Dance and Africa

Blog assignment: Do you have memories of dancing as a child? In your yard? To music in your living room when no one was watching? When you hear music, are you affected by the rhythm you hear? Do you start to tap your foot or bob your head in time to the music?
Do you think of Africa as a country or a continent? What images come to mind when you hear the word Africa ?

I'm not really much of a dancer. I'm not at all self-conscious about what I say and do in most cases; my friends will tell you that. For some reason, though, I've always felt a little awkward in my body, and I've never felt too comfortable dancing. I'm not very good at it anyway, though. The only dancing I even try to do is simple slow-dancing.

I did take Greek dancing at church for a few years when I was younger, and I never enjoyed or was good at that, either.

Music I'm enjoying definitely does affect me physically, however. I do indeed bob my head and play the drums with my hands and sing along, especially when I'm alone.

Well, Africa is a continent, and that's how I think of it. I do feel that I'm more educated about it than many Westerners, though. I've taken several classes that have covered different topics about the continent. I took The Reel World last semester and read much about Africa, especially Rwanda and The Congo.

I recall hearing a woman from Africa on NPR recently who mentioned having a well-educated man ask her if there are any sky-scrapers in Africa. I also had a girlfriend once who was completely shocked to hear that there were white people living on the continent at all.

When I think of Africa, many things come to mind. Of course, Homo Sapiens is thought to have originated there, and I'm very interested in Anthropology, so I consider it the birthplace of all humans. In that sense, we're all of African descent. The rich native cultures, dance, singing, and art are great. There's also the extensive social and political unrest that has plagued the continent since it began to be colonized by Europeans. Since I studied Rwanda and the genocide last semester, that awful period always comes up and it makes me so sad. Finally, there's the AIDS crisis that most of us know about which has no end in sight.

In all, it's unfortunate that the negative side of Africa is what we think of the most, but it is a continent plagued with problems.

The Hidden Dimension

In The Hidden Dimension Hall uncovers key invisible factors in personal and social communication. How does where and how we grow up, influence how we perceive the world and ourselves in the world? Use your personal experiences to inform how your perceptions have been affected Observe your informal spatial interactions this week. Be aware of your intimate, social and public conversations and journal about what you notice. Record your own reactions and what other people do as well. In terms of fixed and semi-fixed feature space, look at the way your home is arranged and describe it, noting colors you prefer and other personally defining features. Where are you most comfortable—in small, intimate spaces or larger, expansive places. Relate questions and personal experiences that come to mind while reading The Hidden Dimension.

I remember hearing from a professor who had attended several international conferences that there was a hilarious situation that always happened. People from Germany and other Germanic countries have large personal spaces, and people from Arabic countries have very small personal spaces. She said that the Germans always ended up being backed into a corner by the Arabs. I always thought this was funny, but I never really considered how realistic it was.

Hall describes, perfectly, how westerners (Americans, specifically) act on subways and elevators. Be as immobile as possible, tense the muscles, and stare into infinity. It’s so funny to read those things on paper, because it’s all so true. You don’t even think about it, but that’s exactly how I act in those situations, even though I realize I’m doing it.

Unfortunately, right now I’m taking two online classes and I work from home, so social interactions are rare. However, I did go out with some friends Thursday night. These are pretty close guy friends, so we’re very open. We talk about private things involving women, life, and work. Since I was supposed to be paying attention to body language, I noticed clearly that we stand more closely to each other than we would with people we’re not close with.

My home is smaller than I’d like. It’s a townhouse that I share with my girlfriend and 2 dogs. As far as fixed spaces, it has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a comfortable living room, and a kitchen. I like the kitchen’s colors now, because we took down the ugly wallpaper that was there when we moved in. The second bedroom is used as an office now. It has a new bookshelf that I desperately needed for my large collection of books, a futon for guests, and a computer desk. One wall is burgundy, and the other three are a khaki color. As far as spaces and the elements of the room, colors, and space, it’s my favorite room. The real problem with the room, however, is there seems to be something wrong with the insulation or ventilation. It gets too hot during the hot parts of the day, and it’s too cold in the winter. That, unfortunately, keeps me from spending as much time in the room as I’d like. I am most comfortable in rooms like that, however – comfortable but not too open and not cramped.

Introduction Video - Images of Childhood

* What images of childhood come to mind when you look at these photos?

I must say that I don't think I ever painted a flag on my face. However, the photos do remind me of elementary school and face-paintings at carnivals. Also, the children dancing remind me of when I tried to learn greek dancing.

* If you have children or grandchildren, what memories do these pictures awaken?

I don't have any children, but these photos do make me think of my little nieces and nephews playing at family gatherings.

* What makes you laugh?
From the photos? I don't know that I laughed, but all of the photos make me smile. In general, usually dry humor makes me laugh. See: Michael Showalter.