I live pretty far outside the American mainstream. I know very little about pop culture. I don't have cable. I don't have a smart phone. I don't know anything about the Kardashians.
When I visit places with cable I often find myself glued to the set because I can't believe what I'm seeing. This week I am with family for Thanksgiving and I am staying in a house where TV was on all day.
I should say here that I watched a lot of television as a child. I was glued to TGIF every Friday. In college I didn't have time to watch TV anymore and it's been basically the same way ever since. I can't believe what it's like now-- Sitcoms, commercials and reality shows full of people without a flaw. Beautiful white people with perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect skin, the newest designer clothes, beautiful clean homes, etc, etc etc. This is not reality. No wonder kids grow up to think adulthood is such a disappointment. If they grow up thinking their life is going to be like what they see on TV, any sort of life would feel like a let-down.
I'm glad I don't understand or follow this trash. My dad, a very wise man, is very much about going back to basics in life and I agree more and more the older I get. I'd much rather read a good book, or -- better yet-- have coffee with a friend or family member and hear a good story, than sit in front of the television. There is so much beauty in the world and so many stories to be told. Stories that are more beautiful and more powerful and more vivid and dramatic than anything on NBC, CBS, or ABC.
I want to connect with people as much as I can-- with my students, with my friends, with my family. Have you and I connected recently?? If not, give me a call. I'll curl up with a cup of coffee and we can talk about something that matters. Something real.
Happy Thanksgiving to my dear friends and family. You make my life so vivid and so beautiful. I have been so blessed to know you all.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
new roads for exploration
I've been teaching at the new school for almost two months now. That's going pretty well.
Living in D.C. has been absolutely terrific. There's so much going on here. I have seen many concerts by area ensembles-- Choralis, Washington Bach Consort, Master Chorale of Washington. I have been to museums and restaurants and festivals. Last night I visited a haunted forest outside Poolesville, MD. Today I breifly visited Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. Absolutely breathtaking. A different kind of beauty than the National Parks of the Southwest. But stunning nonetheless.
I love living on the Maryland/DC border-- I love being able to get into the city easily on the red line of the Metro. I love being able to take the Metrobus to work.
One down side: It's COLD here... and it's that damp cold that cuts you to the bone.... and it's only October. It's going to take some getting used to. I wish my blood hadn't thinned quite so much during those years in beautiful Northern California.
Oh, and I got a pumpkin to carve.
Thus, far, a beautiful fall here in the Mid-Atlantic. Looking forward of more good things to come.
Living in D.C. has been absolutely terrific. There's so much going on here. I have seen many concerts by area ensembles-- Choralis, Washington Bach Consort, Master Chorale of Washington. I have been to museums and restaurants and festivals. Last night I visited a haunted forest outside Poolesville, MD. Today I breifly visited Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. Absolutely breathtaking. A different kind of beauty than the National Parks of the Southwest. But stunning nonetheless.
I love living on the Maryland/DC border-- I love being able to get into the city easily on the red line of the Metro. I love being able to take the Metrobus to work.
One down side: It's COLD here... and it's that damp cold that cuts you to the bone.... and it's only October. It's going to take some getting used to. I wish my blood hadn't thinned quite so much during those years in beautiful Northern California.
Oh, and I got a pumpkin to carve.
Thus, far, a beautiful fall here in the Mid-Atlantic. Looking forward of more good things to come.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
an update perhaps
There are so many changes happening.
Overall, life is quite good.
I don't know if I want to continue keeping this blog in existence.
The more life experience you have the more difficult things become to sort out. Ironic?
Overall, life is quite good.
I don't know if I want to continue keeping this blog in existence.
The more life experience you have the more difficult things become to sort out. Ironic?
Saturday, July 23, 2011
a long drive cross-country
I have driven across the country several times:
Highlights of the trip:
- In 2001 I drove from Ishpeming, MI to San José, CA to start studies at San José State University as part of the National Student Exchange.
- In 2005 I drove from Ishpeming to San José again after graduating from undergrad. to begin my teaching career.
- In 2009 I drove from San José to Ishpeming via Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, Warrensburg (MO), Indianapolis and Chicago.... then back to Flagstaff at the end of the summer to begin graduate school.
Highlights of the trip:
- HORRENDOUS lightning and thunderstorms in Utah. There is a beautiful scenic byway heading east out of Moah, Utah. Unfortunately, we saw very little because of the heavy rains.
- Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. I've driven this stretch several times but each time I am amazed at the beauty of the mountains.
- Mt. Rushmore. It was my first time visiting and thought it was very much worth the time and extra driving. Learning about how it was created is fascinating. They didn't take what we'd consider normal safety precautions back then. I can't imagine tackling such a large project.
- In Minneapolis I attended two days of the National Seminar of Hanbell Musicians of America, formerly known as AGEHR (the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers). I will be teaching handbells this fall at Norwood and learned SO much and met some wonderful people from Area III (DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, & North Carolina) who can help me with the 439083098 questions I have about how to teach handbells at the middle school level. It's a good challenge... I'm excited.
- Being at home for a day. Not long enough. Every time I go home I realize more and more how lucky I am to have been raised in such a tight knit community. I have been very much shaped by my experiences growing up there. It was fun to see family and friends. I even got to sit in with my grandma Palkki's card club (the Tilden Terrors!). Such fun.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
inspiration for a lifetime
I recently finished reading Long Walk to Freedom, the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Please read this amazing book.
One of my favorite quotes:
"I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite...Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished." - Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
One of my favorite quotes:
"I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite...Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished." - Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Leaving Flagstaff
I leave Flagstaff for the East Coast next week.
Inevitably as you prepare to leave a place you reflect on your time there. These two years in Flagstaff have been so incredibly vivid and full of life. I left the Bay Area after four and a half years and was, admittedly, a bit dazed by the smog, the traffic, the fast pace, and a very stressful job. I came to Flagstaff with my Bay Area friends thinking I was crazy to want to live somewhere to remote. I came to Flagstaff wanting despeartely to be awakened in some way.
For those of you who have never been here, Flagstaff is in northern Arizona, about 2.5 hours north of Phoenix. We are at 7,000 feet elevation at the base of the gorgeous San Francisco peaks (see below). This area boasts the largest group of volcanic peaks outside Hawaii. Flagstaff has about 50,000 residents (not including NAU) and is a strange mix of NAU students, hippies, lesbians, artists, Native Americans, "gun and country" types... the gamut. To combat some Arizona stereotpyes... No, this is not the desert. No, this is not like Phoenix or Tucson. Yes, this is a quite liberal area in a sea of red. Yes, we do live in a massively large Ponderosa Pine forest. YES, it snows here... a lot.
