Blog Closed

OK, this is a bit belated, but this blog is officially closed. I will be leaving it up on the off chance that anyone is interested. The project is long since turned in and graded (I got an A, yay for me). The site is still up. Here is the address again: http://www.westafrikanoralliterature.weebly.com. It still isn't being indexed by google and last I checked TRJE hadn't linked it to their site. So, hopefully someone some time bothers to look at it. It is kind of cool if I do say so myself. Anyway, that's it for this blog.

Malissa

Project Update

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. It seems like I have spent every waking moment working on my project. I was finally able to teach my lesson to the kids of TRJE, and it went pretty well. They seemed to respond with interest, and their writing was the kind of response I was looking for. The website is also going reasonably well. I've been having some problems with text formating, but overall it isn't too bad, just really time consuming. I plan to have it done and to turn it over to TRJE a this Saturday's meeting. Wish me luck!

Project Update

OK, now that I'm no longer required to post 600 words per week and the actual project is the focus of my time and energy, updates will be tend to be shorter. Still, I will keep them coming until the project is 100% finished. This week has been a very productive one. I not only gave my first presentation on the project, but also got a good start on the website. The site is far from done, but the general form has been decided and pages begun to be put together. I am creating it through a free website creating service called Weebly which does for websites what blogger does for blogs. It has a large number of templates to choose from and a pretty good help page. It's been very easy to use. It also allows you to add a blog to your site like a page, a feature that I'm making use of to describe the project and my experiences with it. The site can be found at www.westafrikanoralliterature.weebly.com. I still haven't gotten a draft of the informational piece down on paper, but all of my information has been gathered. That will be my project for the beginning of next week. I also have all of my stories/poems gathered, and I teach my lesson with the kids of TRJE this Saturday (for real this time!). I think that's all for now. Wish me luck!

Video Links

Here are links to two good videos I found on YouTube. The first is of West African kora music. The kora is a stringed instrument often used by griots as accompaniment to their chanting/singing. The second is of a griot telling the story of Sundiata. This is a very well know story and has been published in multiple versions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNl8kIwj1_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQP4gM5Na54

Project Update

This week has been a busy one for my project. It seems like I have done almost nothing else! But, I guess you’ll have that when the semester begins to draw to a close. Anyway, here’s what’s been happening. I never heard back from my librarian contact at the ACPL. I considered calling her again, but as time is running short I decided that a meeting at this point wasn’t really a viable option. I wish I could have gotten the details of my project nailed down sooner so that I would have had more time for that sort of thing. I also got no response from my contact at IPFW’s TV station, but fortunately Dr. Cain had better luck. My griot video should be on its way. I would, again, like to have gotten this sooner, but I have to work within the schedules of others too. It would have been nice to have been able to show some of the video to the kids of TRJE this Saturday when I teach the class, but I don’t know how practical that would have been anyway. I know some of them saw the actual performance, but not all. At least I will get to see the video to get a better understanding of what a griot performance looks like. This week I have been concentrating on my research into griots and storytelling, and it has been very interesting. I have found a lot. I fact, I have way more than I can fit into my planned 1,500 word essay/paper. It may end up being a little longer than that. Still, I don’t want to make it so long that it turns off the internet viewers that I am targeting. Also, as far as the internet thing is going, I think I would like to make more of an actual website than a blog. I think this would fit my format better. I’ll have to talk to Dr. Cain before making my decision as my proposal says “blog” specifically. Our stipulations in RM are much more loose so that shouldn’t be a problem. Now that the main research is done, I’m concentrating on finding good examples of stories and getting my lesson plan in place for Saturday. So far only one of my books of stories has come in at the library so I’m kind of waiting on that. I’m also looking on line and have found some. It’s hard to find ones that seem reliably authentic, come from West Africa specifically, and have themes that I think might be relevant to the kids of TRJE. Ketu wanted me to find stories about community, so I am trying to find at least one good one for my lesson with that theme. I am also a little worried about legal issues with putting a few stories on my site. I would like to place them there in full text, but if they come from a published book this may be a problem. The one book that I have in hand has a full copyright on the text, though I find this questionable since it is openly distilled from an oral tradition and taken from a longer published work. I won’t get into that right now. Maybe I will have to settle with links to online texts on my site. I’ll see what the profs think on that issue. I may be able to get away with putting the full text of stories on the site if they come from other websites that have them published in full in a not for profit setting. Again, I need a more expert opinion on the matter. Until then I will worry about getting my lesson for Saturday finished. That in itself is nerve wracking enough. I’ll lkeep you posted.

