Table Of Content

The Importance of Language / j We examine the meaning ^ and intricacies of human i communication. BYALL APPEARANCES When you think of someone as ‘that racist” then you’re missing the point./). 44 ^ vV 'r CULTURE CLUB I itar Htar Yu ’o8 knows what W ¥ y.-.r: - . it’s like to be a refugee./). $4 V.> •• MO’S NOBEL r■;-. Discovering Mo Yan—years • vL ■Al t ' - before his Nobel./). 96 :±somethmg SPARK à summer We're in peak condition for ignition! internship Middlebury's got fantastic students, great faculty, a stellar campus, international connections. And alumni like you. What more do we need? Your gift. It doesn't take much—every alumni gift can spark something and really make it take off. When more alumni give, our future grows from bright to brilliant! M Make your gift—of any size—today at go.middlebury.edu/give. Thank you! Middlebury CO VER ESSAY Although cultures may evolve and languages may change with the times, certain linguistic and cultural associations function as inalienable, im mutable forces that keep us Navajos. One such force is the notion of /èe—relationship build ing that is linguistically and culturally Navajo. Within our clanship system, a 96-year-old grand mother may call me “Daddy” On Navajo, when I talk about all my children, everyone understands. Off Navajo, I am often asked how many children I have and it is demanded of me to explain how one of my children can be 46 years older than me. I used to try, but now I don’t even bother. My re ality in Navajo needs no explanation in English to a non-Navajo worldview. This peculiar relationship allows our elders to be childlike again. It allows them to be goofy without being ridiculed. They use this opportu nity to ask of me as their father things that I can not provide them. Through these interactions, they teach me how to be a caring and loving fa ther to my own children, passing on lifelong les sons of parenting. At the same time, they would tease my children as brothers and sisters, estab lishing lasting and valuable relationships. These elders and my children bond together for life, re specting and loving one another as siblings. In Navajo, we call our biological nieces “moth ers.” From birth they are our mothers; our kin ship demands that we respect them as matri archs. Our interactions with them must help them become mothers and leaders of the family. Knowing this, I do my part, misbehaving and By Rex Lee Jim, MA English ’oi allowing them to chastise me for being foolish. In so doing, we begin to train them to become matriarchs. The Mother Tongue They learn quickly. On her first day at school as a kindergartener, my youngest niece was run ning around when her teacher asked her to stop. Language is culture. The Navajo language is Navajo When she refused, her teacher said, “I am going to tell your uncle, the school board president.” culture. When one changes, so does the other, ff Many “What uncle?” she responded. “Rex.” ceremonies and cultural activities peculiar to and as “He’s not my uncle; he’s my son. I tell him what to do!” sociated with the language that my grandparents spoke The Navajo teacher realized what was going on. “Well, I will tell your ‘mother’ Janice (the are now gone, ff I will never experience the Navajo ‘aunt’) at the high school.” My niece settled down right away. associated with that worldview. It is gone forever. The Navajo language allows us to develop But language is alive. When it diminishes in one intimate and unique relationships, which is area, it expands in another. In Navajo, we adopt the foundation of strong, healthy communities. new words to articulate contemporary concepts When we no longer speak the language, what and objects like neuro-immunology and comput makes us distinct and unique will be gone. We ers. We strive to maintain the integrity of tradi will be speakers of English with brown skins. The tion while accommodating an ever-changing world. Navajo community will no longer be. Q Winter 20t4 1 COVER AND ABOVE ILLUSTRAIION BY HEADS OF STATE ■ ISC E N E There’s a certain time of day at Middlebury’s Rikert Nordic Center that’s filled with possibility. It happens when the sun hangs low on the horizon, extending a winter evening into what might be called dark from the vantage of one’s kitchen table, f It is, however, a widely unseen period of time, an illuminating hour that rolls in movement and harmony over the well-groomed trail, f I’ve watched the College skiers in this hour slip into a type of unconscious meditation—watched them draw into the routine movements of skiing and emerge from the last of the daylight, buoyed by their time in low winter sun, filled with energy and capability. By Coach Andrew Gardner , Photograph by Brett Simison The Carroll and Jane Rikert Nordic Center at Bread Loaf Mountain features 50 kilometers of meticulously maintained Nordic trails bordered by national forest. This season marks the first with its newly installed snow making system. ■ S C E N E Located at the center of campus, the William Tell Coleman Library houses a print and digital collection that supports teaching and research at the Monterey Institute of Internationa! Studies. On any given day, you’ll find students of nonprolifera tion and terrorism studies moving between the shelves and online collections that focus on national security, I international relations, and international law. f And students who are studying to teach English to speakers of other languages delve into education and linguistics resources, while other students studying translation and interpretation sit at tables in the reference room, surrounded by specialized dictionaries. International MBA students check online international-consumer studies from their classrooms, and students doing an internship abroad can retrieve articles from our many e-journal packages, f For a break, students often relax in front of the library and enjoy a bit of sun and fresh sea air, or maybe take a quick walk down the hill to Fisherman’s Wharf Then it’s back to work. By Ann Flower , Assistant Director , William Tell Coleman Library , Monterey Institute of International Studies Photograph by Bridget Besaw Winter20ij 5 IS C E N E His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Middlebury in early October, giving talks to crowds in Nelson Arena on both Friday and Saturday of his stay. Two Vermont Tibetans welcomed the Dalai Lama’s motorcade when he arrived. His Holiness stepped over to them, and the interaction was so very special. The Dalai Lama treated everyone he met with kindness, attention, and good humor—yet there was something deep, numinous, loving, reverent, and holy happening in that particular moment that I will always remember, f So while his visit, on the one hand, was a whirlwind of events as His Holiness and his entourage moved from venue to venue, there were also such incredibly focused, still, and memorable moments like this. And yet he is also quite playful; sneaking up behind me on the stage and completely startling me while entertaining his hap py audience, f As an outsider, who had this brief but close experience with a charismatic holy man and his disciples, seeing the crowds who want to be near and touch him . . . well, this gave me experiential insight into the stories I grew up with in my own tradition. By Chaplain Laurie Macaulay Jordan ’79, Photograph by Brett Simison i t Winter2073 7 G I a job. g middleburyonline .com Search MiddNet, Post a job on the job Join today at www. a database of more databank, or search for middleburyonline.com than 8,000 alumni opportunities. using your eight-digit and parents who have Middlebury ID number, volunteered to be a Upload a résumé to found on the address resource for students the résumé databank, label of your magazine. and alumni about or search to fill a careers. position. Career Networking— One more benefit available at middleburyonline.com, the private network for alumni and students. Register today! Questions? Contact the Alumni Office at [email protected] or 802 .^i8j. Middlebury