Network Problems

I'm having horrible network problems, so I can only manage to have Internet access when I get into town and have the time.

It's 8:45 here and I've just had dinner out with two friends and I'm in the car near the restaurant posting the entries below. The inconvenience pales compared to missionaries in earlier ages, of course!

Catching Up -- Our Statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace

A friend of mine in California, a woman whose faith is matched by her generosity, donated funds for this amazing statue that greets visitors. You'll see the crucifix soon, too.

Catching Up -- Second Admissions Test

Heri ya Sikukuu ya Baba Wa Taifa, Servant of God Julius Kambarage Nyerere

Happy Holiday (Feastday) of Julius Nyerere, Father of the Country.

Today we thank God for the leadership of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the Father of Tanzania. He didn't get everything right, but his intentions were always right: the common good. The influence of Catholic social teaching is obvious in his policies. Today on the twelfth anniversary of his death we pray in a particular way:

O God our Father, you have created us so that we may know, serve, and love you and love our fellow sisters and brothers.

We thank you, O God our Creator, for the gift of your servant, Julius Kambarage Nyerere – a faithful layman and a father of a family – who led your people of Tanzania as true father and teacher.

Our Father, your servant gave himself up completely for your people with love that knew no boundaries, building tirelessly unity and solidarity among all Children of God. He cared for the poor. He uplifted the downtrodden. He consoled orphans. He welcomed and fed refugees.

O God, your servant, being faithful to you and to your Church – has become for us a true example of deep faith and genuine piety. He cherished a great love and respect for the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He dedicated the People of Tanzania to Our Lady so that they may live peacefully under her maternal protection.

O God, your servant Julius Kambarage Nyerere showed great zeal in teaching everyone to know and honour you. He defended justice and fought relentlessly against oppression and discrimination of any kind.

His humble service for all people remains for all generations an example to imitate on their way to you. Almighty Father, grant us by his intercession and according to your will, the grace we implore. May his holiness become evident to all the people of God so that he may soon be numbered among your Saints.

Amen

Deo Gratias!

It is raining -- and a month earlier than usual.

May the rains continue.

You Are a Patient Lot

I promised to post pictures from our entrance day test and haven't -- and other than that day, I've generally been remiss re: picture-taking. They'll be posted some day soon.

In the meantime, you can take comfort (as I have) that the workers discovered the den of the HUGE cobra and took care of it. I'm sure it's not the end, but I'll sleep better knowing that the monster-sized snake (its head said to be at the level of the head of a four-year-old child when it raised its head) is gone.

Once upon a time...

...I was an assistant professor of education at Loyola Marymount University.

I was reminded of that fact yesterday when I received an email from the Taylor & Francis Group at Routledge. The email informed me that an article I wrote that was published in 2010 "was the most downloaded article published in Pedagogies last year."

The research I do (did, I guess) is time consuming. It involves analyzing video data of social interaction in teacher education classrooms at a very fine level. The article was based on data that were collected in preparation for my doctoral dissertation (but not the actual data analyzed for the dissertation I wrote). I cannot tell you how many hundreds of hours were spent just on the analysis of a ten minute strip of video data. This is all to say that I am pleased that a product of my hard work is actually being accessed by others -- and I hope they find it somehow useful for their own work.

One of the benefits of this distinction re: being the most downloaded article last year is that the article is now available for free. So, if you need a soporific, here it is.