I'm home in SF this week, but the weather is a bit miserable. (The commute was terrible this morning!) The winter is beginning to creep in, and it's cold and rainy here. Thank goodness I'm able to borrow my brother Tony's car this week, b/c otherwise I'd probably get sick from biking in this weather. I'm not looking forward to the time that I won't be able to borrow his car this winter.
This past weekend I went to see the Broun Fellinis at SF's the Boom Boom Room. They are incredibly eccletic and talented. Influenced by the traditions of jazz, funk, Afrocentric Hip Hop, Dub, film music and African/Indian trance sounds, this trio is a must see!
Last weekend, I went to Bruno's to see the Jessica Lurie Ensemble--an excellent "avant-jazz" solo project of Jessica Lurie.
Also, I watched the first DVD of the series "Angels in America". (Winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Winner of the 1993 Tony Award for Best Play.) Also a must see... if you haven't already.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Saturday, October 16, 2004
my second build
here's what my supervisor (and the director of project management) said about my second playground build as the lead project manager:
Date: Friday, October 15, 2004
Subject: (KaBOOM!) Build #716 - Congrats Hope and Tabitha!
Hope, with Tabitha as a stellar second, led a great build on a cold and rainy day (well, after lunch, the rain finally started to give way to the sun) in London, Ontario with the Boys and Girls Club and The Home Depot. In spite of the weather the volunteer turnout was good with 130+ people from 7 different The Home Depot stores and 50 people from the community. The day began with New PL, a local news media station doing live segments for their morning show “New Day”. During these segments, both Hope and Tabitha were interviewed; from The Home Depot, Kelly McNamara and the local project lead Terry Wallace (the store manager) were interviewed, and Don Donner the Director of the Boys and Girls Club was interviewed. The volunteers did a morning stretch led by Good Life Fitness. After the stretch, guest speakers at the kick-off included Pam Joliffe, the National Director of the Boys and Girls Club; Terry Wallace, a store manager, and Tom Mitchell, Director of the London Community Foundation. Throughout the day, volunteers did a lot of landscaping, including weeding, replanting trees, putting in a walkway, etc.; they also built 2 picnic tables and 3 planter benches; and of course, they built an awesome playground. The build captains were awesome! The volunteers enjoyed the barbecue lunch donated by Montana’s. The activities moved quickly although attaching the components to the structure and leveling and plumbing everything took longer than expected. Nevertheless everything was completed just in time for the 3pm board cutting . Steve Savoie from The Home Depot spoke at the board cutting as did Paul Keane, the president of the Boys and Girls Club. Other media at the build included a reporter from The Free Press and someone from a local Fanshawe College, a local college which broadcasts on a cable channel. (They did an extensive interview with Hope.) Congrats to both Hope and Tabitha for doing an awesome job on the build and also for making great connections with potential future partners (both Pam from the Boys and Girls Club and Tom from the London Community Foundation want to partner again with KaBOOM! and The Home Depot).
Date: Friday, October 15, 2004
Subject: (KaBOOM!) Build #716 - Congrats Hope and Tabitha!
Hope, with Tabitha as a stellar second, led a great build on a cold and rainy day (well, after lunch, the rain finally started to give way to the sun) in London, Ontario with the Boys and Girls Club and The Home Depot. In spite of the weather the volunteer turnout was good with 130+ people from 7 different The Home Depot stores and 50 people from the community. The day began with New PL, a local news media station doing live segments for their morning show “New Day”. During these segments, both Hope and Tabitha were interviewed; from The Home Depot, Kelly McNamara and the local project lead Terry Wallace (the store manager) were interviewed, and Don Donner the Director of the Boys and Girls Club was interviewed. The volunteers did a morning stretch led by Good Life Fitness. After the stretch, guest speakers at the kick-off included Pam Joliffe, the National Director of the Boys and Girls Club; Terry Wallace, a store manager, and Tom Mitchell, Director of the London Community Foundation. Throughout the day, volunteers did a lot of landscaping, including weeding, replanting trees, putting in a walkway, etc.; they also built 2 picnic tables and 3 planter benches; and of course, they built an awesome playground. The build captains were awesome! The volunteers enjoyed the barbecue lunch donated by Montana’s. The activities moved quickly although attaching the components to the structure and leveling and plumbing everything took longer than expected. Nevertheless everything was completed just in time for the 3pm board cutting . Steve Savoie from The Home Depot spoke at the board cutting as did Paul Keane, the president of the Boys and Girls Club. Other media at the build included a reporter from The Free Press and someone from a local Fanshawe College, a local college which broadcasts on a cable channel. (They did an extensive interview with Hope.) Congrats to both Hope and Tabitha for doing an awesome job on the build and also for making great connections with potential future partners (both Pam from the Boys and Girls Club and Tom from the London Community Foundation want to partner again with KaBOOM! and The Home Depot).
