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Our Very Special Guest
By Ron and Dee Miller, Lewis
From the moment we knew Mr. Mohamed Dau was coming to the Atlantic area, our hearts were filled with excitement. Not that we ever met Mr. Dau before he arrived as our house guest in Lewis on Sept. 4. It's just that, as a couple, we have always treasured cross-cultural connections, finding them a valuable means of transforming lives, especially our own.
Yet last week wasn't just a time of personal transformation. We witnessed many being touched, and many hearts transformed in the Nishnabotna Valley. We will never be the same, thanks to Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS), the organization that made this all possible. What IRIS wants to see is "tranformational diplomacy," especially with youth. They are well on their way to meeting that goal already!
Mr. Dau, as readers saw from your fine front-page coverage, is a secondary (high school) linguistics teacher in Tanzania and a practicing Muslim. He lives on the island of Zanzibar. As we learned more of the rigorous selection process that gave him the honor of representing his entire country in this venture of diplomacy and student development, it became evident just how special this young man is. Along with his privilege, he carries a burden--the heavy responsibility of communicating with all of the players. In two cultures. Especially the 20 students who are honoring us with their presence throughout Iowa this year. We were in awe at how quickly he stepped into each task as soon as he arrived in the United States for his first visit! Even as he took time to express his own awe at the friendliness and caring he felt coming from so many here.
Mr. Dau functioned like a world citizen of first class abilities, accepting the challenge, and defining some vital issues that have the potential for bringing understanding, rather than division, to both cultures. Quickly and openly, we saw him throw out some of his own pre-conceived ideas that were understandably formed by the selected media coverage he has available back home. Especially in regard to how Americans feel about the war and what we understand of terrorism. He readily recognized that we have diverse ideas and opinions and that we freely express them.
Of course, his own diversity in speaking so many languages has provided him with a tremendous advantage over most Americans, for language study itself brings considerable understanding of other cultures. It was obvious that the teacher Mr. Dau is also a great student who had done considerable "homework" so that he might continue teaching us all. "You are here to learn," he tells the exchange students he brought with him.
"As I have opportunity," Dee writes. "I want to say to those same students: 'You are also here to teach, for we Americans are as much your students as you are ours.' "
Inspiration and Transformation
Most transformation takes place because we already have established some connections and made some changes in our thinking that allow room for further learning and growth. Transformation enlarges our world, takes us away from the familiar, and offers us a wider variety of choices in how we think, behave, and relate. A kind personal note from Mr. Dau, following his visit indicates that this had certainly occurred in his life during the week he was in our area. Certainly not to a greater degree than in our own, though.
We would not have had the personal privilege of hosting him without Ron's Rotary connections, sprung from his being Chairman of the International Committee of the Atlantic club when Del Christensen, Executive Director of IRIS, visited last spring. During the visit, Christensen learned that the two of us had invested a decade ourselves working in Malawi, a bordering country to Tanzania. This prompted him to call requesting that we consider hosting the teacher.
Ron, as a minister, naturally takes special interest in the theological issues that have the potential for either uniting or dividing us from others. Dee, with a history in public health and community mental health nursing, has a passion for understanding how we can work to improve the physical and psychological well-being of people throughout our world. Like Mr. Dau, we know that lasting changes come slowly and take a lot of groundwork.
How thrilling to see that work in action on Sunday morning, when we were privileged to take our guest to the first Christian church service he had ever attended, at the United Congregational Methodist Church in Lewis, where he had been invited to be the guest speaker! There, he told the congregation that he could see just how much we had in common in the worship of one God, and how all religion is supposed to exist in order to make us better people. When religion becomes radical, he explained, only then does it divide us.
So discussions about many, many issues flowed throughout Mr. Dau's visit as we began to explore how we can best act to support and facilitate the on-going transformational activities that are going to happen long after Mr. Dau returns later this month to resume his life in Zanzibar.
Even ordinary things, so familiar to us, intrigued this well-educated man. How can one forget trying to explain, in the middle of summer, just what will soon transpire in Iowa, as the leaves start to turn and fall, then later when the ground freezes and the spectrum of color diminishes greatly in comparison to the very colorful world that is taken for granted in Africa?
