OLLI SFSU Newsletter
December 2005 / January 2006
Welcome
The monthly newsletter is a vital source for OLLI news and information as well as a glimpse inside our growing community of members, faculty, and related activities. Send your suggestions to robertm@sfsu.edu. If you would like to submit something for the February newsletter, our deadline is January 10.
In this Issue...
Upcoming Events
NEW COURSE ADDED. December 1, January 5, 19, Feburary 2, 6:00pm-8:00pm, Thursdays, the continuation of The Writers Circle, a course designed to help writers keep writing. Course offers writers a forum to read their work, receive feedback, and learn of publishing opportunities. Course fee is $45; to register download the registration form from the OLLI website, and fill in your contact information, the course title, The Writers Circle, and include your check. The OLLI office will fill in the course and schedule numbers. The course will be limited to 18 participants.
LAST FALL COURSE. December 9, Friday, 10:00am-4:00pm, Radical Theater Workshop, $75 with Dan Chumley at the JCC, 3200 California St. The day-long course is a fun way to learn some theater history (from commedia dell’arte, melodrama, vaudeville, farce) and explore its physicality with theater impresario, Dan Chumley, noted actor and director from the SF Mime Troupe. There are still some openings if you are interested in joining. Call 415.817.4270.
CELEBRATION EVENT. December 9, Friday, 4:00pm-7:00pm at the Jewish Community Center, OLLI's Biannual Celebration Event where members share their creative work from the fall sessions. This will be a festive time to meet members, see the work people have done in blogging, digital photography, memoir writing, poetry, and other genres, and enjoy the food and drink. The event will include a freshly directed scene from the Geezer theater's script using the players from the Radical Theater Workshop. Remember the Celebration event will be held at the JCC, 3200 California at Presidio.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DEADLINE. December 12, Monday, 5:00pm is the deadline for Annual Memberships, if you would like to be able to take as many courses as you would like for the spring and summer sessions. This is a great savings for anyone who will be taking more than seven courses during the 2005 fall, spring, and summer sessions. You can deduct your payment for fall courses from your $500 annual membership fee. Call Robert at 415.817.4270 if you would like to sign up or know more.
WORLD AFFAIRS DISCUSSION GROUP. December 15, Thursday, 12:00-1:30, World Affairs Discussion Group led by Al Crowell at the Downtown Center. This month’s discussion will delve into the impact of fundamentalism.
JANUARY THEATER INTENSIVE WITH DAN CHUMLEY
Three week, nine class meetings 1:00pm-6:00pm, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, January 9, 11, 13; 16, 18, 20; 23, 25, 27 at the Downtown Center, Street. This acting intensive will result in a workshop production of the original Geezer Theater script, "Subversion at Mumpsimus Manor." The intensive is an invigorating way to plunge into the farcical theater style developed by the San Francisco Mime Troupe and be taught by one of the masters, Dan Chumley. The theater intensive participants will perform three shows of their workshop production for an invited audience at a local performance venue the first weekend in February. Fee is $500. Call 415.817.4270 to register.
SPRING OPEN HOUSE. January 19, Thursday, 3:30pm-5:30pm OLLI Open House. Please bring a friend to the Open House where you can meet the spring faculty and learn more about what’s being planned for the spring and summer sessions.
Faculty Spotlight
Gloria Neumeier is an itinerant professor who teaches courses all over the world and has taught for OLLI-SFSU such courses as Nation Building in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. We caught before she left for a trip to Saudia Arabia.
OLLI: Gloria, your breadth of knowledge of world affairs is so remarkable especially for an American, to what do you attribute that interest and pursuit?
Gloria Neumeier (G.N.): My interest in foreign affairs is surely as much accidental as anything else-although it was given an early start in high school when I spent two summers with The Experiment in International Living, an outfit connected with the very progressive Putney School in Vermont. We first lived with a Belgian family then with a French one in Dieppe. It was right after WW II. Europe was literally putting back the stone buildings after the destruction, and I remember seeing workers hauling individual stones into place with ropes. We biked through France, people loved American kids—I guess I was hooked then.
OLLI: And as an adult...?