Sunday, October 10, 2004
love parade and BM decompression
this past week i actually spent at home in SF! it's the first whole week i've had here! and just shy of a miracle! so i had to live it up! i went to the first Love Parade in the US (originally held in Berlin), the Bluegrass Festival in the Park (for free!), a bar in the Lower Haight for Indian house/techo, a lounge/bar in the Mission near me, and the Marin Headlands (Center for the Arts)... there is an endless amount of things to do or places to see here. it's incredible.
i'm beginning to meet more people, but it's slow... i've reconnected with a friend from my church youth group in CT. she and her husband just moved out here from Philadelphia, and i'm super-glad they did. they and their friends are very good people... also, at the love parade, i ran into a couple that i met at Ann Dupre's wedding in Black Mountain, NC, a couple of years ago, and i met some awesome guys through them! the best part is these guys are avid music-goers, and now i have them to explore SF's music scene!... oh, how the world rotates and brings people together! God is so good.
today, i'm going to the Burning Man Decompression party in Potrero Hill. ($10 with a costume, $20 without.) i'm going with my brother Tony, his fiance Mardie and some of their friends... and i'll be covered in pink! it'll be grrreat!... more later.
tuesday through saturday this week i am building my second playground (as lead project manager from start to finish!) in London, Ontario! it should be awesome but cold! it's supposed to get down to 40 degrees F on the day of the build! hopefully volunteers will still come out for it... more later.
i'm beginning to meet more people, but it's slow... i've reconnected with a friend from my church youth group in CT. she and her husband just moved out here from Philadelphia, and i'm super-glad they did. they and their friends are very good people... also, at the love parade, i ran into a couple that i met at Ann Dupre's wedding in Black Mountain, NC, a couple of years ago, and i met some awesome guys through them! the best part is these guys are avid music-goers, and now i have them to explore SF's music scene!... oh, how the world rotates and brings people together! God is so good.
today, i'm going to the Burning Man Decompression party in Potrero Hill. ($10 with a costume, $20 without.) i'm going with my brother Tony, his fiance Mardie and some of their friends... and i'll be covered in pink! it'll be grrreat!... more later.
tuesday through saturday this week i am building my second playground (as lead project manager from start to finish!) in London, Ontario! it should be awesome but cold! it's supposed to get down to 40 degrees F on the day of the build! hopefully volunteers will still come out for it... more later.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
my FIRST build!
Here is what my boss--the Director of Project Management--wrote about my first playground build (as a lead project manager):
Build #102 this year:
Today, Hope led her first build ever – woo hoo – this was another Week of Service build with The Home Depot. The build was with Northside Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The day started with Hope and Whitney arriving at the site at 5:45. During the kick-off, Hope led the hokie pokie – (by the way one of the Associates wrote in her evaluations that something very memorable from the day was the hokie pokie!). A women from N-S-Leadership Conference spoke at the kick-off and nearly cried. Then two HRMs (Jim Marks and Mark Kociubinski) said a thank you to everyone for being there and Felix Fusco led The Home Depot cheer. There were 130 people from The Home Depot, 20 high school students from the community, and 60 from the community and from Northside Leadership Conference (including 10 residents who helped throughout the day). They built the playground, moved 165 cubic yards of mulch, created a little walkway; built 10 adult size picnic tables and 4 child size picnic tables and stained them (with a solid green tint), and mulched the trees near the playground; they did weeding, and moved a huge mound of dirt to backfill the end around the border timbers. Pete Jeffrey came out for prep day 1 and he was there first thing this morning and his son Chris was the lead during the installation. Chris was awesome! He was so good with the volunteers and was really on top of the equipment – he was easy to work with and on top of it.
CBS came out briefly (and a couple associates spoke with him); Fox News came out and Tony Kennedy (a The Home Depot Associate) was interviewed; Fox News was there at the mid-day ceremony; NBC came at the end of the day after all was done but they still filmed the structure and she interviewed Donna Alison, the main community partner point of contact. The Northside Paper came out as well. The mid-day ceremony was a huge success– Hope raffled off a variety of KaBOOM! items and ones from the community and The Home Depot. The Councilman from the City, Luke Ravenstahl, came up and read a Proclamation for Pittsburgh’s First Day of Play. Then Tony Kennedy spoke about The Week of Service and what it means to have 250,000 Associates doing service this week. The mid-day ceremony ended with a beautiful event -- a woman from the National Aviary (was located just around the corner from the park) led a dove release – 25-50 doves came out of 3 crates and the doves flew away.
The board cutting was at 2pm. Tony Kennedy read the letter from the President. Felix Fusco spoke; the Executive Director from Northside Leadership Conference Deborah McClain thanked everyone for their help support, and leadership. Donna Alison presented a 3D color poster of the drawing with “Thank You Hope” written on it and signatures from a large number of community and associate volunteers. Then Donna Alison cut the board and people sprayed Silly String and they took a group photo. The day ended with The Home Depot Cheer which ended with “Improve Everything We Touch”.
Special thanks to Whitney who was an awesome Second! She anticipated a lot and was great! Congratulations to Hope who did an awesome job on her first KaBOOM! build!!!