FYI

Just wanted to let you guys know that a Michael Schaefer from deepblog.com commented on my blog and was interested in our research methods class (I don't know if any of you in that class also got messages). I had linked deepblog to our research methods wiki, and I assume that's how he found me and our blogs. Anyway, he was interested in how we were using the blogs and asked to hear more about them. After checking it out a little to make sure he seemed to be who he said he was, I emailed him through deepblog and also told him about our C&C blogs. So, if any of you see him on your blog, that why. Just thought I'd let you know.

Final Contract

So, my contract for the project has been approved and signed and as promised here are the important parts.

The documents I plan to produce are 1) an informational document about West African storytelling that will be a minimum of 1500 words in length, 2) a collection of stories that will be comprised of at least 4 stories [I don’t know at this point what the typical length of a story is], 3) a lesson plan [1-2 pages in length] to share my findings with the kids of TRJE and lead them in their own writings, 4) the collected and typed writings that the kids of TRJE produce in response to the lesson. The form I plan for my project to take is that of a blog that can be linked to TRJE’s website. I will put the informational document, the collection of stories, and (if possible) the kids’ writings on the blog. The lesson plan will just be turned in as a paper document to show how we progressed from the research to the writings. If I cannot put the kids’ writings on the blog, I will just type them and bind them in a notebook or scrapbook to be given to TRJE. My project will be made public within the TRJE community, within the classroom when I share my project, and in the internet community in the form of the blog.

Dr. Cain has also asked that I put my own experiences into the blog, so that will be included as well. I plan for that to also be about 1,000 words (if approved at that).

I know it may seem like I've repeated myself somewhat in describing the project here on the blog, but laying it out really helps me to visualize and plan. After all, part of the purpose of the blog is to journal the progress of the project. Sorry if any of you are bored with me!

Project Update

OK, so here's what's happening with the project this week. To begin with, my teaching date with TRJE has been pushed back because it turns out that they are on spring break this week. I would have liked to get the lesson taught because it would have given me more time to have the kids revise their work to be included on my blog/site, but I guess I can't begrudge them a spring break. I had one. So I have one more week to research and prepare, and that's what I've been doing. In the past when I've done research for projects and papers I have relied exclusively on my own library research. This time I've been trying to use a few other people as resources, and I'm still unsure how that's going. As I said before, I asked Ketu of TRJE for advice and he referred me to a children's librarian at the ACPL. I think when I posted last I was still waiting for a response from her. She emailed me back the end of last week offering help and asking me to call her directly. I did that yesterday, but she wasn't at her phone. I left a message asking her to return my call or email me with a time she would be available. So far I haven't heard anything back. If I don't hear from her today, I may try again tomorrow. At the same time I am trying to get a hold of video from the IPFW tv station of a West African griot (storyteller) who was apparently at IPFW a couple of years ago for the visiting writers series (in conjunction with TRJE). Dr. Cain strongly recommended that I try to view this tape, so I have contacted someone at the station and am still waiting for a reply (it's only been a day so far). I have also been doing my own research and have found a couple of articles through EBSCOhost and hope to find more. What have I discovered? That "human resources" may be useful, but they can be a lot more time consuming than the paper or electronic kind. I'll keep you posted.

Africa vs. Afrika

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but lately I have been spelling what is most commonly spelled "Africa" with a 'C' as "Afrika" with a 'K.' I have to be honest and say that I don't know nor have I asked the significance of this spelling. I am using it simply because that is the way that Ketu has spelled it in his correspondence with me and the way it is spelled on TRJE's website. Since I plan to link my project to TRJE's website when it is complete, I feel that I should spell it the way that the ensemble spells it (both out of respect and for consistency).

