I spent the last three days lying on a couch in the living room of the flat where I am staying trying not to die. I highly recommend avoiding the flu while on vacation in another country. It is just really inconvenient and bothersome. To be honest I am not sure how high my temperature got. I do remember hallucinating a bit on day two. I get sick like everyone else but I normally do not get a high fever incapacitating sick. It was very nice to get to experience this kind of illness outside of my home environment.
Like any seasoned traveler I came prepared. We all have our special medications that we know will work for us. Last year it was Mitch who was sick and he needed Tylenol PM. Sadly that drug is illegal here in Russia, though we did not know that at the time because we searched many pharmacies looking for it. For a friend from Russia traveling to Africa, she had her mother mail her all her favorite medications incase she got sick. For me it is Nyquil and Dayquil that keep me from frying my brain (I brought plenty of both). I prefer to let my body heal naturally, but I am not stupid, I know when serious damage can occur and I will take medications to temporarily alleviate symptoms. My normal course of action is to let it run its course. If my fever climbs to high i.e. enter hallucinations, then I take some meds to bring it down. Then I wait to see if my body will keep it down. I know I am healing when I can break my fever without the aid of meds. That finally happened to me yesterday. Then it is just another day or two of recovery time and I am good as new.
I could tell you tale of meditations for three hours and controlling your immune system, but unless you are into that whole Taoist stuff you will not care. So I will skip that part and just tell you I willed myself to health. Ordinarily this would be the end of my trip to Russia. Jean and the discovery team are heading back to the USA in two days, and I would be leaving too. This year I made some additional plans to meet up with friends in St. Petersburg, thus extending my stay by 10 days. This provided me with a high degree of motivation to get healthy. Really who wants a sick friend to come and visit them? That just sucks for everyone involved.
Here I sit on a couch in Moscow recovering from my flu. I think in retrospect, running in -20 degree weather was not such a good idea. Oh well, live and learn.
-Dana
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Gesturing with Hearing People 101
I teach at Gallaudet University in the summer time. I work in the personal discovery program under Jean Berube. I am also one of the few hearing staff she has working with her. It has been both an honor and a challenge working within this program over the last 8 years. This has awarded me many wonderful opportunities both in personal development and adventures. I am going to talk a bit today about what it has been like for me being a hearing person working in the discovery program with so many deaf coworkers. I will also demonstrate how the skills I have learned working with my friends and the discovery family at Gallaudet has helped me in the programs I am teaching here in Russia.
When we teach at Gallaudet Jean will generally pair up two staff members per group. With this technique we are able to take turns teaching and help one another with various problems that arise. I am an interpreter by trade. When I first began to team teach with a deaf partner all of my groups were deaf. Everything worked out well and I was able to personally develop my leadership skills along side the other deaf staff members. It was not until about a year of working with the discovery program, that I encountered my first challenge as a hearing person. The group I was given consisted of all hearing people and they did not know sign language. My natural instinct was to provide interpreting services for the deaf person I was team teaching with. It took only about 10 minutes for me to see the obvious inequity I had created. Without meaning to, I had usurped the power from my partner. When the group had a problem or a question they would only approach me.
Needless to say my partner had a miserable day, as did I. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was not sure how to make it better. I asked Jean if she would let me not teach for a few days so that I could observe the other deaf leaders and see how they were teaching the workshops with out the aide of an interpreter. It was over the next few days that I gained an enormous insight and a set of skills that would benefit me both in teaching in discovery and in my professional life. Of course I knew that the deaf people would not be leading by only using sign language, I knew there would be gesturing and miming involved as well. The problem was I had never taken the time to actually watch how they did it. Now I took the time to watch them work their magic. After three days I felt I was ready to participate again. I had made a decision to totally change my approach to what I was doing and how I was doing it.