Practical Applications
This school year Atlantic is privileged to nurture the seeds that this teacher planted, especially as we continue to welcome Mwanaidi Abdulla who is living with Carrie and Jeff Kirchhoff of Lewis and Aliatosha Mamuya of Atlantic, a guest of Nick and Sue Hunt of Atlantic. Both students are attending Atlantic High School.
"So what does this have to do with life for the average citizen in Atlantic?" you may ask as you wonder what you can do or how this could ever really transform our communities. It will happen to the degree that we learn to reach out in some very practical ways. Whether you are working in civic clubs, churches, or simply meeting the two exchange students who are living with host families for this entire school year, we hope you will be proactive. Please consider the following suggestions:
1. Smile and be friendly when you see our visitors on the street. As parents, you can encourage the same in your children, especially if they are in school with these young people.
2. Introduce yourself, and learn how to open a conversation as you become a role model for the youth of Atlantic.. The issues we freely discussed as we extended hospitality this past week included not only similarities and differences in American vs. Tanzanian life and culture. There were issues of religious differences, views on terrorism, oppression and how it has played out both in colonialism in Africa and in slavery and on-going racism in America, the role of women, limited access to health care in both of our countries, instilling discipline and respect in children, the extreme appreciation placed on education in Tanzania by the youth who are privileged to attain it, the differences in sacrifices that must be made for the basics of life, employment limitations and challenges, the availability of goods, and the cost and means of transportation. Every citizen in America can be open to talking about these matters with hearts that are open to receiving and learning, as well as giving and teaching.
3. Invite the students into your home, church, and organizations for informal socialization and enriching conversations, as well as formal meetings.
4.Remember how important our names are to each of us. They are even more important in Africa--each name has a very special meaning. So please make an effort to pronounce the students' complete first names accurately. Since they have already accomplished speaking at least two languages fluently, this is the least we can do. The pronunciation rules are much simpler for Swahili than for English! All syllables have only one vowel, and that vowel always comes at the end of the syllable. Therefore, no syllable ends in a consonant. The accents are just as consistent. Every word is accented on the next to last syllable. Oh, that English was that simple! Now just try breaking down the students' names, using those rules. You'll see the four distinct syllables in "Mwanaidi" and the five in "Aliatosha."
Getting the vowels correct doesn't require a lot of guessing. It's so much simpler than English, too! The sounds are very similar to Spanish. The "a" sounds like the sound you make when the doctor says: "Stick out your tongue and say ah." OK, you got that. E sounds close to our long A. The I is like our long E. The O is always long, and the U is like the double O (oo) in our word "moose." See how easy that is? Now practice saying those names; and if you run into our guests, they'll gladly appreciate your efforts and help you learn to improve your language-learning skills. Like all international students, they certainly have had plenty of experience.
5. Don't stop there, though. Learn to say more than their names. The students will welcome your interest. Take time to study a little Swahili, as well. It's not a rare dialect, but a major language in Africa. Check out www.africanlanguages.com/swahili or purchase a small Swahili to English dictionary. It's not that you have to learn the language to communicate--these students know English very well. It's just that we Americans all need to experience the fun, frustration, and growth that goes with the process of language learning ourselves.
6. Ask the host families how you may be able to help the students. Possibilities include providing activities to show them special aspects of our culture that your business or way of life may be able to uniquely extend, helping to meet the added expense of having an extended house guest, providing opportunities for the students to speak to groups, and possibly helping with tutoring needs that arise as these students prepare for a required, difficult comprehensive examination in their own country just a few months after they leave here, after having invested a year in American schools where the curriculum may not always be ideal for preparing them specifically for that examination back home. This is a challenge that American students cannot even comprehend for we have nothing close to these "O Level" examinations, for which there is only one opportunity, examinations that so determine the future of the student.
7. Consider making a contribution to IRIS. Their work in transformational diplomacy will continue far beyond this year, as we all have opportunity to reach beyond our shores. See www.iris-center.org
In so doing, we can live out the Christian mandate that works for every person on earth -- "to be transformed by the renewing of our minds." Hopefully, that's the goal of each of us, regardless of our differences.
