“I’d let George Clooney open MY space station!”

Posted on October 10, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Muncie local paper (The Star) has reported an anthrax attack on the bank in town! After investigation it turns out that it was a “white powder” that was an irritant, sent through the post. No one injured but the local cops got to use their expensive bio-suits. Cool.

The day starts with disappointment; our Mathematics class is cancelled (smirk) leaving Mr W and I to retire to Starbucks.

Next up Physics, with Dain. And for the first time in my life I understood some physics. Momentum and forces and velocity and stuff…explained through simple examples and good graphics. Result. Especially when you know I am an idiot. We drift on to the creative writing class where we hear poems by the pupils and watch a clip of Annie Hall, including one of my favourite lines of all time. Annie parks (badly) and Woody gets out saying “it”s ok, I”ll walk to the curb from here”. Genius.

By now, the batteries are starting to run out and we still have a long day ahead. And a Maths class is next. Precalculus with Kim, in the distance learning studio.

It is a classroom set up with TV equipment, cameras and

microphones where lessons are recorded and transmitted to students. Very interesting set up. Regarding the lesson, I didn’t understand a word. Mr W is asked a question live on TV and gives the correct answer…on how to pronounce the name of some German mathematician.

Off for lunch and we are invited to sit with a group of Senior pupils. it turns into a lovely lunch with laughter and fun. A highlight is a spontaneous general knowledge quiz. Hilarious. Apparently the current prime Minister of GB has just had a baby…really.

Mr W and I meet Joe who runs the boarding houses day-to-day and we sit in the softest sofa on the planet. After 10 minutes I am almost asleep so I leave Mr W to chat. Then we meet up with David and  sneak out early informing everyone that we have  to go to our next appointment: a “science project”.

Arriving at the cinema to see “Gravity” with George Clooney, I see the biggest cola cup I have ever seen. The movie is visually stunning. Just amazing….for three quarters of its length. Then it falls apart. Really crap ending. See it, it is worth it, but watch out for the point 20 mins from the end….

Time to eat and we head for Chili”s. Simple but tasty food. I am sooo full.

Take one for The Gipper

Posted on October 10, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Well, well. Still no government. And things are beginning to bite. The story of 4 US soldiers who were killed in Iraq and their families have to pay for their bodies to be flown back (because no funds can be released due to the shut down) is all over the news. Shocking, but a sign that the effects are creeping in.

Mr W and I spilt up for the first lessons. Mr W is off to Forensics and I get History with Ken Stuart on Ronald Reagan. Forensics sounds fascinating and they deal with blood types and their analysis. The class on Reagan is excellent. The kids have done soooo much preparation having mostly read a 800+ biography from which they can quote page numbers and examples….and it is the start of the topic. Woah!. The Gipper was never my favourite historical character but I certainly understand him better now.

Following this we head to meet Jo, Head of Admissions. She explains to us how the processes work and how they use statistics to monitor and maintain the process. Something that we just don”t have. Unfortunately, our meeting is cut short as David is taking us to the Japanese class who are having a traditional tea ceremony in a custom-built tea house on the university campus. The formality and tradition is explained to us as the pupils go through this ancient ceremony and it is a wonderful experience. Especially highlighting how crass and sometimes insensitive our western culture can be. Based on Zen Buddhist principles, it is a lovely oasis of calm.

A quick lunch and it is time for the St Afra presentation to the faculty. Time is tight and we give a condensed version with questions. Yes, all the teachers want to come and visit us. Interesting comments regarding the context of the founding of the school and Copernicus surprise Mr W and I. Note to self: must read more science books.

A quick meeting with Vikie, the boarding coordinator, leads to a plan forming for a Friday which is taking on epic status. Just brilliant. I really can”t wait…hahaha. Stay tuned….

On to Christine’s literature class on Kurt Vonnegut. Funny, informed pupils and a teacher who knows what they are doing. And me. Great. Truly inspirational.

Will this day ever end? Nope. Mr W, attended the first part of the Harlem Renaissance Project – a role play meal and performance by the African American class. I arrive for the performances where the pupils, still in character, perform speeches and songs from members of the Harlem group. A creative and interesting idea.

