I just put up the curtain in my classroom. Couldn't find the ladder so I placed a plastic chair on top of a wobbly table and then climbed up myself... like a cat I tell you! I was hoping the effect would be transformative, but it's not... the curtain is a bit long so I think I'm going to use the extra material to make the hanging part from the top you know what I'm talking about? Yeah that part. It is blue crushed velvet-- wanted red but the fabric store did not have it in a material I liked. It is supposed to be like a theater curtain, which I think it is... it just needs a bit more pizzazz.
I will post a picture as soon as I like the look of the room. Which hopefully will be soon.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Masochism
Remember how my women's class was a bit large and crowded? Well of course I volunteered to split the class into two groups and teach two more days a week. So that's four 90 minute dance classes a week (6 hours) + two 90 minute kids classes a week (3 hours) + 6 hours of outside English teaching = 15 hours of teaching a week. I haven't even begun working on the grant project yet either, which will begin on the 28th (tentatively).
I'm sure I can manage it all but I just hope that I'm not spreading myself too thin and therefore not giving enough to each. Inshallah everything will go wonderfully. :)
I'm sure I can manage it all but I just hope that I'm not spreading myself too thin and therefore not giving enough to each. Inshallah everything will go wonderfully. :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Seeking Play
I remarked the other day to a friend about how independent the children in Palestine are. Unlike in the US, kids here roam the streets in unsupervised packs which, in combination with the sometimes erratic and dangerous driving that goes on, is enough to make my heart catch.
When I walk through the city I sometimes watch the kids at play and am impressed with their ingenuity. As the roads of Nablus are torn up for reconstruction, I see children hop over newly carved ditches in the pavement. I have seen kids race dropped plastic bags from balconies like parachutes. Today two boys shared a pair of rollerblades between them, one left footed, the other right.
Children are remarkably resilient everywhere in the world, able to find recreation wherever they happen to land. Nonetheless, seeing this reinforces to me why organizations like TYO are so important. Simply, every kid deserves a childhood.
When I walk through the city I sometimes watch the kids at play and am impressed with their ingenuity. As the roads of Nablus are torn up for reconstruction, I see children hop over newly carved ditches in the pavement. I have seen kids race dropped plastic bags from balconies like parachutes. Today two boys shared a pair of rollerblades between them, one left footed, the other right.
Children are remarkably resilient everywhere in the world, able to find recreation wherever they happen to land. Nonetheless, seeing this reinforces to me why organizations like TYO are so important. Simply, every kid deserves a childhood.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My first week with the kids
I adore this picture. For the first day of class, I had my kids make t-shirts with their names on them in Arabic and English. I'm determined this semester to learn all of my kids' names. This little girl (Rihana!) decided to write منظمة شباب الغد : صف بياتا which means "Tomorrow's Youth Organization, Bieta's Class". It's like I have a team and she's on it! I love it. I laughed very heartily when I saw it.
In addition to making t-shirts, I also took pictures of their faces and had them draw little paper frames. I am going to put up framed pictures of them on the wall outside of my classroom with a big sign over it that says "Cast". I thought this was very clever, try not to disabuse me of it.
So the first class went well, and with the help of resident arts and crafts expert (and awesome friend!), Kelsey, the second class went well too. I had them affix their pictures to the frames (I needed time to print all of them out), we went came up with a list of rules for the class together, and then they made pop up cards. The pop up cards were 100% Kelsey's idea and they were a big hit. It can be difficult at times to fill up an entire hour and a half class, but I've managed okay so far. Definitely my volunteers have been an amazing help this time around and I pray that they stick around for the rest of the semester.
How's my New Year's Resolution coming? Sticking it out pretty well so far, eh?
Post on TYO blog
I sometimes write blog posts for TYO's blog as well, and here's one, complete with a very silly picture of me from Cairo.
Plans for 2010
Some people have had the audacity to nag me about how frequently I update this blog. But please interpret my lack of updates as attributed to how diligently I'm working at TYO! :)
Now that I've essentially wrapped up 2009, I think it's time to move into the new decade and tell you all about my very exciting plans for this semester! In terms of classes, I'll have the same ones-- I'll be teaching drama to the kiddies and dance to the moms. I really felt like I had learned so much about those classes in the last semester that I would be able to put towards making them better that I opted to teach the same classes again.
This past week has been my first week of classes and they went really well. My mothers' exercise class has about doubled in size (maybe good word of mouth!) and I have lost my lovely fellow intern Nachel back to the US, so it's just me and about 30 ladies looking to get in shape! So far it's been going really well. I've recycled all of the material that I used last semester, since it took a very long time to come up with and teach. As the class progresses I will phase out the old stuff and introduce new stuff. Right now I am ending each class with a few salsa steps that I hope to incorporate later. Arab dancing uses a lot of hips just like Latin dancing so the women have a serious advantage in that respect.
My drama class also began this week, though since the first few weeks are usually pretty hectic and class attendance and enrollment will fluctuate, I've been holding off delving into the real theatrical stuff. Plus, I got the go-ahead to make a black box theater out of my classroom, but painting got held up so it's not quite ready yet. The walls are black now and it makes the room look AMAZING. I hope to put up a great curtain, some decorations, add in a costume/prop area and a corner for my revitalized puppet theater (the last one got a bit destroyed from some overenthusiastic play last semester). I really believe that the ambience of the classroom will make a huge difference and really portray to the students the idea of theater.
I am also trying to reach out to local theater companies to see if they would like to collaborate with me and TYO. I hope to bring my students on a field trip to see a professional play and even to have a troupe come to TYO to do a workshop. And there is the slightest possibility that I may even help to facilitate an international theater group in coming to Nablus to perform and/or do a workshop. More on this as it develops!