Living here has made me appreciate the outdoors much more. In San José, you need to seek out wilderness. In Flagstaff, it surrounds you. Skiing was 15 minutes away, hiking everywhere, the Grand Canyon just over an hour away...
But more than re-awakening my love for nature, what has amazed me about my time in Flagstaff has been the people. Outside my work at NAU, I served as assistant conductor of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff and also as choir director at Flagstaff Federated Community Church. What I soon found was that there is just enough of that small town atmosphere here to be charming (rather than my hometown of 6,000 folks where everyone thinks they know your business). Starting last spring, I couldn't go anywhere in town without running into someone I knew. And I found that I loved that. I loved that people knew me and that we could exchange pleasantries in the produce department at Safeway. I loved not being a number in the Bay Area rat race. I loved being a part of this community. I guess what I'm realizing is that this community has become a part of me...
I will miss Flagstaff immensely and will try to take these lessons to heart as I move to D.C.
Inevitably as you prepare to leave a place you reflect on your time there. These two years in Flagstaff have been so incredibly vivid and full of life. I left the Bay Area after four and a half years and was, admittedly, a bit dazed by the smog, the traffic, the fast pace, and a very stressful job. I came to Flagstaff with my Bay Area friends thinking I was crazy to want to live somewhere to remote. I came to Flagstaff wanting despeartely to be awakened in some way.
For those of you who have never been here, Flagstaff is in northern Arizona, about 2.5 hours north of Phoenix. We are at 7,000 feet elevation at the base of the gorgeous San Francisco peaks (see below). This area boasts the largest group of volcanic peaks outside Hawaii. Flagstaff has about 50,000 residents (not including NAU) and is a strange mix of NAU students, hippies, lesbians, artists, Native Americans, "gun and country" types... the gamut. To combat some Arizona stereotpyes... No, this is not the desert. No, this is not like Phoenix or Tucson. Yes, this is a quite liberal area in a sea of red. Yes, we do live in a massively large Ponderosa Pine forest. YES, it snows here... a lot.
Living here has made me appreciate the outdoors much more. In San José, you need to seek out wilderness. In Flagstaff, it surrounds you. Skiing was 15 minutes away, hiking everywhere, the Grand Canyon just over an hour away...
But more than re-awakening my love for nature, what has amazed me about my time in Flagstaff has been the people. Outside my work at NAU, I served as assistant conductor of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff and also as choir director at Flagstaff Federated Community Church. What I soon found was that there is just enough of that small town atmosphere here to be charming (rather than my hometown of 6,000 folks where everyone thinks they know your business). Starting last spring, I couldn't go anywhere in town without running into someone I knew. And I found that I loved that. I loved that people knew me and that we could exchange pleasantries in the produce department at Safeway. I loved not being a number in the Bay Area rat race. I loved being a part of this community. I guess what I'm realizing is that this community has become a part of me...
I will miss Flagstaff immensely and will try to take these lessons to heart as I move to D.C.
The San Francisco peaks in winter
photo credit: Brad McCann
The view from my first room in Flag. Ponderosa Pines everywhere!
Working with the NAU Men's Chorale... a source of great joy and inspiration
Conducting the Harter Memorial Handbell Choir at NAU. So much fun.
Monday, June 27, 2011
new horizons and getting involved
Some downfalls to moving around all the time is that your friends don't know where you are. It is also difficult to become "rooted" and connected professionally. The main professional organization for choral directors is ACDA, the American Choral Directors Associaiton. ACDA had been a vital part of my development as a choral director and it is a national organization which operates mostly through voluteer leadership. There is a national office in Oklahoma City with a small staff, but all the national officers and R & S (Repertoire and Standards) chairs are volunteers. Each state has its own ACDA chapter, and there are seven divisions which have their own leadership. My goal is to get involved with Maryland/DC and Eastern Division ACDA.
I can't believe I'm moving to the East Coast in just over two weeks. I am excited to start my new job and to explore D.C., but I can't believe I'll be leaving the west behind. I've become very accustomed to life (far) west of the Mississippi. I'm not sure how I'll adjust to humid, traffic-ridden D.C. life. I do love the city. Hopefully it will be a smooth transition. I plan to ride a lot of public transit.
I need to get a website. Putting that on the "to do" list for fall.
I am currently in process of choosing the repretoire I'll teach next year. An exciting but daunting process, especially when you don't yet know the students you'll be teaching. The learning curve this year will be steep.
I am trying to be more active in these last two weeks. I have been rather lazy this summer and want to get off the couch and in good shape before driving 2,300 miles (!!) to my new home.
I can't believe I'm moving to the East Coast in just over two weeks. I am excited to start my new job and to explore D.C., but I can't believe I'll be leaving the west behind. I've become very accustomed to life (far) west of the Mississippi. I'm not sure how I'll adjust to humid, traffic-ridden D.C. life. I do love the city. Hopefully it will be a smooth transition. I plan to ride a lot of public transit.
I need to get a website. Putting that on the "to do" list for fall.
I am currently in process of choosing the repretoire I'll teach next year. An exciting but daunting process, especially when you don't yet know the students you'll be teaching. The learning curve this year will be steep.
I am trying to be more active in these last two weeks. I have been rather lazy this summer and want to get off the couch and in good shape before driving 2,300 miles (!!) to my new home.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Random things I love, installment #1
#1: Garrison Keillor
Oh how I love this man. Ironically, I didn't learn about him or A Prairie Home Companion until I moved to California. I do remember being required to read one of his short stories in a middle school English textbook and TOTALLY not getting it (I couldn't "see the forest for the trees").
Since becoming a PHC listner, I have seen the show taped live twice and seen him speak live twice. I am absolutly enamored of the News from Lake Wobegon (which you can now download as a weekly podcast). The creativity he displays in telling stories of this totally fictional town blows my mind.
These stories from an imaginary town strike extraordinarily close to home. Coloquialisms, stock characters and iconic establishments still exist in my hometown. It makes me remember when I lived in a much simple time and a MUCH simpler place. Thers is a warm nostalgia that washes over me when I listen to Garrison. I am glad I got to see him in person before he retires (which unfortunately I think will be very soon).
I love that a 50's style radio show is still such a popular thing in the USA today.