Enough, already. A lift home and a glass of wine (deserved).

A Theory of Over-excitability

Posted on October 8, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Monday and I have slept normally for the first time. Yeeha.

Coming down for breakfast I meet “the bugman”. A hired pest control expert who regularly checks houses for “little critters”. The conversation turns to how squirrels have to be liquidated with extreme force by an expert. And I thought they were just furry and cute.

Darren The Dean (of Medical School Ball State) formerly Darren The Neighbour, arrives to take us to Bruner’s, an authentic American family diner. The diner is pretty full and the age range is between 70 and Noah. Friendly, chatty waitresses and an eternally filled coffee cup. Bliss. Time flies with discussions on Obamacare, Medicare (“really?….REALLY?”) and the American political system interrupted only by visits from the owner, Pat, who is into her 80s and lovely, and a 92 year old lady who is sharp as a button. Darren is a great conversationalist and it is unfortunate that we all need to go to work. Otherwise, I think I would still be sitting there.

At the Academy David, Mr W and I have our first reflection session. Things we have experienced and also looking forward to how we can develop the cooperation between our “sister schools” as we have now started to name them, are on the agenda. 2 hours of brainstorming and chat lead us into areas such as Dabrowski”s Theory of Over-excitability and an Academic Integrity Committee. Very productive , positive and optimistic. I think this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Mr W disappears off to meet some nurses (??)…the school ones,  while I sit with Tucker, a senior, who wants to study in Germany. Again, very positive and the effect of us being here is starting to show with the pupils. The doors of possibility are being opened.

The evening draws on and it is time for our presentation about St Afra to the pupils. It goes pretty well and the majority of the kids want to fly immediately to Germany. They are very interested in our school life but the overriding impression is just how similar we are. More pupils start to ask about studying in Germany and visiting us. We must be doing something right. They are particularly interested in our ideas of pupil involvement in the running of the school. Oh dear, I think we may have started a revolution…

Retiring to Scotty’s Sports Bar for a….reflection discussion…we then meet Ball State students and proceed to laugh solidly for an hour with stories and jokes.  Today really showed us that St Afra has such untapped potential on a World stage. If people know about us, they are impressed. Work to do….

The Museum of Oddities

Posted on October 7, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Macbeth hath murdered sleep. I seriously need to sort this out. I am awake at 3 and can’t fall back. Ouch.

Today is titled “A Day with Dick”. Mr W and I are spending the day with Richard (Shakespeare class) and we plan to experience the Indiana outside of the cities. We jump in his hybrid and take off, destination ‘Merica.

The landscape is flatter than two flat things stapled together and flattened. Corn fields after corn fields drift by. Mount Summit (redundant?) Indiana’s second highest peak passes, fortunately indicated by a big sign. In case you miss it. Richard is a lyricist and the time flies with stories of intrigue and theatre and historical interest. A real joy. Small town ‘Merica has a charm that makes sense once you have it explained and shown to you. TV and movies don’t reflect the distances and relationships of your average Joe. Passing signs in private gardens stating ” Barack Obama Worst President Ever and A Big Liar!”. Hand written, white paint on a piece of old wood don”t really suprise you. The seriousness only comes when you think about how just that type of person is who he is trying to help and yet somehow the message of his reforms has been lost. Bemusing.

We stop at Metamora and experience a small town festival. The fact a deluge had just struck and swamped everything adds to the feeling of biblical confusion. The Museum of Oddities a particular favourite, with next door a “cross of miracles” which looked like someone had nailed it to a wall by mistake. An owner of a fried chicken bar starts to chat and offers me a taste of his BBQ sauce(homemade) which is great. When I tell him where I am from, he quite clearly has no idea. As Mr W and I walk around this apocalyptic scene we come upon a man and his 3 kids selling stun guns and tasers from the back of his pick-up truck.Only 15 dollars. The sound of him testing the tasers followed us all the way down the road. The canal and lock running through the town, stained dark beige by mud, only added to the other-worldliness of it all. Wow.

A brief stop at the location of scenes from the film Rain Man, is followed by the town of Oldenburg. Street names in German e.g. Schweineschwanz Gasse (“Pig Tail Ally”) and another festival. Bingo, tombola and a secret auction tends to be the norm. Funny how gambling and the Catholic church seems to run hand in hand…

Mr W has some hand made ice cream and it’s time to go.

