Pnar Church Service

I went to church with a friend in Jowai on Sunday, the Presbyterian Church there - it was pretty cool. I definitely didn't bring the right clothes to India for going to church - all the men wore suits and ties if they had them, but I didn't mind that too much. Although when you stand up to sing hymns and you're a head taller than the tallest person in the room, it can be a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately I'm used to being stared at from growing up one of the only white people in an all-black country. I think my friend was a bit more nervous to be sitting next to me, since she lives there and knows how little excuse people need to gossip.

The service was all in Khasi, which is the dominant language spoken in this area. The hymns were in Khasi and there was no percussion to keep time so the singing slowed down to an almost inexorable pace. It was neat to be able to pick out some words here and there, and my friend translated some of the verses for me so I could understand what I was singing. The orthography is relatively systematic.

In the evening we went to their cousin's home, which is up on a hill above the river on the outskirts of town (where the picture on the right was taken). We stayed for a home church service led by some of the church elders, which is where the real meat of the Christian culture in Jowai seems to be. Pretty much the whole service, except for a few songs and prayers, were in Pnar, including the sermon. Traditional instruments - a mandolin and tambourine - as well as clapping and harmonies kept the songs upbeat and lively.

India Week 3: Jowai

I recently got back to Shillong from Jowai, where I was gathering data on the main Pnar dialect. Jowai is the cultural and administrative centre of the Pnar community in Jiantia Hills, and I'll be focusing on learning to speak the variety of that place. I was able to connect with Ram, who is part of the Passah clan and very involved with the traditional religion. We were able to go down to the archery field where men shoot arrows at a target on a daily basis, and conduct some interviews about the origins of this event.

Ram also showed me around the area - on Sunday we went to a waterfall further south of Jowai, toward Bangladesh, which was a lot of fun. The walk down was a bit slippery, but once down the water was cool and inviting. I swam up behind the waterfall and waved to Ram and his cousins on the other side. Here's me and the waterfall in all its glory.

Language data-gathering was also productive. Besides the interviews, I was able to collect a couple wordlists and a retelling of The Pear Story, following a technique used by my advisor Alec Coupe for collecting language in context to make grammatical structures easier to identify. I'll be working on translating these texts in the coming weeks and in analyzing the wordlists to acquaint myself with the phonology of Pnar.

Thoughts on Learning

As a PhD student here at NTU, part of my scholarship is to teach or TA once I've completed my coursework and passed confirmation. NTU is beginning to focus on training teachers more, and particularly in ways that encourage students to learn. One recommended course I'm taking now is part of that initiative, and we had our first session yesterday, taught by Peter Looker.

One of the best parts of the class was when Dr. Looker asked us to think about and define what learning is. I had a bit of a brain-wave and came up with this definition, definitely guided and influenced by my experiences. Here it is, and I'll unpack it a bit more below.

learn (v.) : To discover something new about reality. (Hiram's Definitions)

Part 1: Discovery

Learning, to me, is primarily about discovery. When you learn how to use your phone, when you learn how to drive a car or how to use a phrase properly in language or how to do a math problem, you are discovering it. Discovery also implies a self-driven process, the involvement of the person who is learning. Learning in this sense is not a passive, osmotic process, but one which requires engagement on the part of the learner. People who truly learn are in some sense pursuing the object in question, seeking the boundaries that flesh out the subject of study.

Part 2: Newness

When we discover something, by the act of discovery it is new to us. It may have been there all along, but until we discover it for ourselves it is as if it didn't really exist. The act of discovery focuses our attention on it and brings it into our field of vision, making it salient to our experience. A good example Dr. Looker gave was when he bought a new car - a white Fiat. When he was driving it home he began to notice all the other white Fiats on the road, something he had not noticed earlier in the day.

Part 3: Reality

The new thing that we discover is always grounded in reality, particularly the reality that we experience personally. The discovery is not about someone else's experience, but how that information connects with us and our frame of reference. We do not live in someone else's shoes, therefore we cannot experience both what their reality is and our own reality. We may be able to imagine someone's experience, but ultimately we cannot know it, we can only share a similar experience. The learning process is one in which our discoveries are integrated into our complete frame of reference and worldview (or multiple frames and worldviews) in a conceptual map. We work primarily with this conceptual map or network to interpret the information we receive - learning is the process of linking, re-linking, and creating new links in this network.

The question in our session then became: how do we teach in such a way that students are able to engage with the information presented and are able to discover it for themselves? I'm really looking forward to dealing with this question over the coming weeks, and gaining some tools to help others learn.

Secrets of the Library

So our big project for this course is a language survey proposal - the paper and presentation. We basically take a language about which very little is known, do a lot of research, and write a proposal to carry out a survey that will help answer basic questions about the language situation. The idea is that we are in touch with an actual person on the ground in the country who can direct our studies.

