![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Monday, April 11, 2011
Apr. 11th, 2011 11:00 pmThere was a terrorist attack in Minsk today. In the central metro station, on one of the escalators. 12 people died and more than 100 injured. I have ten minute break between lectures and I checked my phone and I saw that Papa called a few times and left a voicemail. The voicemail just asked me to call back but in a tone that was wrong. I called him back and the news was just a bit hard to process especially as I needed to give another lecture right then. It happened during their rush hour and no one knows why so far. Some think it might be the government opposition or even the government itself to distract from the insane economic situation where price have gone up 50% lately. No one had claimed responsibility. It just breaks my heart. It’s my city. I was born there. I lived almost thirteen years of my life there. I was just there in June. Every time I think about it, my chest tightens. My family is all ok, Mama called them as soon as she heard and I emailed my friend Sveta to make sure she was fine. But it doesn’t matter. It is my city. Who gets up in the morning and thinks that killing innocent people makes any sort of statement.
I still need to write about my day but everything just seems to pale.
In the morning I finished writing the lecture on the Mongols and their Empire in the 13th century. Most of it I’m learning myself and it is actually fun to do that. I then finished the Powerpoint as well. I started the lecture the night before but I knew I had some time in the morning. Then I gave that lecture in the afternoon. I think it went well. I gave my students time in class to read the Muslim perspective of the destruction of Baghdad so we could discuss it. That way I got some participation. I started writing down who talks too, and told them this, which got many to talk too. The most amusing moment of discussion was when one girl brought up Disney’s “Mulan” and how Mongols were portrayed in it and what it meant for their reputation.
Somehow the account of the horrors stuck with me; when I went to write my corresponding Methos drabble, that is what I focused on. This drabble fic, with one drabble for every lecture, each representing a period in history seen through Methos’ eyes, will be interesting to look back on and proofread in May, since it is fun to see what in each lecture struck me personally.
During my reliable lunch of chicken fajita wrap I also grade the quizzes for one of the sections. I really need to grade their Paper 1 this weekend.
Today was just a warm summery day. All students were out tanning and playing in the main quad.
( House S7E19 )
Girls get to puberty faster. Doctors are not sure why? Really? And it has nothing to do with our food and air and and all the chemicals in our systems? Somehow I find it sad. Developing breast by 7? Sad. 15% of American girls start to hit puberty at 7. And for black girls it is 23%. That is full five years younger than it was for me and I was pretty average in my time.
I still need to write about my day but everything just seems to pale.
In the morning I finished writing the lecture on the Mongols and their Empire in the 13th century. Most of it I’m learning myself and it is actually fun to do that. I then finished the Powerpoint as well. I started the lecture the night before but I knew I had some time in the morning. Then I gave that lecture in the afternoon. I think it went well. I gave my students time in class to read the Muslim perspective of the destruction of Baghdad so we could discuss it. That way I got some participation. I started writing down who talks too, and told them this, which got many to talk too. The most amusing moment of discussion was when one girl brought up Disney’s “Mulan” and how Mongols were portrayed in it and what it meant for their reputation.
Somehow the account of the horrors stuck with me; when I went to write my corresponding Methos drabble, that is what I focused on. This drabble fic, with one drabble for every lecture, each representing a period in history seen through Methos’ eyes, will be interesting to look back on and proofread in May, since it is fun to see what in each lecture struck me personally.
During my reliable lunch of chicken fajita wrap I also grade the quizzes for one of the sections. I really need to grade their Paper 1 this weekend.
Today was just a warm summery day. All students were out tanning and playing in the main quad.
( House S7E19 )
Girls get to puberty faster. Doctors are not sure why? Really? And it has nothing to do with our food and air and and all the chemicals in our systems? Somehow I find it sad. Developing breast by 7? Sad. 15% of American girls start to hit puberty at 7. And for black girls it is 23%. That is full five years younger than it was for me and I was pretty average in my time.
