ArchivedLogs:Farsi in the Classroom

Farsi in the Classroom
Dramatis Personae Mariot, Rasa	2013-04-14 '
Location <XS> Classroom Two
Acrid scents of chemicals sting the nostrils upon entering this classroom. Tall tables are set up in clusters, small torches attach to their sides, though they can be de-attached and stored beneath the desks at lessons' end. The chairs here are high, and come on wheels. Around the edges of this room are plentiful cupboards, many of them locked. The edges of the room hold sinks, as well, some of them carefully labeled. The front of the room has a number of whiteboards, though it lacks a teacher's desk. The door opens and the school's newest teacher peeks around it before stepping into the room proper. Glancing around with the air of someone still very much in the process of exploring her new surroundings, she looks both amused and faintly bemused. Rasa is sitting in a desk already, flipping through a history book dedicated to the Middle East and frowning at the text. Ze is a strange thing, with very few features that would indicate whether ze is a boy or a girl or ... well, what. Hir skin is blue and covered with green swirls. Hir hair is dark and long, but appears to be curling up on its own the longer ze sits there. Hir clothes are somewhat feminine, a long sleeved black shirt with a tee shirt in magenta that proclaims the wonders of spring with pastel colors, and jeans. Ze is also wearing gloves. Ze looks up when someone new comes in. "Hello." Mariot raises a hand in greeting while moving closer. "Rasa?", she checks, smiling as she does so. "I'm Mariot Gall." "Yes, I'm Rasa," the young metamorph admits. Ze places a place maker in her book and turns in hir seat to look the teacher over. "It is nice to meet you." "{ It's a pleasure to meet you, as well, }" Mariot responds, in what sounds rather like a formal, archaic, even +classical+ version of Farsi. "Do you mind if I join you for a chat?", she asks, reverting to English. "{ Oh! You speak Farsi? }" Rasa inquires with wide eyes. Ze turns more in hir chair, looking over over, head tilting to one side. "I do not mind at all. Please, join." Ze gestures to a chair or a desk or, well, ze looks around for a suitable place to sit as teachers certainly don't sit in student chairs. Mariot seems quite willing to pull up a stool and perch. "{ Many of those who speak it still call it Farsi }", Mariot answers - fluently, but speaking with the kind of careful precision that often denotes someone tutored rather than raised in a language. "{But it's been officially called Dari since... sixty-four. Still, I'm assured that 'Afghan Persian' is close enough to mainstream Farsi that an educated speaker should understand me without too much difficulty. If not, I can certainly revert to English. }" "{ Ah. My parents speak Farsi. I would not really call myself an educated speaker though. }" Rasa admits, exhaling a little. While ze seems comfortable talking about Farsi in general, when hir parents come up, ze is fidgety. Ze folds hir hands on hir desk as ze considers. "{ Farsi is nice. People around here do not speak it much. It is kind of nice to hear it again, even if you sound funny to me. }" Mariot cracks a swift grin in response to that last comment, evidently not at all offended. Though she +had+ looked somewhat concerned in response to Rasa's own change in demeanour a few moments before, she opts not to press the point, instead providing a flow of words to distract from discomfort. "{ I'm sure I do }", she agrees warmly. "{ Even were it the right dialect for you, I know that my accent's not exactly perfect. I'm somewhat better in French, I admit, but that's probably not much use in this particular context. }" "{ French is okay, but if one was more American centric, Spanish seems like the best language, given the population of Hispanic origin in this region. }" There something silly to Rasa about discussing language in Farsi with someone with an entirely different accent. Ze relaxes a little and sits back in hir chair. "{ So, what brings you to the United States? }" "{ My old school now teaches Mandarin to its pupils, from age eight or nine onwards }", Mariot answers with a wry smile. "{ At the time I was there, Latin and French seemed +quite+ exotic enough for me. But now? I'm here for a fresh start - a new beginning. A chance to try to find my feet, somewhere without quite so many memories. And because someone I've come to trust told me that I could be useful, and she managed to persuade the Professor to give me a chance. }" "{ The professor takes in people of all kinds, whether they are as students or teachers, or just associates. }" Rasa admits, exhaling quietly and folding hir hands. For a few seconds, the word 'strays scrawls itself on hir cheek, before evaporating like it was written with invisible ink. Mariot's head cocks slightly, gaze tracking the moving word - as she notes that it's not in Farsi. "{ He does seem to have built up an eclectic collection }", she agrees with a smile. "{ But I hope that I can be of some use as a teacher. +Perhaps+ even a little more than that, but if the assortment of bits and pieces I've acquired thus far in my life can be put to good