Back Problems, ISK Work and Linguistic Frustration Begin

The second vertebrea in my spine was way out of line so there was a great deal of pain for a while; I managed to locate two chiropractors, but both were out of the country. Recovery came, mostly by my hanging from a door jamb. That new bed (together with a lot of lifting) was the cause. Now a mattress that lies flat on the floor serves as my bed. Haven't been running for about a week, though this morning there was no pain at all. Don't want to push recovery too quickly.

Yesterday the teachers went through KIA's (the old, non-existent school's) books and supplies. We were supposed to get rid of what we could not use to make room, but since the new curriculum has not come in and no one is sure exactly what was ordered for them, very little was actually discarded. The Administration Building is filled with last year's materials still. Two small piles, one of trash and one for what can be donated, lay out back (it never rains in the summer here - only dust storms.) In less than a week, we are doing a registration and open house. One building is only half constructed; other buildings are under renovation, nothing has been cleaned, except the Admin Building and it has all of KIA's stuff strewn all over. What will the parents come to see?

Language learning has been a complete disaster so far. My every national conversation is conducted in pigeon Dari interspersed with Spanish and English words. Wild gesticulations are made both by me and my friend/victim, trying to make ourselves understood. At the main worksite, the some workers routinely shift from Dari to Pashto and Urdu when I come; all of us (even ISK's nationals) are having communication issues with them, yet mine are much more severe - on an "honor" level in a shame based culture. The more I study, the more reclusive my English speaking peers perceive me. And to top it all off, when there is a problem, those peers come to me because I am the one who, "speaks Dari". Again, speaking Dari is not something that will pay off in the short or even medium term. Quality learning language is so difficult, so costly, so emotionally humiliating, that it makes no sense unless I can stay here to live in a completely different epoch of life. May that epoch come quickly.

Becoming, IAM, Mike

One of the verbs that you use all the time that was not used so much in the language tapes is, "shodan" which means, "to become". K-Town is a place that is BECOMING something. Last year, KIA was the best school in the country, this year it is becoming ISK, a much better educational resource for the region. American University will soon be established to accommodate our graduates along with the best of the best from other schools in the region. K-Town is BECOMING THE educational center of Central Asia. In the walk between ISK and our Sponsor's Office, you pass by about 30 different construction projects; BECOMING is in progress. "Jor" to build or repair, is another essential vocabulary word.
More than half of the ISK staff has arrived in the last few days. ISK opening has been put off until September 14 (our school buildings are still in the state of becoming). Sicknesses and injuries are starting to mount. I've not been regular for about a week, but have not missed any days being up and around. I've only been running three times this week (about 40 miles total) to conserve energy; that, for me, is being a little ill.
Been learning to read and write Persian at IAM's Language Orientation Program. Only signed up for two hours/day until 8/15, than reduce to 4 hours/week- all private tutoring. Since they split my hours between teachers, I have requested that one teacher do the Persian script and the other start on the Dari verbs course. The Persian script is not helping my ability to understand nor to be understood, but is consolidating my basic conversational knowledge - I fear I have gaps in the basics since I am self-taught and have skipped over all the basic courses. Though I feel very frustrated by my constant inability to grasp and express ideas, my ISK teaching peers see me sharing what is to them unintelligible noises with native speakers and are very much impressed. Down the road, reading and writing will pay off conversationally, if and only if I can read on the level of my conversations (I now know only about half the Persian alphabet). Actually, the whole language learning thing will likely not pay off the first year; it will only be a valuable way of sharing my heart if I stay here many years. My IAM instructors keep saying that within five months I will be fluent in Dari and will need to begin to learn Pashto and Urdu (local languages of unreached people groups). They do not understand that I will not be able to keep up the linguistic pace; my teaching peers are now here and I need to serve the ISK team on an English speaking compound. ISK Classes start in September and I do not know what time I will have for language study. To be effective long term, I must stay here during vacations and continue to learn.
One of the ISK staff, Mike, has a job description of "community laison". He is behind the 8-ball on language learning, but I think he will function just fine in English. You can see some envy in his eyes when I speak Dari; to this point I have resisted becoming his (or any one else's) language tutor, in spite of repeated requests. I did spend a half hour with him to encourage him to get started, but it would be inappropriate for me to continue in that role.