Gilda

Thanks Cynthetiq. I have Life 101 around here somewhere, maybe it'll help to dig it out.

After all this whining and moaning and arguing I've been doing, I wanted to finish this up with a couple of thoughts, and one conversation I actually enjoyed.

1. I'm not sure why I don't just shut up and listen. I guess I'm trying to treat this like therapy, where I tend to do the vast majority of the talking. If I ask for advice, I should probably listen to it more than I have been.

2. I appreciate all the advice given, even when I was arguing with you. Please understand that I didn't mean to be hostile, so if that's what it sounds like, I apologize.

3. I am so glad the experiment is over and I can go back to just finding my way on my own. I have no idea whether the experiment was a success or a failure. It was really uncomfortable, but I did end up getting where I needed to go, so I think it's a wash.

4. Grace and I went shopping for outfits to wear to the dinner Tuesday. I had planned something to wear, but when we were out shopping, it occurred to me that I don't know the level of formality required, so I didn't know what to get. [sigh] Another one of those things where everyone at the university but me probably just knows this. Which reminds me that I don't know how I'm supposed to dress for class, either. Do they expect business professional, business casual, sporty casual, is straight casual ok everyday, or do they have casual Fridays? Is it different for instructors and for department heads?

There really ought to be a flyer with a FAQ containing stuff like this on it for new employees so that we wouldn't have to just muddle through with guesswork, trial and error. I'm going to watch the other female teachers to see what level they display and act accordingly.

5. I know that I'm a good person, that I am acceptable, that I am worthy of the love of those close to me. It's not my image of myself that colors my interactions with strangers, it's the image others have of me, or might have of me.

Ok, on to the pleasant conversaion. Friday morning, I'm at the elementary school where I'm voluneering as an aide. Now this is an easy place for interaction. The teachers tell me what to do, and I do it. No small talk necessary. And I get to chat with the kids, which is fun because I like to see how their minds work.

I'm reading a phonics reader with a little girl, and we finish the excercise early:

She: Miss Nakim, uh, Naker, uh . . .
Me: Nok-uh-mur-uh
She: Miss Nakarooma, my leg hurts. [I love the way they keep butchering my name]
Me: My arm is broken. [I hold up my cast]
She: [goggles at me for a second] I hit it at recess. See? [she shows me a bruise]
Me: My arm broken here, here, here, and here.
She: I was running and I bumped into Kyle and fell down.
Me: I drove my car into a ditch.
She: I bumped here, see?
Me: I have frizzy hair.
She: My hair's frizzer than yours is. It's all messed up from recess.
Me: No your hair's just mussed. Mine's frizzy from the humidity.
She: Uh-uh, see?
Me: I have split ends, too.
She: [grins]
Me: Do you know any good hairdressers?
She: I could ask my mom. She gets her hair colored.
Me: Me too. I actually have green hair. It matches my eyes.
She: Your eyes aren't green, they're tan.
Me: That's called amber. I have my eyes colored, too.
She: [grins again] No you don't!
Me: Yes I do! [I reach up and slide the contact lens down a little bit.]
She: Those are contacts!
Me: That's what I told you. I'm near-sighted.
She: My eyes are . . .

At this point the teacher sent me a new student, which was a shame, because you really don't get a chance for witty banter like this very often. I'm looking forward to Monday, because I really could use a new hairdresser.

Gilda

__________________
I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that.

~Steven Colbert