We all meet early in the morning to set up the equipment and to discuss our plans for the day with our groups and partners. I talked it over with my partner and told her I was not going to use my voice at all. I felt some conflicts in this decision because I did not want to pretend I was deaf, but at the same time I felt that by doing this it would force the group to see us as equals. All day long I spent hours gesturing out what the group was to do. I borrowed skills from my fellow facilitators and came up with new solutions on the fly. I still provided some interpretation but mainly during the discussion, and only secretly so the group was not aware what I was doing. My goal at this point was to ensure my partner was fully aware of what was going on with the group dynamics. The day was a wild success. During our debriefing at the end of the day I informed Jean and the rest of the group, what I had been doing all day. There were mixed feelings on my approach to this problem. Then my partner for the day spoke up and expressed what a success the day had been and how well it had worked out for her as well. Thanks to her comments the group was sold on my solution. Over the years I have spent a lot of time revising and fine tuning my techniques. For example if my partner is hard of hearing they may prefer to lead with their voice. Sometimes I will intentionally still not use my voice which actually puts me in a lower role from the groups perspective. This is a great way for my team to develop their own skills in a safe environment. At times I will use my voice with my team member and we will lead the groups as equals. I have worked with many discovery staff members over the years and each experience is a little different but now I have a better equipped tool bag to choose the correct tool for the job from. While the task is physically exhausting the rewards are worth the work.
Today while I was working with a hearing group in the Basement theater my co teacher/interpreter had to leave the group to drive Mitch (he got sick) home. I was left with a group of early 20's female psychologists who only know Russian. I bet you will never guess what techniques I utilized to instruct them on the events. The one down side in this skill I have developed is in leading the discussions afterward. As I said the discussions are there to show the groups what they already know, unfortunately this is more challenging if I have no idea what they are saying. My solution was to hold off on the discussions until I could recruit the aide of a Russian interpreter. This seems to work out well with my group.
It is amazing that when I was developing this approach to teaching discovery I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would employ these skills in another country teaching other hearing people. I do have a translation program on my phone that I used a bit to facilitate some of the discussions without an interpreter. I think today was a wild success and I am looking forward to working with these groups one more time tomorrow.
These skills have also improved my ability to interpret. I find that when I come across a difficult concept to interpret I will utilize my skills form discovery to express the concept. This allows the deaf person to understand the topic more fully that may have been possible for them previously. This also allows me to communicate more effectively with the deaf person I am interpreting for.
On a totally separate topic. My friend with no goals read my blog and we had a long and wonderful discussion about this topic. It turns out that we have different views of what the word "goal" means. I was amazed to hear about her dreams and aspirations for life. The many wild and wonderful things she would like to accomplish fill me with inspiration. I was also deeply moved to hear of the thought and consideration she puts into each experience she has with the discovery programs. It seems that after each program she chooses to isolate herself to fully reflect on and internalize what growth she has experienced and to be ready to implement her new found skills at the next program. I find this to be a wonderful skill and one I can only hope to achieve at some time in the future. Odd how we can find little nuggets of knowledge in the most unexpected times and places.
Perhaps I am able to more clearly explain myself though writing than I am in person. It was only after reading what I had written that we continued our discussion and the misunderstandings were clarified. I love it when that happens it is like a brilliant light suddenly and expectantly illuminating a darkness that you never even realized existed.
Until next time,
Dana
When we teach at Gallaudet Jean will generally pair up two staff members per group. With this technique we are able to take turns teaching and help one another with various problems that arise. I am an interpreter by trade. When I first began to team teach with a deaf partner all of my groups were deaf. Everything worked out well and I was able to personally develop my leadership skills along side the other deaf staff members. It was not until about a year of working with the discovery program, that I encountered my first challenge as a hearing person. The group I was given consisted of all hearing people and they did not know sign language. My natural instinct was to provide interpreting services for the deaf person I was team teaching with. It took only about 10 minutes for me to see the obvious inequity I had created. Without meaning to, I had usurped the power from my partner. When the group had a problem or a question they would only approach me.
