Monday, September 22, 2008

El Cambio Grande

Well here´s a thought: time flies.  I know you´ve heard it before, but it bears repeating once more.  

The last time I wrote, I was probably grading papers, coaching cross country, and yelling at 7th graders (I hope all is well, Mr. Miller).  It would have been cold: February in Connecticut is not an easy month.  I would have been thinking of the promise of another Orioles season -- that this is would be the one -- and cheering for Hillary Clinton, who still seemed to be the sure fire Democratic nominee (Barack who?).  Finally, I would have been thinking about people and situations that, for better or for worse, have long left my daily thoughts.

As I write now, I´m currently on Calle Prim in Madrid, Spain, in the headquarters of Middlebury´s Spanish program.  For the greater part of the past four months, I have sworn to speak only Spanish, and I have done so.  This post, the final in my mother tongue (at least for some time) is to tell you that, in order to read my insights from here on, you will have to follow me in my quest to master the Spanish language.  And I´m asking you to do so, more for your sake than for mine, because in your learning of another language, you will be able to read Borges and Cortezar and Cervantes but more importantly me.  And this, I tell you, is worth every cent you pay to Rossetta Stone (or, if you´re interested, I can provide you material).  So let´s just get this straight: I´m not asking you to walk 1,000 miles.  I´m asking yo to straighten up, fly right, and pick up that 9th grade introductory to Spanish book that has been gathering dust under your couch and to learn some Spanish.

What can you expect from  En la arena con Eli Berman?  Well, the same that we can expect from a Sarah Palin/John McCain presidency -- or change that, McCain/Palin: more of the same.  I will continue to deliver you wonderful, insightful observations as I have ¨consistently¨done.  I will, of course, comment on the upcoming elections.  I will also try to explain a grammatical concept or word of the day that has captured my attention (this is as much for graduate students as for a 72 7th-10th graders in Fairfield, CT).  And I will fill you in as I continue to understand my first language, the language of love.  So, my friends, this edition of In the Arena With Eli Berman will now sign off and a newer, better, and far more exciting edition will herefore commence.  Entonces, mis amigos, disfruten esta nueva avenutra.  AbrĂ³chense, tengan cuidado, buena suerte y buenas noches.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

A new post

So much has happened over these past few weeks -- or is it months? -- I don't even know where to begin. First and most importantly, I apologize to my subscribers that I haven't written sooner (but i have been able to cash those checks.) For some reason -- does anyone else have this problem? -- I can't write on the computer. Just can't do it. I try and try but always wind up reading about Barack Obama or how terrible the Orioles are. But even when I'm not distracted, there's something about the white screen that interrupts the message from head to hand. So I have to copy that long-thought-exinct, laborious drudgery of writing down my thoughts in illegible long hand and retyping them on the computer. And that's exactly what I'm doing right this second.

Which brings me (or brought me a few minutes ago) to a thought: however unique (or odd?) I may be, I know that I am not the only person in the entire world to suffer from typetile dysfunction (you don't have to laugh), and I wonder how much creativity is lost because of this "problem." I mean really, who's going to take the effort to handwrite notes and then type them up? Most of the people I work with don't even know how to use a pen. And looking at their handwriting and my own -- it's an art that seems to have had it's hey-day.

At a recent conference I attended, a speaker called computers "imagination machines." I think that for so many things this couldn't be truer. When I open up Google Earth, when I type anything into a search engine, when I listen to pandora.com, when I see kids programming computer games, I couldn't agree more. But with so many games online and articles about Brittney Spears, computers may have become just another means to escape from our imaginations, rather than something that could spur us to actually think. And we spend so much time staring at the computer screen, we miss all of the wonderful things going on around us...

OK, I can't read my writing anymore. But I'll check in again soon.