6.10.2010

Talent

The other week Peace Corps rallied all 70 of us together in Yergellum, which is close to Awassa. You still don’t know where that is? Well, it is in the southern part of this country. To be honest, I was a little nervous about this week that I prematurely dubbed a “shit show." I think we were all a little apprehensive of 70 foreigners congregating in a designated area and ordered to occupy ourselves while this country does its business (I’m being vague for a reason). All this worry was just a waste of energy, which worry normally is. It went surprisingly well. I garnered a few friendships and only made a fool of myself on selected occasions. One that pokes my cranium is when I was asked to emcee the talent show with another Volunteer. Me talking a lot and loudly apparently gave the false impression that I was good at improvising. I’m not, especially when you ask me to improvise improvising. I really just wanted to eat the cheese that was sent via care package and watch other people showcase themselves. Why me?



Nevertheless, I did it and have a video recording of it, which will be stashed right next to my high school hip-hop recital. Some things are never to be shown again, but not entirely worthy or environmentally friendly to be burned. However, there are a handful of very talented individuals amongst us. Some are great singers, others dancers, storytellers, and we have a triple threat as well. Makes up for the rest of us.



There is a running joke between a friend and I about how I have no talents. Enter Goal 4 to the three goals of Peace Corps, which is me finding my talent that has to be lurking in the depths somewhere. Right?! So far, I have the ability to wink with both eyes, which only makes me look creepy. I also have a great trick that I can perform with paper clips, but not really the party starter. As you can see, my progress is minimal, but I have not lost hope yet. Instead of wallowing in my ineptitude, I thought I would dedicate this blog post to a very, very gifted friend and fellow Volunteer, Sher Vogel, who has the everlasting ability to impress and enchant the masses. Below is video she made that exhibits kids from our sites singing to Knaan’s “Wavin’ Flag.'

Click the link below to enjoy!
Wavin' Flag-Peace Corps Ethiopia Version

http://www.vimeo.com/12768450


Posted by Picasa

No comments:

Post a Comment