COMMENTS ON THESE STORIES ARE WELCOME, BUT FULL NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE POSTING FOR VERIFICATION, BEFORE THEY WILL BE RUN. PHONE NUMBERS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. THANK YOU.
Yet last week wasn't just a time of personal transformation. We witnessed many being touched, and many hearts transformed in the Nishnabotna Valley. We will never be the same, thanks to Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS), the organization that made this all possible. What IRIS wants to see is "tranformational diplomacy," especially with youth. They are well on their way to meeting that goal already!
Mr. Dau, as readers saw from your fine front-page coverage, is a secondary (high school) linguistics teacher in Tanzania and a practicing Muslim. He lives on the island of Zanzibar. As we learned more of the rigorous selection process that gave him the honor of representing his entire country in this venture of diplomacy and student development, it became evident just how special this young man is. Along with his privilege, he carries a burden--the heavy responsibility of communicating with all of the players. In two cultures. Especially the 20 students who are honoring us with their presence throughout Iowa this year. We were in awe at how quickly he stepped into each task as soon as he arrived in the United States for his first visit! Even as he took time to express his own awe at the friendliness and caring he felt coming from so many here.
Mr. Dau functioned like a world citizen of first class abilities, accepting the challenge, and defining some vital issues that have the potential for bringing understanding, rather than division, to both cultures. Quickly and openly, we saw him throw out some of his own pre-conceived ideas that were understandably formed by the selected media coverage he has available back home. Especially in regard to how Americans feel about the war and what we understand of terrorism. He readily recognized that we have diverse ideas and opinions and that we freely express them.
Of course, his own diversity in speaking so many languages has provided him with a tremendous advantage over most Americans, for language study itself brings considerable understanding of other cultures. It was obvious that the teacher Mr. Dau is also a great student who had done considerable "homework" so that he might continue teaching us all. "You are here to learn," he tells the exchange students he brought with him.
"As I have opportunity," Dee writes. "I want to say to those same students: 'You are also here to teach, for we Americans are as much your students as you are ours.' "
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Most transformation takes place because we already have established some connections and made some changes in our thinking that allow room for further learning and growth. Transformation enlarges our world, takes us away from the familiar, and offers us a wider variety of choices in how we think, behave, and relate. A kind personal note from Mr. Dau, following his visit indicates that this had certainly occurred in his life during the week he was in our area. Certainly not to a greater degree than in our own, though.
We would not have had the personal privilege of hosting him without Ron's Rotary connections, sprung from his being Chairman of the International Committee of the Atlantic club when Del Christensen, Executive Director of IRIS, visited last spring. During the visit, Christensen learned that the two of us had invested a decade ourselves working in Malawi, a bordering country to Tanzania. This prompted him to call requesting that we consider hosting the teacher.
Ron, as a minister, naturally takes special interest in the theological issues that have the potential for either uniting or dividing us from others. Dee, with a history in public health and community mental health nursing, has a passion for understanding how we can work to improve the physical and psychological well-being of people throughout our world. Like Mr. Dau, we know that lasting changes come slowly and take a lot of groundwork.
How thrilling to see that work in action on Sunday morning, when we were privileged to take our guest to the first Christian church service he had ever attended, at the United Congregational Methodist Church in Lewis, where he had been invited to be the guest speaker! There, he told the congregation that he could see just how much we had in common in the worship of one God, and how all religion is supposed to exist in order to make us better people. When religion becomes radical, he explained, only then does it divide us.
So discussions about many, many issues flowed throughout Mr. Dau's visit as we began to explore how we can best act to support and facilitate the on-going transformational activities that are going to happen long after Mr. Dau returns later this month to resume his life in Zanzibar.
Even ordinary things, so familiar to us, intrigued this well-educated man. How can one forget trying to explain, in the middle of summer, just what will soon transpire in Iowa, as the leaves start to turn and fall, then later when the ground freezes and the spectrum of color diminishes greatly in comparison to the very colorful world that is taken for granted in Africa?
Practical Applications
This school year Atlantic is privileged to nurture the seeds that this teacher planted, especially as we continue to welcome Mwanaidi Abdulla who is living with Carrie and Jeff Kirchhoff of Lewis and Aliatosha Mamuya of Atlantic, a guest of Nick and Sue Hunt of Atlantic. Both students are attending Atlantic High School.
