Three Days Away!

We're about 72 hrs. away from leaving, and Karen and I are really excited! We begin packing tomorrow, and then packing again once we realized what we forgot...that's just the way it goes.

All projects are finished, and they range from 45 minutes to just over two hours. I've tried to create presentations that reflect the trends I've practiced in composition, technical writing and creative writing classrooms over the past seven years. Some of the workshop exercises include some interesting and fun tasks, and I hope they'll be enlightening enough for what I assume will be some truly intelligent and thoughtful people. I've included a few discussion "areas" in the presentations as well -- I hope to learn as much from everyone at UFBA, UNEB and ACBEU, especially at the ESL/EFL Conference, as I can possibly pass on to them.

Tonight is our last Thursday night .99 tacos at Mick's before we leave, and Saturday we'll enjoy a last early summer sushi at Blue Pacific. My mom's been to Brazil to visit friends in the past, and assures us we'll find a nice sushi place in Salvador. It is right on the ocean, so it seems likely. I'll be happy to find a few nice Cuban cigars.

One thing I've yet to finish is a presentation about Elizabethtown for the folks in Salvador. I hope to be able to communicate to them what a unique little town we have here, and that ETown college would be a fantastic experience for student and faculty alike. The photos are a few pics of our friend Wayne Selcher introducing Karendra Devroop's class to some indigenous Latin American and South American musics and instruments. Karendra (in the black jacket and glasses) teaches in our Fine and Performing Arts Dept., and may apply to come down to Salvador through Partners of the Americas in the summer of 2010.

Enjoy -- and stay tuned!

Two Weeks Away!

Boy -- time just flies when you're waiting to have fun! With two weeks left before the big flight south, Karen and I met with Wayne Selcher and Carol Ouimet, two essential friends who have connections to Salvador. Carol is an administrative assistant at Elizabethtown College, and is originally from Salvador, while Wayne is associated with Partners of the Americas (the non-profit organization through which I was granted this residency), and though he's semi-retired, still teaches in the Political Science dept. at Elizabethtown College, and has travelled to Brazil more than 30 times in many different academic and governmental capacities. We three -- including Wayne's wife, Susan -- discussed everything from cuisine to buses to clothing to weather. They've been indispensible these past few months in helping me adjust to the new teaching and cultural experiences in Salvador, and Karen and I are grateful to have them as friends.

As these last few weeks wind down, I'm putting the finishing touches on five presentations I'll be delivering while in Brazil. They range from composition strategies to technical writing curricula to creative writing exercises. The titles are, "A Third Language: Lingua Franca, and Composition Strategies, Technical Writing and Curricula Design"; "Voice and Verisimilitude: Information Control and Authenticity in Personal, Investigative and Argumentative Essays"; "Finding My Way through the Invisible: Mind, Heart and Power in Poems and Short Fiction"; "Oils and Waters: Teaching and Workshop Strategies for the Composition and Creative Writing Experience" and "Culture, Compassion and Creativity: Education and the Doors to a Future Heart and Mind." Funny how academic papers and presentations so often wind up as colon phrases!

Stay tuned!

Four weeks away from departure!

Well, the VISA application goes out today, and we (Karen and I) depart on June 28th. She'll stay with me in Salvador for a full week's worth of site-seeing, eating Brazilian foods, walking around and meeting everyone associated with the experience. We can't wait!

It looks as if I'll be presenting composition and creative writing seminars/in-services about ten times (!) during the month I'm there, in addition to the workshops at the ACBEU ESL/EFL Conference, giving readings, and spreading the good word about Elizabethtown College, the local Elizabethtown chapter of Partners of the Americas, and the Teacher-in-Residence programs accessible to folks in Salvador. Having "cut my teeth" running restaurant kitchens, I'll even be speaking to an academic group of cooks and waiters, and will try to show my cooking flair for Northern Italian pasta -- really looking forward to it all!