Build #102 this year:
Today, Hope led her first build ever – woo hoo – this was another Week of Service build with The Home Depot. The build was with Northside Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The day started with Hope and Whitney arriving at the site at 5:45. During the kick-off, Hope led the hokie pokie – (by the way one of the Associates wrote in her evaluations that something very memorable from the day was the hokie pokie!). A women from N-S-Leadership Conference spoke at the kick-off and nearly cried. Then two HRMs (Jim Marks and Mark Kociubinski) said a thank you to everyone for being there and Felix Fusco led The Home Depot cheer. There were 130 people from The Home Depot, 20 high school students from the community, and 60 from the community and from Northside Leadership Conference (including 10 residents who helped throughout the day). They built the playground, moved 165 cubic yards of mulch, created a little walkway; built 10 adult size picnic tables and 4 child size picnic tables and stained them (with a solid green tint), and mulched the trees near the playground; they did weeding, and moved a huge mound of dirt to backfill the end around the border timbers. Pete Jeffrey came out for prep day 1 and he was there first thing this morning and his son Chris was the lead during the installation. Chris was awesome! He was so good with the volunteers and was really on top of the equipment – he was easy to work with and on top of it.
CBS came out briefly (and a couple associates spoke with him); Fox News came out and Tony Kennedy (a The Home Depot Associate) was interviewed; Fox News was there at the mid-day ceremony; NBC came at the end of the day after all was done but they still filmed the structure and she interviewed Donna Alison, the main community partner point of contact. The Northside Paper came out as well. The mid-day ceremony was a huge success– Hope raffled off a variety of KaBOOM! items and ones from the community and The Home Depot. The Councilman from the City, Luke Ravenstahl, came up and read a Proclamation for Pittsburgh’s First Day of Play. Then Tony Kennedy spoke about The Week of Service and what it means to have 250,000 Associates doing service this week. The mid-day ceremony ended with a beautiful event -- a woman from the National Aviary (was located just around the corner from the park) led a dove release – 25-50 doves came out of 3 crates and the doves flew away.
The board cutting was at 2pm. Tony Kennedy read the letter from the President. Felix Fusco spoke; the Executive Director from Northside Leadership Conference Deborah McClain thanked everyone for their help support, and leadership. Donna Alison presented a 3D color poster of the drawing with “Thank You Hope” written on it and signatures from a large number of community and associate volunteers. Then Donna Alison cut the board and people sprayed Silly String and they took a group photo. The day ended with The Home Depot Cheer which ended with “Improve Everything We Touch”.
Special thanks to Whitney who was an awesome Second! She anticipated a lot and was great! Congratulations to Hope who did an awesome job on her first KaBOOM! build!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2004
life's fullness
So much to say, so little time and energy to be spent on updates. I spend quite a bit of time on the computer, on conference calls, in the plane and out on playground build sites, and I sometimes forget that there is more to life that work.
Burning Man was a good reminder of Life's fullness! It was incredible out there. The sun, the wind, the high-pressure days and nights, the pocket of desert surrounded my beautiful mountains... The diversity of artistic expression spralled out in an organized fashion across a pre-historic lake bed. By day and by night, the playa's culture and ambiance would never cease to amaze me... the art installations, the art cars, the costumes, the music, the theatre, the dance, the theme-camps... the love, the openess, the positive sexual energy, the freedom... After just a few days, I felt more at home and settled than I've felt in a long time. It was liberating and inspirational.
Burning Man was a good reminder of Life's fullness! It was incredible out there. The sun, the wind, the high-pressure days and nights, the pocket of desert surrounded my beautiful mountains... The diversity of artistic expression spralled out in an organized fashion across a pre-historic lake bed. By day and by night, the playa's culture and ambiance would never cease to amaze me... the art installations, the art cars, the costumes, the music, the theatre, the dance, the theme-camps... the love, the openess, the positive sexual energy, the freedom... After just a few days, I felt more at home and settled than I've felt in a long time. It was liberating and inspirational.
Our theme camp was "WDYDWYD?" It means whatever you think it means, but we used the definition "why do you do what you do?" for our camp's "event." Basically, we took (and gave out) b&w polaroid portraits of people who would hold up their answer to the question on a piece of paper in front of them... soon, everything will be up online.
After Burning Man, I dove right back into work and began traveling all over again... visiting our playground manufacturer (the one KaBOOM! buys from exclusively), building a playground in Ottawa, Ontario, leading a Design Day in Tulsa, OK... Next week I go to Pittsburgh, PA, to lead my first build. That means that this project is mine, from start to finish. I'm the one that helps the community organize the entire thing, and I'm the one that will be running the show on Friday, Oct. 1... Yep, the playground is built all in one day! 200+ volunteers show up at 8 in the morning, and the playground is built in less than 8 hours! It's a great event because the community comes together with their funding partner in the project, and they produce an incredible child-designed public playspace in no time! (The planning process takes about 2 months--beginning with a Design Day with the kids and the adults of the community.) So, that's my job in a nut shell... or rather, that is the tip of the iceburg, so to speak. More to come later, I'm sure.
Lastly, my sister Heather came for a visit this last week. It was so great to spend time with her, especially because we're perfect partners in crime but also because we're such close friends. We had a great time out and about, exploring the city and meeting new people. I hope to find the time and energy to continue that on my own.
Friday, August 20, 2004
just moved in
Things have been really crazy lately. I definitely hit the ground running with this job... It's all good, though... It's nice to be outside a lot and to work hard, but it's very challenging to learn all the ropes and to deal with all the traveling (planned as well as spontaneous). For example, over the past month, I've only spent about 10 days at home in San Francisco. (I JUST moved into my new place, and I'm still living out of boxes!) Crazy, huh? If you're wondering where I've been, check out the list to the right... More to write later.
