time, which rarely happens because of everyone’s busy schedules. All in all, a rather good day.

Blessings.
Kailen

[1] I actually must thank Dr. Mike Kugler, PhD, associate professor of history at Northwestern college, teacher, and friend, for this knowledge, primarily about the Occident, which happens to be us, the West, America, the United States, to name a few generalized synonyms. What I learned in his Issues of Western Civilization from 1789 class on Modernity was the groundwork for what I presented at the high school on this day.