#2: This American Life
If you don't know about this amazing PBS show, here is a blurb from their website:
"This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.7 million listeners... The radio show and TV show follow the same format. There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always."
Ira Glass hosts the show and it is amazing the stories/people they find. There are so many compelling things I've thought about because of this show. This is like a very smart, healthy version of reality television. They're talking about things that matter.
You can download the weekly shows for free as a podcast. Check out http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ for more info.
#3: Ice Cream
One of my vices. Did you know you can get a kids cone at McDonald's for only 56 cents? Amazing!
#4: Rufus Wainwright
Who else could possibly re-create the 1961 Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert...? I mean come on.
If you haven't heard his album Release the Stars, run don't walk to get it.
#5: National Parks
How many have you visited? I believe there are 53 now established.
I recently watched one installment of the new Ken Burns documentary about the history of the national parks. Fascinating. I can't believe that I lived in California for five years and didn't learn about the amazing work of John Muir until recently. He was an amazing man. If nothing else, read about his struggle to save the Hetch Hetchy valley.
I have now been to six national parks: Rocky Mountain (CO), Yosemite [twice] (CA), Sequoia & Kings Canyon (CA), Petrified Forest (AZ), & Grand Canyon (AZ). I want to visit many more. Unfortunately, very few are east of the Mississippi. I recently learned that Isle Royale in Lake Superior is a National Park. I hope to be able to visit the Smokey Mountains when I live in D.C.
Here are a few pictures from my recent trips to Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon and Petrified Forest:
Oh how I love this man. Ironically, I didn't learn about him or A Prairie Home Companion until I moved to California. I do remember being required to read one of his short stories in a middle school English textbook and TOTALLY not getting it (I couldn't "see the forest for the trees").
Since becoming a PHC listner, I have seen the show taped live twice and seen him speak live twice. I am absolutly enamored of the News from Lake Wobegon (which you can now download as a weekly podcast). The creativity he displays in telling stories of this totally fictional town blows my mind.
These stories from an imaginary town strike extraordinarily close to home. Coloquialisms, stock characters and iconic establishments still exist in my hometown. It makes me remember when I lived in a much simple time and a MUCH simpler place. Thers is a warm nostalgia that washes over me when I listen to Garrison. I am glad I got to see him in person before he retires (which unfortunately I think will be very soon).
I love that a 50's style radio show is still such a popular thing in the USA today.
#2: This American Life
If you don't know about this amazing PBS show, here is a blurb from their website:
"This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.7 million listeners... The radio show and TV show follow the same format. There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always."
Ira Glass hosts the show and it is amazing the stories/people they find. There are so many compelling things I've thought about because of this show. This is like a very smart, healthy version of reality television. They're talking about things that matter.
You can download the weekly shows for free as a podcast. Check out http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ for more info.
#3: Ice Cream
One of my vices. Did you know you can get a kids cone at McDonald's for only 56 cents? Amazing!
#4: Rufus Wainwright
Who else could possibly re-create the 1961 Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert...? I mean come on.
If you haven't heard his album Release the Stars, run don't walk to get it.
#5: National Parks
How many have you visited? I believe there are 53 now established.
I recently watched one installment of the new Ken Burns documentary about the history of the national parks. Fascinating. I can't believe that I lived in California for five years and didn't learn about the amazing work of John Muir until recently. He was an amazing man. If nothing else, read about his struggle to save the Hetch Hetchy valley.
I have now been to six national parks: Rocky Mountain (CO), Yosemite [twice] (CA), Sequoia & Kings Canyon (CA), Petrified Forest (AZ), & Grand Canyon (AZ). I want to visit many more. Unfortunately, very few are east of the Mississippi. I recently learned that Isle Royale in Lake Superior is a National Park. I hope to be able to visit the Smokey Mountains when I live in D.C.
Here are a few pictures from my recent trips to Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon and Petrified Forest:
 |
| Hetch Hetchy - O'Shaughnessy Dam (Yosemite) |
 |
| Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (Yosemite) |
 |
| Random valley shot (Yosemite) |
 |
| Yosemite Valley waterfall |
 |
| Zumwalt Meadows (Kings Canyon) |
 |
| Kings Canyon |
 |
| Petrified Forest |
 |
| Petrified Forest |
 |
| Painted Desert (Petrified Forest) |
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Well, it's been awhile.
Much has happened since I last wrote here. After my epiphany about not pursuing the Peace Corps, I began to apply for teaching jobs. I applied for several jobs in California and several throughout the country in cities I'd be willing to live in.
The first "bite" I had was for a private school job in Bethesda, MD (right outside Washington D.C.). In mid-April, I had two phone interviews and then was flown out for an audition/interview, which went very well. That same week they offered me the position. As of August, I am the new middle school choir and handbells teacher at Norwood School.
This is quite a change from my original plan, I realize, and I have had some struggle reconciling this discrepancy. Teaching private school isn't a bad thing to be sure... just a major departure from "the plan." Perhaps the larger message here is that you can't plan your life too specificically. In the end it will take you where you need to go.
So, I will spent half the summer here in lovely Flagstaff, then move in mid/late July to the East coast.
Last night I watched Waiting for Superman, a documentary about public education in America. GREAT film. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it.
Public education in this country needs help. I remember how fresh faced and naive I was when I began my teaching career. I taught in a big urban (and very disfunctional) district. Over my four years there, I was continally struck by the challenges. Kids being raised by their older siblings, gang issues, a negative (and creepy) campus climate, kids who speak little or no English... I found a reality I wasn't at all prepared for. Though I found some success, I was never really satisfied with my school, district, or teaching. I always felt like my kids deserved better.... the sad reality is that most of them will never get a better education.
More on this to come.
In the meantime, check out http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/
The first "bite" I had was for a private school job in Bethesda, MD (right outside Washington D.C.). In mid-April, I had two phone interviews and then was flown out for an audition/interview, which went very well. That same week they offered me the position. As of August, I am the new middle school choir and handbells teacher at Norwood School.
This is quite a change from my original plan, I realize, and I have had some struggle reconciling this discrepancy. Teaching private school isn't a bad thing to be sure... just a major departure from "the plan." Perhaps the larger message here is that you can't plan your life too specificically. In the end it will take you where you need to go.
So, I will spent half the summer here in lovely Flagstaff, then move in mid/late July to the East coast.
Last night I watched Waiting for Superman, a documentary about public education in America. GREAT film. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it.