Project Update

This week I had planned to spend time with TRJE during their Saturday rehearsal, but was unable to due to (suffice it to say) unexpected circumstances. The project is, however, finally getting off of the ground. Now that I have heard from Ketu, my first draft of my contract is turned in though not finalized (I still plan to post part of it once it is), and an abstract of our projects are due in RM; I feel like I am getting somewhere. Not that just spending time with TRJE isn’t getting somewhere, but research is more tangible and getting to it makes me feel less panicked. The plan is for me to get enough of my research done that I can lead a lesson with the kids of TRJE in two Saturdays , the 5^th of April (incidentally, my puppy will be a year old that day). Dr. Cain will be out of town that Saturday so I guess the class is mine (though at least some of the other C&C students will be there so I won’t be completely alone). Kind of scary, huh? I’ve taught Junior Achievement a couple of times but never my own lesson plan. So, anyway, the plan is to share some of what I’ve found about West Afrikan storytelling with them and lead them in creating works of their own that are somehow related. As of this point I’m not sure how they will be related, maybe a similar theme to those I find in some West Afrikan stories? As I think I said before, Ketu recommended looking specifically for stories about community and cohesion, so that may end up being the theme of the writing exercise. Then hopefully I can type up the kids’ work and have them revise it once before it is incorporated into the project. I will just have to see how that fits into the TRJE schedule. They usually have a full agenda of their own and the semester is quickly coming to an end. Dr. Cain did say something in class last time about creating a blog (or something similar) on which to publish the projects of the students working with TRJE this semester. She also said that mine may be separate which would fit well with my plan to create a blog/site with my research and the kids’ writings in response. Again, those details are yet to be ironed out. Still, enough seems concrete now to make me feel like things are really coming together. I just wish I hadn’t had to miss so much time with TRJE over break and now this past weekend.

As far as the research itself goes, I’m working on finding sources of information. I emailed Ketu on Monday for advice and got a response right away. He recommended a particular children’s’ librarian at the Allen County Public Library who he said would be able to give my research some guidance. Since time is somewhat short I had hoped to contact her by email and decided to look for contact information on the ACPL’s website. What I found was an “Ask a Librarian” link which lets you email a question about whatever information you are looking for to the library staff in general. I decided to try it and sent a short email describing what my research was about and asking where would be a good starting place and what authorities were respected on the subject. Though the email is by default addressed to whatever librarian is assigned to answer the question, I mentioned that Ketu had referred me to a particular one in my email. I was surprised to find that when I checked my email tonight I had already gotten a response from a librarian at the reference desk saying that my email had been forwarded to this children’s librarian and that I could expect an answer soon. I was very impressed with this service and would recommend it to anyone needing a librarian’s research expertise (in fact, here is a link to it http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/ask/index.html). So, now I am just waiting for an answer and playing around with some IU cat and EBSCO searches. Hopefully my research continues to go this smoothly. I’ll keep you updated.

Project Responses from Ketu

So we finally got responses to our proposals from Ketu last week (via an email from Dr. Cain). He really didn't have a lot to say or change with my project which is something of a relief. While I was open to opinions and suggestions, I was kind of afraid he would hate my idea or want me to make radical changes. He really just highlighted a few things I assume he saw as the key points (my research on Afrikan storytelling, my collecting of Afrikan stories, and my sharing these stories with the group to inspire their own creative writing efforts). He then made a comment at the end that maybe I could try and find stories that focus on maintaining group unity and use that as a theme for the kids lesson. I really like this idea and will have to see what I can find along those lines. So, I think that means that I have a pretty definite idea of what I need to do (and I need to get doing it). Our project contracts are due this Thursday to Dr. Cain, and once that is approved and signed I will post the important parts here on the blog.

TRJE week #4

So, I'm back in Indiana after a nice, sunny spring break on the beach, and it's back to the grindstone as they say. The night before we left for Florida I spent a couple of hours observing a TRJE dance rehearsal. This was my first Friday night with the group as I'm usually working, and it was a very different experience. When I attend on Saturdays for the creative writing group I participate in everything the group does. Since I don't really feel comfortable dancing (though I was invited to several times), I just observed this rehearsal. Though we did start out with the usual opening circle, and I did participate in that. After opening circle the group got right down to the rehearsal with the younger kids rehearsing first. The older kids had a class during this time (peace studies, I think), and then took the dance floor for the second half of the practice. The group's master dance teacher from Afrika was back with the group, and many of them (especially the older ones) seemed really excited about this. I was warned in advance that he was a tough task master, and that definitely proved to be true. While he wasn't what I would call harsh, he had no problem telling the kids if they were doing something wrong and that it wasn't OK. There was no coddling. While this seemed a little mean at first (especially with the younger kids), I soon realized that it is this kind of high expectation that makes the kids so good at what they do. And they are good. You can also tell, when you are just sitting back and watching, which kids are the really dedicated ones. They are the ones who are not only good and know the dances really well, but most importantly are the ones who stand in the front of the group (near the giant dance floor mirror) and put everything into the dances. They don't get cranky when they are corrected half a dozen times for the same mistake, but put everything they have into each subsequent try. It is a very impressive and even inspiring attitude. I would really like to be able to see the group perform before the semester is out. I can only imagine how amazing they are in full dress and with the whole group performing together. Aside from the dance itself, another thing I noticed that Friday was how much more comfortable I feel with the group after only a few visits. Even though I didn't participate this time, I exchanged casual comments and observation with passing staff members and felt very comfortable. I even picked up a couple of pretty cute admirers (one who asked to be my boyfriend) though I think they may be some 20 years too young for me. Anyway, I hope to be able to attend another Friday rehearsal before the semester is out, and will keep you posted.

