"La experiencia del usuario..." (UX en Español)

WOOOOOT!  Today, I taught the faculty in Software Engineering.  About UX.  For 4 (!) hours.  ALL IN SPANISH!

I'm flying high!

I put quite a lot of effort into illustrating each step of the process and each of the tools using the Speedy Bead "project".  For instance, I used sticky notes on the wall of my apartment to show how I create a persona, and also photographed the class' first steps in data analysis with the large Affinity Diagram in the hallway.  It seemed to help them really understand what I was talking about.  Since they had already observed how we did Affinity Diagramming and had spontaneously identified ways it might be useful to them for other types of tasks as well, these examples really helped solidify their understanding.

The Speedy Bead Affinity Diagram of Observations from
Ethnographic Interview/Contextual Inquiry

The best thing, of course, was that it was IN SPANISH!  And that Elba and others commented on how much better it was!  Elba even said she was impressed and I rarely had the experience of the class having to confer amongst itself to sort out a meaning.  This was a HUGE win for me!

Elba came over for dinner afterwards and we celebrated!  It's probably my last time seeing her for rather a while, so it was also emotional.  But she's such a superstar - I am sure our paths will continue to be intertwined!

It's Back! (Thursday)

Today was 100% better than yesterday.  Thankfully!

We arrived at the UTP Regional Center in Azuero bright and early today.  The team was fanning out to conduct the audit, but first, of course, there was the mandatory group photo.

(L to R)  Elba, Geralis, me, Maritza, Nicolas, Euclides

There was only one class here at the UTP Regional Center in Azuero, although originally two were scheduled.  I spent the morning working on earlier blog entries (being very behind!) and worrying about my Spanish.

Lunch was great, and put me back a big $2.65.

Then, appropriately fortified, I went off to teach.  At first I was a bit concerned because it was mostly first year students - the very ones who were so tough yesterday.  But there was an important difference - this time there was also a professor in the classroom.  I think this helped with crowd control.

And it went fabulously!  I think it was the best class of the whole trip.  No confidence lapses, no stumbling around, no frustration - just teaching.  In Spanish.  IN SPANISH!  (OK, in Spanish-ish)  I didn't need a lot of help with words, and I handled everything myself without having to have someone else discuss slides or concepts.

Best of all, the class stayed engaged the whole time and it felt wonderful.

So THIS time, the smiles are real.

 

Unfortunately, however, I felt quite ill by the time we got back to the hotel.  Perhaps it was the cookies Elba and I ate for sustenance while the team was doing their evening audit.  Perhaps it was the fried chicken.  Perhaps it was the heat.  But whatever the reason, I was unable to attend a grill put on by the Director of the Center (Rats!) and I went to bed with no dinner - just some sips of ginger ale.

But I was happy even so because the day had gone so well.  Indeed, I think this was the best class of all

Monday en Español!

It takes a good breakfast to fuel up for the day and ours was great.          

Then we hurried over to the first Regional Center of this visit.  I should explain.  The whole reason we are on this journey is because the Deans and their team must conduct an audit of 3 of the Regional Centers (Chiriqui in David, Veraguas in Santiago, and Azuero in Los Santos) for accreditation.  I am along to teach about UX in each location.

In Spanish (en Español)  <gulp!>

So this morning, off we went to the Regional Center in David.

First we met with the head of the center and decamped in his office for the next 2 days.  The team used the space to conduct interviews and meetings.  He had all kinds of interesting things in his space.  On the walls were photos, paintings and a colorful swag of souvenirs.  On his desk was a display case with many different types of currencies - many of them quite old.  It was a lively and colorful office and I immediately liked him!  It was just the kind of office I used to have and, although some would say it was cluttered, to me, it represented a life well lived and enjoyed greatly.  I imagine that each of these things has a story.  Just like life I suppose.

Meanwhile, across the hall, I was teaching. En Español!  OK, so it was broken at many times and there were many errors, and there was help when necessary (I even asked the students/professors to correct me and to feed me words - which they did with gusto), but I DID IT!  Yes, the afternoon session with the students went more smoothly than the morning one with the professors, but I actually managed to communicate, tell stories and even a joke or who - all in Spanish - in both classes!