Friday, July 30, 2004
my first build as a second
My supervisor at KaBOOM! wrote this about my first playground build (San Jose)!:
San Jose, CA;
The Home Depot and Seven Trees Homeowners Association
And, last but not least, Tabitha led a build in San Jose, California. Hope was out there as a Second for the first time and did a ‘fabulous’ job. The build did come with its challenges as the volunteers (~60) from one local The Home Depot store did not come out for the day as they were mourning the recent death earlier in the week of one of their Associates. In spite of this sad news, the volunteers who did come out (100-125) definitely helped to make the day a success. In addition to building the playground, they painted the basketball court, built planter benches, and did a lot of landscaping including creating a butterfly garden. Sherry Caraway came out from The Home Depot. As with the other builds yesterday, there was a lot of media – Evening Magazine was out for the whole day and NBC and ABC also both were there. The kids learned how to plant flowers and then each one brought home a marigold to plant at home. Congrats to Tabitha and Hope for a job well done.
San Jose, CA;
The Home Depot and Seven Trees Homeowners Association
And, last but not least, Tabitha led a build in San Jose, California. Hope was out there as a Second for the first time and did a ‘fabulous’ job. The build did come with its challenges as the volunteers (~60) from one local The Home Depot store did not come out for the day as they were mourning the recent death earlier in the week of one of their Associates. In spite of this sad news, the volunteers who did come out (100-125) definitely helped to make the day a success. In addition to building the playground, they painted the basketball court, built planter benches, and did a lot of landscaping including creating a butterfly garden. Sherry Caraway came out from The Home Depot. As with the other builds yesterday, there was a lot of media – Evening Magazine was out for the whole day and NBC and ABC also both were there. The kids learned how to plant flowers and then each one brought home a marigold to plant at home. Congrats to Tabitha and Hope for a job well done.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
mural in the mission
Juana Alicia
There is this beautiful mural of La Llorona--painted by local artist Juana Alicia--on the wall outside of my brother Tony's apartment (over a mexican dinner/low-end burrito place at 24th x York) in the Lower Mission District of San Francisco. Check out http://www.juanaalicia.com/ for more info about it and the artist.
work begins
this is an email that i wrote to friends and family last thursday and that i thought should be shared with the world:
Subject : KaBOOM!
hello all!
apologies for the mass email, but i don't (and probably will never) have time to write you all individually about everything that's happening with me... so here it is.
the transition in SF, welllll... i only had 4 days there before coming back east (to DC) for training and a playgroud build. in my short time there, i visited some towns on the peninsula, met up with a couple friends of friends, and found a place to live (near where my brother lives)! it gave me a brief feel for the whirlwind that i'm just now entering with the new job... craziness.
the transition into my new job has been great, but my brain is beginning to overload a wee bit. the good news is I LOVE IT! and everything about it kicks butt! (except for the massive amount of anticipated conference calls and such). this week as been crazy: M-W & F have been training (i.e. learning all about the matrix of KaBOOM!) and today was a giant playground build b/w a public housing neighborhood and an elementary school in DC (300 volunteers from KaBOOM!, AmeriCorps NCCC, DC Housing Authority, Home Depot, and National Capitial Police Dept.)... so, yeah, i'm pooped (and sun-burnt). the trainings have been awesome, fun, interesting, engaging, and not really all that boring... not to mention, their office space here is so much fun!! it's huge (about 1,000 sq. ft. or something). it's painted all purple, orange, yellow, and white. the ceilings are high, unfinished and painted white. they've used some industrial venting (?) to divide some office spaces, while other spaces are roomed off. the main conference room is duely named the "garage" for its garage door partition. the kitchen is in the center and has B&W speckled cabinets, a nice metallic refrig. and dishwasher, and a big orange, oval counter top table in the middle. it's so much fun to come to! AND everyone is so awesome! unfortunately, i won't be in this office on a regular basis. in fact, i will only get to come here about 2 times a year. :( sad for me... maybe i should have picked DC to come to. oh well... SF will be AWESOME too! because I'LL be there! anyway, i'm MUST go shower and rest before we go out to eat. i'll write more when i can.
love, hope
http://www.kaboom.org
p.s. no cell, yet, but i'll send you contact info soon!
Subject : KaBOOM!
hello all!
apologies for the mass email, but i don't (and probably will never) have time to write you all individually about everything that's happening with me... so here it is.
the transition in SF, welllll... i only had 4 days there before coming back east (to DC) for training and a playgroud build. in my short time there, i visited some towns on the peninsula, met up with a couple friends of friends, and found a place to live (near where my brother lives)! it gave me a brief feel for the whirlwind that i'm just now entering with the new job... craziness.