P.S.

For any of you from research methods who may visit this blog, I have recently changed my settings to allow anyone to post comments. This way you don't have to be a member of this particular blogging community to comment. I apologize to anyone who may have tried to post and was unable to. Also, I changed my settings so that comments show in pop-up windows. Anyone having trouble viewing or leaving comments, check your browser's pop-up settings.

Libation

So, since I don't have any TRJE experiences to relate this week, I thought I would once again visit the ever-handy Wikipedia and investigate something related to my TRJE experiences (the real research will come in time, I promise!). As I mentioned before, libation is a ritual that the kids in TRJE practice that really intrigues me (see the description in my post on TRJE week #2). In fact, thinking about it inspired my creative arts in health and wellness project that I'm doing for another class this semester. So, I thought I would learn a little more about the tradition. According to Wikipedia, libation is a ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a god that was common in religions/cultures in antiquity. The liquid was most often wine or olive oil (the use of olive oil would, I assume, be a regional practice) but could be anything including perfume, honey, fruit juices, other oils, fats or any precious liquid. The liquid was traditionally poured onto something of religious significance (like an altar) or onto the ground as an offering to the earth (or, I would think, earth gods/goddesses). Mention of the practice of libation is found in many ancient Greek texts, the Bible, Japanese culture, some South American cultures, and African culture (there are probably others not mentioned here as well). In some cultures it seems to be an offering to or remembrance of ancestors (this is roughly what the TRJE kids do). One comment posted to the Wikipedia article even suggests a connection to the ancient Chinese custom of "bai-san" in which food and drink offerings are made at the grave of an ancestor. Also, if I remember correctly from my Spanish classes, a similar custom of food and drink offerings to ancestors is practiced in Mexico. So, it seems that libation and similar practices are fairly widespread and exist in many forms in many cultures. No matter what the origin of the practice, I think that if it honors those who have gone before us and helps orient our awareness toward those people, then it is a good one. I respect the kids of TRJE for making it a part of their lives.

Project Update

I don't have a lot to say this week. As I mentioned last week, I was not able to spend time with TRJE this past Saturday because I was out of town (Othello was great, by the way). I hope that I will hear something from Ketu through Dr. Cain in tonight's class. Also, I still plan to attend a couple of hours of the TRJE dance rehearsal Friday night (then I'm off to Florida for the first time in my life!), so maybe I will be able to speak to Ketu then. I wish I had more to relate as we are now about halfway through the semester. Dr. Cain keeps telling me that I need to be patient, and that a big part of our project is spending time with TRJE and getting to know the group and its dynamics. I guess I'll just have to trust her judgment! Anyway, I'll keep you all updated.

