Saturday, April 08, 2006

Malawian professor enjoying Lewis County

By Aaron VanTuyl
avantuyl@chronline.com

 

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series about the relationship between Centralia College and the University of Livingstonia in Malawi.

Monday
“It is my sincere hope that you will enjoy this course,” Augustine Msiska announces to the 16 students gathered in Centralia College’s Washington Hall on Monday for the first day of the 2006 spring quarter.  His voice, laced with a thick African accent, occasionally rises to a near-shouting level as he explains that his last name (pronounced “Meh-sees-yuh”) may be ignored, and students should refer to him simply as Augustine.  “Feel free to ask, ‘What are you trying to say?’ ” says the instructor, who learned English in the third grade. “This is not a court of law.”

The first hour of History 215A: African History is spent on introductions. The students introduce themselves, and Augustine introduces the curriculum and his expectations. “It is important to remember that the key to education is not what I do, but what you do as students,” he says. “It would be my responsibility to encourage you, or to counsel you in this course.”

Augustine and his wife, Ninas Msiska, arrived in Lewis County from Malawi, Africa, on March 17. Augustine, 63, is the librarian at the University of Livingstonia, where Henry Kirk, former president of Centralia College, serves as vice chancellor.  Kirk and his wife, Jenny, picked up the Msiskas from the airport and hosted the Malawi couple in their Chehalis home for a week. “Hospitality has been extended by everyone in the community,” Kirk said. “Just about every night, they’ve been hosted at dinners.”

Before the start of spring term, Augustine and Ninas moved into a home the college owns on Rock Street, across from the student center. According to Centralia College President Jim Walton, the dwelling has been restored specifically to house visiting professors. Augustine is the first visitor Centralia has had to date, though the school hopes to bring in more. “A key issue in getting people to come is having a place for them to stay,” said Walton. “That’s going to kick-start this program.”
Augustine’s background, he added, strengthens the credibility of the course. “I can’t imagine learning African culture and history from someone from the U.S. when you can have it from someone who’s been there and lived through it,” Walton said. “It’s just a great opportunity for us.”

Msiska’s education includes bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Malawi, and a doctorate in information studies from the University of Natal. The educator has also earned a fellowship in the Institute of Library and Information Professionals in London.

Tuesday
Augustine is excited on the second day of class. The required textbook for the course, “Africa in World History,” by Erik Gilbert and Jonathan T. Reynolds, has arrived at the campus bookstore. “Please buy that book, and treasure it to the last day of your life!” he says, jovially.  Though only one book is required, seven excerpts from other books are listed on the syllabus and will be provided as needed. The teacher copied chapters from the other books while in Malawi.  “An entire bag of luggage was those photocopies,” Augustine said. “It was heavy.”  As a librarian, Augustine worked with the University of Malawi and the University of Zambia. In 2003, he retired from Malawi and, with his wife, moved to Livingstonia to keep an eye on the books at his country’s newest university. As a librarian, he encourages his students, to whom he refers as colleagues, to read.  “Read many books. To read just one can be misleading,” he says to the class.

Wednesday
“The book that you have, try to read it,” Augustine reminds his class at the start of the hour on Wednesday.  Though the class is technically African history, he often uses the people of Malawi for examples in tribal customs.  “I’m a Malawian, but I am teaching African history,” he says.  Both the teacher and the subject attracted students to the class. Matt Horn, in his last quarter at Centralia, registered for African history for both reasons.  “I’ve taken history and anthropology, but never African history,” said Horn, an anthropology major. “I thought it’d be a good opportunity.”  Though Augustine’s English can be hard to comprehend, Horn said, he enjoys the accent.  “He’s really friendly, and sometimes you have to ask the regular professors what they’re talking about, too,” he pointed out. “It seems good so far.”

From the teacher’s point of view, the course is going well.  “Well, I think so far, so good,” he said, before class on Thursday. “Though I leave it up to the people to make that decision.”  There are small differences between teaching in Malawi and the U.S., he said. One he appreciates is the small class size.  “For the people who show interest, we have an obligation to assist them,” he said. “There has to be that personal contact, and the small class is quite good.”  In Malawi, university classes are often split into smaller groups that meet with the professor at a designated time to clarify any problems enrollees may have with the course work. Once the Centralia class has a firm grasp on the subject, he said, he will start class by introducing a topic and letting the students discuss it.  “I need to know what level people are at,” he said. “I’d like all of the students to go at one pace.”  The course started with 16 students. By Wednesday, three more have enrolled.

Thursday
At the beginning of Thursday’s hour, the teacher invites any students with questions about the class to visit him at home.
“I have a beautiful palace, a mini-palace here,” he says of the home on Rock Street. “Come and see me, and we can discuss it over a cup of tea.”  The home, decorated with signs welcoming the tenants and a map of Malawi, was a surprise to the Msiskas.
“We’re self-contained,” said Augustine. “All of the facilities are there. The kitchen has got everything!” He added that both he and his wife were extremely grateful to Centralia College for the opportunity, and to the Kirks building the relationship between the two schools.  Ninas Msiska said she is adjusting, though slowly, to the American lifestyle.  “It is very convenient. We find everything at one place,” she said, of grocery shopping.  At home, she said, people in her village would have to drive miles away for their essential supplies, and could not go every day.  “The shops are close,” said Augustine. “You don’t even need a bike.”
Augustine drives a car occasionally at home, but has decided against hitting the road while in America.  “I’m afraid I’ll drive on the left,” he said, laughing.

His village is about eight miles from the University of Livingstonia campus, and, he said, he often walks 3› hours to his home.
The couple are alone in America, with almost no communication with their friends and family members in Malawi. Telephoning home is very difficult, Augustine said, and the mail can take weeks to arrive.  The Msiskas have six children, ranging in age from 16 to 34. The youngest child living at their home is Ninas’ great nephew, to whom Augustine refers as his grandson.“In Africa, it’s not easy,” he said. “Now, with AIDS especially, there are so many orphans with no one to assist them. The little that you have, you can share.”

Day Five
“Good morning, colleagues,” Augustine announces on Friday morning. “Today is a bit chilly. I do not like the weather.”  Msiska had an extra pair of eyes watching during the last lecture of the week. Dr. Walton, president of the college, stopped by Washington Hall to listen. Augustine covered several cultural aspects of life in Africa, including bride prices (which, he says, is not just selling a woman) and the strength of an extended family. As the students were leaving he announced the homework.  “Enjoy the weekend and, if you have time, try to read!” he said with a chuckle.

“It takes a little while to pick up on his accent, but I think that once you do it’s really interesting,” Walton said after class. “The common things we think of here are totally different there. It’s very interesting.”  Randy Johnson, one of the students in Augustine’s class, has been an English teacher at the college since 1981. He said he hadn’t registered for a serious academic class with the college before, but enjoyed the first week of African history.  “He has a good sense of humor, and he wants to be respected, understood and authoritative in terms of what’s known and not known,” said Johnson, who was tenured at Centralia in 1987. Having a foreign-born instructor on campus, he added, is a benefit for everyone, particularly people in Lewis County.  “I’m glad we can do that here,” he said, of the school bringing Augustine in to teach African history. The Malawian’s accent, he added, only makes the experience better.  “Every individual that comes brings different perspective from around the world,” said Walton, of the benefits of the visiting professor program. “It’s great for the college.”
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Aaron VanTuyl covers education and religion for The Chronicle. He may be reached at 807-8237 or by e-mail at avantuyl@chronline.com.