Just for Fun: What cultures have had the biggest impact on you?
(when I answer this, really I'm thinking about people in my life who have made some impact on me in one way or another)
* French Canadian - enriched by my own family's culture (which I didn't realize really still affected us until I left home - we're not just "American" ). I can't help but think of things like my Memere's meat pies at Christmas and Matante's sporadic use of French (words like "toque," "quette," "oh mon Dieu!"), not to mention values like faith and family - and keeping the peace, maintaining a sense of calm at all costs (a value which was pointed out by my Quebec-born pastoral care professor).
* German - Having lived in Austria and traveled to Germany, and having friends from Germany I've grown to appreciate this under-represented part of my own heritage. What I appreciate most about German people is their wit and their bluntness, their reasonableness and common sense.
* Italians - What's not to love about Italians? Anyone who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for them in my heart. Just look at how many saints have come from this country: Pier Giorgio Frassati, Don Bosco, Francis of Assisi, Clare of Assisi, Ambrose of Milan... the list goes on an on...
* Filippino - Having a close friend in High School who was Filippino and having had numerous Filippino friends in college and beyond, I've come to appreciate their deep devotion, their sense of hospitality - and their cuisine!
* Ukrainians. From my Ukrainian roommate in Austria to my friends here at St. Michael's Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church here in Indiana, I've come to appreciate the arts of this culture - from Psyanka to Iconography, to choral music within the liturgy and decorative embroidery - just beautiful! Not to mention the courage and faith of a people who has suffered much in the last 100 years.
Mexicans. Mi casa es su casa. Food, Faith, Family... Fiesta! As the Church in the United States becomes more and more Hispanic, I am contemplating how important it is for me to learn about and embrace the Latino/a Church. I'm blessed to have several friends who are members of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, a religious community which was founded in Mexico city and whose founder was a married woman, mother of nine, and a mystic. Her writings are beautiful - and have helped me spiritually during the last year or so.
Nigerians. Over the years I've met a number of people from Nigeria or who have Nigerian roots. I can't say that I know a whole lot about Nigeria or Nigerian culture, but the individuals I have met have left an impression on me, in one way or another. After a solo-trip to Turin during which I spent an overnight train ride in the same compartment with a Tunisian, two drunk Polish men, and a Nigerian, I am convinced that the Nigerian man was my guardian angel in disguise.
Without listing reasons for the rest, here are others I'd put on my list:
Polish
Cuban
Puerto Rican
Bosnian
Korean
Iranian
What are yours?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Obsessed...
So I am slightly obsessed. Hopefully y'all won't get sick of my posts on this and will humor me and watch the YouTube videos...
I tend to fixate on musicians, and per my previous posts (and subsequent commentS (note the plural)) I'm really enjoying the MP3 downloads of the Idan Raichel project.
There is something unsettling yet beautiful about his music. I've been reading up on him because he's an interesting character, and I even found a few interviews of him online.
Anyway, so here's my latest favorite song:
ממעמקים -Mi'Ma'amakim (Out of the Depths)
(song is in Hebrew; also features some Ethiopian chant)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz5Spgrel2k
Out of the depths I called unto you, come
Your return shall rekindle the spark in my eyes
Neither done nor forsaken the touch of your hand
To the sound of your laughter shall glow here again
Out of the depths I called unto you, come
'neath a moon that shines brightly your way back to me
In your ear whisper ask again
Who is it that calls to you tonight, listen
Who sings aloud under your window
Who stakes his soul just for you to be happy
Who'll lend his hand to build you a home
Who'll lay his life down under your footsteps
Who like the earth at your feet shall live on
Who'll love you better than all of your lovers
Who'll save you from the rage of the storm
Out of the depths
I tend to fixate on musicians, and per my previous posts (and subsequent commentS (note the plural)) I'm really enjoying the MP3 downloads of the Idan Raichel project.
There is something unsettling yet beautiful about his music. I've been reading up on him because he's an interesting character, and I even found a few interviews of him online.
Anyway, so here's my latest favorite song:
ממעמקים -Mi'Ma'amakim (Out of the Depths)
(song is in Hebrew; also features some Ethiopian chant)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz5Spgrel2k
Out of the depths I called unto you, come
Your return shall rekindle the spark in my eyes
Neither done nor forsaken the touch of your hand
To the sound of your laughter shall glow here again
Out of the depths I called unto you, come
'neath a moon that shines brightly your way back to me
In your ear whisper ask again
Who is it that calls to you tonight, listen
Who sings aloud under your window
Who stakes his soul just for you to be happy
Who'll lend his hand to build you a home
Who'll lay his life down under your footsteps
Who like the earth at your feet shall live on
Who'll love you better than all of your lovers
Who'll save you from the rage of the storm
Out of the depths
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Ketch up?
I haven't posted in a long time... well, sorta.
Here's a quick update on my life:
* Had an utterly insane weekend (Thursday Nighty (11/12 they announced that the MDiv program was getting a new director, effective this MONDAY (11/16); suffered a minor panic attack for which I went to health services (not related to the previous issue, hehe); busted my first party while on duty -freshman drinking & potentially playing "strip poker"; major incident in the hall that involved the local police forensics team (ended up being a freak-accident); went to an awesome concert (see Idan Raichel Project post)....
