Sol 4: On top of Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons is the largest mountain in the solar system. It is roughly 3 times higher than Everest. At some point in my time here on Mars, I think I would like to make the trek to Olympus Mons. Perhaps that is something the aliens could assist me with when this is all over.

I sat in on another interaction with SHarLi this week. This is was a very interesting interaction to witness. This was a multi-lingual being who had a very well written piece of scrawl. I say that this was interesting because instead of needing help with writing, the being needed help with the assignment itself. By that I mean, that there were parts of the assignment that the being did not fully understand. SHarLi spent most of the interaction attempting to explain parts of the assignment to the best of her abilities. Ultimately, the being still did not fully understand the entire assignment but felt okay turning it in the way it was.

The other interesting part of this interaction was that when SHarLi would give examples on how the being could address the questions in the assignemtn, the being wanted SHarLi to actually type out for him. SHarLi handled this awkward situation with grace, unphased. She explained that she couldn't do the assignment for him and instead just gave him other suggestions and examples.

Later in the week during one of our meetings, Queen Melissa had us humans split up into groups and discuss different parts of the assigned reading. (Specifically different sections of Choosing Adverbials in Martha Kolln's Rhetorical Grammar.) This was particularly useful to me because we were able to collaboratively discuss what we thought was useful information and come up with ideas on how to present this information to the other aliens in THe SCrAWl CENter.

We had discussed avoiding confusing lingo that other beings might be as familiar with it. I'm remembering my first introduction to Kolln. I had thought that the alien instructors forgot adjust their dialects. We would not want visitors of THe SCrAWl CENter to feel the same way. It all comes back to the idea where we want them to feel comfortable; we don't want to isolate anyone and we don't want to make anyone feel inferior.

Admittedly, when I had learned we would have to present information from Kolln to the class, my anxiety skyrocketed. Addressing a large group of people has always been something that sends me into a mild state of panic. But I was able to remember that I was in a safe, judgement free space and that seemed to calm me down a little bit. I guess knowing that isn't just for the writers. It's for us too. In documenting this I just realized something:

This week I conquered one of my greatest fears. Maybe I'm already on top of Olympus Mons.

Sol 3: Melissa, Alien Space Queen

A day on Mars is roughly 24 hours and 37 minutes. Mars' temperature sits at a frigid 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The atmosphere here comprises mostly of carbon dioxide and an entire year on Mars takes 687 Earth days.

These are the things I've known before coming here. These are the facts drilled into my cranium by NASA. These facts could not have prepared me for what I've discovered here on Mars. These useless bits of information will not help me in THe SCrAWl CENter but there is hope.

This week, I had the highest honor that few humans encounter. MELissA, the brave alien queen came back from from an all powerful space mission on Jupiter. I had the honor of being on Mars for her homecoming. All fellow aliens had been anxiously waiting her return home and I can see why. MELissA is a knowledgeable and compassionate leader.

MELissA's mission wasn't heavily described to me but what I did glean was that she was exploring the surface of Jupiter, running complex tests to see if the Mars alien race could expand their SCrAWl CENter. They want to share their knowledge with other alien races and species across the universe. Her mission was dangerous but successful. MELissA came back with news that they would start preparing for the expansion at once.

Alien Space Queen, MELissA took all of us humans under her wing. She formally welcomed us into the Mars alien race that lives and breaths THeSCrAWl CENter. MELissA informed us that we were an integral part of the expansion. We are to continue our learning and training in order to spread the word about THe SCraWl CENter to Earth. Going forward, MELissA would instruct us in the best way to do this task.

Queen MELissA had us read some scrawl that detailed a being tutoring another being. In this piece, the pupil had written some rather offensive scrawl. When the other humans and I had our first bi-weekly meeting, we discussed this piece in heavy detail. MELissA informed us that we would rarely encounter an interaction this extreme but gave us some ideas on what to do if we ever do encounter anything similar:

• We could know our own boundaries. If someone is working on something that makes extremely uncomfortable, we can simply exit the interaction or ask another tutor to help us out.
• We can remember that the interaction is very rhetorical. Ultimately, we're there to help assist with writing and the writing process. We don't have to think of it as being complicit in oppression or offensive behavior. 
• In many cases, we can even challenge the scrawl in a healthy and safe manner. We can present different arguments or point out holes in the piece that might make the writer question what they've written.

A common theme is come up in the few interactions I've witnessed in THe SCrAWl CENter; the idea that beings are more likely to challenge their own beliefs if they feel safe and welcome. 

If ever I find myself in an interaction that is particularly hostile or uncomfortable, I will reflect on this meeting and the knowledge it brought me. 

Later in the week, I witnessed another interaction between SHarLi and a pupil. In this interaction, the pupil came to SHarLi with a cover letter for a potential job prospect. (Even aliens need to make a living.) The pupil's cover letter was more or less complete. She just wanted SHarLi to read it and make suggestions for edits. Among the first were some suggestions for formatting. (There are strict rules for cover letters on Mars.) Another thing we worked on was accurately using determiners and articles. A few times, SHarLi actually asked for MY ADVICE on how we could make certain sentences flow a little better. 

This interaction left me feeling slightly disoriented but mostly euphoric. SHarLi and I worked as a team to help this pupil and I walked away feeling like I could maybe handle the great task ahead of me. 

Sort of.

Sol 2: Alien words or actual English phrases?

I could tell you the orbital period of Mars (687 days).

I could tell you The Red Planet's equatorial diameter (6,792 km). 

I could tell you how many moons Mars has and their names (two, Phobos and Deimos). 

But for some reason I have a hard time wrapping my brain around some of the words and phrases discussed in Rhetorical Grammar by Martha Kolln. 