In teaching the moms dance here, I have realized how much I enjoy dancing and teaching dance and I want to try and expand that to a forum where I could essentially just do that... most of the moms are looking for a workout rather than an art form. So, I have run it by the powers that be here at TYO that I would like to offer a hip hop dance class to the young ladies of Nablus who might be interested. Given scheduling conflicts and priority classes, that has yet to be arranged, but fingers crossed than within a few weeks I will be popping and locking in Palestine! (I like that... Pop and Lock Palestine... hmmm....)
In addition to the above (woo! i am a busy girl!) I have been accepted to participate in a new grant project here at TYO called the United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations. Along with the two new interns that we will receive in a couple of weeks, I will be working with Palestinian volunteers to create a multimedia guide to life and culture in Nablus. I am extremely excited about this project and you can read more about it here.
I think that that just about wraps up my plans for this semester here in Nablus. If you stuck with me this far, thanks! You are a serious trooper. :)
Now that I've essentially wrapped up 2009, I think it's time to move into the new decade and tell you all about my very exciting plans for this semester! In terms of classes, I'll have the same ones-- I'll be teaching drama to the kiddies and dance to the moms. I really felt like I had learned so much about those classes in the last semester that I would be able to put towards making them better that I opted to teach the same classes again.
This past week has been my first week of classes and they went really well. My mothers' exercise class has about doubled in size (maybe good word of mouth!) and I have lost my lovely fellow intern Nachel back to the US, so it's just me and about 30 ladies looking to get in shape! So far it's been going really well. I've recycled all of the material that I used last semester, since it took a very long time to come up with and teach. As the class progresses I will phase out the old stuff and introduce new stuff. Right now I am ending each class with a few salsa steps that I hope to incorporate later. Arab dancing uses a lot of hips just like Latin dancing so the women have a serious advantage in that respect.
My drama class also began this week, though since the first few weeks are usually pretty hectic and class attendance and enrollment will fluctuate, I've been holding off delving into the real theatrical stuff. Plus, I got the go-ahead to make a black box theater out of my classroom, but painting got held up so it's not quite ready yet. The walls are black now and it makes the room look AMAZING. I hope to put up a great curtain, some decorations, add in a costume/prop area and a corner for my revitalized puppet theater (the last one got a bit destroyed from some overenthusiastic play last semester). I really believe that the ambience of the classroom will make a huge difference and really portray to the students the idea of theater.
I am also trying to reach out to local theater companies to see if they would like to collaborate with me and TYO. I hope to bring my students on a field trip to see a professional play and even to have a troupe come to TYO to do a workshop. And there is the slightest possibility that I may even help to facilitate an international theater group in coming to Nablus to perform and/or do a workshop. More on this as it develops!
In teaching the moms dance here, I have realized how much I enjoy dancing and teaching dance and I want to try and expand that to a forum where I could essentially just do that... most of the moms are looking for a workout rather than an art form. So, I have run it by the powers that be here at TYO that I would like to offer a hip hop dance class to the young ladies of Nablus who might be interested. Given scheduling conflicts and priority classes, that has yet to be arranged, but fingers crossed than within a few weeks I will be popping and locking in Palestine! (I like that... Pop and Lock Palestine... hmmm....)
In addition to the above (woo! i am a busy girl!) I have been accepted to participate in a new grant project here at TYO called the United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations. Along with the two new interns that we will receive in a couple of weeks, I will be working with Palestinian volunteers to create a multimedia guide to life and culture in Nablus. I am extremely excited about this project and you can read more about it here.
I think that that just about wraps up my plans for this semester here in Nablus. If you stuck with me this far, thanks! You are a serious trooper. :)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
2009: A Recap
Ah yes, remember that New Year's Resolution of mine? Well February is as good a time as any to begin it. January 1 is a rather arbitrary date anyways...
At the end of last year I completed my first semester here at TYO and I think it went off pretty well. True, the size of my drama class had dwindled over the weeks but I had a core group of girls who showed up early and left late so I couldn't have been doing too badly, don't you think? I think that the moms were pleased with the exercise class as well and (preview!) I saw some familiar faces at my first moms' class for this semester... repeat customers eh?
I was a bit reluctant to go home for Christmas when I did. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see my loved ones, but I have really begun to look at Palestine as my home. To give you some perspective, the address on my driver's license is that of my brother's apartment in Brighton, a place that I've only visited... and he doesn't even live there anymore. Outside of being wherever whoever I love is, home is as much Nablus right now as it is Boston... probably moreso. Even in my last few weeks here I had wonderful experiences and met wonderful new people.
A quick hello to all of you that I saw when I was home, and especially to those of you that I didn't get a chance to see... a fair lot of you in fact. I miss you all terribly and you should come to freaking Nablus to visit me :)
At the end of last year I completed my first semester here at TYO and I think it went off pretty well. True, the size of my drama class had dwindled over the weeks but I had a core group of girls who showed up early and left late so I couldn't have been doing too badly, don't you think? I think that the moms were pleased with the exercise class as well and (preview!) I saw some familiar faces at my first moms' class for this semester... repeat customers eh?
I was a bit reluctant to go home for Christmas when I did. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see my loved ones, but I have really begun to look at Palestine as my home. To give you some perspective, the address on my driver's license is that of my brother's apartment in Brighton, a place that I've only visited... and he doesn't even live there anymore. Outside of being wherever whoever I love is, home is as much Nablus right now as it is Boston... probably moreso. Even in my last few weeks here I had wonderful experiences and met wonderful new people.
A quick hello to all of you that I saw when I was home, and especially to those of you that I didn't get a chance to see... a fair lot of you in fact. I miss you all terribly and you should come to freaking Nablus to visit me :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