Public education in this country needs help. I remember how fresh faced and naive I was when I began my teaching career. I taught in a big urban (and very disfunctional) district. Over my four years there, I was continally struck by the challenges. Kids being raised by their older siblings, gang issues, a negative (and creepy) campus climate, kids who speak little or no English... I found a reality I wasn't at all prepared for. Though I found some success, I was never really satisfied with my school, district, or teaching. I always felt like my kids deserved better.... the sad reality is that most of them will never get a better education.
More on this to come.
In the meantime, check out http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Every road ends somewhere
My Peace Corps journey ended (for now) on Monday, March 7. After a lot of thinking and struggling, I've come to terms with the fact that the Peace Corps is not the right thing for me at this stage in my life.
Music is too much a part of me and things in this career field are going too well to leave at this point. I went into my Master's program hoping to fall back in love with choral music... and I have. Hardcore. I am the luckiest man alive to spend a significant portion of my life creating joy and beauty through the choral art. It's what I'm good at. It's what gets me up in the morning. It's what brings me joy. It's what I do.
I hadn't heard from the Peace Corps in a long time, so in February I called the D.C. placement office inquiring about my application. I got an e-mail informing me they wanted me to complete a minimum of 30 hours of training in Teaching English as a Second Language. This got me thinking: why would I push myself to add more to my plate (on top of trying to leave this Master's program with my sanity and all my hair) to do something I'm not passionate about. Now, I'm not saying that I'm god's gift to choral conducting... but I'm good at what I do. And I'm excited about it. And I can make a living in it-- now.
The long and the short of it is that this just isn't the right time for me to go to Africa for 27 months. It will be someday. Just not now.
So... now the next dilemma-- the job search. Eek.
Here's to diverting and diverging paths!
Music is too much a part of me and things in this career field are going too well to leave at this point. I went into my Master's program hoping to fall back in love with choral music... and I have. Hardcore. I am the luckiest man alive to spend a significant portion of my life creating joy and beauty through the choral art. It's what I'm good at. It's what gets me up in the morning. It's what brings me joy. It's what I do.
I hadn't heard from the Peace Corps in a long time, so in February I called the D.C. placement office inquiring about my application. I got an e-mail informing me they wanted me to complete a minimum of 30 hours of training in Teaching English as a Second Language. This got me thinking: why would I push myself to add more to my plate (on top of trying to leave this Master's program with my sanity and all my hair) to do something I'm not passionate about. Now, I'm not saying that I'm god's gift to choral conducting... but I'm good at what I do. And I'm excited about it. And I can make a living in it-- now.
The long and the short of it is that this just isn't the right time for me to go to Africa for 27 months. It will be someday. Just not now.
So... now the next dilemma-- the job search. Eek.
Here's to diverting and diverging paths!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
a busy time
I haven't posted in awhile. It's been very, very busy these past few weeks.
Two days ago I gave my graduate lecture recital, the capstone experience for my master's degree. It went extremely well. I am so lucky to be working with many different choirs and to spend my days making beautiful music. It makes leaving this profession for two years hard to think about.
I called Peace Corps yesterday because I haven't heard anything for many weeks (when I called them in late December they said I'd hear something in 4-6 weeks). I got a voicemail and an e-mail back saying that they're concerned about my lack of experience in English teaching. They are asking me to complete thirty hours of training before they give me an invitation. They also want to do ao 20-30 minute phone interview. I haven't responded yet and I'm not exactly sure yet what I'm going to say.
As an alternative to the Peace Corps, I applied this week for a one-year fellowship with the Global Health Corps. It's a great organization which coordinates with many different NGO's throughout the world. The housing and pay are better than PC, and it's only one year. We'll see what comes of this, but right now it seems like a good alternative.
I am also thinking more every day about applying for teaching jobs. But where?
Hopefully now that my lecture recital is over I'll have more time to really dig deep and get to the core of what I really want the next two years of my life to look like. The clock's ticking and I can't afford to be indecisive for much longer...
Two days ago I gave my graduate lecture recital, the capstone experience for my master's degree. It went extremely well. I am so lucky to be working with many different choirs and to spend my days making beautiful music. It makes leaving this profession for two years hard to think about.
I called Peace Corps yesterday because I haven't heard anything for many weeks (when I called them in late December they said I'd hear something in 4-6 weeks). I got a voicemail and an e-mail back saying that they're concerned about my lack of experience in English teaching. They are asking me to complete thirty hours of training before they give me an invitation. They also want to do ao 20-30 minute phone interview. I haven't responded yet and I'm not exactly sure yet what I'm going to say.
As an alternative to the Peace Corps, I applied this week for a one-year fellowship with the Global Health Corps. It's a great organization which coordinates with many different NGO's throughout the world. The housing and pay are better than PC, and it's only one year. We'll see what comes of this, but right now it seems like a good alternative.
I am also thinking more every day about applying for teaching jobs. But where?
Hopefully now that my lecture recital is over I'll have more time to really dig deep and get to the core of what I really want the next two years of my life to look like. The clock's ticking and I can't afford to be indecisive for much longer...
Friday, January 28, 2011
all shook up
Life moves so fast.
Everything is going along and makes so much sense and then it doesn't.
I STILL, after all this time, can't decide whether this very long road toward the Peace Corps is right for me-- right now.
Tonight, I get to sing J.S. Bach's masterful Mass in B Minor with a professional orchestra. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a musician. Singing it is more powerful than I can ever put into words.
...so I'm up there singing and in the back of my mind thinking "how can I leave all this?" Music is my blood. In my bones. I feel music. I understand music. I am passionate about music. And right now I get to spend all day every day making music. I'm so SO lucky.
I am going to spend today trying very hard to quiet my mind and hoping that somewhere in the middle of Bach's magnificent 2 hour+ work, music and my conscience will become one-- and tell me what I need to hear.
Everything is going along and makes so much sense and then it doesn't.
I STILL, after all this time, can't decide whether this very long road toward the Peace Corps is right for me-- right now.
Tonight, I get to sing J.S. Bach's masterful Mass in B Minor with a professional orchestra. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a musician. Singing it is more powerful than I can ever put into words.
...so I'm up there singing and in the back of my mind thinking "how can I leave all this?" Music is my blood. In my bones. I feel music. I understand music. I am passionate about music. And right now I get to spend all day every day making music. I'm so SO lucky.
I am going to spend today trying very hard to quiet my mind and hoping that somewhere in the middle of Bach's magnificent 2 hour+ work, music and my conscience will become one-- and tell me what I need to hear.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
I don't have much time now but thought I'd just mention...
