Dinner and a Musical....

Sorry, I have been so busy and have not had time to update. I just tried to write a few entries but after a savory dinner of stovetop chicken parm (probably the best meal I have cooked in my life!), all I want to do is sleep. I boiled my chicken in a white wine, garlic and Italian herb mixture for twenty minutes or so. When the chicken was ready I drained it, smothered it in tomato sauce (spiced with herbs), and sprinkled some cheese on top. After three minutes, my perfect meal was ready. I sat down on the floor, put on some Sublime, and poured a glass of red wine. Sometimes, I forget that I live in a village and just need to be lush. And then I realize I am sitting on the floor drinking wine out of a water glass and it all comes back to me.

My life has been busy these days. For starters, I wrote a musical. Michael Jackson would sue me if he was alive, but luckily for me, he will never know that I have titled my musical “Heal the World” and I feature two of his songs. But here is how the story goes. Last year, one of my fellow Peace Corps sisters, Elisa, put on an amazing English Day at her school. The highlight of the day was a musical featuring every class performing a song. The songs were strung together by light dialogue and acting. Inspired by Elisa, I decided to host my own English Day this year. I decided that due to the recent earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters in the world, a great theme would be along the lines of friends helping friends. From there my topic evolved into Heal the World, with an allstar lineup of songs flushing out a beautiful story of love and friendship. It reads like this: There are four friends who live throughout the world, a girl from Haiti, a girl from Japan, a boy from New Zealand, and a boy from Samoa. Each friend has a magical ring that they can use to fly together and together, they help people in need (kind of like Captain Planet!) The friends must activate their ring powers when a massive earthquake rocks the world and destroys the homes of the friends. Throughout their journey they make new friends, and spread the message of helping a friend in need. It’s a bit cheesy, but the songs rock and the students are really learning a lot about the world, so it’s been a really fun project. I will report more on this epic performance in a few weeks after the show has been performed. For now, I have 3 weeks to whip this production into shape and get the students speaking as best they can. Then the parents and the village will come and be wowed by their amazing skills. Songs to be sung (In order of appearance): We Are The World, It’s a Sunshine Day, That’s what Friends Are For, Lean on Me, Make New Friends, and I Believe I Can Fly. We end with a mashup of We are the World and Heal the World. The students know all the songs, now it’s just a matter of putting it all together.

Well, this has been a ramble of a blog. I am busy with a host of other projects as well but I will leave those till another day because for now, I need to lie down and bask in the memory of the amazing food I just consumed. Till next time, tofa soifua!