The language I'm researching is... actually I can't tell you. What I CAN tell you, though, is that I have had some cool breakthroughs during the course of the project. Which means that I have learned information directly from an observer of the language who has done recent research in the area but has not published it yet. It's pretty sweet to be on the inside. Maybe I can do this whole academic thing.

It's also cool to think that if I hadn't been here to do the research and send the emails, it is likely that some people who are in a position to make decisions about assisting language development efforts would have inadequate information on which to make decisions. Which I guess doesn't say much, but the little it does say speaks volumes. Here's to the bookshelf warriors.

In other news, I recently uploaded some video of a conference I helped lead worship at with Ishq, an Ethnodoxology group that plays music from an array of different cultures. Here we sing some snippets of an Arab Christian worship song from South Africa, and a jubilant rendition of 'How Deep the Father's Love'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA_TimiEPNU

English Camp

I'm still in Germany, and haven't been updating much, because, well... I'm pretty busy. I'm actually writing this instead of working out a lesson plan for tomorrow's English class, so this is going to be short.
Camp here at Neues Lieben has been lots of fun and very tiring. The first week I basically hung out and got to know the situation and helped out where I could. This week I'm in charge of teaching 12 highschoolers advanced English for an hour and a half every morning, playing guitar on the worship team, organizing American sports (football, baseball), teaching a worship band workshop and hanging out with the teens. So it's fun but busy. I have some great video from the first week, but unfortunately the internet connection isn't that great, so I haven't been able to upload any video, even the shortest clip. Maybe my friends Dave and Evelyn (they left at the end of last week) will upload something and I can attach it here. Otherwise you'll have to wait until I get back.
So that's pretty much it. I'll try to update again before I get back, and you can expect a more comprehensive blog upon my return.

Vlog Day 17 - JAARS

Today I visited JAARS (Jungle Aviation And Radio Service), which is the technical arm of Wycliffe, serving translators with air, maintenance, IT and other kinds of necessary support. My family has come through here several times when we were on furlough from Ghana, but I had never taken the tour before, so I figured I should probably do that. It was a really interesting tour. In the first video, you can hear a bit about how Wycliffe (and thus JAARS) was founded by Uncle Cam Townsend.

We then moved on to the Cabinet and Maintenance department, where we received an animated lecture on the subject of cabinetry and maintenance. Then on to the hangar where I felt almost like I had returned to the National Air and Space Museum - except that this is an active training facility, where pilots are trained to handle planes and helicopters as if they were in a remote area where even the military don't venture. Here we got to see the first new Kodiak airplane that JAARS/Wycliffe has purchased for missions use from the manufacturer, Quest. It's bigger and more efficient than the Helio Courier it will be replacing (JAARS has its own machine shop where parts for the HC have been made since the 70's when it went out of production), but does need a slightly longer runway. You can read more about it HERE. The next stop, after lunch, was the Alphabet Museum which I do remember visiting as a kid. It has since been expanded and is a fascinating look at the history of alphabet making and written language.

In the evening I played music for the JAARS youth group, which is made up mostly of MKs, TCKs, and the kids on the JAARS center. It was cool to be able to play for a group that I didn't have to explain the cross-cultural stuff to. Most of them had grown up just like me, and could relate to a lot of the things I had to say. I captured a bunch of their faces, and of course Uncle Bruno.

Vlog Day 11 - Greensboro Grub

If you come to Greensboro, get in touch with Charlie Jones of Peculiar People. You will not regret it, particularly if you can manage to time your visit with his and his wife Ruth's regular 'family meal' for 50+ people. I call it a meal - it's more like a feast!
Like any feast, it takes a lot of preparation. Charlie and Ruth spend quite a bit of time thinking through recipes and making food selections. Every 'Grub' has its own theme, and this time the theme was St. Patrick's Day (which also happens to be my birthday) - so Irish food reigned supreme.

Charlie starts cooking the day before, and when I got up in the morning I jumped into the fray, hardly stopping until guests arrive at 6:30pm. Charlie never stops hosting, nor does he sit down to taste the meal. His meal is the event itself.

After a scrumptious meal and dessert, entertainment begins. Everyone has the opportunity to share their creativity, to read or recite something that has touched them, or simply to sit and watch and listen. What a wonderful mixture it is! In the video below is just a sampling of the gifts expressed - jokes, a bluegrass band, and poetry by one Josephus.

And last but not least, my song about Spring - 'Breathe Deep'.