...that I have the greatest life. I am so grateful for everyone in it and for all the amazing things I get to do.
Thatisall. For now.
Thatisall. For now.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
formative years and experiences
I love musicals. I do. It's cliché, but who cares.
Certain musicals had a very large part in my adolescent development, namely Rent. I recently watched the DVD of the final performance of the show on Broadway after a 12-year run. If you don't know about this show, it's a re-telling of Puccini's opera La Boheme set in the mid-1990's East Village of New York City. It's a rock musical about bohemians-- starving artists, wayward academics, homeless people, and drug addicts, many dealing with HIV/AIDS. It was very controversial in the beginning, and opened on Broadway with a very unique, new type of audience. Rent is by Jonathan Larson, a composer/author who struggled for many years to find his niche in the American musical theatre community. He struggled for many years working at a 'greasy spoon' diner while passionately pursuing his musical aspirations. In a tragic turn of events, Jonathan died of an aortic aneurysm the day before Rent opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show went on to tremendous success at NYTW, and was quickly moved to Broadway where it won several Tony's and earned Larson a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
I remember vividly sitting on the floor of my living room while nobody was home and listening to the original cast album of Rent in 1996. I was dealing with many things at that time-- who I was, what I was about, and struggling hard to find self-acceptance. Rent was ground-breaking for me. It was a celebration of people who are outside the mainstream and a joyous declaration that a "deviant" counterculture is a healthy thing for society. Coming from small-town Midwest, these were earth-shattering ideals. To hear a love duet between a gay man and a drag queen, stories about living on the street and drug users, and songs about an HIV/AIDS support group were completely outside my scope of understanding. It made me realize I wasn't alone-- that there were people out there that felt different like me and who weren't afraid to celebrate being different.
I remember vividly hearing the sister of one of my good high school friends sing the song "Halloween" from Rent for an audition at the community theatre where I spent many a summer. This girl, Anna, very much lived the ideals of Jonathan Larson's masterpiece-- even in our backward small town. She lived life hard and fast, and at the time, my puritanical self wasn't comfortable with that. Anna was outside the mainstream that I was stuck in. When Anna died in a car accident heading back to college after Christmas break in 1997, her parents asked me to sing "Seasons of Love," Rent's best-known song, at her funeral. Soon thereafter, I realized how astonishingly foolish I'd been. I learned a lot about myself and about accepting others. It's our differences that make us amazing. I broke quickly out of my shell, and in the end took on many of the fiercely individualistic traits which once made me question her lifestyle.
I've been thinking a lot about Anna lately, and about my friend Becca who died in 2006. Both amazing women-- strong, independent. I can't believe it's been 14 years since Anna died. I try every day to live in a way that would make them proud. I have been so lucky to have these 14 years to make music--to connect to people, to sing, to conduct, to travel, to learn...
"No Day But Today!"
Certain musicals had a very large part in my adolescent development, namely Rent. I recently watched the DVD of the final performance of the show on Broadway after a 12-year run. If you don't know about this show, it's a re-telling of Puccini's opera La Boheme set in the mid-1990's East Village of New York City. It's a rock musical about bohemians-- starving artists, wayward academics, homeless people, and drug addicts, many dealing with HIV/AIDS. It was very controversial in the beginning, and opened on Broadway with a very unique, new type of audience. Rent is by Jonathan Larson, a composer/author who struggled for many years to find his niche in the American musical theatre community. He struggled for many years working at a 'greasy spoon' diner while passionately pursuing his musical aspirations. In a tragic turn of events, Jonathan died of an aortic aneurysm the day before Rent opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show went on to tremendous success at NYTW, and was quickly moved to Broadway where it won several Tony's and earned Larson a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
I remember vividly sitting on the floor of my living room while nobody was home and listening to the original cast album of Rent in 1996. I was dealing with many things at that time-- who I was, what I was about, and struggling hard to find self-acceptance. Rent was ground-breaking for me. It was a celebration of people who are outside the mainstream and a joyous declaration that a "deviant" counterculture is a healthy thing for society. Coming from small-town Midwest, these were earth-shattering ideals. To hear a love duet between a gay man and a drag queen, stories about living on the street and drug users, and songs about an HIV/AIDS support group were completely outside my scope of understanding. It made me realize I wasn't alone-- that there were people out there that felt different like me and who weren't afraid to celebrate being different.
I remember vividly hearing the sister of one of my good high school friends sing the song "Halloween" from Rent for an audition at the community theatre where I spent many a summer. This girl, Anna, very much lived the ideals of Jonathan Larson's masterpiece-- even in our backward small town. She lived life hard and fast, and at the time, my puritanical self wasn't comfortable with that. Anna was outside the mainstream that I was stuck in. When Anna died in a car accident heading back to college after Christmas break in 1997, her parents asked me to sing "Seasons of Love," Rent's best-known song, at her funeral. Soon thereafter, I realized how astonishingly foolish I'd been. I learned a lot about myself and about accepting others. It's our differences that make us amazing. I broke quickly out of my shell, and in the end took on many of the fiercely individualistic traits which once made me question her lifestyle.
I've been thinking a lot about Anna lately, and about my friend Becca who died in 2006. Both amazing women-- strong, independent. I can't believe it's been 14 years since Anna died. I try every day to live in a way that would make them proud. I have been so lucky to have these 14 years to make music--to connect to people, to sing, to conduct, to travel, to learn...
"There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today"
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today"
Rent closed on Broadway in 2008, but it's impact, especially in my life, will never be over.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
the beginning of the end
Today is the first day of my last semester of grad. school. Soon after graduation, I'll (hopefully) be leaving for the Peace Corps.
I'll be completely honest and tell you that I have a bit of anxiety starting again today. I tend to be a bit of a workaholic and this is a big semester between my lecture recital (in less than a month!), the conducting competition at ACDA in March, and my oral exams (EEEEK!). But... it's just school, right? It's all a means to an end. The degree is my key to moving on to the next step. And these events lead to the graduation.
Over the summer I watched the movie Little Ashes. Have you seen it? Robert Pattison (of Twilight fame) plays Salador Dalí. It's quite good, and there's one quote I'm trying to make my mantra:
"If I'm going to be anything more than average, if anyone's going to remember me, then I need to go further in everything: in art, in life, in everything they think is real: morality, immorality, good, bad, I, we, have to smash that to pieces, we have to go beyond that, we have to be brave. no limit."
I want to go beyond. I want to be brave. No limits it is!
