June 10, 2005

• mk1gti, you are now looking at one of only two Little Rock monkeys that I'm aware of. The other one is this guy, but he lacks both my level of alcohol tolerance and my general sophistication. Ignore his yammering. (Actually, I'll be interested to see how his comments compare to mine.) If race/religion is your main concern, I'd say your friend doesn't have much to worry about. If he's never lived in the South, there's definitely going to be a cultural adjustment -- the prevalence of Dixie flags alone was quite a surprise to my lily-white self, and I moved down here from the Ozarks. But as far as I know, overt racism of the "go home, rag-head" variety doesn't often rear its head unless you're out in the country. Little Rock (and Pulaski county as a whole) is the only major moderate-to-liberal area of the state (check out post-election maps, and you'll see a blue dot right in the middle of Arkansas -- that's us). However, that's going to be skewed a little rightward of places like NYC or LA. Statewide politics are...well, markedly better than Texas, I'll say that. We're evidently very much in favor of "defending" marriage, our governor is a Baptist minister (though is in some ways more moderate than Dubya, actually), etc., etc. In short, if your friend is at all socially or economically liberal, tell him/her to be ready for frustration. We're fighting the good fight, but it's an uphill battle. Little Rock and North Little Rock are fairly racially mixed, with large African-American and Latin-American populations (the latter is exploding) and steadily growing Middle-Eastern, Indian, and African populations. Crime isn't as bad as "Bangin' in Little Rock" would have you believe, if you've seen it, but there are neighborhoods to avoid. People around here are generally very friendly and hospitable. Not the most cosmopolitan bunch you'll ever meet, but the vast majority of people I've met around here are quite nice and happy to meet you. By "doctor" I assume you mean MD? I know a ton of doctors here in town I can talk to who can relate their experiences at the various hospitals and clinics around town, if that'd be helpful, and they may in turn have foreign colleagues who could relate their experiences. Also, Mrs. Tool and I would be overjoyed to give any advice on things like good neighborhoods to buy/rent in, night life, shopping, entertainment, liquor laws, etc. Mrs. Tool's a writer/editor for the Arkansas Times, so she's pretty well wired into the city and knows most of its nooks and crannies. E-mail's in the profile. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything.
• MCT has covered it pretty well, in his own inimitably asinine way. I lived in Faytetteville, Arkansas for about nine years, which is supposed to be the liberal mecca of the state, but I noticed a lot more Dixie flags up there than I have since returning to my hometown--although there are still quite a lot. Being a middle class white guy, though, I'm not sure how helpful I can be about racial perceptions for Middle Easterners in LR. There is quite a cultural mix here, especially in the UALR/UAMS areas, but that's not to say that we're without the good ole Southern ugliness, because we're not. I would also reiterate what Tool mentioned about the perceived crime rate. Umpty years ago LR got the reputation of being the Compton of the South, thanks to that documentary and the very real and very scary gang wars that were going on. Such problems haven't disappeared entirely, but they have subsided quite a bit, at least in my perception, and our downtown Rivermarket area is a very cool place to hang out now. Plus, we've got the Clinton Library and a lot of good eateries and bars down there. Definitely get in touch the the Tools, though--Mrs. Tool will be much more helpful to you than her alcoholic, self-important spouse. How he ever managed to bag a prize like her, given his "challenges," I'll never know. Here's hoping, though, that in a few years we'll be having LR Monkey Meetups.
• of course the more important question is, is there a Big Rock? or a Medium Rock?
• As a matter of fact, it was news to me, but there IS a Big Rock! I also know there's a Calico Rock, and a Lone Rock, and just plain old Rock. Not to mention North Little Rock, which is in fact a completely other city. No Medium Rock, though.
• woooo, Big Rock! just up yonder from Witcherville! thanks tenacious!
• not to mention east of Paw Paw and Fort Coffee. hee hee.
• These boys have a song about Big Rock. There is also an actual little rock in Little Rock, downtown by the Rivermarket.
• Ooh, didn't realize that last link would resize the browser. Sorry, all.
• middleclasstool Lots of good feedback so far, and yes I would appreciate every little bit of info you could throw into the thread re doctor feedback and foreign collegue feedback, as well as good neighborhoods to rent or live in, schools, etc. My friend and his family are real 'Ozzie and Harriett' types and I just want to do everything we can to make sure they have a good experience if they decide to relocate. And I'll jet you an e-mail later after I've been through my work thang. . . Time to log in . . .
• I don't live in Litle Rock, but Idaho is not exactally known for it's overly liberal stance. From what I've seen of the States, if your friend is a compassionate, personable, knows-what-he's-about doctor, that will gain him immediate acceptance in the community. We need doctors. Working in the hospital, I've come to realize more about the health crisis in Idaho, and across the US.
