Thursday, July 19 - Crow RWC Workshop - Day 4

Thursday could be described by any of the following words: exciting, frustrating, exhilarating, taxing, exhausting. We witnessed an unexpected level of enthusiasm about the workshop, but we were unprepared for and overwhelmed by the responsibilities that that enthusiasm brought about.

Unlike most RWC workshops, where things have settled into a routine by the fourth day, this one presented a set of fourth-day challenges I’d never faced before. Our three word-collection groups were too large on Wednesday, so we launched a fourth one today. (This stretched our personnel really thin, requiring Steve to run the recording equipment for the new group, which in turn meant that I had to take care of all of the administrative details—signing people in, registering new participants, recording which group took which folder, when they brought it back, and so on. All that would have been easily within my capabilities had we not experienced something totally unexpected.)

Word had apparently gotten out via the Crow grapevine overnight that an exciting event was taking place at the Catholic Mission in Pryor, and many more new participants showed up this morning. As the one handling the administrative side of things, I accepted the first 8 or 10 of them, but I finally had to turn the rest away, as our four groups were already well over the recommended size, and they were crowded into the rooms they were working in. In the end, we had two groups of 8 and two groups of 9 collecting words throughout the day. (I have never had to turn prospective participants away from a RWC workshop before, but the groups typically function best with 4-6 people; 8 or 9 usually results in slower progress and lower productivity.)

The TLC director arrived mid-morning with some necessary supplies, and I brought him up to speed on the situation. (He had to travel from Hardin to Billings to trade in his rental car, which was having mechanical problems, then do the shopping, then continue on to Pryor to drop off what we needed there, then continue on to Little Big Horn College to deliver the lunchmeat, cheese, etc. to feed the participants working there, so he was going non-stop all morning. There are locations out here where cell-phone service is unavailable, so my attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful, he being on the road somewhere in one of those dead spots.) On his arrival, however, he confirmed that I had done the right thing in turning people away—but maybe I should have made the decision to do that a bit earlier than I had.

Some time after the TLC director had left, but before we broke for lunch, I received a message from him, saying that he had decided that we needed to decrease the number of participants for Friday. His orders were to select 4 or 5 from each group and invite them to come back in the morning. The others were to leave their contact information so we could invite them to come in the event that one or more of those chosen to continue could not come on a particular day. So I met with the leader of each of the four groups, asking who they felt were the most helpful people to keep on for the days to come. That was hard for all of us, and it was decided that the most culturally appropriate way to communicate the news to each one was for them to check with me as they signed out for the day. So I found myself in the unenviable position of having to tell many of the participants that they had not been invited back for Friday. But I did ask each of them to leave a phone number where they could be reached, in case we needed them sometime next week. There was much disappointment, and I’m sorry to see them go—their enthusiasm was a wonderful thing. But at the same time, I do think our groups will function more effectively tomorrow.

As expected as a result of the overpopulated groups, productivity dropped off today—in spite of the fact that we had added a group—and we tallied about 1,550 words for the day, bringing our total to 5,235. That means that we’re already halfway to our goal of 10,000 words by the end of next week, so that will be a piece of good news to report to the groups in the morning. However, we’re still moving too slowly through all of the topics, and unless we find a way to increase our pace, we will leave a significant number of them untouched. This is a major concern to the TLC director, so I am doing my utmost to help the groups move more quickly.

Wednesday, July 18 - Crow RWC Workshop - Day 3

[NOTE: I have internet access only during the workday, and I’m kept quite busy during that time, so it’s rather challenging to find time to post to this blog. That’s why my entries are delayed. My apologies for that, but I’ll do my best to keep you updated.]

We’re doing this workshop at the invitation of The Language Conservancy (TLC), a non-profit organization that helps Native American groups to breathe life back into their language if it appears to be dying out because the children are no longer learning it from their parents. This is the same organization that Anita and I helped last year in New Mexico.