G.N.: In adult times, I was lucky enough to lose my job due to Prop 13, even better, my husband lost his too, so we set off to teach in Kenya – quite selfishly motivated by the lure of adventure and exotic Africa. Quite by chance, we had friends of friends teaching in China, where we stopped in route to Africa. These friends who were teaching in Tiensing, led us to teaching jobs in Xian. China was just opening to Americans in 1979. We were committed to our Africa jobs but they agreed to bring us back from Kenya after that, if we would teach for a year in China. To our great amazement they did, sending tickets to Nairobi for us-we flew with a bunch of Chinese road workers on a chartered plane out of Addis Ababa and again, with some amazement found ourselves back in the Beijing airport, In the dead of winter, wearing seersucker jackets and tennis shoes. Our new Chinese boss said, "You looked as if you were going to the beach," and hustled us off in Chinese army overcoats to what to us, after the African village, looked like luxury. So I guess, after that , teaching in interesting places got to be a way of life.
OLLI: In your classes your husband is often quoted or seen in pictures working with you, how do the two of you work together?
G.N.: My husband has a JD on his resume, ( tho' he doesn't practice law,) he is great in interviews, is tall, and with little effort on his part, impressive. I'm short and not so impressive, but I work really hard and like to shop and cook in open markets. You learn a lot there. We both like students and people in far away places.
OLLI: What has been your career path or training for this eclectic and exotic life?
G.N.: Totally irregular, that is, BA in International Relations from Barnard College in New York (tho I'm a native Californian), married, had kids, divorced got an MA in History at Dominican College, taught part time at Dominican and College of Marin, did other non- academic jobs, then taught for 14 years off and on (interspersed with jobs overseas) for the wonderful Dominican sisters at San Domenico School in Marin. I taught International Relations and US History there.
OLLI: Well that all seems to fit the picture of the teacher of Nation Building we have enjoyed. How would you compare the smaller classes and older students at Olli to your other teaching experiences?
G.N.: Small classes are just a different sort of dynamic. The students in OLLI and most extension classes I've taught are all wonderful because the students have deliberately chosen to be in that place at that time.
College and high school students the world over, are there because they are a certain age. They may get interested, and that's the joy of teaching but students who come because they want to are also a joy. Needless to say I find the variety of the classroom—which is never exactly the same anywhere—an endless source of fascination.
OLLI: Gloria, what countries have you traveled or worked in?
G.N.: Maybe it would be easier to tell you the ones we haven't traveled in. They are Poland, Argentina, Algeria, and most of Central Africa.
OLLI: From your world experience and vast reading, what would you encourage more of in this country's policies?
G.N: Energy independence, and the politics of energy and environment are not being considered enough. I think-the Iraq War is a symptom of unanswered problems hanging over all our heads, the world's heads, and our grandchildren's heads. We should be thinking further out in front. Who talks about water? And yet it will become like oil in this century.
OLLI: “Gloria, it’s been a pleasure as are your classes, thank you very much.”
Member SpotlightFor some time, we have been profiling one of OLLI's members in each newsletter, in hopes that this will encourage a sense of community among those who attend classes. This month, the editor questioned member Aida Cervantes.
OLLI: Aida, how did you learn of the OLLI program?
AC: A while back, someone mentioned that there were some very good educational programs at SFSU. Regretfully though, this person couldn't give me much information. Last September, the Mexican consul, Bernardo Mendez, invited me to attend an OLLI "Open House." I immediately discovered that this was a program for which I had been searching. During the Open House, I found several courses in particular that interested me.
OLLI: What was the main interest that prompted you to enroll in your first class?
AC: Before I moved to San Francisco, I had been participating in writing groups and I was aware how much they helped me to improve my English. I realized I need to be more consistent with my practice of English and I found the "Writers Circle" appealing. That was a great choice, because most of the students are English native speakers. Furthermore, they have been writing for several years and their wide experience has inspired me so much!
OLLI: What, if any, satisfactions have you received as a result of your attending classes here?
AC: Seriously, I have found the courses are not so demanding. My classmates are well informed and concerned about social issues. The students here speak out, accept differing viewpoints and discuss things in a friendly way. Attending OLLI classes makes me feel alive and encouraged to keep myself up to date.
