26 March 2012

Computer lesson #3

"Tonight you'll sleep with Irina," said my host mom as I introduced my host dad to grooveshark, which is how we get Pandora to work over here in Moldova. I should have started this thread of blog posts on Saturday, when we began our first computer lesson. The first two lessons went pretty much like this:

Day 1-
Host dad (HD): How do you turn on the thing?
Me: With this button.
HD: How do you turn it off?
Me: You close it.
HD: But it's not off. How do you turn it off?
(side note: he was the technology teacher at school for awhile, in which he taught himself how to use a computer using a book as he was teaching the students at the same time)
Me: Oh, off. This button... click...
HD: (interrupting) OH! SHUT.DOWN. I remember!
Me: Great, yes, shutdown.
HD: Now, I want to call my Elena. How do I do that?
Me: Skype. I already downloaded it. Here is your login and your password. She hasn't accepted your request to talk to her yet, so you can't talk to her. You'll know she's on the computer when it's green.
HD: But can't I call her?
Me: No, not till it's green. But, look, I'm here. You can call me. Here's how you write a message. Click here, write.
HD: Where?

... and it went on.

----------------------------------------------

Day 2:
(Host Mom -HM- comes to my room)
HM: Catusa, Nicolai needs your help.
Me: Ok, five minutes.
(go to their house)
Me: What happened?
HD: How do I call my Elena?
Me: You can't. It's not green. Plus, it's too late.
HM: I TOLD him! See, it needs to be GREEN. That's what I said. I should have taught the technology classes, not you.
HD: Leave me alone.
(later)
HD: Ok, I want to go to a site.
Me: What site?
HM: Odnoklassniki [Russian/Moldovan equivalent to Facebook]
HD: Yes, Odnoklassniki
Me: Oh, boy. Ok. It's in Russian so I don't know how to use it, but, sure. Let's go. Do you want to create an account?
HD: You need an account?
HM: I TOLD you that you need an account!
HD: Leave me alone. No, I don't want an account.
Me: Ok, fine. We'll log into mine. (log in). Now we're here. What do you want to do?
HD/HM: I don't know.
um.......
Me: Let's find Elena.
(we find her then look through pictures)

Me: Now what?
HD: let's look... oh! Solitare.
Me: You know how to play Solitare?
HD: Yes. Watch, Antonina. (struggles with moving the touchpad mouse)...
... there is a 6 that goes on the 7... a 2 that goes on the 3... now nothing. Why are there 3 cards here?
Me: Let me change the setting for you.
(changed)
Me: Have fun. I'm going to bed.
HD: No, I'm done now. How do I close it?
--------------------------------------------

Now we're at Day 3. My host dad came into my room this afternoon as he had some students that were waiting to begin their lessons and sat next to me asking me what I was doing (I was watching a video review on a new camera). Side note: my host mom does this all the time... but my host dad never does. He sat there for a minute then went to begin his lessons. Two minutes later he left, then came back. Just after that, I was packing up to leave and he seemed rather frantic when saying, "Please go look at my computer. I don't know what happened, but something happened and it won't close. Then please come back and tell me what happened." When I went to look at it, I saw that it was installing updates (it's a new computer and this is only the 3rd day it's been used). "So, I should just leave it there until it's done?" "Yes, HD," I said, "Leave it there until the screen is black. Then turn it back on." "But how do I do that?" oh boy...

Later-
HM: Cate, he is busy? (in English)
Me: What?
HM: He is busy?
Me: I don't understand.
HM: Are you busy? (In Romanian)
Me: Oh, no. Not really.
HM: Ok, good. HD needs your help.
HM: How do you say 'busy'?
Me: busy.
HM: He is not busy?
Me: Haha. No, She is not busy.
HM: Ok, I'll tell him. He is not busy.
... doamne.

Later
I go in for dinner and my HD asked me if I wanted mamaliga (a traditional cornmeal dish). I said sure, whatever, I don't care. Then my HM informed me that she didn't want to make it but my HD informed her that I wanted it and so did he. I guess we're bff now. About halfway into dinner and a couple of shots of wine in, my host dad tells me he would like for me to show him how to listen to music on the computer. Of course this isn't a problem... except they don't have any music on their computer. So instead of choosing youtube, I decided on grooveshark, which, like I said in the beginning, is the European version of Pandora. I wanted to take a bath so I went to get the water started then took the computer to sit on the bed because there wasn't room on the table.

HD: You don't need the cable?
Me: No.
HD: But it won't work without it.
HM: It's a battery.
Me: Yup, she's right. It's a battery. It will work for a few hours without the cable.
HD: Oh. Ok.
(I tested to find the easiest way to use the site, then added it to the favorites bar so it's easy to find)
HD: That was too complicated. How does it work?
Me: I haven't shown you yet. Go to the star... then click where it says "search" and type in the name of an artist you like... etc
HD: I don't know where the letters are
Me: Find them
HD: I...r....i...n...a...space...L...o...g...h...i...n
HD: Oh! Look! Irina Loghin
Me: Yes, click there. Here you can watch a video and here you can just listen to the music
(he seems to get of the hang of it so I stand up to go get in the tub)
HD: Where are you going? It doesn't matter when you go to bed. It's all the same.
Me: To take a bath
HD: (looks at HM) she's taking a bath? Is the water ready? Is it stopped? Is it hot?
HM: You've had too much wine and now you're going to sleep with Irina tonight.
Me: I'm taking my bath now. Have fun.

(I take my bath then come out to see my HD has figured out how to change the videos on grooveshark)

Me: Ok, do you have any more questions?
HD: Yes, I have thousands of questions.
Me: Ok, what are they?
HD: How do you do this again?


... good thing I still have 2 1/2 months. We have lots of computer lessons ahead of us!


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