On Wednesday, the TLC director asked me to make the trip to Pryor (an hour in each direction) to help the groups working there to improve their productivity. Originally, it seemed that there was limited interest among the Crow community around Pryor, so there were only two word-collection groups there on Tuesday when we first met in that location. The actual turnout was significantly higher than expected, however, so the TLC director decided to add a third group on Wednesday, when he sent me. Traveling with me were two TLC linguists and Steve Echerd, a colleague who works with SIL’s Americas North branch and who is shadowing me at this workshop in order to be able to facilitate future workshops by himself.

After the morning status report and pep talk, which were my responsibility, I took care of a few administrative details and then spent most of the remainder of the day sitting in as an observer (making an occasional comment) with the group that had gotten off to a weak start the previous day, helping them to understand how best to work with the materials in the time allotted for this workshop. I had been asked by the TLC director to do the record-keeping as well, but that proved to be more than I was able to handle if I was to be the near-constant presence that the word-collection group needed. So I was glad that Steve had come along with me to Pryor, as he was able to monitor the other two groups on an intermittent basis and take care of the record-keeping.

The word collection seemed to progress slowly, with only a few of the 126 folders we hope to get through during the workshop being completed. However, when we tallied up the results in the evening, we discovered that the number of words being collected was more than adequate, bringing our total for the three days to 3,680.

Tuesday, July 17 - Crow RWC workshop - Day 2

Tuesday, we had six groups collecting words—four at Little Big Horn College and two at the Catholic Mission in Pryor, Montana, a bit over an hour away from the college. (This was the first day for us to work in two separate locations.) I was at the college, working with the four groups there, while Wil, The Language Conservancy leader, traveled to Pryor to launch and coordinate the work there.

At the college, we got off to what seemed like a bit of a slow start. Not all of the expected participants were present at the start of the day, so the composition of Monday’s groups couldn’t be maintained. Instead, we formed three word-collection groups, using the people who were present. That got the fun underway a bit after 9:15, but it gave our record-keeper, Raquel, a challenge, since folders that had been started on Monday were now in the hands of a different set of individuals. (It took us an extra hour at the end of the day, but she and I were able to get everything straightened out in the end.) A fourth word-collection group was formed once there were enough people to make it viable.

One of the word-collection groups seems to have caught on exceptionally well to the way we want the groups to work, and as a result they collected a 389 words on Tuesday, which may be more in a single day than any other group in any other workshop I’ve led. The other groups are making acceptable progress but seem to be moving a bit more slowly than is necessary if we are to get through all of the material in two weeks. In all, we collected 1,332 words on Tuesday, bringing our total for the first two days to 2,053.

The weather here has been warm and dry for the most part. It reminds me of Burkina Faso but 10-20 degrees cooler. Daytime highs have been in the low- to mid-90s, with relatively low humidity, so I’ve been comfortable in my African shirts. This causes my bedroom in the mobile home we’re living in to get very hot in the afternoon (because it faces west), and it holds that heat for the first part of the night, making it somewhat difficult to fall asleep some nights. About midnight, however, the temperature outside is in the 60s, and my room gets cool enough that I am grateful for the light blanket that was provided. (The air conditioning or heat in the trailer is either disconnected or non-functional for some other reason. We have only a swamp cooler running 24/7 in the hall at the middle of the trailer, and it has no impact whatsoever on the temperature in the bedroom where I’m sleeping.)

I am grateful for hot water for showers, a working fridge for storing milk and yogurt for breakfasts, the cot with a built-in air mattress that serves as my bed, and the provision of life-sustaining food at the important times of the day (sandwiches at lunch and grilled burgers, brats, or chicken in the evening).

Monday, July 16 - Crow RWC Workshop - Day 1

The workshop got off to a good start on Monday, in spite of the fact that we had to wait a bit past the official start time for everyone to arrive. (It seems that the Crow culture is similar to many African cultures in this regard: I learned that people talk about “Indian time” here, while in Africa we talked about “African time”. Events just rarely start at the time they are scheduled to begin.)

I was responsible for providing an abbreviated training session in the morning. (Instead of the usual two or three days, I had two or three hours.) Then shortly before noon, we broke into groups and began the actual word collection.

We had five groups working at Little Big Horn College. One of those groups was made up of women who had made the 1hr 15min drive over from Pryor, where they live. They came so that they could benefit from the training session Monday morning. Starting Tuesday, we plan to have four or five groups continuing at the college and two others in Pryor (including the one that was at the college on Monday).

