iChat: Here in Montenegro I am teaching a course at the U of Montenegro, working with private media and looking for other interesting projects where I can be helpful and stay busy. I am also teaching a class at Bradley University via video conference, using a high speed Internet connection and an Apple software called iChat. With iChat, a small, inexpensive iBook computer and iSight camera (it's a little expensive, about $200 or so), you can schedule a very nice video conference discussion. And, the better the Internet connection, the better the video quality will be.
That last sentence--about having a good Internet connection--is important. At the University of Montenegro, bandwidth must be at a premium. On Monday night, 8PM here is truly the end of the day. All classes are over. But there must be someone in the computer services areas who uses the bandwidth for ????. Because it's next to impossible to get iChat to work with both clean video and crisp audio. Interestingly, the audio usually breaks up before the video.
Monday, I held my class at Hotel Podgorica, a 4-star hotel in the city. VERY nice. I used their Internet through the generousity of global journalist Don North, who also served as a guest speaker for my class. AND, he was great. Don is the producer/director of the documentary "Remembering Saddam." This is the story of nine businessmen in Iraq who were sentenced to having their right hand surgically removed for trading in foreigh currency--specifically, the U.S. dollar. *See http://www.rememberingsaddam.com/
Today, I tried to connect with my friend Prof. Twange Kasoma, at U of Oregon, to visit with her class. The connection was even worse than I often experience on Monday night. We finally tried audio-only but even that was not very good. My thanks to Prof. Kasoma and her students for allowing me to visit. I appreciate your patience as we tried to get the connection to work!
What comes from these efforts is a reminder of how communication and media-enabled people in the U.S. are. We have computers, high speed service, landline telephones--if we want them, cell phones....and all sorts of gadgets to entertain and inform us. Here in Montenegro, it's tough to find a reliable and cost effective way to telephone the U.S. As wonderful as the Internet can be, it also comes down to bandwidth. The communication revolution is not here, yet. In the class I'm teaching, I have several students who do not use email. They don't own a computer, so why bother? And, there's no sense of immediacy that we often experience.
My assignment for tomorrow is to visit Hotel Podgorica and strike a deal with them for Internet access for the remainder of my Bradley semester. Or, find somewhere else with a dependable connection. I'll keep you posted.
Check out Hotel Podgorica:
1 comment:
Hello Dr. Pitts,
I'm in Twange and Janet's class, and I thank you for attempting to speak to our class about your experiences in Montenegro. A couple of years ago I actually traveled through Kosovo via train, spent a day-long stint in Beograde and then had a magnificant train ride through the mountains of Montenegro before I landed in Budva. From there I was able to hitch into Croatia along its more magnificent coast, as you also pointed out this morning.
I wasn't well received by most Serbians and had quite a few unsettling interactions in Kosovo, but I was mesmerized by Montenegro. I feel it was mostly the rugged mountains and the weathered faces of the old peasant women--a seemingly far cry from the hustle and bustle of Beograde.
My questions for you are how your experience in Montenegro has compared to your time in Serbia and Albania? Specifically, how have people treated you as an American in Montenegro? In Serbia? How does its media differ?
Feel free to answer my questions or not. They are simply what I might have asked you this morning had it worked out.
Again, thank you.
Best wishes,
Kellyn Gross
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