-^-for posterity-^-

english speaking club: the chaos, the glory.

tonight it all began. i organized a speaking club (with the help of a wonderful person from the library who studied in the us and can guide me along cultural lines) after weeks of preparation and meetings and proposals, we began.

the night was hot and musty and the sky had just finished giving it's last blessing of violent rain. we walked to one auditorium in the back of campus. students were milling about waiting for the door to open. all the important people from the english department were sitting on benches away from the students. the students were dressed in their gym uniforms or casual button-up shirts. they gathered in bunches and talked in muffled voices.

there was no key.

there was no projector for our computer.

there was no one there to work with the electronics.

debacle after debacle.

we sent people to get things while we tried to appease the patients of the waiting students. i ran around and sweated heavily. they brought a key but it was the wrong key. they got a projector but the cord wasn't long enough to reach the wall. people ran for an extension cord and another key.

finally all began with a speech from the head of the english department. she welcomed everyone and thanked everyone. formalities aside, i walked to the front of 150 people, grabbed the microphone and gave an energetic speech with lots of whooping and hollering. i wanted to suck them in. i wanted them all to love me and love languages and learning. i wanted them to be drawn to me as an infant to their mother. i wanted them to think about me before they went to bed and when they woke in the morning. i wanted them to thirst for my presence. such a combination of narcissism and altruism.

the activities began and things went incredibly smoothly. the students were given prizes and they cheered and clapped. they hung on words which were first spoken in english and then translated. they all sang a song by the beegee's called massachusetts. they students learned it and sang through it twice with fervour.

we had a scavenger hunt. i explained the game, gave the clues and the room emptied as i have never seen a room empty. 150 people poured out of the room as if it was tilted on its side and shaken. they left screaming and laughing.

all in all it was an incredible success. the faculty of the english department and the students helped tremendously. my fine friend from the library was invaluable. we ended the night after two hours of activities with cries of, 'more! more!'