This first day was typical in many respects, each participant adjusting to what they were being asked to do. I spent the afternoon checking in on various groups, answering the questions about the process, and doing my best to encourage everyone. By the end of the day, 721 words had been collected—a more-than-adequate beginning.

Saturday, July 14 Crow RWC: Preparing for departure

I am scheduled to leave tomorrow morning for southeastern Montana to lead a Rapid Word Collection (RWC) workshop for the Crow Nation, a Native American group located southeast of Billings, MT. I plan to leave for the airport at 4:40am, taking a neighbor with me who has a 7am flight. Rachelle has graciously agreed to get up much earlier than her usual time, in order to drive our car back home.

I'm looking forward to this opportunity to lead another word-collection workshop, as it's been a full year since I last did one. This will be my second time to visit Montana, the previous occasion being 40 years ago, when our family traveled together from our home in Pennsylvania, pulling a pop-up trailer and visiting lots of national parks west of the Mississippi River. That trip was full of great memories, and I expect this one will be too.

Like the workshop that Anita and I took part in last year in New Mexico, this one is being organized by The Language Conservancy (TLC). They are a non-profit organization that works with various Native American groups in the US, helping them revitalize their language by providing means for the children and young adults who've not learned it growing up to become competent speakers of it. SIL partners with TLC by leading word-collection workshops like this, so that they can then create written, audio, and online resources to facilitate the revitalization process.

Each workshop I lead is unique in some way. This particular workshop will be different from any other I've ever conducted because we'll be having word-collection groups working simultaneously in two locations a bit more than an hour apart. It will be interesting to see just how that works out.

There are 10 or 12 non-Crow individuals who will be helping at this workshop in one way or another. Those of us who are on site Sunday evening will meet to discuss some of the logistics, but several staff members won't arrive until late Sunday night, so a 6am meeting has been scheduled, mandatory for all staff, in order to prepare for the start of the event, scheduled for 8:00.

Sunday, July 30 - Return Home

I began to wonder just how my trip back to the US was going to go when it started off on a startlingly unsettled note: As we were leaving the SIL center in Abidjan, my taxi driver said something to the effect of “You know the way to the airport, right?” When I told him that I had no idea how to get there, he then informed me that he had not been driving a taxi in Abidjan very long and he had never yet gone to the airport. That was an inauspicious beginning to what turned out to be an “eventful” trip. (I much prefer my trips, especially international ones, to be uneventful!)

The taxi driver returned to SIL and got directions from the guard, then we were off. I still got there in plenty of time, as I actually had to wait until the check-in counter for my flight opened up. All of the pre-boarding formalities took quite a while, though, so I was glad I had come to the airport early. As it was, I had only about 10 minutes to sit down before we were told that our flight was ready to board. Then we stood there for a while before we were actually processed through the gate. And once on the plane, we waited quite a while again. The flight, schedule for a 10:25 departure, finally took off an hour late.

Given the fact that I had only an hour layover scheduled in Lomé, where I was to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Newark in the US, that delay of an hour in our departure time from Abidjan had me wondering if I might miss my connection. I tried not to stress about it too much, reminding myself of Matthew 6:27 (Who of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?), recognizing that I could do nothing except figure out how to minimize my chances of missing the flight. With that perspective in mind, I asked one of the flight crew what I should do, and he recommended that I deplane with those going to Douala or Bangui, since everyone else was being asked to stay seated and allow these passengers to get off first.

I got off the plane as quickly as I could, followed directions given me by various airport staff who had apparently been alerted to the existence of passengers arriving late and bound for Newark, eventually had an already-printed-and-waiting boarding passed pressed into my palm, and was hustled on my way to the gate, where passengers were still straggling in. I was relieved that it was not God’s plan for me to stay in Togo, though I had resigned myself to accepting that outcome if for some reason He wanted me to do that.

The flight from Togo to Newark was about 10 and a half hours long, but we arrived right on schedule in spite of the fact that our departure had been delayed. I had two and a half hours scheduled between flights at Newark, which I thought would be ample time to make my connection. Boy, was I wrong!!