When it rains in Indiana, Noah gets worried. Deluge after deluge follows us. Because it is sooo flat the water lies very quickly and flooding happens almost instantly. We arrive at Nashville (Indiana, of course) and get ready to eat. A homey, typical place with red chequered table cloths and good simple food. My first American t-bone. Mighty fine.

For dessert, our waitress lists pecan, strawberry and numerou other pies before reaching a “Nashville Cobbler”. When I ask her what that is she says ” well, it”s …..a kind of pie”. I love this country.

Dick then advises us to go out and browse through some “authentic pioneer crap” before returning to the car. I find a great shop selling long oilskin jackets on offer (if any of you have seen the movie “The Hitcher” with Rutger Heuer, you know what I mean) and go for it. It is a part of my movie-going teenage years. I am in heaven.

Time to saddle up the horses for the ranch and off we go.

Stories after stories after anecdotes after tales, from Dick. The time goes too quickly before we are home. This has truly been a snapshot of smalltown America. All its weirdness and unexpectedness, combined with a lyricism and friendliness that makes it all just what I hoped it would be.

Indy

Posted on October 7, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Saturday and no school. Indianapolis is waiting for us. David and Margot drive us through the flat Indiana landscape to the state capital. We even get to pass Kurt Vonnegut”s high school. It is warm and wet. Frequent torrential rain showers and 29 degrees make it more like India than Indiana.

First we went to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art – a lot of freshly painted canvas and hardly any Indian.

A suprisingly interesting city center with a war memorial and a grid system to make maths teachers smile creates the effect of the whole downtown area seeming big…and yet small-towny. Weird.

We split up for a few hours and I head to the stadiums (Pacers and Colts) which are 5 mins walk away from each other. Some cool bars and restaurants with a Scottish pub (Tilted Kilt) almost right next to an Irish pub. Next stop, the Mall. Oh dear. My first American mall is…disappointing. Mainly because they are exactly the same as European ones. One point is that there are NO book shops. Interwebage means they can”t survive. Bummer.

So now time to eat. We head to a rather chic restaurant called Palomino’s. Upmarket and full of aspiring somebodys. Not really for me. Our waiter, Paris, walks the fine line between good service and being a pain-in-the-ass. Often in the next two hours, he places one foot either side of that line. Food is excellent but Paris manages to make a mess of corking two bottles, which eventually resulted in him hacking away at the top of it…right next to our table. hahaha. oh how the mighty stumble….

Anyway, we finish and i get to work out my first American bill and tip. “Do you think 200 dollars was a bit much?”

David and Margot have bought Mr W and I tickets for the Indianapolis Symphony playing hits from the musicals. Initially, I am really not sure but after realizing we are 20 years younger than almost everybody there I think, why not. It turns into a brilliant night. Singing and dancing to hits of shows like Chicago and Cabaret, the cast are excellent.

As we file out there is a rather surreal moment where the audience of…erhm….seniors, appear to be queuing at the Pearly Gates.

The day and evening had been a great end to our first week.

Thundersnow!

Posted on October 6, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Our schedule (shedule?) is the only thing keeping me in contact with reality. It must be Friday because… oh well. Just wish i could sleep.

TV weatherman tells me that “Thundersnow has hit Wisconsin”. Now that is serious weather. Apart from the fact that I am sure he has made that word up, the concept of being in a snow storm while thunder is raging around you seems a real trouser-filler to me.