Needless to say my partner had a miserable day, as did I. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was not sure how to make it better. I asked Jean if she would let me not teach for a few days so that I could observe the other deaf leaders and see how they were teaching the workshops with out the aide of an interpreter. It was over the next few days that I gained an enormous insight and a set of skills that would benefit me both in teaching in discovery and in my professional life. Of course I knew that the deaf people would not be leading by only using sign language, I knew there would be gesturing and miming involved as well. The problem was I had never taken the time to actually watch how they did it. Now I took the time to watch them work their magic. After three days I felt I was ready to participate again. I had made a decision to totally change my approach to what I was doing and how I was doing it.
We all meet early in the morning to set up the equipment and to discuss our plans for the day with our groups and partners. I talked it over with my partner and told her I was not going to use my voice at all. I felt some conflicts in this decision because I did not want to pretend I was deaf, but at the same time I felt that by doing this it would force the group to see us as equals. All day long I spent hours gesturing out what the group was to do. I borrowed skills from my fellow facilitators and came up with new solutions on the fly. I still provided some interpretation but mainly during the discussion, and only secretly so the group was not aware what I was doing. My goal at this point was to ensure my partner was fully aware of what was going on with the group dynamics. The day was a wild success. During our debriefing at the end of the day I informed Jean and the rest of the group, what I had been doing all day. There were mixed feelings on my approach to this problem. Then my partner for the day spoke up and expressed what a success the day had been and how well it had worked out for her as well. Thanks to her comments the group was sold on my solution. Over the years I have spent a lot of time revising and fine tuning my techniques. For example if my partner is hard of hearing they may prefer to lead with their voice. Sometimes I will intentionally still not use my voice which actually puts me in a lower role from the groups perspective. This is a great way for my team to develop their own skills in a safe environment. At times I will use my voice with my team member and we will lead the groups as equals. I have worked with many discovery staff members over the years and each experience is a little different but now I have a better equipped tool bag to choose the correct tool for the job from. While the task is physically exhausting the rewards are worth the work.
Today while I was working with a hearing group in the Basement theater my co teacher/interpreter had to leave the group to drive Mitch (he got sick) home. I was left with a group of early 20's female psychologists who only know Russian. I bet you will never guess what techniques I utilized to instruct them on the events. The one down side in this skill I have developed is in leading the discussions afterward. As I said the discussions are there to show the groups what they already know, unfortunately this is more challenging if I have no idea what they are saying. My solution was to hold off on the discussions until I could recruit the aide of a Russian interpreter. This seems to work out well with my group.
It is amazing that when I was developing this approach to teaching discovery I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would employ these skills in another country teaching other hearing people. I do have a translation program on my phone that I used a bit to facilitate some of the discussions without an interpreter. I think today was a wild success and I am looking forward to working with these groups one more time tomorrow.
These skills have also improved my ability to interpret. I find that when I come across a difficult concept to interpret I will utilize my skills form discovery to express the concept. This allows the deaf person to understand the topic more fully that may have been possible for them previously. This also allows me to communicate more effectively with the deaf person I am interpreting for.
On a totally separate topic. My friend with no goals read my blog and we had a long and wonderful discussion about this topic. It turns out that we have different views of what the word "goal" means. I was amazed to hear about her dreams and aspirations for life. The many wild and wonderful things she would like to accomplish fill me with inspiration. I was also deeply moved to hear of the thought and consideration she puts into each experience she has with the discovery programs. It seems that after each program she chooses to isolate herself to fully reflect on and internalize what growth she has experienced and to be ready to implement her new found skills at the next program. I find this to be a wonderful skill and one I can only hope to achieve at some time in the future. Odd how we can find little nuggets of knowledge in the most unexpected times and places.
Perhaps I am able to more clearly explain myself though writing than I am in person. It was only after reading what I had written that we continued our discussion and the misunderstandings were clarified. I love it when that happens it is like a brilliant light suddenly and expectantly illuminating a darkness that you never even realized existed.