TRJE week #3

This past Saturday I once again spent a couple of hours (1-3pm) of my afternoon with the kids of TRJE, and let me just say that it wasn't all fun and games. I'm used to having Saturday afternoons before work to either recuperate a bit from the week or sit at my desk in my PJs catching up on homework. It might sound winy, but it's not easy for me to pull myself together an be on for those 2 or 3 hours. And you have to be on. Far from being casual observers, those of us who are spending time with the group as a part of our projects participate in everything the kids do (except the actual practice). We write and discuss and give feedback and participate in the rituals of the opening circle. It was that opening circle that got to me last Saturday. The kids had been assigned group projects by Ketu, and those projects were due Saturday. We had heard mention of them, but did not know what they were. It seems that each group had been given an event in African American history and asked to research it and give an oral presentation on it. The way it seemed to me was that the kids had been given the assignment, reminded about the due date, and then left to themselves. Well . . . kids are kids, and only one of the at least half dozen groups were ready to present on time. This group was made up of two of the older boys in the group and they gave a very good presentation. After they presented, each of the other groups were called and each said that they were not prepared. This really upset Ketu, and he not only added to their assignments that are now due this coming Saturday (I wish I were going to be there to hear them), but also gave a fairly long lecture that made even those of us who are not in the group feel uncomfortable. He told he kids that they did not have enough appreciation for the people who have sacrificed to make their lives safe and comfortable. He said that they are lazy about knowing their own history and that not knowing history is how it ends up repeating itself. He told them that laziness gets people killed. Even though I never had an assignment to present, I felt like I was being addressed. I know that I don't know enough about those who have made my freedoms possible, about for example, those who worked so hard for me to be able to vote and own property and have rights equal to the men in this country. These are rights that I know I take for granted and ones that women in many other cultures and countries do not enjoy. I think that for the next meeting of the group I will make a point to have some names to call out during libation (see TRJE week #2). While it can be very uncomfortable, I think it is important for us to be reminded from time to time of those who cam before us to whom we owe the kinds of lives we live today. No matter what race or ethnicity or gender we are, we all have people to be grateful for.

Project Update

I don't have much of an update to give this week. Last Saturday Ketu said that he would have responses for us and feedback on our projects this Saturday. Dr. Cain seems to think that he will definitely have something to say about my project since it is on a topic that the group has addressed before and that he seems to be something of an expert on. I think that's a good thing, but I have to admit that it makes me a bit nervous. He's kind of an intimidating guy (read above for an example). Unfortunately, I will not be seeing the group this weekend because I am going on Dr. Stapleton's bus trip to see Othello in Chicago. While I'm excited about the trip (I missed the last one), it comes at a rather inconvenient time. I hope to attend one of the TRJE dance rehearsals next Friday (assuming it is scheduled as usual), but will then be out of town for spring break from that night (the 7th) through the following Sunday (the 16ht). This means that I will miss yet another week with the group. Hopefully I can connect with Ketu in some way in the next week and post an update on the project. Wish me luck until then!

TRJE week #2

This past Saturday I again spent time with the kids at TRJE. I met at 1 pm with the group and was there for the opening circle, the creative writing class and about a half hour of actual practice (I had to leave by 4 for work and some of the time after the writing class is the kids lunch break and transitioning to the practice room). I was there for a total of 3 hours. Last week in my post I said that I wanted to ask about the plant that was placed in the center of the opening circle. Well, I didn't have to because it explained itself this week. It turns out that the plant is used to offer "libation." What happens is that one of the kids is chosen to do the libation ceremony (I don't know if this is the proper word, but it is the best one I can think of). That boy or girl then turns to the eldest member of the group and asks permission to begin. After permission is granted he/she says that as libation is offered the members of the circle should call out the names of those people who have gone before and have had a positive influence. These people can be family members such as grandparents who have passed away or any other person who the individual feels has had a positive impact on them or the world. Then the person performing the ceremony sprinkles water on the plant for a minute or two while all of the members call out the names. When no one is calling out he/she asks (I think it was 3 times) if there are any other names. If no one says anything the ceremony ends. I thought this was a really neat tradition and am really intrigued by it. Honoring our elders and ancestors is not something that is highly valued in our society, and I think it is really cool that the kids are learning this kind of respect for those who are older and wiser than they are and who have affected their lives. I also want to say that the houseplant gardener in me really wants to know where the libation plant lives between meetings of the group. It looks like it may not get a lot of light! I really want to ask if I were to find it an appropriate hanging planter if it could hang in one of the studio windows, but I'm not sure how to bring it up! Anyway, after the opening circle we had the creative writing class. This week we mostly listened to some of the kids read pieces they have written and offer feedback for revision and addition to them. It's amazing how many of the kids seem to have real talent, especially for writing poetry. As young as they are they write some really good and really interesting things. I feel a bit out of my element since I can't write poetry at all (at least none that is any good). After the class, the kids took a break for lunch and rest before switching to practice. As I said above, I only saw about 30 minutes of actual practice, but it was really cool. The group was going over the program for a performance that they had on Wednesday, so there was a lot of organizing and talking. I only saw them run through a couple of songs, but those were very powerful to watch, especially the dancers. One of them is a girl I will just call D (both to respect her privacy and because I would probably spell her name wrong) and she has so much energy in her dance. It was really great, and I hope to get a Friday off of work so that I can see a dance practice. I would love to see more of the practices/performances soon and may try to stay to watch some this coming Saturday. So . . . that was week 2, more later.