the transition into my new job has been great, but my brain is beginning to overload a wee bit. the good news is I LOVE IT! and everything about it kicks butt! (except for the massive amount of anticipated conference calls and such). this week as been crazy: M-W & F have been training (i.e. learning all about the matrix of KaBOOM!) and today was a giant playground build b/w a public housing neighborhood and an elementary school in DC (300 volunteers from KaBOOM!, AmeriCorps NCCC, DC Housing Authority, Home Depot, and National Capitial Police Dept.)... so, yeah, i'm pooped (and sun-burnt). the trainings have been awesome, fun, interesting, engaging, and not really all that boring... not to mention, their office space here is so much fun!! it's huge (about 1,000 sq. ft. or something). it's painted all purple, orange, yellow, and white. the ceilings are high, unfinished and painted white. they've used some industrial venting (?) to divide some office spaces, while other spaces are roomed off. the main conference room is duely named the "garage" for its garage door partition. the kitchen is in the center and has B&W speckled cabinets, a nice metallic refrig. and dishwasher, and a big orange, oval counter top table in the middle. it's so much fun to come to! AND everyone is so awesome! unfortunately, i won't be in this office on a regular basis. in fact, i will only get to come here about 2 times a year. :( sad for me... maybe i should have picked DC to come to. oh well... SF will be AWESOME too! because I'LL be there! anyway, i'm MUST go shower and rest before we go out to eat. i'll write more when i can.
love, hope
http://www.kaboom.org
p.s. no cell, yet, but i'll send you contact info soon!
Monday, July 05, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
fahrenheit
i have never felt QUITE the URGENCY that i feel right now to DO SOMETHING about the political (and selfish) state of our nation. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a must-see for ANYone and everyone who wants to know what actually went on, not just what our biased media filters out for us to see (including the right-wing's critical reviews on this "controversial" film). PLEASE read river's blog for some well-written commentaries about the film. then, let us harness our energy collectively and DO SOMETHING!! (besides VOTE--obviously)
Friday, June 25, 2004
inspired to return
I know, it's been an eternity since I've blogged, but I'm still here... and I hope to get back into the circuit again. In the meantime, check out my loving friend Ashley's blog. She is an amazing woman with an amazing talent for creative and inspirational blogging.
Saturday, December 13, 2003
finishing up the semester
Well, the most painful part of this semester is finally over. I finished my ISP (independent project), wrote a 30-page single-spaced paper (it took me 50 hours over 3 ½ days), and survived my 40-minute presentation (just barely…) — all within this past week. By the time it was over, I had so much stress (and self-doubt) running through my veins that I treated myself to a full-body massage at the Projeto Quarta Varas (see entry from early October). There, the massage therapy "salon" is an outdoor circular hut made of bamboo that sits right off the beach; so while you're getting the massage you can hear the waves and wind... SO nice and SO what I needed! now I feel like a new person.
Too bad the stress is not quite over. I still have to write an 8-to-10-page paper (in an elaborate response to Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America) by Tuesday and I still don’t know how or what about.
Plus, I also need to do all the last minute soaking in… of the culture, the beach, the warm weather (tonight it’s 27° C, or ~85° F ?), time with my host family, time with the other students in the group, the language, and the Brazilian crafts, music, clothes, night, and people. I’m SO ready to be done with the academic semester and to see my family again, but I’m also not ready to leave Brazil. Oh, what saudades! (which means everything from longing for something, to feeling like something’s missing, to being sentimental about something that soon won’t be there anymore, etc.)
The last 2 ½ weeks of my stay in Salvador were great but far too short. When I wasn’t doing field research (i.e. interviewing folks, observing them in their environments, reading material, etc.), I hung out with either my host cousin or an awesome girl I met from New York, Inasia. I also went to an Olodum concert/show (they’re a famous “afro-bloco” group, a hip hop show, and a “roda de samba” (samba music jam circle), among a few others… Overall, Salvador was great! I loved it there. The people are so beautiful and loving… I was sad to leave.
Now that the semester is (nearly) over, I will fly home next Friday night, spend Christmas with my family in CT, drive back to NC with my sibs, and start school on January 7 (already!!!). Crazy, no?
Too bad the stress is not quite over. I still have to write an 8-to-10-page paper (in an elaborate response to Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America) by Tuesday and I still don’t know how or what about.
Plus, I also need to do all the last minute soaking in… of the culture, the beach, the warm weather (tonight it’s 27° C, or ~85° F ?), time with my host family, time with the other students in the group, the language, and the Brazilian crafts, music, clothes, night, and people. I’m SO ready to be done with the academic semester and to see my family again, but I’m also not ready to leave Brazil. Oh, what saudades! (which means everything from longing for something, to feeling like something’s missing, to being sentimental about something that soon won’t be there anymore, etc.)
The last 2 ½ weeks of my stay in Salvador were great but far too short. When I wasn’t doing field research (i.e. interviewing folks, observing them in their environments, reading material, etc.), I hung out with either my host cousin or an awesome girl I met from New York, Inasia. I also went to an Olodum concert/show (they’re a famous “afro-bloco” group, a hip hop show, and a “roda de samba” (samba music jam circle), among a few others… Overall, Salvador was great! I loved it there. The people are so beautiful and loving… I was sad to leave.
Now that the semester is (nearly) over, I will fly home next Friday night, spend Christmas with my family in CT, drive back to NC with my sibs, and start school on January 7 (already!!!). Crazy, no?
So if you ever want to know what’s going on with me or if you just want to drop me a line, email me. hopedeifell@hotmail.com
i'll try to share more details and memories later. right now i've gotta worry about that paper and my final days in Brazil.
Until then, take care and spread the love!
P.S. Once I have the chance to edit and fine tune my paper, i'll create a link of it and attach it to the blog.
