Good morning, gentle readers. While I pause in my grading, having finished reading journals and about to dive into autobiographical essays, I thought I'd talk a bit about my multicultural weekend. Here goes.
On Saturday, I drove with my friend Mari out to the Concord Pavillion for a KBLX-sponsored concert of several artists, culminating in Chaka Khan (chaka, chaka khan). We were there for seven hours, listening to artists such as Teena Marie, Gap Band, Club Nouveau, and a couple others I can't remember at the moment. I was one of the whitest people in the audience. The concert was pretty fun, but we eventually bailed without ever getting to Chaka Khan. I assume that she is still every woman. It's all in her.
Sunday was World Communion Sunday, which means that church was in English, Tongan, and Fijian all at once. All three choirs sang short anthems, the Palangi (white) and Tongan choirs facing the congregation, the Fijian choir facing the front of the church. The philosophy, I think, is that the music is for God, not a concert for an audience, so looking at the cross while you sing seems like a good idea. The Tongan choir used to do the same thing, but, continuing a disturbing trend toward assimilation, this time, they sang to the congregation. There were a few other modifications to the service in terms of who walked where and how long things took. All in all, we finished church about forty minutes later than usual.
What did I learn from my weekend? That I am more of a stickler for timeliness than I thought. The concert was really fun, but I couldn't figure out why the audience had to wait forty-five minutes between sets. The service was nice, too, but by the end, I, along with the grumpy old woman sitting behind me, was absolutely starving. Remind me to pack more snacks next time I'm doing something crosscultural. . .
Posted by Meredith at October 7, 2002 11:40 AM