What would I do without Shakira? I've seen her once in concert BUT that will definitely NOT be the last. I could listen to her music all day and dance secretly in my room to her music here (all day) in South Africa.
I was introduced to her music playing one morning on the radio in the Costa Rican rainforest.
...el cielo está cansado ya de ver
la lluvia caer
y cada día que pasa es uno más
parecido a ayer...
I was snuggled up in my sleeping bag on the waxed (yes, waxed) smooth wooden floor of the house I was staying in and I heard this on the radio. I spent that summer after 9th grade with Chelsea hiking from the side of the Pan American Highway through the different levels of cloud and rain forest all the way to the beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Part way in the middle of all of our 6 weeks in country we stopped for a 2 week homestay with a family living in the rainforest. I was coerced up out of my sleeping bag slumber every morning to the smell of cooking tortillas and huevos fritos and sometimes panqueques. We'd stuff our faces and then roll up our make shift bed (our sleeping bags and foam mats) which were placed every night in the wall-less living room on the 1st floor of the house. Then we'd play with the kids practicing our Español and help the family with any chores they may have for us. But this one morning it was the sounds of this melodic voice to which I awoke and from then on I heard it everywhere that summer...that's when I bought the album and took it home with me to the States, SHAKIRA (before she had stepped on the American pop stage and called the girl whose "hips don't lie").
"Inevitable"
Como me encanta esta letra, es preciosa. It always always always brings back that summer I spent with Chel and all our other Outward Bound team mates hiking through the humidity (you could take a knife out and cut a piece out from) of the Costa Rican rainforest and fears of facing the NATURALEZA of the outdoors.
Probably better than I could say it. All about her foundation EL COLEGIO DE SHAKIRA:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304252704575156063289919070.html
She is the founder and director of educational NGO the Barefoot Foundation: http://www.barefootfoundation.com/
Then this past October she became a member of the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, President Obama's committee to improve Hispanic education levels. WOW. Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the U.S, but they are also the group with the lowest education attainment levels in the country. Thus, probably a good area for her, yet I wonder how she insight into a Latino's experience in the American schooling system is?
In my debate with my own thought on what-the-hell-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-future when I get out of the Peace Corps, this is an area that I am seriously waging getting involved with when I return home. I know public health has always been at my core, but this is something highly imperative for the U.S. at this moment to concentrate on. We are the LARGEST growing minority group and without our community having a strong educational base, we will hit serious consequence I believe for the entire development of the U.S. I think this is something I am passionate about already and have a lot of skills to that I could use to give back to our
community in the U.S.
This was a great report I read last year revealing the rising challenges in education and employment opportunities facing the Latino community in New York City: http://www.cssny.org/userimages/downloads/Press%20Release%2011.1.10%20LatinoYouthPopulationFaceSignifican%20EducationandEmploymentChallenges.pdf
Almost in response to this study which points out that one of the most vulnerable sub-populations of the Latino community in New York City are its males. The response is the creation of the Young Man's Initiative to tackle the education and job disparities in black and Latino male population.
Announcement by Mayor Bloomberg:
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2011b%2Fpr282-11.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1
The thing about Shakira is that despite her artistic talents and ability to contort her body like a snake....
...is that she gets the need to invest in EDUCATION, something I think that being dazzled by the field of public health had lost focus of. I admire that she has gone home and given back to her community and then began to spread that love even farther, globally. Her newest project is in Haiti (http://www.barefootfoundation.com/7-home/6-haiti-school-initiative-to-aid-recovery) creating a sustainable education project there and creating schools, let's just hope that the teachers are good since that's a huge part of schooling. It's one thing for there to be a school in the community, it's another if the school is filled with loving teachers who are motivated, organized and effective teachers.
More on SHAKIRA on NPR:
On abolishing school fee (they exist here too at my "public" school): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89844556
Everything she's learned about life comes from growing up in Baranquilla, Colombia:
The thing about Shakira is that despite her artistic talents and ability to contort her body like a snake....
...is that she gets the need to invest in EDUCATION, something I think that being dazzled by the field of public health had lost focus of. I admire that she has gone home and given back to her community and then began to spread that love even farther, globally. Her newest project is in Haiti (http://www.barefootfoundation.com/7-home/6-haiti-school-initiative-to-aid-recovery) creating a sustainable education project there and creating schools, let's just hope that the teachers are good since that's a huge part of schooling. It's one thing for there to be a school in the community, it's another if the school is filled with loving teachers who are motivated, organized and effective teachers.
More on SHAKIRA on NPR:
On abolishing school fee (they exist here too at my "public" school): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89844556
Everything she's learned about life comes from growing up in Baranquilla, Colombia:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11173182
But I love that she's been able to really do it ALL. Music, singing, belly dancing, and performing career AND development work. On top of all that she speaks: English, Español, Français,العربية (Arabic), and who knows what else. She's made herself into an inspiring character.
The ONE BAD thing I think I could say on her is that I think she's slightly TOO BLONDE. But then again, what woman hasn't been TOO blonde at some point in her life?
But I love that she's been able to really do it ALL. Music, singing, belly dancing, and performing career AND development work. On top of all that she speaks: English, Español, Français,العربية (Arabic), and who knows what else. She's made herself into an inspiring character.
The ONE BAD thing I think I could say on her is that I think she's slightly TOO BLONDE. But then again, what woman hasn't been TOO blonde at some point in her life?
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