Week Eleven: Moving in a Big and Small World

This week, my Kinyarwanda language study witnessed me preparing to construct a self-assessment that will gage my progress throughout the semester. This process, however, forced me to think about a different sort of development that has occurred in the past few months, that is- my own increased comfort, or at least familiarization, with the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the surrounding area.

Indeed, I began the academic year a little trepidatious. I was in a new city in a new state, in a new department in a new university, surrounded by new people in new classes. With all this change, I felt a bit lost, if not a little lonely. I didn’t know where this was, I didn’t know who I was supposed to talk to or seek guidance from, and I definitely didn’t always know what I was supposed to be doing or, better yet, when. This general state of confusion carried over to my language study. I did not know how to approach it initially, and given the world-context of Kinyarwanda, I felt even more lost. No longer was it merely a question about how to get from Van Hise Hall to Sequoya Library (a task, in and of itself), but now it was identifying proper resources on the World Wide Web, locating speakers of a language spoken on a different continent, and thinking of opportunities to travel there and immerse myself in the culture. My task was vast, and I doubted whether I could find all the sources I needed in Madison alone.

My defeatist attitude before my independent study even began disappoints me now, but African 670/697 really assisted me in changing it. At the most concrete level, it provided me with opportunities to navigate UW-Madison, encouraging me to travel in and around the Memorial Library, visit the Design Lab in the College Library (yes, two libraries within approximately a two-block radius of each other), and locate Sequoya Library (a Madison community library quite a bit further from campus than two blocks). On a more abstract level, it allowed me to see the resources available to me at UW-Madison, from an impressive African Studies collection at the Memorial Library (including resources on Kinyarwanda) to talks and other events sponsored by the African Studies Program, as well as activities sponsored by the African Association of Madison (including Africa Fest) and Africans living in Madison (including my Kinyarwanda language mentor, A). Finally, this class helped me to realize that I am not entirely alone on campus. Indeed, I have a small community of language learners here to support me, should I need it, and I am here to do the same for them.

UW-Madison is a big place, but then again, so is the world. When we only see it as such, however, it can be rather daunting. When we travel and experience it though, forging connections along the way, perhaps it seems smaller. Size is relative though, isn’t it? So, maybe it’s not the size that changes. It’s us. We are constantly moving, nearer to this, further from that, and that informs our perspective. 

So yes, I am still a little nervous, and maybe even a little lonely, but I am still moving.