I'll be completely honest and tell you that I have a bit of anxiety starting again today. I tend to be a bit of a workaholic and this is a big semester between my lecture recital (in less than a month!), the conducting competition at ACDA in March, and my oral exams (EEEEK!). But... it's just school, right? It's all a means to an end. The degree is my key to moving on to the next step. And these events lead to the graduation.
Over the summer I watched the movie Little Ashes. Have you seen it? Robert Pattison (of Twilight fame) plays Salador Dalí. It's quite good, and there's one quote I'm trying to make my mantra:
"If I'm going to be anything more than average, if anyone's going to remember me, then I need to go further in everything: in art, in life, in everything they think is real: morality, immorality, good, bad, I, we, have to smash that to pieces, we have to go beyond that, we have to be brave. no limit."
I want to go beyond. I want to be brave. No limits it is!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
two quotes
All week, my head embroiled with thoughts of HIV/AIDS in Africa, an exhchange from my favorite TV show of all time, The West Wing, has haunted me. At this point in the series, there is unthinkable genecide (ethnic cleansing, basically) in a fictional African country called Kundu.
In trying to make a decision about whether to send in American troops, President Bartlet asks one of his aides (Will Baily):
Bartlet: "Why does an American life matter more to me than a Kundunese life?"
Baily: "I don't know, sir, but it is."
WHY? Why is this the case? What makes an African life less than an American life? Nothing in our genetics makes us a superior species. I know there's no answer for this, but it keeps swimming around in my brain. And eating at me.
Now a quote from Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom:
"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another." --p. 166
In trying to make a decision about whether to send in American troops, President Bartlet asks one of his aides (Will Baily):
Bartlet: "Why does an American life matter more to me than a Kundunese life?"
Baily: "I don't know, sir, but it is."
WHY? Why is this the case? What makes an African life less than an American life? Nothing in our genetics makes us a superior species. I know there's no answer for this, but it keeps swimming around in my brain. And eating at me.
Now a quote from Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom:
"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another." --p. 166
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sensational "journalism" and Stephen Lewis
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am shocked and angered by the recent ABC "news" 20/20 stories about the Peace Corps. If you haven't seen or heard about them, click here.
There were two stories: one about the unfortunate killing of PCV Kate Puzey in Benin and another about ~1,000 young women who claim they were sexually abused while in the Peace Corps. The story alleges that the PC had something to do with covering up these horrible circumstances. Newsflash ABC: Rather than doing a story about the 200,000+ success stories of the past 50 years of the organization, you chose to focus on 0.5% of volunteers who unfortunately met with hardship during their service. I don't understand this choice. The Peace Corps is a government program, admittedly involving some level of bureaucracy... but who would dispute that: (a) it's a program trying it's best to help the world, and (b) it does its best to act in the best interest of its volunteers.
Let me be clear: sexual violence of any kind is unacceptable. However, in the wake of my recent reserach, I also find it highly ironic that 20/20 would focus on the plight of these American women, ignoring the millions of African women affected by sexual violence every day. I recently read something that gave me chills: "It is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read."
I have also learned recently of Stephen Lewis. I watched a DVD called The Value of Life which follows Lewis' journey through Africa in his capacity as the UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa under Kofi Anan from 2001-2003. The stories are devastating and heartbreaking. His fight is inspiring, frustrating, and tremendous. His fight for the accessibility of ARV (antiretroviral drugs) to prolong the lives of Africans was slow and full of hiccups. Especially frustrating is the fact that many countries promised financial support to Africa in early 2001, but after the "war on terror" began, suddenly money for HIV/AIDS in Africa was no longer a priority. Incidentally, did you know that the entire Peace Corps annual budget, $295 million, is equivalent to the cost of ONE B-2 bomber plane? Where oh where have our morals and priorities gone?
Stephen Lewis is no longer working under the umbrella of eh UN, but he has started a foundation and is doing amazing things. Especially inspiring is his support of grandmothers in Africa, many of whom are forced to raise their grandchildren after both parents perish from "the disease." Heartbreaking. There are an estimated 16 million orphans in Africa today. I can't even fathom that number.
I am trying to make some sense of all this and I can't. It seems that the more I learn and the more I read, the more I feel like a Peace Corps volunteer. And that makes me prouder than I can say.
I am shocked and angered by the recent ABC "news" 20/20 stories about the Peace Corps. If you haven't seen or heard about them, click here.
There were two stories: one about the unfortunate killing of PCV Kate Puzey in Benin and another about ~1,000 young women who claim they were sexually abused while in the Peace Corps. The story alleges that the PC had something to do with covering up these horrible circumstances. Newsflash ABC: Rather than doing a story about the 200,000+ success stories of the past 50 years of the organization, you chose to focus on 0.5% of volunteers who unfortunately met with hardship during their service. I don't understand this choice. The Peace Corps is a government program, admittedly involving some level of bureaucracy... but who would dispute that: (a) it's a program trying it's best to help the world, and (b) it does its best to act in the best interest of its volunteers.
Let me be clear: sexual violence of any kind is unacceptable. However, in the wake of my recent reserach, I also find it highly ironic that 20/20 would focus on the plight of these American women, ignoring the millions of African women affected by sexual violence every day. I recently read something that gave me chills: "It is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read."
I have also learned recently of Stephen Lewis. I watched a DVD called The Value of Life which follows Lewis' journey through Africa in his capacity as the UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa under Kofi Anan from 2001-2003. The stories are devastating and heartbreaking. His fight is inspiring, frustrating, and tremendous. His fight for the accessibility of ARV (antiretroviral drugs) to prolong the lives of Africans was slow and full of hiccups. Especially frustrating is the fact that many countries promised financial support to Africa in early 2001, but after the "war on terror" began, suddenly money for HIV/AIDS in Africa was no longer a priority. Incidentally, did you know that the entire Peace Corps annual budget, $295 million, is equivalent to the cost of ONE B-2 bomber plane? Where oh where have our morals and priorities gone?
Stephen Lewis is no longer working under the umbrella of eh UN, but he has started a foundation and is doing amazing things. Especially inspiring is his support of grandmothers in Africa, many of whom are forced to raise their grandchildren after both parents perish from "the disease." Heartbreaking. There are an estimated 16 million orphans in Africa today. I can't even fathom that number.
I am trying to make some sense of all this and I can't. It seems that the more I learn and the more I read, the more I feel like a Peace Corps volunteer. And that makes me prouder than I can say.
