Reflections on Blogging

I’ve enjoyed the blogging experience more than I thought I would. At first I was a little apprehensive and at times I’ve felt like my writing was homeless since no one really acknowledged it even existed. I’d thought about journaling for years though so if no one ever read it at least it would have accomplished that goal. I have to admit that blogging is quite different from writing in a private journal since you are aware that someone could be reading your thoughts on a public blog site. It’s almost as if someone is looking over your shoulder the entire time you’re writing. I really think that shapes what and how you write no matter how hard you try to believe otherwise.
Besides being an outlet for my thoughts, blogging has helped me feel more in tune with people younger than I. My sons kind of chuckled when I told them I was creating a blog for my class. I’m sure they were thinking the whole idea was hilarious. They were probably thinking of their own Myspace and Facebook sites and the thought of their mother posting pictures or accounts of her own weekend exploits was too much for them. A few days ago one of their friends came over and was talking to me while I was writing something on the Forum. He asked me what I was doing on my wireless (!) laptop (obviously surprised I even had a wireless laptop) and when I explained, I saw that same twinkle in his eye. I don’t know what the fuss is all about. My dad is 82 and he navigates the Web freely and sends me interesting websites and e-mails. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he created his own blogsite and posted a new workout routine he’s come up with at Parkside.
Some of the blogs I wrote were meant to be read by the parents of the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble. This caused me to strive for accuracy in my reporting and proved to be very constraining. I didn’t want to make any mistakes in spelling their names or in relating events that some of them may have attended. This caused me to go back and revise on several occasions.
Surprisingly, I found that I did some of my best writing on the blogs. One of them, entitled “Wasted Potential Space”, is something I will always keep. I’d finally found a voice to say something I’d tried to put into words for years. My student teaching was such a negative experience but I found by putting it into words, I really gained a lot of insight into myself and my future students by having gone through it.
On the negative side, trying to read all my classmates’ blogs proved to be just too time consuming. The Internet is a black hole that can suck you in faster and for a longer period of time than television can. You have intentions of checking one little thing on the Internet or reading one blog in order to comment on it and before you know it, it’s 2 a.m! A television show is finite and there are always commercials that force you to return to the reality of all the things you should be doing. On the other hand, the Internet is a maze of possibilities. There’s always something waiting just around the corner and those deadly links can lead you on a trip of no return.

Live TRJE Performance

Saturday night I attended an AISEDA fundraiser. AISEDA is the African Immigrants Social and Economic Development Agency. The organization assists newly arrived African refugees/immigrants by helping with health care, employment, housing, and overcoming linguistic barriers. At the last TRJE meeting I heard the group would be playing at the fundraiser and I wanted to see a public performance since I had only attended their rehearsals. I was also interested in making our ESL classes available to refugees that were being helped by AISEDA.
The fundraiser was held downtown at the Chamber of Commerce. I didn’t have much information so I arrived quite a bit early and was able to talk with several other people I’d seen at other refugee functions around town. It was a great networking opportunity. The fundraiser included a dinner of African food prepared by AISEDA members and also a silent auction. Beautiful articles that had been brought over from Africa were lying on tables to be auctioned off. Anyone who was interested in an item would write down their bid and then others would write under that a larger bid. The highest bidder was able to purchase the item. I met FeyFey’s wife, Karen, at the auction tables. She invited me to sit with her and her date for the night, her father, Jerry. I was glad for the company.
While we were looking over the items, the TRJE members came in and started setting up their drums and making preparations to dance. They were all dressed in beautiful African style clothing. FeyFey was the emcee and he looked like he was having way too much fun. He introduced everyone with great fanfare. I was really impressed with their performance. The dancers and drummers seamlessly meld together but it all looks so unrehearsed. With the exchange of a glance, the next dancer would move to the middle of the floor and solo dance, then fade back in with the others while another dancer moved out to the center. The audience was drawn into the performance and clapped enthusiastically. After several sets, FeyFey announced that the food was ready and lines began to form along side the tables. The ensemble was not allowed to eat until the guests had been seated with their food. The tables were laden with various rice dishes, chicken, beef, plantains, cassava, and fresh fruit. Needless to say, everyone had more than enough to eat. FeyFey kept up a running commentary while we ate and even called up several youngsters from the audience to try their skills at the drums. One of these new drummers was only two years old! FeyFey made everyone feel welcome and a part of the group. Then he introduced Tony Aduro, the head of AISEDA and several awards were given to other people who had lent their support to AISEDA’s refugees. After the awards were given, the results of the silent auction were announced. I was the highest bidder on a little handmade leather purse. After paying and talking with a few more of the parents, I left.