Project Update

OK, first of all this week I want to give you an update on my project. As saw from my last post, I have been spending time with TRJE. (More about my second week there in a minute.) I really enjoy spending time with the kids. They're really cool. But, that is about as far as my project has gotten. It feels like it is taking forever to get off the ground. Part of the reason for that is that we have not yet gotten feedback on our proposals from Dr. Cain (should get some this week), but now I am also waiting for feedback from one of the leaders of the Ensemble itself. Dr. Cain told us (all of us who are working with TRJE) after class last week that Ketu, the artistic director and co-founder of the Ensemble, had asked (for the first time since she has offered the service learning option for C&C) to see our proposals and offer feedback. Dr. Cain asked our permission to share them with Ketu, and we hope to hear something from him as soon as this weekend. We are not sure what kind of feedback he will give, and Dr. Cain thinks that there is a possibility that he has some ideas of his own for what he would like to see our projects address. Though I am open to going in a new direction, I hope to get some direction soon so that I can really get to work. I'll let you all know as soon as I know.

TRJE

OK, this week I promise to stay on topic! Last week was a bit of a digression, but who doesn't like a good digression. I know I do. Anyway, this past Saturday I began my service learning with the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble as promised. I managed to find the right building after only one (extended) extra block and only a little bit of panic. I got there around 1 pm and was able to stay until 3. This time included the check-in circle and the creative writing class held by Dr. Cain. Next time I hope to be able to stay for at least some of the practice after the class, but last week I had a family obligation. Anyway, like I said, the first thing that we did was join the check in circle. Dr. Cain, Leigh, her daughter and I were actually the first ones there so we removed our shoes, (I wasn't planing on a "no shoes" rule and am glad I didn't wear one of my many pairs of holey socks!) sat on the floor and waited for the others. Soon the kids began trickling in. They arranged themselves in a sort of circle on the floor, and when it looked like everyone was there the check in began. Right away everyone was asked if they had any guests, and we (Leigh, her daughter and I) were introduced along with the three guest of one of the boys. We were asked to stand and introduce ourselves and tell a little bit about ourselves. Then the kids were asked to lead the group in their recitations which seem to be something along the lines of a creed. Then the kids were asked if they had any announcements, concerns or celebratory items to share. Several shared good grades they had received in the past week or progress they were making in school subjects that had been troubling them and one girl asked for help with her French class. After everyone who wanted it had been given the opportunity to share and receive a response, the topic changed to the upcoming calendar and important dates for the next few weeks. The kids were then dismissed to either practice or the creative writing group.
I really enjoyed this check-in circle time, and it allowed me to see right away how comfortable the group is with one another. While there was a certain order to the proceedings, it wasn't too orderly, and the kids acted like kids fidgeting and moving around comfortably. They were also really comfortable sharing not only their successes with each other, but their problems too. I thought it was really neat that the girl who is struggling in French felt that she could bring her problem to the group and ask for help. Her problem was handled with an immediate suggestion that she attend a couple of weekly meetings of a French speaking group and report back. Another interesting thing I noticed was a somewhat scraggly spider plant growing in a pot inside a straw hat that was placed in the center of the circle. I did not ask what the plant was about, but I plan to this week.
Once we had left the circle in the dance studio room and arranged ourselves in another room we had introductions again. Then we began writing. We guests wrote along with the students. The topic for the day was African Americans who have made a positive impact on the African American community (this was the chosen theme since February is Black History Month). We began by all thinking of an African American who we thought has had a positive impact. We shared these verbally and then were instructed to come up with a list of traits or qualities of a person who has a positive impact on the African American community. These traits could be those of our chosen person or anyone who fit the bill. After also sharing these, we were instructed to pretend that it was 30 years in the future and we were writing to share the impact some person (again our chosen person, another or a fictional person) had made on the African American community. These could be in any form we chose and could be partly or completely fictional. I chose to write mine in the form of a daily newspaper article. One girl wrote a beautiful poem that she read to the group. The rest of the kids writings were handed into Dr. Cain to be revisited next time. The final goal is to come up with finished works that can be read to the check-in circle.
I am really glad that I have chosen to work with this creative writing group. It is amazing some of the insights that the kids came up with during our writing and discussion. It is unusual to see high school and younger kids not only thinking about things on such a real and deep level, but also feeling comfortable sharing their thoughts with a group of their peers. This is just another example of how this group holds together. Also, I can already see that the kids have real talent. I was told that the girl who wrote the poem also writes song lyrics. That's something I could never do! I think it is going to be very interesting and a lot of fun to work with this group of kids.