Friday, January 14, 2011
"Darwin's Nightmare"
I've been making a concerted effort to learn more about Africa. I've been reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, which my parents got me for Christmas. I've also been watching lots of DVD's from the NAU library.
Last night I watched a documentary called Darwin's Nightmare. Have you seen it? The film is set in Mwanza, Tanzania, near Lake Victoria. In this lake, one of the "great lakes" of Africa, a vicious species of fish called the Nile perch was introduced several years back. It has devoured every species of fish in the lake and is now forced to eat its young. It is also a HUGE fish, and locals have opened factories where the fillets are produced and immediately sent by plane to Europe.
The film follows the story of locals: starving and/or homeless children, fisherman -- more and more of whom are affected by HIV/AIDS, local businessmen, prostitutes, a local pastor (who will not advise his congregation to use condoms because sexual intercourse is a sin), and an incredible teenager named Jonathon who pulled himself out of poverty and makes a living as a freelance artist. It also follows the story of a group of Russians who fly in to bring the fish to Europe.
Later in the film you find out that they don't take a direct route to Africa. They stop in Western Europe to pick up arms for countries like DCR Congo and Angola, which are ravvaged by war. The arms are unloaded and fish loaded, then the cycle continues.
The irony of all this is painful to watch. From the wikipedia article on this film:
"As Dima, the radio engineer of the plane crew, says later on in the film: the children of Angola receive guns for Christmas, the children of Europe receive grapes. The appalling living and working conditions of the indigenous people, in which basic sanitation is completely absent and many children turn to drugs and prostitution, is covered in great depth; because the Nile perch fish is farmed commercially, all the prime fillets are sold to European supermarkets, leaving the local people to survive on the festering carcasses of the gutted fish."
How can we let people live like this? Do Americans know this is happening? Do they care? Have they given up on Africa? Do they pretend it's all like The Lion King? How can I sit here with the ridicious wealth I have while these people are suffering and dying.
A great film, but hard to watch. For me it's in a category with Boys Don't Cry-- a great film but one I don't think I can ever watch again.
School starts very soon. This is very much the "calm before the storm." I'm going to enjoy these last few days off before the mad dash to graduation begins...
Last night I watched a documentary called Darwin's Nightmare. Have you seen it? The film is set in Mwanza, Tanzania, near Lake Victoria. In this lake, one of the "great lakes" of Africa, a vicious species of fish called the Nile perch was introduced several years back. It has devoured every species of fish in the lake and is now forced to eat its young. It is also a HUGE fish, and locals have opened factories where the fillets are produced and immediately sent by plane to Europe.
The film follows the story of locals: starving and/or homeless children, fisherman -- more and more of whom are affected by HIV/AIDS, local businessmen, prostitutes, a local pastor (who will not advise his congregation to use condoms because sexual intercourse is a sin), and an incredible teenager named Jonathon who pulled himself out of poverty and makes a living as a freelance artist. It also follows the story of a group of Russians who fly in to bring the fish to Europe.
Later in the film you find out that they don't take a direct route to Africa. They stop in Western Europe to pick up arms for countries like DCR Congo and Angola, which are ravvaged by war. The arms are unloaded and fish loaded, then the cycle continues.
The irony of all this is painful to watch. From the wikipedia article on this film:
"As Dima, the radio engineer of the plane crew, says later on in the film: the children of Angola receive guns for Christmas, the children of Europe receive grapes. The appalling living and working conditions of the indigenous people, in which basic sanitation is completely absent and many children turn to drugs and prostitution, is covered in great depth; because the Nile perch fish is farmed commercially, all the prime fillets are sold to European supermarkets, leaving the local people to survive on the festering carcasses of the gutted fish."
How can we let people live like this? Do Americans know this is happening? Do they care? Have they given up on Africa? Do they pretend it's all like The Lion King? How can I sit here with the ridicious wealth I have while these people are suffering and dying.
A great film, but hard to watch. For me it's in a category with Boys Don't Cry-- a great film but one I don't think I can ever watch again.
School starts very soon. This is very much the "calm before the storm." I'm going to enjoy these last few days off before the mad dash to graduation begins...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Meyers-Briggs test
Have you taken it? You can take a 72-question online version here.
I've heard about this test for a long time but have never taken it. A more in-depth version of this type of study is discussed in the book Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirseyand Marilyn Bates, which I'd like to read. I think this online version is pretty accurate.
My Type is
INTJ
I've heard about this test for a long time but have never taken it. A more in-depth version of this type of study is discussed in the book Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirseyand Marilyn Bates, which I'd like to read. I think this online version is pretty accurate.
My Type is
INTJ
| Introverted | Intuitive | Thinking | Judging | ||
| Strength of the preferences % | |||||
| 22 | 62 | 12 | 44 | ||
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
my guitar
...needs a name.
She also desperately needs a tuning and needs to be played once a day.
I bought her from Custom Sound Instruments in Flagstaff. She's beautiful. Now I need to learn to play her. Somehow in my classical music upbringing I never learned any guitar.... and when I go to Africa it will be my primary source for music-making. Today, I'll play her. My goal is to be able to play bar chords within the next couple of months.
In other news, I met a current Peace Corps volunteer whose blog I have been following and who I have been e-mailing with for many months yesterday. He's in Arizona on vacation. A very powerful conversation which left me feeling very excited.
When making large life decisions, there's going to be regret in some way, shape, or form. You can choose to live in greif, dwelling on the future regret, or you can just be excited that your life is going to change forever. I choose to be excited.
She also desperately needs a tuning and needs to be played once a day.
I bought her from Custom Sound Instruments in Flagstaff. She's beautiful. Now I need to learn to play her. Somehow in my classical music upbringing I never learned any guitar.... and when I go to Africa it will be my primary source for music-making. Today, I'll play her. My goal is to be able to play bar chords within the next couple of months.
In other news, I met a current Peace Corps volunteer whose blog I have been following and who I have been e-mailing with for many months yesterday. He's in Arizona on vacation. A very powerful conversation which left me feeling very excited.
When making large life decisions, there's going to be regret in some way, shape, or form. You can choose to live in greif, dwelling on the future regret, or you can just be excited that your life is going to change forever. I choose to be excited.