A Christmas Song based on the nature of the Triune God

Glory to God in the Highest
What made the heavenly host sing on that cold winter's night? Was it wonder at the God of the universe becoming small and powerless? Was it amazement at His plan for salvation finally being made flesh, entering the history of humanity in a single, clear instant like the call of a trumpet? Were they simply rejoicing in the beauty and wonder of birth, or were they looking ahead to when He would destroy death with one fell swoop?
The wonder of this moment when the Word became flesh is what I was trying to capture with the song 'O Little Child'. The moment that changed history, the One who created it being Himself created, and what that would mean for eternity and humanity, is a concept that I believe we have to continually re-visit in scripture and song - to try and wrap our heads around and ultimately, joyfully, fail to understand.
It is with amazement that we find ourselves on the other side of the cross and can look back to see the giant steps and sacrifices that a little baby in Bethlehem would have to make to fulfill His destiny. A destiny to restore humanity to the relationship intended for it by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through salvation in himself, Yeshua - the Lord who saves.
O little child, o tiny babe, are these your hands that came to save? Held in your mother's warm embrace, remember me this Christmas day. O little child, your tiny feet will bear the cross toward calvary. Now tightly wrapped on mother's knee, on Christmas day I think of thee.
That God would come to us on earth - he who himself did give us birth. That the Most High would choose to be a simple child like you and me.
O little child, you must be fed - you who will give us living bread. The final Word is said, it's yours to say. Do you remember Christmas day?
Now let us sing with one accord jubilant praises to our Lord! Join with the angels' heavenly choir - proclaim this wondrous clarion hour! That God would leave His heaven above to live with us a life of love, that the Most High would choose to be a simple child like you and me.
Glory to God in the Highest! Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men!
O little child, your eyes still sleep - your tiny form a mystery. Come with the world on bended knee - on Christmas day we think of Thee.

You can find this song and more at www.hiramring.com

Rainy Day

Today it rained all day, off and on. Here's a few pictures from my balcony, in succession, several minutes after each other. You can see the rain coming in the first, then it obscures the view (but I still have some sunshine), then it passes by and the next cloud comes into view. It was really windy too, so sometimes the rain would go sideways.
I'm continuing to prepare for Matt's arrival - doing some cleaning, sorting, and organizing. Warren has a lot of papers to go through when he gets back. I need to find a place to store the tools and finish up a couple of small tasks around the place.
I also went shopping in preparation for the weekend. I'm beginning to use Norwegian a bit more as I shop and interact with people, and I can understand more and more.
I also helped Ove set up his Myspace so we could get some songs up in a public place for people to listen to. We listened to some mixes on his surround sound system, and they sound pretty good. I have to send out an email to all my friends letting them know they can listen to them: www.myspace.com/ovedanielsen
The rest of this week is going to be pretty busy. Tomorrow I'm recording some Hammond B3 organ (with a Leslie amp), then Thursday Matt comes, and Friday I travel to Tønsberg for the weekend, where I'm playing for a youth event. Hopefully I can get Matt settled before I leave. Warren missed his flight from Frankfurt, so we're praying he arrives safely today and is able to make it to Bergen for his dentist appointment. Crazy things.
Oh, I met an Afghani on the bus on my way home from Odda. We spoke some Dari together, though he is actually Pashtun, a language which I don't know, unfortunately. My language was a bit confused, what with all the Norwegian I've been trying to learn, but I was able to communicate pretty effectively. That was really cool. I couldn't quite catch whether he was here for a long time, or just temporarily working a job before he returns to Oslo. Hopefully I'll meet him again.

Shopping Day

Today was a shopping day. I went in to Odda in the early afternoon, brought my computer along. I returned some books to the library (2 of the 3 language courses) and did a few other things - bought some more minutes for my cell phone on the pay as you go plan. I discovered that all the language courses teach the same dialect of Norwegian, which happens to be the dialect around Oslo. So if I listen to the CDs that come along with the books, I sound very different than the people around here. But at least the language is written the same in both places, so I can learn vocab through the books.
I spent some time at the Filadelfia on their internet, checking email and trying to make contact with people to plan out some concerts for the later summer, early fall. Somewhat unfruitful, but maybe that's what happens when you leave the country for a few months.
I then went to meet with Knut Dale to study some more Norwegian. He was very helpful with the short wordlist I had compiled, and was able to give insight on some things I had noticed: the word 'lære' means both 'teach' and 'learn', depending on the context - also the dialect here differs from Oslo with a lot of the common question words, saying 'kå' instead of 'hva' (means 'what'). He also really helped me with pronunciation of Nynorsk as we read from Proverbs. I tend to have trouble with the 'u' and 'o' sounds, with making the vowel sounds right in multi-syllabic words (I want to keep the same mouth shape and just move my tongue), and also with putting emphasis on the wrong syllable (emphasizing the first syllable is generally the rule in Norwegian). To name a few issues.

