All in all, I enjoyed my 1 week course here in Europe. It is exhausting teaching 3 hr lectures with jet lag. But there were some highlights from this multi-national group of grad students:
* On the first day, before class, a student calls out from the back, "Hello Professor! Welcome! Have you ever met a Maasai before?" That just cracks me up.
* One student is a famous stage actor in this EU country. As if that's not delightful enough, he is also a gay father of a baby and a 6-yr old. He stays here during the week with baby; 6-yr old and spouse are in big city 90 minutes away. Seeing him with his baby, I realized how rare it is for me to see a man who is the primary parent, the main nurturer for a baby. He calls himself the "mother." He is indeed a beautifully loving parent. Sigh...he makes me want another baby (ain't happening, though).
* One student is a retired child soldier from Sudan (often termed "Lost Boys/Girls of Sudan"). He is an inspiration--a wonderful example of humans' ability to overcome and triumph.
* There is a great walking trail system here. Since this is my 2nd year here, I'm getting bolder. The trails go all over. Luckily, the village is on a hill. So I just head down a path and keep the village in view most of the time. I've always managed to get back by some lovely path within an hour or so.
* I've eaten some wonderful meals now that the restaurants have opened up again after their two-day holiday (during which I could only buy cookies and chocolate at the little market).
Lovely spot, neat students--these make up for the low pay and long flight!
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