Running, writing, and refugees

I hope that all of you are managing in the kaamos hell that has descended upon us in the last several weeks. ;)

I've been surprised at how often I've been able to get out for a run during this time. I suppose I'm fighting ruthlessly against the temptation to give over entirely to laziness. This might be the biggest challenge I've encountered in Finland: finding ways to make it through November unscathed. (LO1, 2, 4)

Another thing I've managed to do this week is write. I love to write, but, as a teacher, I rarely have time for it. Although I love to read what my students have written (as it constantly entertains and impresses me), it'd be nice to do some writing of my own once in a while.

In the summer, I started working on a short story based on some strange and unsavory characters, who allegedly did some unspeakable things in the area of Connecticut where I grew up. The division between rich and poor has always been very obvious in Connecticut, because some enormous wealth inequality exists there. Often, rich and poor live side by side and belong to the same communities. I have explored this tension in my writing before, but researching these events inspired me to do so again. (LO1)

It's also giving me a chance to explore a word and concept that is unique to northwest Connecticut: raggie. As you'll discover if you click the link, "raggie" is a word we use as a synonym for, roughly speaking, white trash (although it somehow means more than that). The word originally referred to a group of people who used to live in isolation, working the iron forges in the hills of northwestern CT. In the 80s, when these crimes were committed, a number of "raggie" descendants still lived up there, and the Duntz brothers were among them.

Today, International Club made some headway in our clothing drive project. We kind of got a surprising amount done in an hour: we worked out a rough schedule, we determined where to keep the clothes (thanks, Walter), what kind of clothes to ask for (thanks, Darius) we figured out who would make an announcement informing everyone of the drive (thanks, Jenna) and we made some progress in putting up posters (thanks Parsa, Laura and Julia). We also had some fun and a few laughs (thanks, everyone). :) (LO3, 5, 6)

In light of the events of last week, I feel even more dedicated to making this clothing drive a success. I believe that internationalism, which is at the core of all IB studies, asks us to view ourselves as citizens of the world. If we hold this to be true, then the refugees are our countrymen and women. (LO7)