Sylvia's Journal

The news came through yesterday that the job in Kabul is mine for the taking. It feels good to be out of limbo and no longer having to say, ‘if I am offered the job.’ A little bit of limbo remains because I have not received approval for the trip next week, yet the travel agent sent me an itinerary and a question whether to confirm. Axel should be on that ticket but was not. A few wrinkles still need to be ironed out.

Yesterday was a quiet day, wedged in between the board’s work and the beginning of the conference. A bunch of us turned into tourists and signed up for a guided tour around the city of Charleston in the morning and an afternoon tour to the Magnolia Plantation on the banks of the Ashley River, some 10 miles upstream from the city.

Our group included a group a giggly group of (female) school teachers from California in their forties who could, collectively, answer all the questions from the tour guide and wrote down the answers they had missed in little notebooks. A quiet young woman turned out to be a newly minted captain in the US navy, docked in Charleston for the night; a young couple with a toddler and a newborn who fitted in her dad’s palm and never gave a peep during the entire day. By the end of the tour we were no longer a bunch of unrelated individuals but had bonded and talked between and across rows of seats.

As we entered the bus the guide asked each of us where we came from (Philly, Boston) and I could see him mentally adjust his teaching plan. He was going to be gentle with us and show how good the South had been (with their slaves), how scared and vulnerable ordinary people had been and what a shame that 32 of the plantations along the river had been burned and sacked, depriving us of this part of America’s heritage.

The guide talked fast and southern making it more like a foreign language to me. I was exhausted by the time we left the city and wiped out by the time we were delivered back at our dorms. But it had been a great day and, in contrast to my short visit last October, I had a much better feel for the place. Charleston’s main source of income is from people like us. The tourist business runs like a well-oiled machine with thousands of people playing their well rehearsed roles. It was a flawless performance.

It gets hot here and humid. Just like in the kinds of places I visit in Africa and Asia. It’s a little taxing for people not used to it or who are carrying excess bodyweight around. I can see them thinking about weight loss programs. We haven’t seen too many locals with extra weight. Mostly skinny boys and girls dressed to the nines. This is particularly amazing given the fried food they eat here.

Our conference kicked off with an extraordinary session run by Jim Clawson from UVA’s Darden School of Business. Part theatre, part teaching, he affirmed all the principles that we use in our leadership program and kicked at problem-driven leadership work and achievement-focused goal setting with some wonderful and compelling examples while creating a space for all of us in the audience to make connections with others. It was a flawless kick-off for a conference about good teaching and good learning.

This morning I woke up very early – it was still dark outside. My mind was full of thoughts about the impending move to Afghanistan and everything that needs to be handed over before September. I went out for a walk in the cool and empty city, looking for coffee and anxious to clear my mind. I got both tasks accomplished and am now studying the program through an Afghan lens. What sessions and which teachers will help me when I am over there?