Twilight Zone

The last two days I have been celebrating my 30^th Birthday. It all started in the twilight zone. Geoff and I were awoken by a startling event at 5am in the morning. With no warning, there was a group of strangers standing outside our window serenading at the top of their lungs (joined by all the neighborhood dogs, of course). We had no idea who they were, what they were singing, or why they were there. You can imagine in the haze of waking from a deep sleep, we were quite alarmed. It turns out that it is a tradition here to serenade a birthday recipient in the wee hours of the morning. Our house helper and her family and friends had gathered at 4am, rented a jeepney, and drove for an hour to sneak into our compound and scare the living daylights out of us! Of course, we didn't know what to do and probably broke a hundred rules of hospitality. They were expecting us to get ourselves and Ariel up, invite them in for refreshments, and talk about the glories of the past year. Well, we failed miserably. Later that morning, I somehow found myself baking cookies to send with Helen along with MY apologies for being woken up by strangers at 5am and not inviting them in. Oh well. I appreciate the love.

Later that day, Geoff and Ariel took me to the zoo where we were spit at by monkey, followed by a very fun lesson on the kulintang, and finally a date that evening to a Thai restaurant. My favorite.

All week I have received cards in the mail and emails from home.

Then yesterday, Geoff and Michael worked all afternoon preparing a feast for my birthday party. Mexican lasagna, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, and a harvest salad complete with blue cheese and homemade raspberry vinaigrette. Wow. We converted our living room into a cinema and watched True Lies (hilarious!) projected on the wall reinforced by our studio monitors amazing sound. And finally, we topped it off with homemade Pineapple Cake and Ginger Cream Cheese icing. It has now been decided by the group, that this will be a monthly event J

The pics are of our closest friends, here, enjoying the theater seating. Nationalities include Philippines, Germany, Holland, and the USA. It was a great night.

Today, I had my first lesson on the Kulintang. As an effort to get involved in the local traditional arts (and to meet the very last credit requirement of my degree!) I am learning to play this instrument. It took me a month just to find a teacher, but I met many interesting musicians along the way, so it was worth it. My teacher now is a young guy in university. The instrument is part of a larger ensemble of gongs and drums. The cool part is that these musicians and the tribes they are a part of understand whole conversations through this music. The pitches and rhythms match their language. Of course, I've only had one lesson, so I'm not able to say much yet :)

Milestone Day

Today is a milestone day. After four years of working through graduate classes, one year of background preparation, and three trips to the ends of the Earth (i.e. Mongolia), I have come to the day where I begin writing something new. Something that has never been written before. What I mean is, I’m in my last month of Thesis writing and the chapter I’m beginning today describes a unique section of Mongolian music culture that has never been analyzed this way before. You would think that turning in my final copy of the Thesis would be my milestone day. But it’s not because I’ve never wanted to do this just so I could complete it. I’ve wanted to do this so that I could contribute something meaningful to the world. Is it a great invention that changes someone’s life? Will the average person watching television in their living room ever feel the effects? No. But this is the way I see it…It is a new addition to science, a way of honoring an un-thought-of people (unless you’re the kid who was just told you’ll be shipped to Mongolia if you don’t finish your broccoli), a preservation of a moment in the history of Mongol culture, and hopefully, a catalyst for a true and accurate representation of Christ to nomadic peoples that honors them rather than strips them of their cultural heritage. I’m excited today because this is what I’m passionate about. To some, this may seem a little idealistic and a lot to expect from a little paper that few people may actually read. But, I’ve always been a dreamer. And I never want to lose that slightly naïve belief that I can change the world.