Until next time,
Dana
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
We are here in Russia at last!!
As is custom with me I slept very little the night before we departed. I am not sure if this is due to the excitement of the upcoming adventure or because I seem to fail to get everything together until moments before we must leave for the airport. Regardless of my reasoning this has become somewhat of a tradition on my part. I guess my ability to sleep on airplanes could in some way be attributed to my severe lack of sleep preceding the flights.This pretty clearly describes my experience while flying, on this trip or any other. I navigate my way through the check in process, security, and boarding the plane all in a daze of confusion, insomnia is the best drug ever. Then I vaguely remember sitting down in the seat, they all look the same after a time, and my pillow comes out as my eyes close. Occasionally I have a pesky stewardess who decides it is her personal mission to ensure my compliance with aviation regulations. In this case sleep is often interrupted by a reminded to buckle up or confirm my music player is turned off. I always assure the annoyingly helpful lady that I am in full compliance, which is often a blatant lie.
Several transfers and flights later we arrived in Moscow. As we walked off the plane I was greeted by familiar sights from last year’s customs experience. It sort of felt like visiting a dear friend whom you never seem to get the chance to visit. I spent some time reminiscing on our trip last year. On that trip we had met up with Jean and the rest of the discovery staff in Amsterdam. At that time we were with familiar people on a new and exciting adventure. I had no idea who we would meet and what that experience would entail. In short I was scared out of my mind. I knew almost nothing about Russian people. Last year was an experience so wonderful it would take days for me to describe all the wonders in both people and places we were privileged to be a part of. On the last trip I made friends that have remained very dear to my heart, the kind that when you close your eyes and smile it is their faces you see in front of you smiling back. As I write this now I feel a twinge of guilt in not maintaining a more in depth correspondence with them. Little do they know that a minimal amount of communication from me is a HUGE indication of how much I value them. I am a person of few words when I am not physically in front of you, except of course when posting online. If I actually take the time to send a note or chat online it is an indication of how much I care. On this trip we had not met up with the discovery group, we had in fact arrived slightly before them.
I was not sure who would meet us at the airport but I did know that person would be a friend. We made it through customs uneventfully. As we rounded the corner we were greeted by a smiling face and a very welcome warm hug from Macktie the second in command of the local discovery program. We waited only a short time for Jean to arrive with the rest of the group. This year we have Sean, Sarah (this is her second trip as well), Mitch, Heather, Jean, and myself visiting from the States. We made our way around the airport to the new train to take us into the city center of Moscow. I was jet lagged but I refused to admit it as attempted to maintain a conversation with my friends from Gallaudet University.
I spent some time explaining to Mitch and Sean the importance of exchanging money early in your trip. I always try to arrive in a new country with at least a small amount of local currency in my pocket. When I arrive I like to hit the ATM up for some more money. I get a decent exchange rate and I am 99% sure I will not get taken advantage of from the ATM. As of this message, to the best of my knowledge, Sean and Mitch still have not made it to the ATM machine.
After the train ride we met up with some more friends. Heather and I departed from the main group at this point. Sean, Mitch and Sarah were to stay with Vitya and his family while Heather and I were to stay with Maria (Maha, Masha, she has many nick names). She is one of those people I felt I made a very real connection to last year and I was looking forward to spending time with her this year. This of course is an easy task as we are living at her house right now. She reminds me of my cousins Tania, Sandra, and Elisa back in Illinois. We were at Maria’s house around 1 PM local time. Heather almost immediately fell asleep. I was still in denial of my jet lag and decided to annoy Maria with some mindless prattle. I am not entirely sure if anything I said actually made sense on any level. I do distinctly remember being unable to focus on a single task for any significant amount of time. I must have been very difficult to follow but thankfully she endured and I at least had a pleasant time. We spent part of the time there making soap. I have never done this before but it is similar to so many arts and crafts I have been involved in, the task was not a difficult one. There is a double boiler and some pre made soap blocks. Stuff gets melted, scents are added, oils are added, everything gets poured into a mold, and then set out to cool. It was an interesting experience and one of those things that cannot be planned and will always be remembered.
