The Dean Oversees the Faculty Meeting
I'm trying to look at this in my usual "Glass Half Full" manner - since it's hard not to just be disappointed at my lack of Spanish! But then again, I've been here one week, and I can get a cab to campus (finding out "cuando es la carrera desde aqui et UTP" - how much does it cost to get from her to UTP?- before getting in), buy groceries and even find out where something is in the store (how can I ask for matches or a lighter? Easy-peasy - just look in my handy-dandy yellow Langenscheidt's Pocket Spanish-English Dictionary and point to words). So I guess I'm making progress. Slowly perhaps, but progress nevertheless.
So it was that I had just finished lunch with Elba when who should walk in but Karla Arosemena, my "original" Fulbright "handler". Karla now works as the Private Secretary to the Rector (President) of the University. As busy as she was before, she is now in a whirlwind! And as a result, she doesn't really have time of her own. But she's teaching the first HCI class here, and the plan was that I would do the "practical stuff" on Wednesday, while she would do the theory and experimental stuff on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I had a vague awareness that the term started this week - after all, Elba had to go teach classes, but somehow, this hadn't actually translated into the awareness that *I* needed to be teaching this week too! <doh!> So when Karla came to my office, it took me a moment to realize why she as there - to take me up to the classroom where I would teach the class!
Gulp.
As we mounted the stairs, Karla filled me in on what she had been talking about last night in the first class - the "human" part of human-computer interaction. She didn't have time to give a whole lot more direction when we arrived at the classroom.
Gulp.
Without really knowing what I was going to say, I leapt in. I guess there is a benefit to having consulted and taught for so many years because I've had to learn how to "wing it"! And so I did. For the next two hours, I talked about how I had come to HCI, how we founded SIGCHI and CHI, and got the students to tell me their names and why they wanted to learn about HCI. I showed a series of photos of "Interfaces of our lives" - it's funny how dated some of those things seemed like, serious, does anyone still use a portable CD player? - and then discussed how we get started. By knowing our users.
The students were terrific - they listened speak in English and even got many of my jokes. And they bravely answered me in English. I'm really excited to get to spend time with them! I am staunchly committed to bringing their voices - and the voices of students and others around the world - into the field, and to listen to what they bring. For they bring amazing and interesting perspectives. And besides - they laughed at my jokes, right? ;-) I promise I'll be ready next week - but overall, the class went well and we had fun (or I did anyway).
So, in one short day, I went from not-an-academic to an academic - or at least a temporary-academic!
But man, am I tired tonight! Buena noche! I'm heading to dreamland - you?
