I love my bank.

Those people are awesome.

Props to Lebanon Valley Farmers Bank Fulton.

 

Mmhm.

Liar.

Somewhere in the middle,

Between the laugher and crier,

There's a man with open hand,

That man is a liar.

He sits with the seeds between his teeth,

His teeth are made of Braille.

He sips the seeds of tangleweeds,

And sends the innocent to jail.

[I'm not a poet like Jesse or Teddi, but occasionally I like to write a bit of semi-nonsensical free-thought pieces. Normally it's just for my own sake, but my dad thought this one was fun so I decided to post it. <3].

Teaching

Teaching here in Alexandria, Egypt has been a blast. At first, it took me a long time to create my lesson plans, but now I have the hang of it a bit better. I teach two classes—one pre-intermediate class and one upper intermediate class. I have great students in both classes and they seem to be making quite a bit of progress.

In general, I don't teach any grammar explicitly, unless my students really want a boiled-down rule. Rather, I search for ways to teach grammar implicitly through highlighted dialogues. The students internalize the grammar more quickly and accurately when it is contextualized.

I also try to make my lessons engaging and relevant for my students. We do a lot of laughing in class. J. I also enjoy learning about my students' life goals and incorporating them into later lessons. We learn about English in a way that is relevant to the students' lives and dreams.

All said, teaching English here in Egypt has been an enlightening and rewarding experience. I only hope that I am able to get a job so that I can teach here beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.

Egypt

Living in Egypt has been a fascinating experience. Although I have done my share of traveling, Egypt has one of the most different cultures I have ever had the privilege to experience. Like any culture, it has its ups and downs—but the friendliness of the people is enough to warm anyone's heart.

I know that when I go home I will want to share the experience with everyone, but I'm not sure that I'll really be able to explain it. Egypt is getting into my skin, like an addiction. Its paradoxes are becoming commonplace, almost natural. As I approach my last couple weeks here, I wonder what it is going to feel like at home. I'm afraid everything will feel stale, too orderly and rigid, lifelessly lofty.

On the other hand, I'm ready to live a home with air conditioning. It hasn't been too bad here, but I've never particularly enjoyed waking up sweaty. J

All in all, I am really enjoying the Egyptian culture. I hope to have more opportunities to learn more about it in the future.

Simple Authenticity: A Discussion of Leo Tolstoy’s "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"

Tolstoy’s (1886/2004) brilliant novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, is an incisive exposé of the in-authenticity and meaninglessness of the more pretentious classes of society. Although it would be inaccurate to describe the story as adventurous, Tolstoy’s ability to draw his audience into the psyche of his characters is as capturing as it is didactic. Tolstoy leads the reader with great care through the intimate thoughts and feelings of Ivan Ilyich as he faces his impending death. When Tolstoy brings the story to a poetic end, the reader is left with an implicit challenge to explore the meaning of life.

The effectiveness of Tolstoy’s challenge lies not in explicit ideological comments, however, but in his character comparisons. Specifically, he draws a sharp contrast between the dying aristocrat Ivan Ilyich, along with all of his friends and family, and the mild-mannered peasant, Gerasim, who becomes Ivan’s sole comfort in his final days. Feeling isolated and depressed, Ivan struggles to justify the meaninglessness of his life, but at long last he realizes “all that for which he had lived…[was] a terrible and huge deception” (Tolstoy, 1886/2004, p. 299). He reluctantly admits to himself that he spent his entire life blindly following the superficial codes of his culture and seeking selfish pleasures, so long as they were not stigmatized by his peers. When death approaches, however, Ivan is faced with the not-so-superficial reality of his own mortality. None of the formalities or correctness that he dedicated his life to can save him; it is only in the kindly, simple face of his butler’s assistant, Gerasim, that he finds any comfort.

Gerasim, in stark contrast to the milieu of superficial characters in the novella, represents simplicity, unselfishness, and authenticity. While he is something of a caricature in the story because of the infrequent appearances, it is easy to sense Tolstoy’s idealization of the peasant lifestyle through his description of Gerasim. He lovingly describes him as “a clean, fresh peasant lad, grown stout on town food and always cheerful and bright” and having “the joy of life that beamed from his face” (Tolstoy, 1886/2004, p. 283); he even praises the fresh, down-to-earth scent of Gerasim’s boots. In caring for Ivan, Gerasim manages the delicate balance of showing him both sympathy and honesty, treating his condition with gentleness and realism. Clearly, Gerasim is as special to Tolstoy as he is to Ivan in the novella. He represents a life lived for more than superficial pleasantry and propriety.