Another friend of mine happened to be in tow visiting her sister. I had been in contact with her via text message for some time before I left. I decided to get a hold of her and see if she wanted to go out tonight after everyone had slept. She accepted and I began making plans for us to met here then head out to someplace for some fun. I took a walk to familiarize myself with the neighborhood, with Maria accompanying me. Do keep in mind that this is Moscow in the middle of winter, but South Dakota was colder. I found all the local metro stops and relayed that information to Christina.
In a short time I returned to the cold to meet Christina at the Metro stop. Not long after that, the rest of the group joined us and we all headed out to Red Square to look for trouble/fun.
I was starving at this point and decided to get some pizza to eat. I was still in denial of being Jet lagged and I had not yet slept. While we were eating Pizza I was having a conversation with Sarah. I remember my hands moving and then there was nothing but blackness for some time. When I came back to awareness the conversation was still going on. According to my friends my eyes were open the entire time and I appeared awake and alert. I even contributed some things to the conversation. It was a good nap at least for me, perhaps this is how the politicians make so many interesting decisions in their careers. It was at this point I remember Maria teaching me a song in Russian (I have it typed on my phone). I believe for most of the song I was not actually awake. I will have to review it when I am more alert.
Another friend of mine happened to be in tow visiting her sister. I had been in contact with her via text message for some time before I left. I decided to get a hold of her and see if she wanted to go out tonight after everyone had slept. She accepted and I began making plans for us to met here then head out to someplace for some fun. I took a walk to familiarize myself with the neighborhood, with Maria accompanying me. Do keep in mind that this is Moscow in the middle of winter, but South Dakota was colder. I found all the local metro stops and relayed that information to Christina.
In a short time I returned to the cold to meet Christina at the Metro stop. Not long after that, the rest of the group joined us and we all headed out to Red Square to look for trouble/fun.I was starving at this point and decided to get some pizza to eat. I was still in denial of being Jet lagged and I had not yet slept. While we were eating Pizza I was having a conversation with Sarah. I remember my hands moving and then there was nothing but blackness for some time. When I came back to awareness the conversation was still going on. According to my friends my eyes were open the entire time and I appeared awake and alert. I even contributed some things to the conversation. It was a good nap at least for me, perhaps this is how the politicians make so many interesting decisions in their careers. It was at this point I remember Maria teaching me a song in Russian (I have it typed on my phone). I believe for most of the song I was not actually awake. I will have to review it when I am more alert.
The group decided to head back towards home at this point but I was more awake after my nap and willing to stay out longer. Thankfully Christina was in the mood for some fun. The whole group headed over to an area with a band, dancing, and ice sculptures. We spent about an hour dancing in the square with people. I had my video camera with me and I will post some footage when I get a chance to.
We meandered our way home at about 11:30 PM. On the way back we dropped off Christina at the Metro and sent her back to her sister’s place. The group got back to Maria’s place where she was finishing up her homework. The rest of the gang got a ride from Vitya back to his place and I finally got my ride to dream land via the bed. We went to sleep at Midnight and woke up at 4:45 am to make a 6:45 appointment. My alarm was set for 5:30 but my body felt differently, I guess, I will have to have a talk with my body later on when I am more coherent.
Heather tried unsuccessfully to operate the shower here. She resorted to a washcloth and the sink. I found this a bit more amusing than she did. I have traveled enough and seen enough showers that I was able to navigate the controls and exit the bathroom clean and refreshed. I did explain the process to Heather for the next time she showers. We headed out to the metro to meet up with the rest of the group at the basement theater and catch a train to some town in the country.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Back On Track
Well folks it looks like it is that time of year again. For those jumping to conclusion types let me just say, no I am not talking about the holidays. It is travel time. I have been back stateside for a few months now. I would love to tell you of all the adventures I have had while being back at home. It is sad to say I have not been doing many adventurous things in my time here. I guess a little perspective is in order.
