SF to Newark, 3 July

First attempt to contribute to blog while in air. Waiting for the US marshals to come alert me I’ve disabled the air control capacities. We’re 2.5 hours in. I’ve learned that really, The Admissions Officer is a terrible movie, that extended skit with Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Shirley MacLaine and a bunch of adorable kids. And some other expensie actors--was that Wallace Shawn? And Maya Rudolph? Do these people need help paying the rent? Why do people produce such contrived drivel?) I’m next to a family of 3 (in 2 spaces). In fact, lots of families with little ones on this flight. There’s a car seat in the row behind me, a first.

Reflections on Berkeley visit: these must be a bit harder to coordinate than I thought. Chris texted me about $400+ in charges to the hotel room--zoinks. To his credit, he was very mild in his inquiry (thank you, dear). I hardly needed coffee to get downstairs in a focused hurry. The lectures over the past two days had filled our brains, almost to the point of overflow. It was deeply enriching not only to absorb and bolster content, say about religious structures or demographic dynamics, but also to see how the invited scholars structured their presentations, condensing vast amounts of knowledge and experience into 60 minute talks. A few professors were particularly impressive, I was wowed by Bob Goldman, for instance. He talked about how the history and structure of Hinduism contribute in important ways to the philosophical bedrock underlying much of Indian culture. Of course, the same can be said of Christianity--especially Protestant Christianity--in the US. But Goldman used the Sanskrit Vedas to help clarify cultural linkages and ideas through language (I somehow missed that Sanskrit and the Latin languages were cousins: gnana for knowledge, ignana for lack of knowledge) that really worked for my brain. I am typing this without my notes, so it may be that the words here are slightly off. Dr. Goldman translated the Ramayana over 30 years, an amazing accomplishment. He quoted so many verses from the Riqveda, the Mahabharata (which one day I’ll pronounce correctly) and other sacred texts, it was at once impressive and beguiling.

Other professors and presenters were alternately charming, thought-provoking and inspiring. One young woman was a last-minute fill-in for her professor. Her name is Caroline DeLaine and she studies water issues in India. I hope to post the link to her research here soon. She reminded me of some of our students who develop strong expertise and then kick butt in sharing it--but only after extensive practice! She could’ve used Kirby and Mia’s (or Kim’s, Sarah’s, Veronica’s, etc.) Prezi skill, but wow, she sure knew her stuff, and she delivered it to us--novices--in ways we could organize easily in our minds. Reminded me of simple effective teaching techniques, and I have to say, not all the professors had that skill on lock.

I am missing my girls. There’s actually a small part of me that wants to get off the plane in Newark and say thank you to all the Fulbright people, collect my bags and head home. This is a surprising feeling. I’ll override it, but I expect it will remain a challenge, this tug at the heart, for the next 5 weeks.

Some of the folks in my group are reading India books, Lonely Planet, Salman Rushdie, etc. I’ve cracked into my HW reading (7 Habits, Mrs. Shugrue!) 2 more hours on this flight, I’ll see if I can knock out a chunk of it before my Hindi quest takes over. I’m going to aim for mastering the alphabet (new resolution).