Good morning. I have now settled into a little routine for the week. I have a nice little space in the International Studies Division office, computer access, and a group of extremely helpful and kind office mates....I usually arrive around 10am and leave in the early afternoon. My classes start on Tuesday Feb. 4 and I am busy trying to cobble together a series of lesson plans that do not utilize a textbook. One issue I have with the Fulbright program in general is that there is little or no advice, little support, and minimal funding for obtaining and shipping ancillary materials such as on-line texts/ physical textbooks, etc. Textbook companies have little or no interest in any sort of support either, other than charging exhorbitant prices for products that cost them little or nothing to produce. This experience will be good for my overall teaching ability and bad for textbook companies because it will allow me to move away from dependency on the racket that is the textbok industry. I will also say that the folks who actually work for these companies, especially in on-the-ground marketing are wonderful, hard working, underpaid people and I would never disparage the difficult job they do...I may get a shipment of MY OWN books for use here, utilizing DHL from the Moscow Embassy, but It will cost a pretty penny. Enough ranting. The present business model will not last---even now, there is on-line access to almost anything, for free. Somehow, I do not have the sympathy for textbook authors and publishers in the new world that I have for my numerous friends who are musicians---whose livelihood has been disrupted permanently by the music industry's inability to plan for the digital age.
On a lighter note---I've bought a guitar( I hadn't practiced in over a week and was getting withdrawal pangs)---it is an inexpensive Fender acoustic so as no to bother my соседи(neighbors).
Funny story: I did a couple of loads of laundry last night in my little apartment provided, kitchen located washing machine. When the spin cycle began on the first load, all hell broke loose---like trying to calm down my dog Thurman when he sees another living thing he'd like to befriend. I thought perhaps I'd overloaded it, but no---same thing the second time....shelves shedding items, counters bucking, floor pounding. My friends here advise me to simply hold it tight during the spin. We'll see. All for now. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with the Director of the entire University, my guardian angel from the train, Viktor Leonidevich. It will be good to see this extraordinarily kind man again. He and his administrative staff have been absolutely fabulous in making my arrival and subsequent settling completely stress free.
I also spoke for over an hour with my wonderful wife Janet this morning. For various technical and logistical reasons we had not spoken in person for 5 days. Her voice was like the most beautiful music in the world.
All for now. It is snowing here. Beautiful