P.S. Once I have the chance to edit and fine tune my paper, i'll create a link of it and attach it to the blog.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
National Black Consciousness Day
Thursday, 20 November
To make a long story short, I decided not to explain Brazilian racial relations (here), mainly because it’s so complex and deeply rooted that I wouldn’t be able to lay it all out for you in just a few words… but also because I had trouble coming up with an explanation that would suffice… All in all, my experiences have given me new way of seeing the world, period.
Around 3 p.m., 200+ people congregated on the street in front of Ilê Aiyê’s home in the Liberdade neighborhood, where this world famous Afro-Brazilian “bloco” prepared its lines of drummers to lead the crowd on the 5-km walk (“caminhada”) from there to Pelourinho, the center of Salvador’s historical district. Samba-like music and announcements related to black consciousness blasted from speakers the size of the truck that carried them. Mobile venders were ready with their wheelbarrows balancing coolers which overflowed with 50-cent cans of beers or bottles of water. Around 4 o’clock, fireworks went off to signal the start of the march.
With every step we took and every corner we turned, more and more people joined the march… until it was virtually impossible to move freely. Walking to either the beat of the drum or to the beat of the music broadcasted by loud-speaker, we moved rather slowly at first—practically stepping on each others feet, weaving around the venders, the news reporters and the drumming “blocos,” trying not to lose each other (I walked with two colleagues, our program’s co-director, and her parents), etc. Overall, I felt like a fish swimming in a huge flowing river of beautiful dark waters.
After 2 hours of walking only 3 km, some of us went down to the lower city of Salvador to take a bus to get to our destination faster—Pelourinho. There, we (along with at least a thousand people) wondered through the streets, listened to some (free) conscious Brazilian hip hop and reggae music (on the main square), watched the “caminhada” (that we were in) arrive, and hung out with our friends there.
… Since then…
I’ve been real busy with my project—interviewing, reading, writing, etc…
I’ve enjoyed spending time with my family and friends…
And I plan to write more later when I have time… (in another 2 weeks, right before coming home! – Dec. 20!!)
To make a long story short, I decided not to explain Brazilian racial relations (here), mainly because it’s so complex and deeply rooted that I wouldn’t be able to lay it all out for you in just a few words… but also because I had trouble coming up with an explanation that would suffice… All in all, my experiences have given me new way of seeing the world, period.
Around 3 p.m., 200+ people congregated on the street in front of Ilê Aiyê’s home in the Liberdade neighborhood, where this world famous Afro-Brazilian “bloco” prepared its lines of drummers to lead the crowd on the 5-km walk (“caminhada”) from there to Pelourinho, the center of Salvador’s historical district. Samba-like music and announcements related to black consciousness blasted from speakers the size of the truck that carried them. Mobile venders were ready with their wheelbarrows balancing coolers which overflowed with 50-cent cans of beers or bottles of water. Around 4 o’clock, fireworks went off to signal the start of the march.
With every step we took and every corner we turned, more and more people joined the march… until it was virtually impossible to move freely. Walking to either the beat of the drum or to the beat of the music broadcasted by loud-speaker, we moved rather slowly at first—practically stepping on each others feet, weaving around the venders, the news reporters and the drumming “blocos,” trying not to lose each other (I walked with two colleagues, our program’s co-director, and her parents), etc. Overall, I felt like a fish swimming in a huge flowing river of beautiful dark waters.
After 2 hours of walking only 3 km, some of us went down to the lower city of Salvador to take a bus to get to our destination faster—Pelourinho. There, we (along with at least a thousand people) wondered through the streets, listened to some (free) conscious Brazilian hip hop and reggae music (on the main square), watched the “caminhada” (that we were in) arrive, and hung out with our friends there.
… Since then…
I’ve been real busy with my project—interviewing, reading, writing, etc…
I’ve enjoyed spending time with my family and friends…
And I plan to write more later when I have time… (in another 2 weeks, right before coming home! – Dec. 20!!)
Friday, November 21, 2003
semester in Brazil: phase two
Once again, it’s taken me forever to get this together... or, rather, it’s been forever since I’ve been able to sit down at a computer and summarize everything… And, in order to keep this brief, I might just list sights, sounds, feelings and places, with or without explanation.
First a synopsis of the synopsis:
The past 2 ½ weeks have been jam-packed full of interesting occurrences, visits, travels, colors, music, people, and lessons… We traveled to the coast of Bahia (a state between Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro), visited the historical town of Cachoeira for 4 days, and then went to Salvador… Basically, we hung out in Salvador, getting to know the city, its people, the sites, some of the culture and history, etc., as a group for 10 days, and then everyone went on their own to do independent field research projects. Ten of us (incl. me) stayed in Bahia to do our research.
The focus of my research will be the voices and life experiences of 5 young Afro-Brazilian women activists/“militantes” (at CEAFRO, a center of education and citizen development for African-oriented peoples). I want to investigate why they became activists, what and who inspires/influences/drives them to be activists, what obstacles they face(d), and how these compelling voices can empower other young Afro-Brazilian women to take action amid the Brazil’s myth of racial democracy and overt gender placement… Right now, this project is really scary because I have very little guidance, no theoretical framework, and no clue as to how to ask the right questions or do what I’m supposed to do (let alone how to bring it altogether)!… So, that’s what I’m up to, from now until December 6… but now let me attempt to paint for you a picture of the past few weeks.
