ZOZOBRA




2008

"A surging, seething,
murmuring crowd of beings
that are human
only in name,
for to the eye and ear
they seem naught
but savage creatures,
animated by vile passions
and by the lust
of vengeance and of hate."
Baroness Orczy

"Yes, a phenomenon —
Zozobra holds the record
of the world's tallest
and largest marionette
in the
Guinness Book of World Records
in 2007.
Santa Fe's boogieman beat out
a panda from Japan."
The New Mexican

"Spectators,
who have paid a nominal fee
to watch the event,
continuously roar,
"Burn him,"
until Zozobra is destroyed."
The Library of Congress

ZoZoBra 2008





The Movie

"His mouth gapes and chomps.
His arms flail about in frustration.
Every year we do him in.
We string him up
and burn him down
in a blaze of fireworks."
A.W. Denninger

"If the table moves,
move with it."
Sakaue

Greetings!

Rather curiously, my school placed three of my Oral English classes in Language Listening Labs, where students sat in splendid isolation, surrounded by glass on three sides, unable to converse.. The word of the day: COCOON.

We suffered through the first week, but the following week I arrived early and rummaged through the building in search of a more suitable room. Surprisingly, I discovered a classroom with movable desks, a rare arrangement in a Chinese college/university.

I returned to our classroom and proclaimed "Were outta here!"

Smile Li took photos and documented our new classroom experience.




These are freshmen Application English majors -- 40 students, all girls -- enrolled in a three year certificate program. Nearly all my students are enrolled in three year certificate programs and not four year college degree programs. The difference for the teacher? The four-yearw college students generally speak better English.



While we sat in starry-eyed amazement, our Foreign Teacher competently elucidated the difference between the words dichotomy and bifurcation

Phrase of the day: "Happy as a clam."

Be well,

Kevin



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___SPIN DOCTOR




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Saigon Cafe