A NEW JOB! and Stretching the Social Circle

So this past week has been pretty exciting:

• I got a new job! yay:) I now am an administrative assistant for a program called ALICE, Arts and Literacy in Children's Education. It's a great non-profit organization that works with resident artists to teach elementary school kids dance, theatre, and visual arts! How cool! So I just help out with any and all aspects of coordinating the program, and even get to help out with a production they are putting on next week called "My heart comes from my ancestors" which is an original performance piece about kids stories from their grandparents. Read some of the stories here.

It feels good to be part of something worthwhile and meaningful that is working with art!
This is my new boss.
Her name is Helen.
I like her a lot because she is professional, creative, super organized, an open and honest communicator and she tries really hard to make our work environment positive and wholesome- she has an herb garden in her front yard (the office is out of her home), lots of natural lighting, has a sunny back patio that we will be able to work from sometimes, has herbal tea in the cupboard for making, and a compost container on the counter-my kind of atmosphere:) So what I'm trying to say is that I feel right at home there, and I think this will be a really positive experience. I think I will learn a lot from her, and will hopefully learn a little more about grant writing (essential in the non-profit world.) Plus the job is only till the end of June (which is what I wanted so I can go play for a couple months this summer- PCT hiking and farming with Glenn)

I met a lot of the artists the other day too, one of them is a Congolese dancer/drummer that has done workshops up in Arcata with my former african dance teacher up there- What a small world. He teaches at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts! in downtown Oakland also, where I've been meaning to go to take some African dance classes- I took a class a couple semester ago at Humboldt and miss it. So hopefully I will be able to go to his class soon:)

So besides a new job this week, I had a really fun weekend:

• I met a Senegalese woman (Klarice) and a man from Burkina Faso (Malam), and we all cooked Yassa Poulet (a senegalese oniony dish) at my friend Joe's house (who works at the West African Immigrant center in San Francisco). It was Joe that introduced us all and thought up the whole idea. what a cool guy. Anyways, the man from Burkina Faso, Malam, is a tailor, and he's going to make me a padded bike messenger bag out with African patchwork prints:) We're hoping to all get together again and go salsa dancing and/or go dancing at the Little Baobab in San Francisco. It was nice to hear people speaking Wolof and eating Yassa poulet!

yum.

• The grand finale of this weekend was to go to an all day workshop and concert hosted by the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir! Not only did Glenn and I get to take a singing class from the director, Terrance Kelly and ear training, drumming, and gospel/jazz piano with other choir members, we also got to learn some gospel songs and sing in the concert in a big mass choir! Can you say Hallelujah?
• The community concert was free hosted by the 1st congregational church of Oakland about a 10 minute drive from where we live: the concert lasted about 2 and half hours (every choir had to show off their stuff) and there were choirs from an assortment from black baptists to white church folks from Petaluma. One women reminded me of the woman version of James brown, I swear it was like right out of a movie(if anyone has seen blues brothers, it was kind of like the church jake and elwood went to)- singin at the top of her lungs at the piano while the whole choir sang at the top of their lungs shoutin and jumpin and clappin and dancin! What energy! It was fun, and shocking, and chaotic and crazy!
• I feel like I've now had an authentic taste of the REAL gospel sound. It was great.
• The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and the St Paul's church were my favorite- both the directors are full of energy! Terrance is a great guy, I'm glad we got to sing with him- he also has an amazing voice and is a passionate director!
  

• I started a new community group: East Bay Nomads...check it out at http://groups.google.com/group/east-bay-nomads