This next post is about my students and the national music festival in Kenya. Those who know me, know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE poetry and spoken word. Well, Kenya's National Music Festival is a yearly competition between secondary schools where students from all corners of the country come out and showcase original poems, songs and musical compositions and compete for the top. There is also some bomb traditional dancing that goes on. I will upload videos of said dancing when I get home. When I went with my students as they competed for provincials I was blown by the delivers of some of these pieces. Pieces about AIDS, School, Orphans, the temptation of unprotected sex... etc. It really didn't have to be in English; the raw emotion was enough.
Pic 1: A group of boys playing a self-composed song. peep the drum set and harmonica-keyboard.
Pic 2: Me and a group of girls I teach :) Their piece "Che Africa" (the wife of Africa/African Woman) made it to provincials
Pic 3: Students eager to see each other perform. *tear* Such a beautiful sight
Pic 4: Me and some dancers from another school. The feathers on their shoulders = some crazy shimmying. BELIEVE ME. One guy was on stilts during the whole performance.
Miss you lots!
xoxo
P.s. If you wanna follow Mayan's blog for comparison, check it out at subtlekey.blogspot.com
"... raw emotion... " just the thought gets me chocked up haha really.
ReplyDeleteI glad you were able to bound with some of your students over something you truly love yourself (i.e. poetry). This will be an event/memory I know you'll cherish forever :)
p.s. I'm so hitting up Mayan's blog. *Hi Mayan!*
keep the pics and stories coming!
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