The first day: food, hospitality, food, and sleep

Later (as the slide in silent movies denoted the passage of time). Sunday: our first day at St. Xavier, and it’s been fascinating. We were given rooms on campus, faculty in the Jesuit Residence and students in student housing, and start eating. I had been warned that we would be fed constantly, and it’s true. The generosity of the St. Xavier Jesuit community is excellent (and the cooking is even better).
Following our first meal (which was about an hour after we had been fed on the plane), we were off to shop for some things at several nearby stores. I bought two ridiculously cheap shirts (about $3 each). I’d have bought more but have limited suitcase space.
Back to campus, and we settled down for a short nap to be followed with a tea with the Jesuits, mass for the Catholics among us, tea with the Jesuits in residence, and, for me, a basketball game with Vincent who I spot about 8 inches and 45 years. It’s gonna be no contest with my cunning and guile easily overcoming his height, speed, jumping ability, running ability, shooting ability, defense, and skill. Alas, my alarm didn’t go off so I missed all the planned activities, being awakened just in time to attend an evening ceremony opening the conference.
Before it started, we got hit with our second bit of bad news. Carole and Kellie’s plane was delayed so long by weather in Chicago that they couldn’t make connections (see previous post as to why they weren’t with us). They won’t be here until Tuesday. Bill and I huddle to rewrite the syllabus with the students learning about how tricky planning classes really is.
The ceremony itself was fascinating. Conducted by students, it included a song-prayer in what appeared to be one of the tribal languages, another prayer conducted by a student dancing in the style that we associate with Hindu prayers, and an extravagant, lively dance by five students. But the most important parts included not only ceremonial presenting of scarves to several visiting celebrities but to Dr. Thorn, and very supporting talks about how important this first step in the ties between journalism at St. Xavier and Marquette are proving to be, but some very thoughtful presentations, including a keynote talk by the State Editor of a state-wide newspaper who spoke of the need for collaboration between “digital immigrants” like myself and “digital natives” like the students. He presented excellent information on the state of journalism in India (it’s growing by leaps and bounds with several hundred thousand new jobs expected in the next five years), and a persuasive case for why study of backpack journalism is important.
Now I’m in my room preparing for our changed schedule for tomorrow. Just as a journalist must think on his feet, we are scrambling with two team members missing. Along with Carole’s absence is that of a disk she prepared for my opening PowerPoint presentation on backpack journalism with its links to YouTube videos. I’ll still try it tomorrow on Dr. Thorn’s computer since mine, for some unknown reason, cannot reach the Internet (which, by the way, is why the past two days’ postings are late; I’m writing them in Word so transfer to a computer connected with the Internet).
More to come . . .