Here, it is too warm

I ask David to drop me a little further away from the school so that I can walk for a while. Being a moron, I misjudge how far away I am and just make it to our first meeting. The Outreach department deals with distance learning and enrichment activities which could sum up our own experience so far -dyaseewhatIdidthere?- although the three charming ladies (and Chris) are great company and our discussion desends into how the best thing people can recommend to us about Indiana…is to visit Kentucky. From a work perspective, the distance learning idea may have some real applications at Afra. To be continued…

Mr W and I need some serious caffeine and head for the student Starbucks. It”s my round so I queue and eventually order two “not small” Lattes. The young lady enigmatically says very little and insists on looking at my belly-region. Cheeky. She picks up her marker, scribbles on two cups, places the marker down and, with the understated raised eye-brow of a TV magician turns the cups around to reveal my name and Mr W ‘s name. “Are these your names?”. My gast is flabbered. How did you do that? I splutter. Ah yes, magic. She then tells me she had noticed my foreign name on my name-tag dangling around my nether regions. A brief information letter had been sent round all the restuarants on campus that Mr Iain Mckay and Mr Tino Wiedemann should have unrestricted access to the dinning facilities , apparently to make us welcome. She had, quite literally, put two and two together. Outstanding on all fronts. I then proceeded to order everything on the Starbucks menu….twice. No I didn’t really. Still cool though.

Further meeting with Mike who supervises the academic progress of all the pupils confirms that we do the same stuff, only differently. He is a very diplomatic gentleman.

So the work day draws to a close and I head back with David to get a BBQ organised for the teachers. Margot is in charge and I get to use a leaf blower for the first time. Cool.

Everyone starts to arrive around 6. Food is a “typical cook-out” with burgers and salad. The conversation spirals here and there with Dick”s tales of Berlin spies and Hungarian noblemen a highlight. Quite late on, neighbour Darren appears and the evening goes up a gear into the world of alcohol-induced madness. Plans are made for next week that sound fantastic. A teaser? they involve dead mice, trucks, funeral parlor advertisements and a waitress who chews gum.I am growing to love this country.

All about the Benjamins.

Posted on October 4, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

What day is this? Still waking up at 3-4 am. Bummer.

An excellent class by Ken Stuart on Gorby followed by a “Colloquium” class to discuss bioethics. Basically a discussion of current themes. There is certainly a focus on financial and economic considerations that Germans would only see as secondary. Here, it is central. Hmmmmm. When the discussion turns to abortion things get a bit weird. That is all I want to say.

Lunch is a real highlight – just to mention that we can eat in 3 student restaurants and the food is plentiful….you know what I mean – pupils sit with me an Mr W and 2 hours fly. They really are like Afraners. A highlight is that one girl is possibly related to Mr W. “That is just,like, totally awesome, man”. To be continued. The research into the girls family tree is progressing as I write. And it would be , kinda awesome if it is true.

We then have a faculty meeting where everything about teachers I have ever thought is confirmed. They are brilliant. Some real characters. Yes, some REEAAAL characters.

An English Lit lesson with Christine Ney is a joy. Titled: The Lost Generation. The class are looking at that group of writers/artists who hung out in Paris around the turn of the century. They also look at Hemmingway’s short stories. Just a delight of humour and learning. A lovely moment where a girl who looked and sounded like a sport-freak answered consistently throughout the lesson with such insight and intelligence that it was jaw-dropping. Note to self: don”t forget to not judge a book by its cover.

Finally, Mr W and I experienced a truely inspirational lesson that left us both elated at what we had seen. Entitled “Human Struggles” it was team teaching at its finest. 3 hours of a combination of Grapes of Wrath, Marxist theory and McCarthyism. It was epic. The level was very advanced but the pupils ran with the ideas and created a learning environment that was special. After almost 3 hours of group work, source analysis, book work and discussion, Ken Stuart brought the connections between the different aspect masterfully together. Art in its purest form. Simply educating.

Staggering out of that class, Mr W and I separated for the evening. He went off to a lovely dinner with some colleagues at Richards, I went with David and Margot to Muncie to see an arts fair. Cool music and Shrimps n Grits. Delicious.

Muncie is small. But weirdly they have a pub called……Heorot. Really.

Baby Jesus.

Posted on October 4, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

Awful jetlag. Waking up at 3am. Hope this gets better.

I fight with David”s enormo-surround-sound-complexy-boom TV and tune into the religious channels at breakfast. Highlights of 4 men dressed as lawyers sitting around a table discussing “what Jeeesus REEEEAAALY means…” and a tv evangelist with a really bad shirt and notes scribbled on A4.

Walking into school and an elderly well-dressed gentleman greets me on the street and hands me a copy of the New Testament. We exchange pleasantries and off he toodles. Perfect start to the day.