And, as it turns out, it was also the third "El Dia de Las Trenzas" - Braid day!  El Dia de Las Trenzas is celebrated the third Monday of the year as part of Black Culture month  Some years ago, braids were banned in schools, because they were deemed inappropriate for school by the Minister of Education.  There was widespread discontent, especially in the Afro-Panamanian community was much anger about the ruling.  They launched a campaign to disobey the ruling by sending their children to school with braids.  Eventually, the Minister of Education had to acquiesce.   

Needless to day, after such a day as this, I was exhausted.  I almost skipped dinner but was glad I didn't.  Our whole table ordered the wonderful Panamanian soup,  Sancoche.  Rich chicken broth with pieces of chicken and vegetables with rice on the side.  The perfect "comfort food" to cap such an exciting and exhausting day!  So we were off to bed immediately thereafter.  And I was so tired that I was asleep almost before I made it to bed.

Curiouser and curiouser (Wednesday)

It's another fun day in Paradise, and one with an upside-down feeling to it.  The elevator (ascensor) has been playing with us - sometimes not working, other times deciding to work, though always with a threat of shutting down (regardless of whether there are people inside it)  It's almost as if it has a personality of its own and wants to skive off sometimes.

So it shouldn't have been a surprise to find a sign this morning saying:

"Please use the elevator to go to floor 2 only.  You must push the button "1" to go to floor 2 directly.
Do not press any other button.
Do not press the "Stop" button or open the door ever."

Curiouser and curiouser!  

But continuing in an Alice-in-Wonderland vein, I wonder if this might help my Spanish?

“Speak in French when you can’t think of the English for a thing--
turn your toes out when you walk---
And remember who you are!” 

Friday: The Great Migration -- From Disaster to Delight

A very early start.

The driver from the university arrived at 5:30 (instead of 5:45!) and we went over to UTP where he picked up the official car and drove to the airport on Tumbla Muerta.  It was great to see the western part of the city as we chatted in Spanish.  I'm so tickled I can actually talk with people reasonably fluently!  I've been speaking primarily Spanish this week.  And I'm concerned that I will lose it next week at CHI where it'll be (almost?) all in English (and perhaps a bit of French?)  I anticipate returning to Panama rusty once again.

The Copa Air flight from Panama to Washington was smooth and uneventful.  I sat next to a retired diplomat and we had a lovely (brief) conversation before he turned to his laptop where he watched "Ten years a slave" (which I want to see!)  I dipped in and out of "Saving Mr. Banks" (which I also want to see properly) and read.  Overall a lovely trip so far.

And getting through Immigration and Customs was also uneventful.

The fun began when I got to the A terminal to await my United Express flight to Montreal.

It all seemed fine at first, although we would have to walk out to the commuter plane in an increasingly hard rain, but then, I'm learning how to deal with rain in Panama as the rainy season has arrived.  And then the plane developed mechanical issues.  For a moment or two, it seemed OK.  And then the delay lengthened.

And lengthened.

And I started to get more and more concerned about whether I'd make my connection in Montreal onwards to Toronto and CHI.

So I went up to check about whether there might be a later flight to Toronto from Montreal in case I missed my connection (which was becoming more and more likely)

And it was then that I encountered one of those "Random Acts of Kindness." I suspect now that these are not actually "Random" for these guys.

Asadi (right), instead of simply sending me on a later flight through Montreal, found and booked me on a different United Express flight - directly to Toronto!  And then Maxwell (left) scurried out to get my luggage so it could accompany me to Toronto - so I'd have clean clothes for tomorrow.

Delight!

I have to say that I never would have expected (or even thought of) this option, but I am so thankful that Asadi did this for me.  It gave me a chance to grab a bite to eat and to catch my breath (and find some new books in English that are hard to find in Panama City)  And charge my phone and computer.  I was so pleased that I posted it on Facebook and took a photo and then emailed both to Asadi's boss (he's Maxwell's boss as far as I can tell)

See what great customer service can do?

When it time to board, Asadi came and got me to let me pre-board and the rest of the experience with United Express was just great.

Clearing into Canada was smooth and I met Jack Carroll (an eminent scientist and friend from Penn State for those of you reading this who don't know who he is) and we shared a cab to downtown.

