Salaam Alaikum

[WyoBadger]

A little story about how technology might help us change the world in a very small way.

My 4th, 5th, and 6th graders have their big spring concert tomorrow night. They have written their own songs, and worked very hard. I hope everything goes well for them--they really, really deserve it.

Though the student compositions are the highlight of the concert, we usually do a couple of others as well, folk songs, goofy stuff, etc. This year we are starting the concert with a Nova Scotian song called "The Old Carrion Crow," and ending it with a West African song, "Salaam Alaikum," in Arabic. The name of the song is also the lyrics--it's a greeting that means "May peace be unto you."

Last week, as we got close to being ready to perform, we got an email from a local son, Charlie, who is now a USMC sergeant serving in Iraq. It seems Charlie and his unit have made friends with the local school children, who are desperately short on school supplies. Things like postits and pencils are treasured. So, he asked his old teachers, could we gather up some school supplies to send over for his unit to distribute? Along with that, he requested pictures and letters from students.

Hmmm, says I. Song in Arabic. A blessing for peace. I emailed Charlie and asked him if he would like me to send over a DVD of the concert for him to share with the Iraqi kids. He responded that that would be awesome, but to make it a CD, since the Iraqi schools don't have DVD players.

So, tomorrow first thing in the morning I am getting a crash course in Audacity recording software from our school's tech person, just as I already got a crash course in Arabic diction from a staff member who used to live in the Mideast. At tomorrow's concert, we'll be dedicating our final song to our young friends in Iraq, along with Sgt. Charlie and his unit. A couple weeks from now, if all goes as planned, some Iraqi kids will hear a prayer for peace, sung in their own language, by a bunch of kids in Wyoming.

What a strange, wonderful world we live in.

Good night.
Tom

[djm]

I agree: Slam the Lakers!

djm

[Denny]

Good night.
Tom

very good timing too!

congrats!

[Caroluna]

So, tomorrow first thing in the morning I am getting a crash course in Audacity recording software from our school's tech person, just as I already got a crash course in Arabic diction from a staff member who used to live in the Mideast.

Good for you! Push that envelope!

At tomorrow's concert, we'll be dedicating our final song to our young friends in Iraq, along with Sgt. Charlie and his unit. A couple weeks from now, if all goes as planned, some Iraqi kids will hear a prayer for peace, sung in their own language, by a bunch of kids in Wyoming.

That worked out so well-- a wonderful bit of that mysterious Synchronicity that sometimes happens....

[buddhu]

That's cool.

[Innocent Bystander]

And next concert, "ha vi nu shalom aleichiem"...

[Jack]

Actually, Iraqis don't pronounce it that way at all. My best friend is Iraqi and the kind of Arabic spoken in Iraq is vastly different in pronunciation and even grammar. She told me that the "Salaam" in Iraq is closer to the way Jews say "Shalom," than the way other Arabs say "Salaam." She also said most educated adults would understand "standard" Arabic (which this song is in), but the general population (including children) probably won't understand it. It would be kind of like playing a Dutch song to a bunch of German-speaking children, or playing a song in heavy Scots to a bunch of American children.

[buddhu]

It's still cool.

[Roderick [Rod] Sprague IV]

My my church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse, in Moscow ID had Ms. Edina Lekovic, Communications Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, CA and devout Muslim, give a sermon on issues facing Islamic women and youth in the contemporary world. Much of the Palouse Islamic community was there. The choir, of which I am a part, sang a song I believe was Salaam Alaikum. Someone in the congregation told us a man hearing us sing a prayer for peace in his holy language had tears running down his face. I found it very moving we had done something right to touch a person in fellow religion so deeply.

[rh]

Actually, Iraqis don't pronounce it that way at all.

[Denny]

we have traditions....

[WyoBadger]

Actually, Iraqis don't pronounce it that way at all.

Maybe "it's the thought that counts" will apply here.

Rehearsal today was pretty rough--our lead drummer went home sick. It wasn't pretty. Wish us luck tonight.

T

[Denny]

our lead drummer went home sick

eww...that sucks....
bet it's hard to find a ringer to step in....Wyoming

Wish us luck tonight.

okay! g'luck!

[Jack]

Actually, Iraqis don't pronounce it that way at all.

I apologize. I didn't mean for it to sound so depressing. I simply wanted to point out that what we call the Arabic language has lots of (mutually unintelligible) spoken variants, even if the written form is more standard across national boundaries. My above-mentioned Iraqi friend briefly dated someone from Morroco, and the two couldn't understand each other's native tongue so they always spoke in English.

Regardless, it *IS* the thought that counts and I am sure the kids will appreciate it. I do love Debbie Downer, though. I think I will change my sig to "Feline AIDS: The number one killer of domestic cats."

[WyoBadger]

No apology necessary, Cran. Your comment was fairly typical of the sort of day the kids and I were having. Is May 1 National Murphy's Law Day or something? At least the risers didn't collapse this time.

But it's all OK. The kids completely rocked last night. The Audacity recordng was terrible (I never had a chance to do a sound check, and so had to guess on levels and mic placement--I did not choose wisely), but I think I got decent sound on the video and can dump that onto my computer.

Tom