"So what does this have to do with life for the average citizen in Atlantic?" you may ask as you wonder what you can do or how this could ever really transform our communities. It will happen to the degree that we learn to reach out in some very practical ways. Whether you are working in civic clubs, churches, or simply meeting the two exchange students who are living with host families for this entire school year, we hope you will be proactive. Please consider the following suggestions:
1. Smile and be friendly when you see our visitors on the street. As parents, you can encourage the same in your children, especially if they are in school with these young people.
2. Introduce yourself, and learn how to open a conversation as you become a role model for the youth of Atlantic.. The issues we freely discussed as we extended hospitality this past week included not only similarities and differences in American vs. Tanzanian life and culture. There were issues of religious differences, views on terrorism, oppression and how it has played out both in colonialism in Africa and in slavery and on-going racism in America, the role of women, limited access to health care in both of our countries, instilling discipline and respect in children, the extreme appreciation placed on education in Tanzania by the youth who are privileged to attain it, the differences in sacrifices that must be made for the basics of life, employment limitations and challenges, the availability of goods, and the cost and means of transportation. Every citizen in America can be open to talking about these matters with hearts that are open to receiving and learning, as well as giving and teaching.
3. Invite the students into your home, church, and organizations for informal socialization and enriching conversations, as well as formal meetings.
4.Remember how important our names are to each of us. They are even more important in Africa--each name has a very special meaning. So please make an effort to pronounce the students' complete first names accurately. Since they have already accomplished speaking at least two languages fluently, this is the least we can do. The pronunciation rules are much simpler for Swahili than for English! All syllables have only one vowel, and that vowel always comes at the end of the syllable. Therefore, no syllable ends in a consonant. The accents are just as consistent. Every word is accented on the next to last syllable. Oh, that English was that simple! Now just try breaking down the students' names, using those rules. You'll see the four distinct syllables in "Mwanaidi" and the five in "Aliatosha."
Getting the vowels correct doesn't require a lot of guessing. It's so much simpler than English, too! The sounds are very similar to Spanish. The "a" sounds like the sound you make when the doctor says: "Stick out your tongue and say ah." OK, you got that. E sounds close to our long A. The I is like our long E. The O is always long, and the U is like the double O (oo) in our word "moose." See how easy that is? Now practice saying those names; and if you run into our guests, they'll gladly appreciate your efforts and help you learn to improve your language-learning skills. Like all international students, they certainly have had plenty of experience.
5. Don't stop there, though. Learn to say more than their names. The students will welcome your interest. Take time to study a little Swahili, as well. It's not a rare dialect, but a major language in Africa. Check out www.africanlanguages.com/swahili or purchase a small Swahili to English dictionary. It's not that you have to learn the language to communicate--these students know English very well. It's just that we Americans all need to experience the fun, frustration, and growth that goes with the process of language learning ourselves.
6. Ask the host families how you may be able to help the students. Possibilities include providing activities to show them special aspects of our culture that your business or way of life may be able to uniquely extend, helping to meet the added expense of having an extended house guest, providing opportunities for the students to speak to groups, and possibly helping with tutoring needs that arise as these students prepare for a required, difficult comprehensive examination in their own country just a few months after they leave here, after having invested a year in American schools where the curriculum may not always be ideal for preparing them specifically for that examination back home. This is a challenge that American students cannot even comprehend for we have nothing close to these "O Level" examinations, for which there is only one opportunity, examinations that so determine the future of the student.
7. Consider making a contribution to IRIS. Their work in transformational diplomacy will continue far beyond this year, as we all have opportunity to reach beyond our shores. See www.iris-center.org
In so doing, we can live out the Christian mandate that works for every person on earth -- "to be transformed by the renewing of our minds." Hopefully, that's the goal of each of us, regardless of our differences.
COMMENTS ON THESE STORIES ARE WELCOME, BUT FULL NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE POSTING FOR VERIFICATION, BEFORE THEY WILL BE RUN. PHONE NUMBERS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. THANK YOU.
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eliatosha mamuya wrote on Jun 3, 2008 2:03 PM:
special thanks
Atlantic community district
IRIS-organization
IOWA people
American "