Mardi Gras AKA Fat Tuesday

I had originally planned to again make this week's posting on West Africa in anticipation of my project and service learning experience; but, as you can see by the title of this post, I changed my mind. I decided instead, in honor of Fat Tuesday, to post a little bit about a tradition that has become (in part) and American tradition. Last year I was able to go down to New Orleans with my boyfriend, Ryan, and some friends of ours for the Mardi Gras celebration there. We were not able to stay for Fat Tuesday itself because of work and school obligations, but we spent the weekend. I was unable to go this year, but Ryan and many of the same friends from last year were. Both years were a great time, and I'm sure we will make every effort to make it back in the years to come. So, because we had so much fun, I decided to do a little research into the history of the holiday (and it is a holiday, not just a big party) and share what I found with you all. Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French and is technically only the last three days of the celebration. The full celebration, called Carnival in many countries, runs from Twelfth Night (twelve days after Christmas) to Ash Wednesday. In practice most celebrations run for one full week before lent, but some Mardi Gras celebrations begin as early as January 6, at the feast of Epiphany, and end at midnight of the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The actual date changes from year to year and is always 46 days before Easter. It is a celebration primarily observed in Roman Catholic counties and locals. It is an opportunity to celebrate and indulge in food and drink before the the Lenten season begins. It is traditionally marked by parades including floats, pageants, masks, costumes and people dancing in the street. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold representing justice, faith and power. The most famous Mardi Gras celebrations are held in New Orleans, La; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nice, France; and Cologne, Germany. Like many Christian holidays, however, Mardi Gras has roots in the pagan tradition and was originally associated with spring fertility rights. The first American Mardi Gras was celebrated near modern day New Orleans on March 3, 1699, and he first official parade organizations there didn't begin to form until the mid 1800s. As I said above, the celebration in New Orleans is now one of the most widely known in the world, and I can tell you that it is a lot of fun. While it is (by tradition as I pointed out) partly about indulging in food and alcohol, it is also about just being glad to be alive and celebrating life with friends. I loved the time I spent in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and think that it is something that everyone should experience at least once. Here are some pictures from this year and last.

Bourbon Street is where the majority of the party takes place. The parades run on a street perpendicular to Bourbon and go on for hours.

This is what Bourbon Street looks like at night during Mardi Gras.

People pay to rent balconies like these to get a good view of the festivities. A few bars have free access.


This is the group who were at Mardi Gras '07. I'm in the middle back in the pink fuzzy hat.

This is part of the group from this year. My boyfriend Ryan is the second from the left.

The big thing at Mardi Gras New Orleans style is the hurricane, so if you want to honor the holiday and have a drink in celebration, here is a recipe:

1 oz wt. rum
1 oz Jamaican dark rum
1 oz Bacardi 151 rum
3 oz orange juice
3 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 oz grenadine syrup
crushed ice

Mix all but ice and pour in glass over crushed ice, garnish with fruit

*factual information on Mardi Gras found at History.com

West Africa

One of the first questions that crossed my mind when I first heard about the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble was what exactly comprises West Africa. I thought that since I didn’t have any other research/information to share right now, I would try to give a brief answer to that question. So, to find that information I went to the not-so-scholarly-but-always-good-for-a-quick-answer Wikipedia. This is what I found:

West Africa is comprised of the westernmost lobe of Africa and (according to the U.N.) includes some 5 million square kilometers. It includes the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’lvoire, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The region defined by the U.N. also includes the island of Saint Helena which is a British territory. All of these except Mauritania and Saint Helena are part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is approximately one fifth of the African continent. While all of the states of West Africa have been independent since the year 1974, the region has a long history of European control/colonization. From about the beginning of the twentieth century until after World War II the region was controlled by the French and the British. While this undoubtedly left a mark on the region, it also has its own distinctive culture and traditions. This is some of what I would like to research and will come back to in later postings. For now, here is a map showing the region of West Africa.

