A week of events

On Saturday, we had the second meeting of my choir class, teaching them how to pronounce Italian and learning the first song in Vaccai. I also began learning the individual voices and took notes on index cards I had prepared from a list provided by Ghafar. It's quite a challenge to learn all the names of 24 young men, especially when the names themselves are quite unfamiliar. Joyce, a visitor from Liverpool, England, who was staying at the guesthouse, came with me for the morning. She had also attended the recital on the Wednesday before.

In a conversation with Eslamuddin Faroz, the music dept. head, later that day about his visit to the Ministry of Culture on the previous Wednesday, he invited me to attend a conference the next day. So on Sunday, I cut my Dari lesson a little short and set off with Eslamuddin, Ghafar and Saber Faizy, the music history teacher and a whole bunch of the 4th class students to the Barbur Gardens where a huge tent had been erected in the middle of the lawn between the horseshoe shape of the immense buildings. The occasion was the National Folkloric Music Seminar and Festival and there were several hundred people there from all the various provinces of Afghanistan. We started off in the huge tent but it began to rain, so after a couple of brief intro speeches, we were released to take tea up on the balconies of the building. Later we reconvened in an upper hall where several men gave talks on various aspects of Afghan music, among them Eslamuddin who has published a book on the music of Logar province, and Dr. John Baily from England who talked about the development of an Afghan guitar in the Herat area. I had read much about Dr. Baily on the Internet over the past couple of years; he has been involved in reviving Afghan music since the departure of the Taliban. His was the only talk in English, the others were in Dari or Pashtu. They served a generous lunch to everyone, then reconvened in the hall again for a question and answer session, and then at 3:00 we moved back down into the tent for the Festival - performances of various groups. I met many people, including the head of the Music Institute (which is fashioned after Interlochen) and most of the teachers from there. The American Embassy was one of the sponsors of this event although there didn't seem to be any embassy personnel there. Two big announcements were made: On Sunday the Minister of Culture stated his intention that music should be taught in all the schools of Afghanistan (greeted by huge applause!), and on Monday (I didn't attend that day), someone announced that a version of this conference would be held in many of the provinces.

The other major event that took place this week was on Wednesday, at the Ministry of Higher Education, located just on the east side of the campus. Our orchestra was invited to play and sing the Afghan National Anthem and so rehearsal on Tuesday was devoted to learning it. (Yes, our orchestra includes 10 singers as well as a pianist, two keyboards, two rubab, three tabla, three guitars, two violins, one recorder, two saxophones and four percussionists. I spent the rehearsal time finally learning all the names of the 3rd and 4th year class at last.) We loaded all the instruments into a small truck, then set off on foot across the fields of the campus to the Ministry. Once again, this was a much more elaborate event than I had anticipated. There was a stage at the end of a huge hall where our orchestra set up. While they were getting ready, a woman introduced herself to me as the Gender Officer of the Ministry. It is her job to see more women obtain higher education and she promised to get over to the music school soon to visit. We sat together in the first row and listened to some introductory remarks, then the National Anthem, then speeches from the Deputy Minister of Education, the Chancellor of Kabul University, and two Members of Parliament. Finally it was time for the reason for the gathering - the presentation of certificates of appreciation to about 50 individuals instrumental in higher education, among them our own Eslamuddin! Then there was a most interesting theater presentation, and lunch was served while another musical group set up onstage - an independent rock band, it seemed.

My normal activities include my choir class at 8 am on Saturdays, piano lessons for Ghafar, Fawad and Ebrahimi on Saturdays and Sundays, Dari lessons from 8 to 9 am Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from Salwa Noori, one of the university's Dari teachers, and a group piano lesson for three first year girls, Sadef, Gloria and Farzana, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Student recital is Wednesday morning around 10 am. The rest of my time is spent studying Dari in the office I share with Ghafar and Ebrahimi, both of whom are contract teachers. Throughout the morning, students drop in to give me some Dari tutoring, some of them more helpful than others! Saber Faizy, the music history teacher is determined that I will learn Dari well and has instructed the students to have no mercy with me!

I have been living at the Morningstar Guesthouse since my arrival, but on the 19th the Essers took me to look at a possible living situation in a large house where two other Morningstar couples are currently living. There was a lovely large room available immediately and the potential of an additional "sunroom" across the hall for a studio if I wish, so I agreed to take it on the spot and will move in on November 1st. We then stopped at the home of a young couple who are returning to the states after five years here and I purchased some furniture and other household items. On Thursday, Ken Esser and Zamir took me shopping in the Puli Sorkh area, near my new residence and introduced me to the electric shop, the plastics store, the pharmacy, and the big Finest store which caters to westerners and has everything from groceries to furniture to appliances to clothing. A bit pricey, but believe me, they have everything! Tomorrow I am checking out some more furnishings of another young couple moving back to the states.

So I am settling in quite well. Except for one little bout with the 24-hour flu, I have been healthy. The weather has been mild, like Minnesota September, and we've had quite a few rain showers so the humidity has been up. I am feeling quite at home and making some friends. The police guard at the university now recognizes me and lets me in without a word. That's progress!