BC students (PC years 35 and 36) at RaceRocks, taken by Mark Kelsey. Spring 2010.

Monday, March 29, 2010

I'm still here!

Just a quick post to let you know things are still alive and relatively well on this end. Project Week certainly ended with some crazy events - you very well might not believe me when I tell you. Since we have returned I have been sucked up by many commitments.... I'm sorry!

Right now it's Block Week (i.e. practice exam week) and I should get back to some productive studying. Ha.

Anyways, I promise to update you soon. I have not forgotten.

Peace and love,
Emmy x

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Project Week Madness....So far

Yo Homies!

No I have not simultaneously combusted into a gangster...but things have changed from 'roomies' into 'homies.' As I write I hear the excitable voices of my fellow housemates this project week. Introducing -

1) The wise and yet still so fun loving and down-to-earth grandmother of the group - 2nd year from my very own delightful province - ALY PIERIK!

2) The outgoing and always bubbly (like champagne) and smart, sweet, BRANDI from Newfoundland. Oh and yes, she has the most fabulous accent.

3) The cheerful, bright, and flower-like (in a gorgeous stunning way) and adorable small island girl - EMMA from PEI!

4) The girl with the incredible blonde curly hair and who is bilingual, witty, and very smart - LARA from Quebec's own MONTREAL!~

5) The strong, deep thinking, free spirited, and adventurous (and mild health freak. actually MAJOR health freak dairy free vegetarian obsessive exerciser) MAKYLA from Guelph (ie Canada's hippyland).

and in case these names are sounding a bit homogenous..*COUGH CANADIAN GIRLS COUGH*

6) The sweet and tall and smart and talented FRANCIS from Tanzania!

and of course there's me. I'm a cross between a overprotective mother/annoying tour guide/wedding planner/and B&B host. I must admit, I think I would run a good B&B if I had one. I think at least 30 Pearsonites have slept in my basement this past year and it has been a beautiful experience. It's not like having guests. They do everything and more for themselves and me. They're extremely easy going (except when you give them the wrong directions), savvy, flexible people.

Anywho so I suppose I should speak a bit about this week. There are 2 simultaneous projects happening here and one second year riding along for the journey. The first project consists of Emma, Lara, and Brandi. They are working on a newspaper about all sorts of things in Vancouver. Makyla, Francis, and I are volunteering with 10 000 Villages (an amazing fair trade store: http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca ) , The Land Conservancy and doing some yoga/dance like things. It has certainly been a packed week so far.

Everyone arrived at my house on Tuesday. That night a bunch of my homies took in a Canucks hockey game while the remainder of us chilled at home. The next day was filled. We woke up early, ate a quick breakfast, and then went to a nearby lake to spend a couple hours volunteering in a heritage garden. We dug lots of trenches! It was great exercise, much to Makyla's joy. After that we came home, ate a great lunch, and then headed out downtown to volunteer at 10 000 Villages for 3 hours and...

(This is where my computer went AWOL and lost the rest of possibly the most entertaining of all the blog posts I've ever written. A lot has happened since I lost the rest of this entry. For example a spontaneous tea party with amazing oat bars and an emergency toilet plunge).

I will work myself into another funny mood and finish this when I stop crying/laughing

Yours in pieces,
Emmy



Monday, March 15, 2010

One World



I hear you asking, what is this One World thing she keeps going on about? Well dear reader, One World is a magnificent show that is like no other. It is when 200 magnificent students get together and perform a night of music, dance, and song from all over the world. The process began right after Christmas as the student body at Pearson College began rehearsing for acts.

Acts ranged from hula dancing to Japanese cheerleading to reggae rhythms to classical Indian dance to Irish dance....everything was choreographed and performed by the students. Students stayed up until midnight some nights to rehearse. We take this all very very seriously.

Then Judgement Day comes. Libby Mason - our incredible Director and theatre teacher - sits down with her panel, watches us perform our acts, and decides which acts are in the show. Many are cut since the show is only 1.5 hours long. There are also auditions for spoken word links and MCs. In the end I was in a total of 3 acts: Choir, One World Dance, and a Women's Link.

For the remaining month, the whole campus would spend most of their Sunday in the Max Bell Hall doing a 5 hour rehearsal of One World. These were quite intense and at times tedious. All that hard work was so worth it though....the final product was truly astounding. It was so exciting to be part of something this big. I have done performances before but never on a scale like this. The Royal Theatre (where we perform in downtown Victoria) holds around 1300 people. We do 3 shows.

The big day arrived faster than I thought it would. Before I knew it we were in the huge green room and had professional looking dressing rooms and overhead speakers for the stage managers to tell us what to do....my gosh, it was just breathtaking. I did make up for a few hours before each show and I really enjoyed that. Everyone looked so beautiful. The shows just got better and better.

I won't forget the feeling of pure bliss as I heard African rhythms pounding and I just danced and danced and danced. Or the moment the curtain rises and you can just hear everyone gasping at the spectacle of 200 gorgeous people all in their national dress. I kept whispering 'thank you...thank you..." and the whole thing was just surreal. I can't believe it sometimes. I can't believe all this is happening to me - the Pearson experience always seemed like a far away dream and now the actions are playing out for real.

I'm now on Project Week in Vancouver. I'm volunteering with some friends at a wonderful store called Ten Thousand Villages ( http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca ) and doing some gardening, yoga, and dancing. It's going to be so relaxing and fun.

In other news:

- I went to RaceRocks a week ago with all the BCers and it was a whale of a time
- I have my EE topic: Comparing Sikh and Hindu wedding ceremonies and how they relate to gender roles in India
- We had an incredible International Affairs with Dr. Abiodan Williams....incredible and inspiring man
- I feel massively closer to everyone after One World
- We had the most EPIC brunch ever the day after One World. Much to my disbelief they actually had kumquats and pomegranate on the table, amidst 50 other things.

Hope you are well.
Peace and love,

E

One World = One Phenomenal Experience


There are no words.

There are only blurry happy colourful images of human connection and
beauty exploding on a stage.

One World 2010 - Pearson's fantastic and breathtaking multicultural display will always always always be with me.

Curtains falling, friends laughing, jumping into people's arms, spinning around in happy circles of joy, nervous tension, breathe, breathe, breathe, make up brushes flying in my hands, faces, faces faces, microphones booming, tear inducing music, heart stopping dance, and soul touching stories.

Togetherness. This is what we are about.

I will write a detailed explanation of many events that have swept me up and away from this blog and into a world where there is no sentence structure. Just joy.