* Won our 2nd Broomball game on Tuesday. Why the undergrads show up drunk to play is beyond me, although it's hilarious to watch them fall more than the rest of us!
* Working on some homework projects, papers, etc. Please pray for me!
* I'll "preach" for the first time tomorrow - our whole class has to present the homilies we've been working on. This might be a skill useful to me later on in case I ever have to preside over a "Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest (hence known as SCAP)."
* I am still sick. I would appreciate any prayers y'all have for a recovery. I'm tired of being sick and tired. It's been a month. Yes, I'm being a baby about it...
* P.S. : Our new director for the MDiv is a diocesan priest (who was just named a Monsignor!) who is a wonderful man. His name is Fr. Michael Heinz. Though I'm sad to see our old Fr. Mike (Connors) go, I'm excited for our new director too!
Here's a quick update on my life:
* Had an utterly insane weekend (Thursday Nighty (11/12 they announced that the MDiv program was getting a new director, effective this MONDAY (11/16); suffered a minor panic attack for which I went to health services (not related to the previous issue, hehe); busted my first party while on duty -freshman drinking & potentially playing "strip poker"; major incident in the hall that involved the local police forensics team (ended up being a freak-accident); went to an awesome concert (see Idan Raichel Project post)....
* Won our 2nd Broomball game on Tuesday. Why the undergrads show up drunk to play is beyond me, although it's hilarious to watch them fall more than the rest of us!
* Working on some homework projects, papers, etc. Please pray for me!
* I'll "preach" for the first time tomorrow - our whole class has to present the homilies we've been working on. This might be a skill useful to me later on in case I ever have to preside over a "Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest (hence known as SCAP)."
* I am still sick. I would appreciate any prayers y'all have for a recovery. I'm tired of being sick and tired. It's been a month. Yes, I'm being a baby about it...
* P.S. : Our new director for the MDiv is a diocesan priest (who was just named a Monsignor!) who is a wonderful man. His name is Fr. Michael Heinz. Though I'm sad to see our old Fr. Mike (Connors) go, I'm excited for our new director too!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Idan Raichel Project
I went to an AMAZING concert tonight in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center here at Notre Dame. It was a group called the Idan Raichel Project. Here's a bit of info about them from the program:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT:
"Six years ago, when Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel was an unknown musician working in a home studio in his parents' basement in a small city near Tel Aviv, he never imagined that his musical experiments fusing Middle Eastern, African, Indian and other global sounds would ever result in the biggest-selling records in Israeli history and propel him into a role as a major figure in the international global music scene. The Idan Raichel Project's explosive rise saw the multicultural collaborative break sales records in Israel and perform across the globe to rapturous crowds in some of the world's most prestigious venues..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group is led by lead singer / piano player Idan Raichel, and he also involves musicians from around the world, meshing their sounds to create a sound that is unique and truly global. The Project also has the goal of spreading the message of peace and tolerance.
The concert was one of the most fun, uplifting, and interesting I have ever been to! Very enjoyable. I would recommend checking out their webpage or downloading some of their songs, although I have to say, I just downloaded some of their songs and they don't compare to hearing them play live!
I stayed for the post-concert interview / Q & A time, and it was interesting. He draws on the scriptures (particularly the psalms) for some of his lyrics (most of the songs are in Hebrew). Anyway, someone asked him why he uses the scriptures as a source for his songs. He responded by quoting someone else, basically saying "all that is useful has already been written; we simply have to go back and tap into the wisdom of what came before us. It's all in there, it's all we need."
www.idanraichelproject.com/en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idan_Raichel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT:
"Six years ago, when Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel was an unknown musician working in a home studio in his parents' basement in a small city near Tel Aviv, he never imagined that his musical experiments fusing Middle Eastern, African, Indian and other global sounds would ever result in the biggest-selling records in Israeli history and propel him into a role as a major figure in the international global music scene. The Idan Raichel Project's explosive rise saw the multicultural collaborative break sales records in Israel and perform across the globe to rapturous crowds in some of the world's most prestigious venues..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group is led by lead singer / piano player Idan Raichel, and he also involves musicians from around the world, meshing their sounds to create a sound that is unique and truly global. The Project also has the goal of spreading the message of peace and tolerance.
The concert was one of the most fun, uplifting, and interesting I have ever been to! Very enjoyable. I would recommend checking out their webpage or downloading some of their songs, although I have to say, I just downloaded some of their songs and they don't compare to hearing them play live!
I stayed for the post-concert interview / Q & A time, and it was interesting. He draws on the scriptures (particularly the psalms) for some of his lyrics (most of the songs are in Hebrew). Anyway, someone asked him why he uses the scriptures as a source for his songs. He responded by quoting someone else, basically saying "all that is useful has already been written; we simply have to go back and tap into the wisdom of what came before us. It's all in there, it's all we need."
www.idanraichelproject.com/en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idan_Raichel
Here's a few samples of his music that I really like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6Hs7P2xW0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfFdcHQvKI
(the videos on You Tube are a bit weird, but music is great!)
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