Another smooth checkin at the Westin at 1:30 am and a swoop up to the room where David was already snoozing.  I tried so be quiet so as not to wake him, but after all this time, I really needed and wanted a HUG!

And so it was.  So sweet. So late.

Goodnight.  ZZzz....

Spanish, CHI, and a sad anniversary

A day without photos.

The birthday celebration of our department continued this morning with a breakfast for everyone in the hallway.  Panamanian desayuno (breakfast) fare is yummy but not exactly slimming.  And it sticks to the ribs (and elsewhere)  Even though I didn't take much, I felt full all day.  And still do.

I continued my plan to speak (mostly) in Spanish today.  It feels slightly easier to speak with each day and each conversation.  I still feel bad for those who have to listen to me as I try to find words, but I love the corrections and hope that soon I won't need quite so many.

So today, Geralis came by and went over some verbs with me - very helpful.  And I spoke with a number of people.

I came home rather early because Elba had to do some errands with her Mom, but that was great because it meant that I could work on my CHI presentations, rap, etc.  Still a way to go before next Thursday for my Case Study (slides partly done) and "Fireside chat" (rap mostly done, themes ID'd, slides partly decided upon)  And then there are the Workshop (speed dating planned - thanks Matt Kam!),  SIG (no activity on my part yet) and Women's Breakfast (story chosen = done)  But I pulled things together including all of the registration stuff (so glad I can find it!  Let's hear it for organization!) and checked the weather forecast (COLD! not even 60F while we're there) so I put in my long johns.  Yes, I have long johns here.  And sometimes it feels like I need them at school because they keep the offices so cold.

Plus I'm ready for class tomorrow - except that I HOPE I can at least TRY to give part of the class in Spanish.  This will depend a bit on whether Nicolas comes to observe.  Not sure my Spanish could take the pressure.  ;-)

In other news, today (April 22), our second daughter, Sarah Beth, would have been 27 had she lived.  Sadly, she had a genetic defect that was diagnosed 10 weeks before she was born.  Since it was the first time they had ever diagnosed it prenatally before, the doctors couldn't give us much guidance as to what to expect.  It is a recessive disease - Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease - and it is routinely diagnosed prenatally now, but then, we were on uncharted ground.  So we had to prepare ourselves and, more importantly, Anna Rachel who was almost 5 at the time, for the unknown - although a likely bad unknown no matter what.  In the end, she made the decisions about what to do for us because her lungs had not developed (due to the lack of amniotic fluid) and she simply could not survive, even on a respirator.  She had an old-fashioned death, dying in David's arms, surrounded by her family, including her big sister who was the only person she ever really looked at. It was a very hard and sad time.  We remember her always though.  Always.  Even in exotic and far-away places like Panama.  Perhaps especially here.

And it's very late now, so I must sign off.

Lunes

Hoy, decido de hablar solamente en español por que tengo que aprenderlo.
(Today, I decided to speak only in Spanish because I must learn it)

And it worked for most of the day.  Which was great for me, but painful for those listening to me speak v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and to start in one direction, get stuck and try another route to explanations. Whew!  I'm totally exhausted!

This week is the celebration of the birthday of the department.  As a result, the day began with a mass for the retiring Dean.  This was fascinating to me.  And, as usual, I leapt right in when I saw that Giancarlis, one of our Masters students had her guitar out and a very small group was practicing songs for the service.  I was so excited that I joined in and they welcomed me although they didn't know that I'm Protestant, and that both the Spanish words and the music were completely new to me. But oh, what fun it was!  I'm so glad I arrived when I did and that they let me sing with them.

The day sped by.  Despite the enormous pile of things to do before I leave for CHI on Friday, I wasn't so productive partly because I kept trying to speak and think in Spanish.

Tonight, I am trying to make up for that so this is a short post.  Buenas noches!

In which I attend a Faculty Meeting in the morning and become Faculty in the afternoon OR: From Consultant to Academic in One Short Day

Today started with the much anticipated (by me anyway) Faculty Meeting.  Dean Nicolas presided and began by introducing me and another newbie on the Faculty.  I was able to figure out much of what he said for some time as he described proposed changes in the way that faculty is evaluated, but once the discussion became heated, I found my Spanish lagging and after an hour of this, I was unable to follow much of anything.

                   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?