• I hate to say it, but flying an American flag in front of his house and having one of those inane "support our troops" ribbons on his car probably wouldn't hurt.
• Tell you what, mk1gti, I'll e-mail what doctor friends I have and see what I can come up with. There will be a bit of a lag, as I'll be out of town this weekend, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Meantime, if you can e-mail me where the offer is (i.e., which hospital), I can get you more specific feedback.
• Why not just call Bill Clinton's office? The man loves the opportunity to talk. He probably would return the call and then exhaust your eardrums.
• anybody else remember Big Rock Candy Mountain? all together now! There's a lake of gin We can both jump in And the handouts grow on bushes In the new-mown hay We can sleep all day And the bars all have free lunches Where the mail train stops And there ain't no cops And the folks are tender-hearted Where you never change your socks And you never throw rocks And your hair is never parted
• Bill Clinton's office is down the block from me up here in NYC. He hasn't been in Arkansas in years.
• Hi mtc; I've sent him an e-mail asking questions re what the offer is, etc. and he should get back to me within the next few days. He's currently on his way to a medical conference in Sweden, then through Copenhagen overnight so no biggy on turnaround time on info, he's not due in for the interview until July 1st. As soon as I get the info from him I'll e-mail you. Again, I really appreciate this.
• No prob. Just let me know. Include, if you can, details on whether they'd rather rent or buy, house or apartment, as that'll help me narrow neighborhood recommendations Therrrrrrrrre's a lake of stew and of whiskey too, you can paddle all around it in a big canoe, In the Big Rock Candy Mountaaaaaaaaain...
• mtc Love that song. I've got to pick up the soundtrack to 'O Brother Where Art Thou' so I can load that onto my iPod . . .
• He hasn't been in Arkansas in years. He hasn't lived in Arkansas in years. He stops by quite a bit, though. He's got his own apartment on top of the library, and when he's in town I can see the light on when I'm driving home.
• mk1gti, email me if you like, I have the soundtrack on CD and mp3 around here somewhere. It's worth it.
• I just *now* realized that middleclasstool's name is not "middle class stool." That's how I've been pronouncing it this whole past year in my head! This changes everything! My world as I know it has ceased to exist. I need a drink. . .
• Hiya mct, so here's the rest of the info: The job offer is to work as a university professor in the University of Arkansas. He'll also get training in order to get his U.S. certification.
• Did we run out of people who can speak English clearly to teach college? I have had and have seen teachers who aren't even understood by their students. How are they supposed to effectively teach?
• my friend who's inquiring about the job is one of the best in his field (pediatric urology). Any university that got him would be very lucky. As far as the issue of speaking english clearly, he speaks it very well indeed and has for years, as well as a few other languages (working on french in Montreal). Unfortunate about those who can't speak the language clearly though, I had a Korean engineer working at our aircraft plant who had a terrible accent and it made it nearly impossible to work with him, so I can empathize.
• wingnut - we don't know if this fellow can speak fluent English or not, though the blogs I've seen from Egypt have been written in better English than many from the US. And, accents are a fact of life in the world as it is today, if that's what you're talking about. You might have a problem understanding a New Joisey accent, or even ones from New England or the old South - places where our country started. Understanding all those mostly means getting used to different vowel sounds and appreciating idioms. Might take a little effort, but that's good for energizing the brain. If someone doesn't speak just as you do, well, what does that do? I'd guess that I don't speak just as you do, but I do speak in kind of a tv accent that you're familiar with. What accent do you speak with? And, really, isn't it up to the students to find a way to understand their professors? If you miss something, can't you ask for it to be repeated. That's what I did in calculus, after 25 years of not speaking math, but it worked. If the professors have something to teach, you should do whatever you can to learn from them. Getting an education isn't a passive thing.
• Oh, if it's University of Arkansas, not University of Arkansas at Little Rock, then that's Fayetteville, and not LR. So TenaciousPettle would be far, far better help than I when it comes to practicalities of settling in, finding neighborhoods to live in, etc. But I can still talk to doctor friends and see what they have to offer. Seriously, though, TP knows from Fayetteville. Me, hardly anything, except that it's one of the few predominantly progressive towns in AR.
• Duh. Mrs. Tool pointed out that you're probably talking about UAMS, which is UA for Medical Sciences, which is of course in LR. So, I'm an idiot, but one who's willing to help.
• Did we run out of people who can speak English clearly to teach college? I have had and have seen teachers who aren't even understood by their students. How are they supposed to effectively teach? posted by wingnut at 01:15AM UTC on June 11, 2005 No, it's just that American trained college professors aren't as bright as those forreners. (says a grad student in the States) Academics is an international field, and all sensible universities aim to be as open as possible to candidates from around the world.