First of all, I needed to go through immigration. This step officially recorded my re-entry to the US and went very quickly once I got my turn. The problem was the fact that the line of those waiting to be processed was very, very long. (I did a calculated estimate of 7 x 75 yards, or 525 yards in length. I don’t know how many people that works out to be, but it is hundreds!) I didn’t time my stay in that line, but looking back, I estimate it to have been more than an hour.

The next step was to collect my checked bags so that I could go through customs, before rechecking them for the final leg of my journey. But when I got to the baggage claim, my two bags were nowhere to be seen. I was surprised to learn that, even after all the time I had spent waiting in the long line at immigration, not all of the bags from our flight had arrived yet. I watched and waited, the minutes ticking by and the departure time for my next flight growing steadily closer. When I finally got my bags, the time until my flight was very short.

I followed the signs to Customs, where there was a line(!). I had to wait once again. However, the wait was not overly long, and I was soon done with that formality. Next I had to find the place to recheck my bags. I had a little trouble with that, so stopped and inquired of someone who looked like he might know. Sure enough, he pointed to a sign I had not noticed, which pointed to the left.

I left my two bags in the care of the person assigned to forward them on to my final destination. He was very kind to indicate to me which terminal I needed to go to in order to catch my flight; he even told me exactly which gate it would leave from. That certainly saved me precious time later on.

From there, I had to go up a set of stairs (or was it down?) to the check-in area. That was where I needed to get a boarding pass for my final flight. As I looked toward the United Airlines ticket counter, however, my heart sank. There were at least five people in line already. I would not be able to get a boarding pass very quickly there. As I looked around for another solution, I spotted a little kiosk with two airport staff and no customers. Most importantly, it had the name “United” on it. I headed in that direction, and a few minutes later, I had my boarding pass.

I still had one more hurdle to clear before I could go to the gate where my plane was certainly boarding by that time—I needed to go through security. Again, there was a line, this one consisting of about 20 people ahead of me. Matthew 5:27 came to mind again, and instead of worrying, I sought ways to minimize the time it would take me to get through. I removed my shoes and my belt. I emptied my pockets, putting everything into my computer bag. I removed the computer and my ziplock bag of toiletries. By the time I reached the conveyor belt running through the x-ray machine, I had done everything possible to expedite my passage through security. Nevertheless, it still took time for me put my shoes and belt back on, my computer back in its bag, and so on.

It was by then very close to the scheduled departure time for my flight. I hoped that the fact that I had been issued a boarding pass would somehow increase my chances of them holding the plane for me, especially considering that I was jumping over the hurdles as quickly as I could. And so it was that, after running as far as my endurance would allow and then walking fast from there on, I arrived at the gate before the door was closed, and I was allowed to board the plane.

About two hours later, I was still in that same plane but on the ground in Charlotte. We had to wait a while to receive a gate assignment, and then we were finally allowed to disembark. I collected my bags—no long wait this time—and walked to the curb outside, where the JAARS Shuttle Service driver picked me up and drove me home. Thus, my adventure which began with a trip to the Abidjan airport at about 4:00 am on Sunday (Eastern time) ended with my arrival at my home in Waxhaw around 1:30 am on Monday. It’s not often that I’ve managed such a trip in less than 24 hours. (But then maybe that’s why my other trips have been less “eventful” than this one was.)

In any case, I am very glad to be back home.

Saturday, July 29 - Final Details Before Departure

A portion of the day today was spent with colleagues Phil & Cathy Davison, whom I had not seen in quite some time. Another colleague, Laurel Miller, who is based here in Abidjan, drove us to various places to do the shopping we needed to do. We also enjoyed lunch together at a restaurant and ice cream for dessert. I bought the final things on my kids' shopping lists, then tagged along as the others got what they needed from grocery stores.

For supper I was invited to the apartment of some other colleagues, where I enjoyed rice with an American-style gravy as opposed to the African-style sauces I've had this past month. I am very grateful for the hospitality of my colleagues here, one of whom will help me get a taxi in the morning to go to the airport to catch my flight out.

This will be my last post to this blog until I am back on home soil. I am scheduled to arrive in Charlotte very early Monday morning.