This week, I discovered that there are other humans on this cold and dusty planet that are in charge of the same task I am; gather intelligence regarding THe SCrAWl CENter. One of the things us humans were tasked with was reading a chapter out of a strange book provided by the alien instructors that live and work here. This book discussed foreign words like headword, countable and non-countable nouns, determiners, and indefinite articles to name a few. When the aliens addressing us started discussing these strange words, at first I thought they had forgotten to adjust their dials. Then I quickly realized that THESE ARE ACTUAL WORDS AND THINGS. 

What is interesting about this is that as a person who has functioned for 25 years, I have been writing and effectively using these rules and tactics for most of my life but I hadn't known what they were actually called. Remembering this makes the word classes discussed by Kolln a little less intimidating.

Later in the week, I was able to observe another session in THe SCraWl CENter. Only, this time it was with a friendly alien by the name of COurTNey. This session was rather interesting because unlike previous sessions I've observed, COurTNey didn't actually read the other alien's scrawl. She had just discussed the assignment requirements with the alien in heavy detail. This tactic allowed the alien to leave with an in-depth outline on where to proceed from there. COurTNey was also able to provide info on citation practices. (Even aliens have to cite. Plagiarism is an INDEFENSIBLE offense on Mars, apparently.) 

In another session, (also with COurTNey) a fellow alien was having a difficult time coming up with more ideas to address in a piece of scrawl she was working on. She wasn't meeting the required page length. This alien didn't have an assignment sheet but once COurTNey started questioning her about the scrawl in front of her, ideas started flowing. COurTNey asked her questions about her past and alien student was able to see what ideas stuck. She was able to leave the session with a bullet list of talking points. 

This week in the SCraWl CENter was full of surprises and I'm looking forward to the other peculiar happenings in this unknown and undiscovered place. 

Sol 1: Where am I?

I've woken to find myself in a strange place.

I suppose after the crash, it makes sense to assume I'm on Mars. When I think of my general trajectory and the things I knew before I woke here, Mars is the only place that makes sense. It's windy and cold here. The ground is a hue of orangish-red. But...no...That can't be right because there's a building here. A building that I've never been aware of in my years of training and studying with NASA. Displayed on the building, is strange alien-like scrawl that I can't seem to make out.

I'm going to approach the building. After all, my only possessions are my space suit and it looks like my oxygen supply is starting to run low. Great. And god knows how far away I am from Mare Erythraeum. (Mare Erythraeum, simply put, would be considered home to us Astronauts who happen to travel or in my case crash land on Mars.) I am acutely aware of how dangerous it is to enter strange buildings on un-Earthly planets but suffocating isn't exactly my cup of tea, either. Strange building, here I come!

Upon entering this strange building, I see what appears to be a cubic pod. There are friendly pictures covering the walls and it's possible that there's a picture with cats, maybe? Do aliens know what cats are? Above the cats is the same scrawl depicted on the building.

...And what? What is this? AHHH. A figure materializes in front of me. The figure gestures and I'm not sure if I should be terrified or happy to no longer be in the frigid temperatures of Mars. The figure identifies itself as SHarLi by pointing to a strange object hanging from her neck. SHarLi must be able to sense my discomfort. In doing so, she holds her hands up in a stop motion (as if to say, "wait") and reaches up to an odd dial on the right side of her neck. I am alarmed by this. What is this dial for? Am I about to be immersed in an air of POISONOUS GAS?!

No. No, I am not. Evidently, the dial on these creatures' necks changes their language. These are highly intelligent beings. When SHarLi adjusts the dial on her neck, she immediately speaks perfect English. When I tell SHarLi of my predicament here on Mars, she immediately informs me that I am in a safe space, that I am welcome, and that yes, I am allowed to observe her and the other beings here in this environment. She wants me to take what I learn with me in hopes that other Earthlings will be aware of this wonderful, sophisticated place. When I ask SHarLi what exactly this sophisticated place is, she responds with, "THe SCrAWl CENter."

One of the first things I am able to observe is SHarLi helping another being with features very similar to SHarLi's. This being's name is MADisON. MADisON has come to SHarLi with concerns for a bit of scrawl she's working on. SHarLi kindly reminds MADisON to twist her dial to the American English dialect. MADisON nods and twists. MADisON's scrawl is a whopping 27 pages long and she needs to condense it. SHarLi has numerous tools and tactics she uses to help MADisON achieve this. A few of the tactics are the following:

• SHarLi quickly jots down the ideas that MADisON has for her scrawl so that SHarLi can adequately follow along. 
• SHarLi points out that when she needs to condense her own scrawl, she takes down the main notes from memory only. The idea here is that whatever she remembers is probably more pertinent than whatever is left out. 
• In the discussion between SHarLi and MADisON, SHarLi states something that I think will stick with me for the remainder of my time here. She states that, "the safer a being feels, the more likely they are to challenge their beliefs and biases." If ever I find myself communicating with one of these beings the way SHarLi is, I would want them to feel safe and validated.
• Later on, SHarLi has MADisON attempt to discover what she believes to be the "heart" of her scrawl so that MADisON can work around that accordingly.
• Finally, SHarLi uses the notes she took at the beginning of the meeting to help MADisON create an outline of the things she most wishes to keep from the original scrawl.
• MADisON is able to use this information to create what looks like an outline for the tasks ahead of her.

After this meeting it is clear to me that this is a place of communication. This is a place where beings can come for constructive criticism and validation. This is a place where beings want and deserve to be heard and SHarLi did her best to make sure that's what occurred here for myself and MADisON. Ideally, if I ever found myself in a position similar to SHarLi's, I would remember the lengths SHarLi took to make MADisON and I feel safe and respected.