House Meeting

Last night I went to a house meeting with local believers. There were about 17 of us, meeting further north of Tyssedal along the fjord. It was quite a multi-national meeting, with the Congo, Eritrea, Ghana (myself), Holland, and the US represented, not to mention Norway. Prayers were in Norwegian, English, Congolese (I don't know exactly which tribal language), and French. I brought my guitar and tried to figure out the songs without chord sheets, which worked for about half of them. When we got into the Gospel songs (black gospel, here) with the multiple key changes I was pretty much lost. I'll have to get Jan Olav (the other guitarist and worship leader) to teach me.
I also played the Norwegian song I wrote with my friend Håkon (did I mention I wrote a worship song in Norwegian?), and it was very well received. It's in NyNorsk and is mostly taken directly from verses in the Psalms, so I could do an almost literal translation to English, though it wouldn't flow in the same way. When I told Jan Olav that he said "Yeah, but you put it to music." I guess that's always a gift I've taken for granted - can't everyone put words to music? I guess all can, but it doesn't always make sense. Hopefully I can encourage more people to try at least.

Learning Norwegian 2

I've started compiling a list of Norwegian words to learn, and I'm finding that the biggest issue is pronunciation, whether you speak Nynorsk or Bukmol. But knowing English has helped - there are a lot of words which are similar sounding to English, if you use a bit of imagination.
For example: lære (learn/teach), sofa (couch), bror (brother), mann (man), fot (foot), far (father), ting (thing), gjest (guest). What you have to keep in mind is pronunciation - the word 'gås' looks like 'gas', except for the fact that you pronounce the character 'å' like the short vowel in the English word 'mall'. When you pronounce it correctly, it sounds more like the first syllable in the English word 'gosling' (baby goose), which is closer to what it means - gås (goose).
Of course, then there are words that are completely unrelated to English words in appearance and sound. Words like: bonde (farmer), ås (hill), stong (rod), barn (child) - I think even more difficult than those, however, are the words (like barn) which look and sound like English words (or at least American english) but mean something totally different.
Fortunately the characters are pretty much phonetic. Unlike English, where the sound of the words sometimes seems independent of spelling, in Norwegian each character has a specific sound. So once you learn the sound for each character you can simply sound out the word. And then you might be able to recognize it. Of course some dialects leave off part of the word or pronounce it differently... but most of them are consistent in where and how they do it.

Laundry

Today was a bit of a long day as well. Up early and on the road by 11 - we had some breakfast and then drove to Haugesund, where I caught the bus to Odda. I got to Odda around 4:30 and was able to check email and get the Norwegian language course from the library before coming to Tyssedal. I'll be spending some time with it over the next few weeks to get more of a handle on the sound and basic vocabulary.
I'm still reading the Psalms and Proverbs in English and NyNorsk, thanks to the bible that Knut gave me. Håkon's dad also gave me a dual English-Norwegian NT that I'll probably dip into. Since the grammar is so similar to English, it's relatively easy to figure out what the words mean - some even sound like English words. There's still a tension between Bukmal and NyNorsk that I'm trying to figure out. I'll probably end up learning both.
Well, back at home now and trying to do laundry. There's no washing machine in my flat, so I'm using one in the flat next door. Had to send an extension cord through the window to my flat, since the apartment the washing machine is in doesn't have the electricity turned on yet. It seems to be taking a very long time, though, so maybe that machine is broken. I hope not, but if so we'll figure out what to do. Dinner of trout and rice - officially the first meal in the flat. Quite tasty if I do say so myself...

Language Learning

I'm starting to learn Norwegian now - sorta. Last night I met with Knut Dale, who is the Norwegian teacher here at the high school in Odda. He specializes in NyNorsk, which is essentially a combined approximation of all the dialects in Norway so that when it is written everyone can recognize the word. The other written system in Norway (still spoken in some places, apparently) is Bukmål, which is much closer to Swedish. Sweden ruled Norway until ... Knut is actually from near Voss, further north of here, and so has a distinct dialect - a dialect which most of this area spoke at one time. Back when the factories in this area first opened up, workers came from all over Norway with many different dialect backgrounds, and so the sound of the language here changed.
The benefit for me of Norwegian (NyNorsk in particular) is that the characters are phonetic, so once I learn the right sounds to associate with each letter, it's just a matter of practicing and memorizing the words and meanings. Knut gave me a bible in NyNorsk which corresponds pretty closely to the NIV English translation, and I recorded him reading a passage of scripture. I'm going to listen to it while reading along, and practice repeating the words after him so that I can get the flow and intonation, and hopefully begin to recognize more words when people talk around me. There is still a strong local dialect that I will have to account for, but hopefully it won't be too hard.
The picture for today is of the 'Vasskraft Monument' which they built on the hill above the Slottet. It commemorates the 'waterworks' or hydro-electric plant based here in Tyssedal that powers most of this area and a large part of Norway as well. The monument is supposed to light up and play music while water flows out and along the channels. Then people can follow the path through the mounds in an ever-tightening spiral until they climb up to the rock itself. Apparently it only worked once and continues to break down. They finally got the water to run again, but the music never has worked since that first time.