There was music in the air ...

We had to choose some articles from the Sunday papers for a discussion and today the topics were once more diverse. There was an article on the relationship between the US and Russia. It was extra interesting to hear the comments from our friends from Russia, the Ukraine, Ouzbekistan, and Kazakstan on this article and how the same item is covered in their respective countries. Another article was about how children of criminals often end up in criminality and how this is mainly connected to drug abuse. The number of prisoners is staggeringly high: half of the black male population is in jail, 1 in 25 white males, 1 in 4 black children's parents. With on top of this an unemployment rate of 60-70% in certain cities, the future looks grim.
Our third article touched upon the increased tourist taxes and Bruce explained the complicated - and unfair - taxing system. In Massassuchets there is the 2 1/2 tax law which prohibits cities to increase taxes by more than 2 1/2 % without referendum. With the present inflation rate, costs cannot be covered and yet if a referendum were to be held, noone would want more taxes. A vicious circle again.

Fortunately, after the break we could start off on a brighter note. The talented Steve Tracy, professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachussets gave us a most enjoyable lecture on "West-Africa, Jazz and the Blues". He brought his harmonica along and played a few tunes. Amazing grace in different versions with a full range of emotions that made me shiver. He told the story of how music from West-Africa crossed the ocean on the slave ships and started leading a new life, forging a new identity, faithful to its roots. The music may sound discordant and distorted at times, the melody may seem lost, it feels like your heart skips a beat, it allows countercurrents to be detected, it lets many players in at the same time.
It's what the essence of art is about, either a part of your life, or something you hang on your wall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKDTXpeYqA

In the afternoon, we had some time off, so I hurried to the Dickinson Homestead for more information for my project. I walked to Austin and Susan Dickinson's house "The Evergreens", to the bookstore and visited the Amherst Historical Museum.
Back at the dorm, I continued work on my lesson plan. It's starting to take shape and I hope to finish it tomorrow.

And then more music. Tonight we went to a Jazz in July All-Star Concert at the Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachussets. It was a wonderful concert with very talented musicians: Bob Ferrier, Chip Jackson, Catherine Jensen-Hole, Steve Johns, Tiger Okoshi, to name but a few.
You can check out the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw1l2J6D1p4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ7BS_FF7N4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5hradQwTGo

It was hard to sit still. We felt like swinging along.
Our lecturer this morning said that for a musician, the instrument is like an extension of the voice, after enjoying tonight, I would say that the instrument is an extension of their body and soul.

A daytrip to Boston

On Saturday Paola and I took the Peter Pan bus to Boston. We left Amherst at 7 am and arrived in Boston at 10 am.
We walked from South Station through China Town to the park where the Freedom Trail starts.
This trail is a brick path that takes you through Boston along its main landmarks.
The weather was good, we had Belgian waffles and a stack of pancakes for breakfast and walked the rest of the day along and across the neighbourhoods of Boston: little Italy, the Irish quarter and Bunker Hill. Boston is a mixture of Europe and the States. The old brick buildings are set in the middle of skyscrapers, the market place feels like Covent Garden, there are gardens and squares, and lots of restaurants. We had a coffee at Zume's at Bunker Hill and took the Tube back to the city center. We ended our day with a tasty Malaysian meal and took the bus that brought us to Amherst at 11 pm. As we got onto the bus, the driver warned us for some rough weather and a possible tornado ahead, but apart from some heavy rain, we didn't see any of it.
Tired, but very pleased with our one-day city trip, we went to bed.
The partners who stayed in Amherst were invited to Julie's house for a picnic and told us they'd had a great time, too.

DOGWOOD

I really wanted to share this beauty with you: a flowering dogwood tree! They're everywhere in the neighbourhood, but this one is right in front of Drew House. So, every time we step outside, we are welcomed to this splendid sight.



Look it up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogwood


( FYI: The dogwood flower is the state flower of North-Carolina)

Our group

Yesterday afternoon we went to the summit house on top of Holyoke Mountain. Unfortunately, the weather was hazy but the sight of the Pioneer Valley was still very impressive. The old house on top of the hill is a small museum showing objects from times gone by when people walking the mountains and working on the railroad would come here for a welcome break.

This is the Connecticut River winding through a green landscape. The scenery is very green, because it's been raining for many weeks now and more rain is announced for the days to come, although so far, we've been lucky and had no showers.

Edgardo, one of the ITD staff members, brought us to the shopping mall where some of us bought food and I bought a cheap cell phone because the one I brought from home doesn't work in the US.

In the evening, I read some of the assigned papers on the constitution of the USA. Later, I went out with Paola from Italy and had some tea-rolls at a local restaurant.

Everyone spent a better night and this morning our group was finally complete. Some people had to take up to 5 different flights to get here and many flights were cancelled because of severe storms in several parts of the country.

Today we were taken to the ITD office for a formal introduction of the staff, our main lecturer, professor Bruce Laurie, and the other group members. We are 28, as one grantee didn't make it and another returned home.

In this picture, you can find me with Bruce, Clare, Rachel, Julie and Noemi, Julie, Naeema, Mory, Snjezana, Seral, Kleo, Alphonse, Sandra, Afifa, Paola, Dai, Kaori, Larissa, José Luis, Abby, Silje and Silje, Nora, Viktor, Beatrice, Svitlana, Alistair, Stella, Olima and Nguyet.

As you can see we're a colourful bunch. We received a detailled schedule of the coming week's activities and a reminder of the reading materials. This afternoon we'll be taken to the mall to by adapters etc.

I've got to leave you now and read a bit more. I'll be back tomorrow!