First classes. Margaret, a lovely experienced English Lit teacher works on Emerson and Native American lit. Nice atmosphere. Note: kids in class use there laptops and don”t go onto FB. They work with them. Hmmmm interesting.

Then Shakespeare with Richard, doing Midsummer Nights Dream. Just lovely. Bottom”s head and the Moon. Perfect. He even quotes The History Boys. He then moves onto Lysistrata and how a “dangling phallus” may be a mistake. A comedy genius.

BBQ at David”s sitting under the stars with wine and a warm evening. I could really get to like this.

Worky,worky,work work….

Posted on October 4, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

1.10.13

A short drive to the Indiana Academy of Science, Mathematics and Humanities is on the Ball State campus. modern and exactly how you would imagine it. A blurr of introductions and people and places and information and…everything. Oh yes, and it is warm. Vicki is the co-executive of the school and a smart and funny conversationalist. Someone who knows.

A tour of the University campus with a friendly student who excudes pride in her uni and a friendliness that is disarming. “It”s soo clean and tidy!” Yes, Germans…other countries have “Ordnung” too. Immediately into another tour this time of the school with two charming pupils who love their school confirming the whole time HOW SIMILAR AFRA AND THE ACADEMY ARE. These girls are funny, clever and dynamic with no cynicism and a friendliness that seems to be the norm. Well, not everything is like Afra then….

A long but productive day.

….and into a long night discussing Hemmingway and opera washed down with great food and wine. Hmmm. I could get to like this. Richard Willis, a master of understatement and dry wit sums up the tone with ” ah yes, the Acropolis…it”s still there…very slippy”. I crack up.

Off we go….

Posted on October 4, 2013 Updated on March 18, 2014

30.0913

Mr Poli drives us to the airport without hitting anything (just) and a nice man tells Mr W that he cannot open his suitcase for him. Luckily, the combination to his suitcase is sooo simple clean underwear will NOT be a problem. Thank you Mr Henker. From Frankfurt we take United Airlines 993…..really….993….almost an omen. arriving in “Merica at Dulles Airport, Washington….but I am jumping too fast…

8 hours crammed into a window seat gives me the opportunity for some research on American culture. The Lone Ranger is pants. White House Down is more than ironic (see government shutdown) but The Way Way Back is a great film. Sam Rockwell is really me. Except he is handsome,thin…and a movie star.Small town life and relationships with humour and a warm heart, something of a foreshadowing of what we shall experience. Security, security, security,security,security. Oh and more security. I get a foot massage from a polite guard who seems very interested in my trousers followed by 45 mins standing in a long line with 3oo Chinese arriving simultaneously from Shanghai. Snaking forward we eventually reach customs. Fingerprinted (both hands and thumbs) photographed (without glasses). Questions and questions. If only they had thought to ask those terrorists of 9/11 the self same ones. Isn’t it just always the same. Finally asked “why do you want to visit America?” My Glaswegianness wants me to shout “after all this crap, I really don’t know’ however I supress the urge. The customs official stamps my pass, looks up with the lifeless eyes of a Great White and mumbles “Welcome”. Indeed.

We have arrived. Or not really. 12 Dollars for two “not small” coffees and the rather bizarre sight of Barack Obama toilet paper (his smiling face looking up at you as you finish off ) another jump to Indianapolis on what is nothing more than a bus with wings. I sit next to a linebacker who is wearing two baseball caps. He only takes one off on the plane, carefully placing the other in the magazine pocket. Hmmmm.  We arrive at 12.30am local time. I am delirious with tiredness but it is great to be here. Body clock tells me I have to lie down. But not yet.

Indy. It is closed. Well, the airport shops are. David and Dick are nowhere and a friendly policeman gives us his cell phone. We call. They are here. It is going to be alright.Until David gets lost driving back and we see the closed nightime world of Indiana motorways and fast food joints at 3 am. I can”t “do” small talk as my tongue seems to be tired.

David”s house at 3am (body clock? insane). Very weird stumbling around a house you don’t know in the dark. Must be weird being a burglar. I start to unpack and and asleep before you can say “God Bless Am….”

1.10.13

Breakfast of Kings.; Cheerios and coffee.