use, then I'll be glad. }" Rasa's hand slides up to hir forehead when the expression on Mariot's face changers, an unnatural pink color flooding hir cheeks like paint spilling into a equally dense liquid. "{ I am sure. We need all sorts here. }" After a deep breath, hir skin begins to take on a more static metallic sheen. Mariot's expression turns apologetic, and she slightly ducks her head. "{ I'm sorry. Please, don't feel that you have to change on my account }", she says softly. "{ I'm still adjusting to life here, and I find the openness welcome. Refreshing. I do apologise for making you uncomfortable, however. That's not at all my intention. }" "Oh no." Rasa switches to English, frowning. "It's just... unconscious. If you had stray, unconscious thought you had popping up for everyone to see, you'd be less pleased with your lack of privacy. There are times when it is far too expressive and can often be insulting - and I would never say some of the things out loud, but I can't help what pops into mind." Mariot looks sympathetic, and matches Rasa's change of language. "I've a +very+ limited understanding of that, from blundering through... needlessly blunt translations, at points. Discovering that what people took from what I said wasn't exactly what I'd meant. It felt horrible, at times, to discover that I'd caused offence, or just +revealed+ more than I'd ever have done deliberately. Having writing appear on my skin, however..." She shakes her head, offering a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. Or to make you feel like the latest curiosity on my tour of the school." "It's not you. It just happens. I am much better when I remember to hide it." Rasa gestures to her skin and the bronzy color it has taken on. "For the last week, I ... was not... I didn't have my powers so I was able to relax. It is less relaxing, but more natural like this." Ze gives a fairly large shrugs. "I am sure that the professor will give you many different profiles about the students you interact with later. So you'll ... understand more later, maybe?" "I know a +little+", Mariot assures Rasa. "Hence trying my Dari on you. But... I'm trying to meet people, rather than study them as file-subjects. I'll certainly read up, if you think I should. I'm... well. I'm still feeling my way. I'm painfully new to this, as you can probably tell." "It's probably best to know which students in your class you may need to watch, in case of explosions, but also, if you do not like bugs, you should tell Ivan immediately not to let his friends wander too much." Here, Rasa gives a much larger smile. "Or, if you like bugs, maybe he'll let you hold his centipede while you teach. It is generally eye catching and people will be more apt to look at you while you are discussing the less interesting topics of European succession." Mariot cracks a swift smile. "I +have+ asked to be warned of any abilities I need to keep a particular eye out for. Though I'm safe from a few, personally, I'm confident that there'll be some students who just take that as a challenge... and I do want to try to avoid blundering too horribly in my own actions. Still... it sounds as if I'll definitely need to watch out for creepy-crawlies..." "Ivan loves his friends." Rasa exhales and closes hir text book finally, leaning on the cover. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure you'll figure stuff out." "If I don't, I'll just wind up hiding somewhere away from all the scary pupils", Mariot answers. "So...." Her gaze drops to the now-closed book. "I'm the school's new official expert on matters Middle-Eastern. In that context, rather than as a just-arrived newcomer, is there anything I can help you with?" "Um." That utterly stumps Rasa. Sure, ze may have been studying in here quietly before, pouring over hir text book and trying to figure some things out, but a direct question, about what ze needs? Ze looks lost. "I don't... think so?" Mariot chuckles quietly, offering Rasa a rather playful smile. "See? I'm already mastering this teaching thing, without even holding a class. That, or I have to concede that my predecessor in the role did a very good job." Rasa smiles politely, skin remaining that solid shade of bronze. "I should probably go. It's almost time for dinner. Do you know where everything is? Can I help you find something before I go?" Mariot inclines her head, smiling. "I +think+ that I can find most things now. But thank you. And... if you ever think that I +can+ be useful, even if it's just to let you laugh at my accent, please do feel free to let me know." "OH, well, I thought it was a real enough accent. Didn't think it was bad, just.. Well, not laughably funny, you know, the other meaning, where thinks are different in a nonoffensive way." Rasa frowns, standing up and gathering hir things. "But thank you. I will come find you when I wish to hear a more familial tongue." Ze nods hir head and pushes hir books into hir bag, turning to leave. "I hope you settle in well and quickly." "Thank you", Mariot says warmly. "I look forward to seeing you in class." She even sounds as if she means it. Rasa gives another bow and turns to scurry off to hir room, and then down to hir meal.