Proposal

OK, since as I said before, the purpose of this blog is mostly to journal the progress of my (hopefully) integrated projects for both my Research Methods (RM) and Creativity and Community (C&C) classes, I thought I would go ahead and draw up a rough proposal explaining what I would like to do. As those of you in C&C know, we have the option of doing a service learning project in which we can spend time with the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble group who perform traditional West African music and dance. (For those of you in RM the group is made up of students from 7 to 17. Take a look for more information.) I would like to take this service learning option and participate in and work with Dr. Cain in the creative writing class she teaches to the kids in the group. For my research project for RM I was thinking of researching traditional West African literature/storytelling and possibly going as far as to compile some kind of collection of these types of works. I thought it would then be fun to share what I find with the kids in the group and possibly lead them in creating their own stories in West African tradition. As C&C requires that our project be somehow made part of a public forum, I thought I could possible create some kind of web page with the information I find and also the stories I and/or the students write and then link it to the Ensemble’s web site. I know that this proposal is far from detailed or complete, but it is at least the start of an idea. It of course will require the approval of both Dr. Cain and Dr. Amidon, and will change and grow based on their suggestions/ideas. Also, as I said before, I will do my very best to make this blog interesting and informative to both classes. I know that many of the blogs for C&C (as there are no guidelines beyond a minimum number of words posted per week)may be on topics more interesting than my research, I hope that the experiences I have with the ensemble and my findings about West African stories will be enough to keep everyone at least somewhat interested! If anyone in either class has any questions or comments to make I would be glad to hear them. That’s all for now.

Malissa

My first blog

OK, so this is my first ever blog and really my first experience with blogging. (The only other blog I've ever even visited is that of a friend of mine who has some really great stories she's written posted on it. Maybe I can get her to let me create a link to it.) Anyway, I'm creating this blog as a response to assignments from two different writing classes, one creative one professional. I hope to integrate the projects for these two classes and so have decided to create one blog rather than two. The real challenge here will be to try and keep things interesting and relevant to both classes so that none of you who visit (or those who might happen to stumble upon this blog) will be either confused or bored out of your minds (Note: I said try. I make no promises). Anyway, more about that later. For now I guess I'll stick to talking about me (sorry, It's all I have at the moment). I'll start with the basics. I'm Malissa and I'm a 25 year old student. I will be graduating in May with my bachelors in literature and minors in both creative writing and professional writing. Then (if my sanity holds out) I plan to move to Indianapolis and get my masters in library science. Yes, that's a real degree, yes you need a masters degree to be a librarian, and yes I really do want to be a librarian. Weird, I know, but what can I say. If there are two things that I really love they are books and pets (dogs are my absolute favorite). I've had many people tell me that I should be a vet, but if I ever had to take another chemistry class (after just the one in high school) I would hurt myself or someone else. That's just the truth of it. I currently have one and a half dogs (I count my boyfriend's [FYI: his name is Ryan, he goes to Ball State and we have been dating for 2 years] dog as half mine), two cats who are both siting on my desk as I try to type(the crazy calico is supposed to belong to my sister, but she abandoned it), two rats, and a aquarium full of fish and frogs. Hopefully my appartment complex never finds out that we have three times the number of pets allowed! I actually named this blog after my 10 month old West Highland White Terrier (his name is Booker if you hadn't figured it out). It was the best I could come up with on short notice. My boyfriend's dog is a German Shepherd / Rottweiler mix and her name is Babe. I'll try to post pictures of them if I can figure out how. Otherwise if you can find me on facebook, they each have their own "dogbook" pages. Yes, I'm one of those people who make web pages for their dogs, and I'm tempted to create a MySpace page just so they can have pages there that I can link to this blog. My cats' names are Gabby (the calico) and Lindsey (grey tiger). I currently live with my youngest sister who also goes to IPFW (and also has a dog named Vee). I have three other siblings, another sister who goes to Ball state, a brother who goes to IPFW and another brother who is just finishing high school. I'm the oldest of the bunch. As far as the books go I like a little of everything. Lately I've been catching up on classics I never had to read in high school ( you've got to love the public education system) like Animal Farm and The Time Machine. Before that it was "Native American" lit (I took a class in it last semester). Maybe next it will be fantasy or some Pulitzer winners. Who knows.) I really want to read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; I've heard it's really good.) My other interest at the moment is playing my new Nintendo Wii that Ryan gave me for Christmas. It's a ton of fun, I don't know how I ever really lived without it (I'm not joking about that, it's the best consul ever invented, and whoever came up with the concept saved the Nintendo corporation from death by Game Cube). Anyway, that's all the really interesting (or maybe not) things about me that I can come up with for now. TTYL and thanks for reading my blog even if you were forced by a class assignment!