I forgot to post this and found it in my draft folder. Here it is!
I only ate one lunch in the cafeteria during my entire 7th and 8th grade years. I was new to a class in Proctor, Minn., that was bigger than the entire town I came from, the rural farming community of Hingham, Mont. And I spoke English. Anya is a bit older, but she is just a beginner in Norwegian. In addition, at the one-month immersion Norwegian camp she attended last summer, she learned a different dialect. The Stavanger/Sandnes dialect is quite strong and quite different. Here’s my glimpse of things. In the Norsk Anya learned last summer, I (jeg) is pronounced “yai” (rhymes with my). In this area, I believe it is pronounced like “egg.” What a difference!
So, every school day, Anya is immersed in the immense challenge of language learning in an immersion context. I prefer academic settings, where you learn a little vocabulary and a little grammar each week. Subsequent weeks strategically build upon what you already know. Not in immersion! So, today I again told Anya how proud I was of her that despite the exhausting mental challenges, she’s making it work. She told me that she is helping one friend in English and math, and her friend helps her with the rest. What a cool friend!
Others who know immersion language learning talk about “cracking the code.” It sounds like there comes a day when one realizes that they understand more of what is said than not. This is still a way off for Anya, but her teacher got her a Norwegian book for immigrants that was able to take what she does know and build upon it. This will be helpful.
I went off to MHS. In the morning, Knut got the computer guy, who is only there on Mondays, to see about getting me print access. The policy is no print access from personal devices, so they have a work station for me (with a nice sized flat monitor). However, there was some issue as my log in wouldn’t work. He had to work through multiple variables. At one point it said “Beth Elness-Hanson cannot log in because Beth Elness-Hanson does not exist.” Isn’t this amazing. My existence was eliminated! The computer guy said, “Sounds like Heidegger,” the German philosopher who wrote Being and Time. I love computer guys who interject a little existential philosophy into the mix.
He asked me about my research, which I can put into the 30-second “elevator speech.” I relayed how much I appreciate my adviser and this program. He relayed how amazed he is that this little school of less than 300 people is in the top 4 of research institutions of Norway. A couple years ago, they were number 1!
I met with Knut after lunch. He seems to be the #2 guy in charge, as the rector is gone at a conference, so Knut gives the announcements at the weekly employee lunch gathering. At our meeting, we discussed some issues for my dissertation which I had identified after going through the qualitative research course. I’m so fortunate to have Knut’s wisdom on this journey.
A note about the course, while I attended the sessions, I didn’t register for the course. If I want to, I would just write a 5-7 page essay about how what I learned shapes my PhD project. I have about 1.5 weeks to write and submit. There is no additional cost, or nothing significant. Tina and I talked with Knut about whether we should do the exam. It is not priority for me, but the only thing I could think of is seeing if what I have already written about the qualitative research for my dissertation could be cut and pasted with just a few simple explanations. Perhaps this could kill two birds with one stone. (What is a less violent metaphor for this? Perhaps I can have my cake and eat it too!)
I sent portions of my dissertation to Knut and the Maasai research group. Knut asked if I would be willing to share this with the group and discuss it on Wednesday. So, I made some revisions and added some notes about the DRAFT status, and got it sent. I tried to do this Friday night, but my Nota Bene software had a glitch with my formatting that inhibited me from exporting it. So, I cut and pasted it and did some quick formatting in Word, drawing upon my years as a graphic designer and efficient use of defined style pallets. I should receive many more constructive comments to strengthen the chapter (and hopefully not extend the completion too much; I’ve been advised to get it done and not be worried that it isn’t perfect.).
I came home via the bus, and Anya asked to go to the mall. After dinner, we went when the bus was free for her on my monthly pass. We did a little shopping (Anya found a great deal on a jacket and paid for it with her money) and I bought her a slushee, as a congratulations for completing 25% of her online English course. It was done a while back, but we had the time. Now imagine a small Slurpee (about 14 oz, I’m guessing) for $8.73! Well, I fulfilled my side of the agreement!
With blessings,
Beth