Mr. Field's Story.......

Well, Phil is home after a long 30 hour trip door-to-door! So the blog writing duties revert back to me. This probably will translate into fewer entries, but I will try to keep you up-to-date as much as possible.

Before Phil left for home, I dragged him into my class to help me teach a class in qualitative methods. For those of you not in academic circles, qualitative research means basically to analyze words or actions, and not use numbers (quantitative) analysis. I was teaching narrative analysis that day....so I wanted the students to listen to a narrative (story) and try to sort through the material and make some conclusions about what they heard.

So.....Phil told my students his story about how he and his friends dealt with the possibility of being drafted during the Vietnam War. For those of you who didn't know, Phil was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War but ended up not being drafted. I thought this type of a narrative would hold the student's attention and allow them an opportunity to hear a different side of the Vietnam story.

The students were very engaged in listening and writing their notes. Phil told me he would talk for 10 or 15 minutes...and what he forgot to take into account was the translation. Thus his 10 minute story suddenly became a 40 minute story!

A few interesting items from my review of their notes and the discussion we had in the next class:

Phil's name was translated as: Mr. Field. So the heading on one student's paper was 'Mr. Field's Story'. He also was called "Fil" and the more common, "Mr. Ludwig" also surfaced. Some of the students referred to the US as "the American Empire", which probably is what the students learn when they discuss the war in their classes. Someone thought Phil was an "agent" in a hospital....not sure how to interpret that!

Anyway, it was an interesting experience for "Mr. Field" and for the students. Phil got to experience working with a translator--which is really a difficult and a time consuming process. And the students had an opportunity to hear a narrative about the "American War" --as they call this period of their history. It was a fun class and he got several hugs when it was over....one being from the translator who is our age and probably related more to the story.

So now Mr. Field is home, snug as a bug in our large house with central heat, washer and dryer and potable water! I am sure he will pause every time he sticks a glass under the tap or tosses a load of clothes into the washing machine!!!