OLLI: There is one additional question I would like to add to this interview: How did you happen to become a resident of San Francisco?
AC: My daughter has been living in San Francisco for all of this century. I chanced to have visited her in the summertime: Nevertheless, it was freezing here. But, I really found the city gorgeous and interesting. Being she is my only child, I thought that it would be good for us to be able to see each other as often as possible.
Spring Course Line-Up & Registration Information
The College of Extended Learning catalog for spring 2006 will be out on December 2, and classes are now listed on the OLLI website. Wall calendars for the spring session will be mailed to all OLLI members by the first week in January. The calendars will show all courses and events over the months of February, March, and April. Registration will begin January 2. OLLI Annual Members can send their course selections to Robert anytime during December or early January.
Our hope is that you will find at least two courses each month to enroll in. If you would like to take advantage of the annual membership arrangement ($500 for the year for as many courses as you would like; you can deduct the cost of your fall courses from the $500), you have until December 12.
Also, OLLI members are urged to hold onto their Spring Course Catalogs from the College of Extended Learning since the catalog and website will contain a full description of the courses offered this spring.
February
Radical theater Workshop
Shamanic Journeys
A History of Conspiracy Theory
Creating an Anthology Chapbook
Exercising Our Brains
The Well-Made Story
Winetasting: Taking the Pain out of Wine
Global Lens: Current Events
Invest Like a Pro
Retirement Options
Photographing Your Best Friend
E-Mail & Internet Basics
March
International Human Rights Law
San Francisco, 1906
Global Lens: Historical
Behind the Scenes: Conversations with Arts Leaders
Politics of the Supreme Court
Turning Points: Navigating Transitions
Conversations with Philanthropists: How they do what they do?
The Writers Circle
Know Your Personality Type
Introduction to Photoshop
Creating 1-Page Plans for Retirement
Maintaining Mobility
April
Walking in San Francisco, 1906
Presidential Campaigns & Elections
Global Lens: Experiments in Form
Improving Your Memory
Writing & Performing Monologues
Good & Loving Sex
Digital Photography Basics
Eating with the Seasons
Invest Like a Pro: Investment Styles
OLLI Community
Social dance class, anyone? We have a USF prof who is interested in teaching social dance at OLLI, salsa, swing, whatever we would like. If you are interested in a dance class, let us know what kind of dance instruction would interest you the most. Send an e-mail to hoffman@sfsu.edu with the subject heading SOCIAL DANCE before December 8.
Continue to listen to KALW’s news stories on Sundays at 3:30pm to hear the work of your OLLI co-horts in covering local issues.
Also, the new OLLI website is scheduled to launch soon, and it will include written work by OLLI writers and bloggers.
Opportunities
Do you know a waitress over 50 years old? Ethnographer, Candacy Taylor is interested in interviewing older waitresses for her project: Career Waitresses: Rethinking Work and Identity, a multimedia presentation that uncovers one of America’s most overlooked subcultures of women by challenging traditional assumptions of older working women.
The waitresses profiled in this presentation are 50-83 years old and have worked in the same restaurant for up to 55 years. Most people assume a 75-year old waitress would be tired, financially struggling and perhaps even bitter. But what I've learned from interviewing older career waitresses is that most of them truly enjoy their work. They're financially stable and in great physical shape. The mental stimulation of having to remember orders keeps their minds sharp and they have developed meaningful connections with their regular customers. This project reveals insights about career waitresses' work ethics based on the generational differences between older and younger waitresses, and why these women choose to work past retirement age.
Candacy Taylor is an ethnographer with a Masters in Visual Criticism from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Her project has been awarded a grant from the California Council for the Humanities. The San Francisco Chronicle, Women’s Calendar, Kitchen Sink Magazine, The Guardian, and SF Weekly have published articles about the project. Waitress photos from the project have been exhibited at San Francisco's City Hall and next spring, photos will be shown at COPIA, a national food museum in Napa, CA. Audio from the waitresses interviews have been played on NPR stations on Weekend America and I will be on NPR’s Forum next spring.
To contact Candacy, write her at slingingpower@yahoo.com.
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