When I was out practicing minimalist camping with my brother and my wife for Thanksgiving I made a comment to my brother that I felt like an imposter. Like I was not a real backpacker and I was only faking it. He then pointed out that I was in the desert with only a hip pack for supplies and a camelback bladder bag with water to last me for three days. Given that I was sleeping only in an emergency blanket in the pouring rain and cooking on a small alcohol stove this seemed pretty real to him. My brother asked me what my view of a “real” camper would look like and how that differs from what I am doing. I think the difference is the internal component. I have this view that the people I see doing these fun and extreme things have a vast amount of internal knowledge. I often find that I am as well if not better informed than my counterparts. So what would alleviate my faker feelings? The answer my friends, has recently found me. The name for it is “inner game”. I need to believe I am the real thing and then I will be what I believe.
As for any exciting things that have happened in my typing hiatus; to me they do not seem exciting. My inner game is to demanding for that. Little things like commuting 32 miles, each way, by bicycle to work and getting hit by a car, mean little to me. Thankfully now I am back on track with my adventures around the world. I so enjoyed making the videos in Italy of my friends signing, I will be doing the same thing soon in another country. In case you have not yet figured it out I am about to travel again.
I actually have many travels planned for next year. But I will only talk about the ones coming up now. First stop is South Dakota. It is a family thing of course. But after that is Russia, Russia, and more Russia. I will be there for about a month. I work with the Gallaudet University Personal Discovery Program, teaching leadership skills and personal development workshops. We will have some hearing groups and some deaf groups. I am looking forward to documenting the conversations we will have with deaf Russians and how the communication develops. I will take a qualitative approach to my research. My goal here is to identify what makes communication possible between fluent sign language users of different countries. I leave home on December 21. Look for more info around that time.
Dana on the goGoGO!!
When I was out practicing minimalist camping with my brother and my wife for Thanksgiving I made a comment to my brother that I felt like an imposter. Like I was not a real backpacker and I was only faking it. He then pointed out that I was in the desert with only a hip pack for supplies and a camelback bladder bag with water to last me for three days. Given that I was sleeping only in an emergency blanket in the pouring rain and cooking on a small alcohol stove this seemed pretty real to him. My brother asked me what my view of a “real” camper would look like and how that differs from what I am doing. I think the difference is the internal component. I have this view that the people I see doing these fun and extreme things have a vast amount of internal knowledge. I often find that I am as well if not better informed than my counterparts. So what would alleviate my faker feelings? The answer my friends, has recently found me. The name for it is “inner game”. I need to believe I am the real thing and then I will be what I believe.
As for any exciting things that have happened in my typing hiatus; to me they do not seem exciting. My inner game is to demanding for that. Little things like commuting 32 miles, each way, by bicycle to work and getting hit by a car, mean little to me. Thankfully now I am back on track with my adventures around the world. I so enjoyed making the videos in Italy of my friends signing, I will be doing the same thing soon in another country. In case you have not yet figured it out I am about to travel again.
I actually have many travels planned for next year. But I will only talk about the ones coming up now. First stop is South Dakota. It is a family thing of course. But after that is Russia, Russia, and more Russia. I will be there for about a month. I work with the Gallaudet University Personal Discovery Program, teaching leadership skills and personal development workshops. We will have some hearing groups and some deaf groups. I am looking forward to documenting the conversations we will have with deaf Russians and how the communication develops. I will take a qualitative approach to my research. My goal here is to identify what makes communication possible between fluent sign language users of different countries. I leave home on December 21. Look for more info around that time.
Dana on the goGoGO!!
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