Bahia: Cachoeira
Bright, solid colors in various shades—yellow, red, blue, beige, white—painted on store and house fronts with Colonial/Portuguese architecture: little metal-caged veranda windows and tall wooden front doors. Cobble-stone streets, churches every 200 yards… Population = 56,000 and 95-99% African descent… Mouth of a river; entrance to the interior. 6 hours by boat or 2 hours by bus (we did both) across the bay from Salvador. A historical port where most African slaves forcefully came before being bought and sold by fazenda (or plantation) owners… Three hundred years after Brazil’s “discovery” (1500), many Africans living in Cachoeira began to organize and lead slave revolts in Salvador. Still today Cachoeira is considered an important center of African heritage and spring for collective action.
Cachoeira is also known for its spiritual richness in Candomblé (an African-based religious tradition) and Catholic syncretism. For example, many Africans practiced their rituals and religious ceremonies behind the façade of Catholicism, bowing down to white saints but worshipping their African deities, in order to protect their spirituality and cultural well-being. On the other hand, many African women managed to pass their true African religious traditions down through the generations and preserve them in their terreiros (or Candomblé worship spaces). We visited two in Cachoeira and one in Salvador. There, fringed white tissue paper hangs from the ceiling, and dried palm frons decorate the corners of the room and the line the doors and windows of the room, and members wear beaded jewelry, white dresses and head wraps… Truthfully, there is no way I can capture everything about this complex religious tradition, its people, its influence on and cultural importance for Afro-Brazilians, or its spiritual exchange… So, I’ll just leave it at that.
Lastly, while in Cachoeira, we stayed in the house of the Sisterhood of Our Lady of Good Death (a well-known example of Catholic syncretism), ate (very well) there, and held our “lectures” there… Even though we didn’t get to meet any of the sisters or witness any of their ceremonies, we enjoyed our time there and, by the time we left, felt like we knew them. Basically, the Sisterhood of Good Death is composed of around 30 older Afro-Brazilian women (average age, 70) who are Candomblé members that worship the death and ascendance of the Virgin Mary… It’s a lot more complex than that, but that’s the best summary I can come up with.
Bahia: Salvador
After 4 days in Cachoeira, we went on a 6-hour boat ride, east, across the bay to the state’s capital, Salvador—the most visited (most exploited) city by tourists in Brazil… at least that’s what I’ve been told and what seems apparent. Regardless, I must confess that tourists have every reason to come. Salvador is beautiful, and its people are generally very friendly, animated, and positive. Like Cachoeira, Salvador’s historic cobble-stone streets are lined with brightly colored Colonial architecture. The whole city doesn’t enjoy this aesthetic richness however. The rest of the city reflects a truer Brazilian reality—poorer infrastructure, lack of finances, absence of institutional support, evidence of survival, diversity of wealth,… You get the picture, no?
During these 10 days together as a group in Salvador, we basically did the following:
-Rented an apartment and hung out a bunch in the Barra neighborhood;
-Enjoyed our most interesting lectures of the semester at CEAFRO (African dance, socio-economic issues of black women, religious intolerance, health, gender and race/ethnicity, the anthropology of solidarity, etc.);
-Attended a public religious ceremony at a well-known Candomblé house—Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá;
-Got to know the historical district, Pelourinho, inside and out… quite the tourist-trap; and
-Visited Project Bahia Street (an org. that helps young girls recognize/value their black identity and works to reinforce their public school education), the Steve Biko Cultural Institute (which does virtually the same thing but for teenagers and other young adults), and Ilê Ayê (a world renown Afro-Brazilian Carnaval “bloco”/group/school based out of the Liberdade neighborhood).
Since the others left to do their independent projects, I moved into my host family’s house, went to the beach with them, did some research, stressed out over the lack of theoretical framework in project…, and attended a reggae festival (Diamba, Tribo de Jah, Adao Negro, Alpha Blondy, Edson Gomes, and Sine Calmon). All in all it’s been great!
What’s my host family like? Afro-Brazilian. Middle-class. Eva, a 40-something mother that’s a spunky hair-dresser and super down-to-earth. Cleono, a 40-something father that works in advertising. Danilo, an 11-year-old brother with whom I share a small bedroom. And Elaine, a 27-year-old cousin that used to work for them but now just lives there and works for a neighboring family. After our first night together, Elaine and I quickly became good friends.
Well, finally, I guess that’s it for now… Today (now, yesterday) is the Day of Black Consciousness, and with 90% of the population Afro-Brazilian, you’d think the entire city of Salvador would take it to the streets! Well, more on this means later… For now I’ve gotta run a join the 3rd annual Black Consciousness march from Liberdade to Pelourinho.
First a synopsis of the synopsis:
The past 2 ½ weeks have been jam-packed full of interesting occurrences, visits, travels, colors, music, people, and lessons… We traveled to the coast of Bahia (a state between Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro), visited the historical town of Cachoeira for 4 days, and then went to Salvador… Basically, we hung out in Salvador, getting to know the city, its people, the sites, some of the culture and history, etc., as a group for 10 days, and then everyone went on their own to do independent field research projects. Ten of us (incl. me) stayed in Bahia to do our research.