Friday, January 7, 2011
American Choral Culture IS American Culture... and struggles with meat-eating
It's phenomenal to me how my perspective has changed in a few short years. During my undergraduate years, I was fairly certain I'd move to Chicago, find a nice cushy teaching job in the suburbs, practice reverse commuting, and live happily ever after. This isn't exactly what transpired. In a bold move, I headed west after graduation and found a job in the urban jungle of San José, California. Oh how my perceptions were altered during those four years. I was faced with racial and gang issues unforeseen in my tidy, rural Midwestern upbringing. I loved my kids. They were tough, and rough around the edges, but they were real. They were anything but the cookie-cutter white-bread I envisioned teaching in suburban Chicago. My kids could sing.
Every year since 2002 I have attended a regional or national conference of the American Choral Directors Associaiton (ACDA). I used to attend these conferences and see phenomenal choirs and yearn for the day that I could showcase my own group at such a presigious event. My goal from very early on was to conduct at an ACDA conference as soon as posisble.
But in the last several years my outlook has changed. Yesterday the 2011 Chicago National Convention issue of the Choral Journal came in the mail. As I flip through, I see (with a few notable exceptions) choirs of upper middle class white folks led by nice upper middle class white folks. There are no choirs in this issue that look like my kids. This is all fine and good, of course. I'm sure I'll be moved by many of these choirs and be extremely grateful for their high level of performance. But-- this is not reality. These choirs don't show a cross-section of America. How could they? All the best teachers have the same dream I had as an undergraduate-- to teach nice white kids with nice parents who will pay for nice choir dresses and trips. Why would a talented young music teacher want to take a job in South Chicago or South Central LA or the tenderloin of San Francisco?
I guess what I'm realizing more and more is that the things about American culture that make me cringe are also present in the American "choral world." We live in a "pie in the sky," "ivory tower" world. That's a hard pill to swallow. Especially because I know that some of those things are still present in myself. As I flip through this convention preview, there is a part of me that still wants to see my head shot there. I feel like two diametrically opposite worlds are pulling me in two directions.
Maybe two years in the Peace Corps would give me a fresh, less jaded perspective on my chosen profession.
On another subject...
I'm struggling with the meat-eating issue. The plan with my nutritionist was that I should start eating meat in January to give my stomach six months to get used to meat before heading off to Africa. This is more difficult than I'd envisioned. Being a vegetarian is very much wrapped up in who I have been for the past twelve years, and walking away feels like betraying a very important part of myself.
I try to not think this way. In the grand scheme, it's just food and from an African perspective, vegetarianism is an increidbly luxury. Many Africans would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to have meat at their disposal. This helps.
So, I need to start eating some chicken and turkey... and hope that my stomach doens't revolt.
Every year since 2002 I have attended a regional or national conference of the American Choral Directors Associaiton (ACDA). I used to attend these conferences and see phenomenal choirs and yearn for the day that I could showcase my own group at such a presigious event. My goal from very early on was to conduct at an ACDA conference as soon as posisble.
But in the last several years my outlook has changed. Yesterday the 2011 Chicago National Convention issue of the Choral Journal came in the mail. As I flip through, I see (with a few notable exceptions) choirs of upper middle class white folks led by nice upper middle class white folks. There are no choirs in this issue that look like my kids. This is all fine and good, of course. I'm sure I'll be moved by many of these choirs and be extremely grateful for their high level of performance. But-- this is not reality. These choirs don't show a cross-section of America. How could they? All the best teachers have the same dream I had as an undergraduate-- to teach nice white kids with nice parents who will pay for nice choir dresses and trips. Why would a talented young music teacher want to take a job in South Chicago or South Central LA or the tenderloin of San Francisco?
I guess what I'm realizing more and more is that the things about American culture that make me cringe are also present in the American "choral world." We live in a "pie in the sky," "ivory tower" world. That's a hard pill to swallow. Especially because I know that some of those things are still present in myself. As I flip through this convention preview, there is a part of me that still wants to see my head shot there. I feel like two diametrically opposite worlds are pulling me in two directions.
Maybe two years in the Peace Corps would give me a fresh, less jaded perspective on my chosen profession.
On another subject...
I'm struggling with the meat-eating issue. The plan with my nutritionist was that I should start eating meat in January to give my stomach six months to get used to meat before heading off to Africa. This is more difficult than I'd envisioned. Being a vegetarian is very much wrapped up in who I have been for the past twelve years, and walking away feels like betraying a very important part of myself.
I try to not think this way. In the grand scheme, it's just food and from an African perspective, vegetarianism is an increidbly luxury. Many Africans would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to have meat at their disposal. This helps.
So, I need to start eating some chicken and turkey... and hope that my stomach doens't revolt.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
a possibility
The Centre International D'Art et de Musique de Ouidah
Check out this school. AMAZING place!
Last night while cleaning out my inbox, I stumbled upon a message from a listserv I subscribe to of RPCV's (returned Peace Corps volunteers) and prospective PCV's like myself. It mentioned something about a music teaching position in the Peace Corps. Of course I e-mailed the gentleman straight away and he e-mailed me back. Apparentely, the posting is more for RPCV's and is part of a program called Peace Corps Response which is a specialized positions mostly for volunteers to go into once they've completed their two years of "regular" service.
Anyhow, it isn't likely that I could get a position like this right away, but it's SO encouraging to know that Peace Corps is involved with programs like this. All of a sudden I see the possibility of combining my Peace Corps aspirations with my love of music education. I am encouraged.
I've been spending a lot of time thinking about Peace Corps service during this holiday break. I am trying to read as much about Africa as I can so that once (if) I get my invitation, I can make an informed decision about going. I hope everything works out well. I called the D.C. placement office last week and they said I should hear something in 4-6 weeks.
Happy New Year all!
Check out this school. AMAZING place!
Last night while cleaning out my inbox, I stumbled upon a message from a listserv I subscribe to of RPCV's (returned Peace Corps volunteers) and prospective PCV's like myself. It mentioned something about a music teaching position in the Peace Corps. Of course I e-mailed the gentleman straight away and he e-mailed me back. Apparentely, the posting is more for RPCV's and is part of a program called Peace Corps Response which is a specialized positions mostly for volunteers to go into once they've completed their two years of "regular" service.
Anyhow, it isn't likely that I could get a position like this right away, but it's SO encouraging to know that Peace Corps is involved with programs like this. All of a sudden I see the possibility of combining my Peace Corps aspirations with my love of music education. I am encouraged.
I've been spending a lot of time thinking about Peace Corps service during this holiday break. I am trying to read as much about Africa as I can so that once (if) I get my invitation, I can make an informed decision about going. I hope everything works out well. I called the D.C. placement office last week and they said I should hear something in 4-6 weeks.
Happy New Year all!
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