Well, there is one less to go.

[nocturnus33]

Ok, I’m in the middle of the Social Pedagogy Congress. It turn to be pretty interesting, in lots of ways. Antibiotics are doing their works, I’m raising from the grave.

Firstly there are lots of lecturers, mostly Spanish. Let me be a bitch. They really came here with a colonialist attitude that is pretty amusing, firstly because most of their lectures are rather normal - not bright shiny ones -; secondly because theirs point of view are rather conservative. Most of their work is paternalist. In Latin American we had a strong branch of Social Pedagogy called Popular Education, being Paulo Freire his most famous exponent. Could they understand that our focus is different, as our context is? Noooo, they just tell us that they had surpass that focus. Please! Pompous asses!. Their theoretical frames are soooo weak.
At the same time, is good to find good people two, mostly younger. Also the president and former president of the association are very solid, even if I disagree with their POV

Yesterday we went to a restaurant for tourist. It was so amusing, there was a show with Chilean folklore (From the northern, central, southern and Eastern Island dances). They were very happy with it, it was so made up for tourist taste. Any was it was fun.

Today I had the first of my lectures. It was about Social pedagogy and Values education. I hate talking those sort of topics, but I always end up with them. So I choose to talk about a change of paradigm and rationality at schools (I know wittgensteinian that you’ll follow me in this, it was about including Eros and pathos in it, getting away of the bourgeois use of logos). It is funny it sound difficult, but was rather simple. A school had sent their upper school kids (Why? I can't get it. Maybe to be preach them about values?) It was so fun to see them from the podium with their bored faces. I focus on them so not to get nervous. Poor guys.
The rest of the people at the auditorium were members of the congress as it should be.

I was real nervous because the others lectures were from United Nations, the Minister of Education Assistant, and the Vatican ambassador. Poor little Nocturnus was there as part of the University. I did it, and by the commentaries, did it pretty well. The minister assistant ask me if I could send her a copy of my lecture (cross fingers for a good contact there). My boss told me she was proud of me. Of all the positive comments, the last one, made in a very motherly way, was the one that touch my heart.
After this my “tummy” start aching like hell. Hubby, my fan nº 1, told me that I didn’t show my nerves to the public, while lecturing.

I was the last in talking, I could see hubby in the very last row SLEEPING, when it was my turn, my friend kick him on the ribs and he awoke. Poor thing.

As every time I had this things, I couldn’t stop thinking in my grandma. She was always proud about me, and I felt so embarrass an ashamed with that prining attitude of hers. Now that she had gone, I can’t stop thinking how proud and happy this would had make it.

Tomorrow, I had another, yet more little lecture. This time about my thesis. It is with lest public and in very little time, and there would be other lectures too. A Brazilian guy – they are very good in this, contrary to the stereotype their construction of knowledge is very solid, and two Spanish. The Spanish scare me a little, because my POV is so very different from them that I could smell an argue, a hard one. I use none of their referent. In fact I use mostly French and Brazilian authors. Cross fingers against tricky questions.

Well, I also sent my best wishes to scatteredlogic and knight0fswords , hope everything is alright with your mum.