There’s nothing like watching the recordings of small group book discussions. They really run the gamut. Some groups keep up the chatter almost constantly, making connections with each others’ comments, asking questions, telling little anecdotes. Others plod methodically through the guiding document, like a steady march through the driving rain. Others seem to be playing a game of chicken of who will talk first.
A few times, I’ve laughed out loud. Some snippets:
“I don’t think we really have wells in this country anymore. I think they’re only in Africa.”
“I get embarrassed easily, so I don’t think I would cry for help if I fell down a well. I would just die there.”
“I think one relationship in which one person has more power than the other is Virgil and his hamster (it was a guinea pig, by the way). Virgil is the one who has to save the hamster, so he has more power.”
“Imagine all the poop and pee down there…I would try to collect clean water before I took a piss…guys, I’m pretty sure this meeting is still being recorded…”
And I’ve only just begun.
My Corner of the Village 