The focus of my research will be the voices and life experiences of 5 young Afro-Brazilian women activists/“militantes” (at CEAFRO, a center of education and citizen development for African-oriented peoples). I want to investigate why they became activists, what and who inspires/influences/drives them to be activists, what obstacles they face(d), and how these compelling voices can empower other young Afro-Brazilian women to take action amid the Brazil’s myth of racial democracy and overt gender placement… Right now, this project is really scary because I have very little guidance, no theoretical framework, and no clue as to how to ask the right questions or do what I’m supposed to do (let alone how to bring it altogether)!… So, that’s what I’m up to, from now until December 6… but now let me attempt to paint for you a picture of the past few weeks.
Bahia: Cachoeira
Bright, solid colors in various shades—yellow, red, blue, beige, white—painted on store and house fronts with Colonial/Portuguese architecture: little metal-caged veranda windows and tall wooden front doors. Cobble-stone streets, churches every 200 yards… Population = 56,000 and 95-99% African descent… Mouth of a river; entrance to the interior. 6 hours by boat or 2 hours by bus (we did both) across the bay from Salvador. A historical port where most African slaves forcefully came before being bought and sold by fazenda (or plantation) owners… Three hundred years after Brazil’s “discovery” (1500), many Africans living in Cachoeira began to organize and lead slave revolts in Salvador. Still today Cachoeira is considered an important center of African heritage and spring for collective action.
Cachoeira is also known for its spiritual richness in Candomblé (an African-based religious tradition) and Catholic syncretism. For example, many Africans practiced their rituals and religious ceremonies behind the façade of Catholicism, bowing down to white saints but worshipping their African deities, in order to protect their spirituality and cultural well-being. On the other hand, many African women managed to pass their true African religious traditions down through the generations and preserve them in their terreiros (or Candomblé worship spaces). We visited two in Cachoeira and one in Salvador. There, fringed white tissue paper hangs from the ceiling, and dried palm frons decorate the corners of the room and the line the doors and windows of the room, and members wear beaded jewelry, white dresses and head wraps… Truthfully, there is no way I can capture everything about this complex religious tradition, its people, its influence on and cultural importance for Afro-Brazilians, or its spiritual exchange… So, I’ll just leave it at that.
Lastly, while in Cachoeira, we stayed in the house of the Sisterhood of Our Lady of Good Death (a well-known example of Catholic syncretism), ate (very well) there, and held our “lectures” there… Even though we didn’t get to meet any of the sisters or witness any of their ceremonies, we enjoyed our time there and, by the time we left, felt like we knew them. Basically, the Sisterhood of Good Death is composed of around 30 older Afro-Brazilian women (average age, 70) who are Candomblé members that worship the death and ascendance of the Virgin Mary… It’s a lot more complex than that, but that’s the best summary I can come up with.
Bahia: Salvador
After 4 days in Cachoeira, we went on a 6-hour boat ride, east, across the bay to the state’s capital, Salvador—the most visited (most exploited) city by tourists in Brazil… at least that’s what I’ve been told and what seems apparent. Regardless, I must confess that tourists have every reason to come. Salvador is beautiful, and its people are generally very friendly, animated, and positive. Like Cachoeira, Salvador’s historic cobble-stone streets are lined with brightly colored Colonial architecture. The whole city doesn’t enjoy this aesthetic richness however. The rest of the city reflects a truer Brazilian reality—poorer infrastructure, lack of finances, absence of institutional support, evidence of survival, diversity of wealth,… You get the picture, no?
During these 10 days together as a group in Salvador, we basically did the following:
-Rented an apartment and hung out a bunch in the Barra neighborhood;
-Enjoyed our most interesting lectures of the semester at CEAFRO (African dance, socio-economic issues of black women, religious intolerance, health, gender and race/ethnicity, the anthropology of solidarity, etc.);
-Attended a public religious ceremony at a well-known Candomblé house—Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá;
-Got to know the historical district, Pelourinho, inside and out… quite the tourist-trap; and
-Visited Project Bahia Street (an org. that helps young girls recognize/value their black identity and works to reinforce their public school education), the Steve Biko Cultural Institute (which does virtually the same thing but for teenagers and other young adults), and Ilê Ayê (a world renown Afro-Brazilian Carnaval “bloco”/group/school based out of the Liberdade neighborhood).
Since the others left to do their independent projects, I moved into my host family’s house, went to the beach with them, did some research, stressed out over the lack of theoretical framework in project…, and attended a reggae festival (Diamba, Tribo de Jah, Adao Negro, Alpha Blondy, Edson Gomes, and Sine Calmon). All in all it’s been great!
What’s my host family like? Afro-Brazilian. Middle-class. Eva, a 40-something mother that’s a spunky hair-dresser and super down-to-earth. Cleono, a 40-something father that works in advertising. Danilo, an 11-year-old brother with whom I share a small bedroom. And Elaine, a 27-year-old cousin that used to work for them but now just lives there and works for a neighboring family. After our first night together, Elaine and I quickly became good friends.
Well, finally, I guess that’s it for now… Today (now, yesterday) is the Day of Black Consciousness, and with 90% of the population Afro-Brazilian, you’d think the entire city of Salvador would take it to the streets! Well, more on this means later… For now I’ve gotta run a join the 3rd annual Black Consciousness march from Liberdade to Pelourinho.
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