Last week we reviewed the two African songs we had learned the week before (one from South Africa, and one from Ghana), and we added a German song (Die Gedanken Sind Frei) and an American song (We're All Swimming to the Other Side). One of our German members was there, so she gave me a German lesson, and helped guide us about the song a bit. We focused on the English version of the song last week, but we will try to learn the German part soon. Since we have 3 German members, we should have plenty of help! :)
I realized during last week's meeting that I haven't been researching the background of the songs well enough, especially the cultural aspects. I feel this is quite an oversight on my part, and I will try to do better from now on. When I realized this I felt very bad, because GV is a place where we're supposed to be developing cross-cultural awareness, respect, and understanding. I will strive to make sure this goal is focused on more in the future.
As always, I welcome feedback and suggestions from the group. I'm hoping to do some winter holiday songs from around the world during our meeting(s) in December. It would be great if each member could bring a song to share. Obviously there are many different types of holidays celebrated in the winter, and some countries don't have any, but we would like to enjoy a few different songs from those that do. It would be really great if the songs focused on peace as well.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to have a meeting tomorrow night because I have been diagnosed with a sinus infection. I look forward to resuming on Nov. 17th. We won't be meeting the week of Thanksgiving, and we will wrap up for this semester on Dec. 1st or 8th. We're going to try to have a party before the semester ends, either the first or second weekend of Dec. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer... And feel free to invite friends or family members who would like to check out the group!
We will be meeting again next semester, starting the second week of classes (Jan. 19th), which I believe is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day - very appropriate! There is a chance we will need to change the day of the week next semester, however, depending on my schedule. I will be in touch in early January about these details. Faith UCC won't be able to let us use the room we've been using for 2 weeks in Jan., but we may be able to use a different room during that time. All this will be worked out as we get closer...
I hope everyone has a good week, and I will miss seeing you tomorrow night.