Discussion

The morals presented in Tolstoy’s novella are timeless. They are reminiscent of Socrates’ belief that individuals should concern themselves with truth and the welfare of their souls rather than materialism, social reputation, etc (see Weiss, 1998, p. 24). And, they remain applicable today in our postmodern culture that frequently substitutes social acceptance and romanticized self-images for truth and authenticity. It would be well for all of us to realize, like Ivan Ilyich did, that “though his life had not been what it should have been, this could still be rectified” (Tolstoy, 1886/2004, p. 301).

Reference

Tolstoy, L. (2004). The death of Ivan Ilyich. (L. Maude & A. Maude, Trans.). In The great short works of Leo Tolstoy (pp. 245-302). New York: Perennial. (Original work published in 1886).

Weiss, R. (1998). Socrates dissatisfied: An analysis of Plato's crito. New York: Oxford University Press US.

Deep End

Greatness is knowing the right moment to go off the deep end and having the courage to do it.

Taking it All In

Cipi (far left) is an excellent soccer player, just in love with life. Daniel and Vasile (middle two) I knew from an orphanage before they went to FCI. Vasile always whistles these old Romanian folk tunes while doing chores with me. Andrei (right) cut my hair while I was there.

My dear Kenyan friend, Samuel, always scolds me when I leave the country without explaining what I am doing, so I told him I'd write a bit about what I am doing this trip, and I tagged some of you in my note for various reasons so that you'd at least know what my departure/return dates are. :)

Playing soccer against the village kids--we always win by a long shot.

I leave for Romania on Thursday. I have a lot to get done. A lot. More than I think I can physically accomplish. As my dear brother would say, 'whatev.' I would say that I trust God to help me get through it, but I'm just not sure that's how things work. I mean, it is my trust in God that gets me through each day as I learn to find him in my daily tasks. At the same time, it is I and not God who decided to take on all the things I have taken on. And truthfully, I love living on the edge, and I'll do it for a while yet while I am young and my body can. Getting away from the chaos to visit Romania will be refreshing, though. It gives me time to clear my mind, breathe a little more deeply, see the world from a less superficial perspective.

Friday morning I'll have breakfast with Leslie in the Amsterdam airport. Friday night I'm going to stay with Pastor Nicu and his family--he very nicely is picking me up from the airport so that I can avoid the hassle of busing into the city. Sunday I am going to meet my aunt whom I've never met before.

Fundatia Crestina Ioan (The Christian John Foundation, a two-year boarding/trade school for disadvantaged boys/young men to learn carving and carpentry).

From then on I'll be at the trade school where I normally go, just getting into the lives of the young people and sharing the love of Jesus with them. I do everything they do from morning 'til evening: get up early, do chores, learn to carve, play soccer, do more chores, watch soccer, and do devotionals. I also try to break up the monotony of their routine by taking group outings to the Cofetaria (pastry place), perhaps ice skating if it is cold enough, having hot chocolate parties, getting out the boxing gloves, etc.

Timotei at the vise grip.

Another Andrei--my boxing partner. Quite a bit skinnier than me, but a bit stronger. I think he's going to try to beat me this trip. :)

I show the boys, as their peer, the love and hope of Jesus. They show me what it means to live presently, and to really be alive.

Thursday the 6th I am going to meet my sponsorship child. I'm very excited about that, but I'm not sure that I'll get to take pictures due to unfortunate Romanian laws.

Then I'll be back at the school until the 12th, and I'll come home the 13th to catch up missed days of school and get back into the old grind.

Hot drinks are simply my thing--and hot chocolate/card game parties soon became a popular evening pastime.

So, anyways, I'm very excited to go, and I'm working very hard to get things done and ready to leave. I'd very much appreciate your prayers, not only for me as I go, but especially for all the friends and new people I'm going to connect with along the way.

With love.

Johnny