Sunday, January 31, 2010

Tempo Night

This weekend was fun filled and a great conclusion to a busy week!

Marianna and I had four dance classes/rehearsals last week in preparation for Thursdays mini performance at Tempo Night. The evening took place at a restaurant and started with salsa dancing. The DJ played salsa music and the dance floor quickly filled with couples. After about an hour, there was an incredible performance by the International Dance Organization champions in Salsa. We saw the dancers, from Beirut, Lebanon, perform salsa and cha cha. Next, our hip hop class danced the material we had learned in class. This was my first performance in a foreign country (it's almost less stressful because there are less people who know you!) but it was a blast! Afterward they played hip-hop music (including Arabic music) and Marianna and I hung around to hang out with the people in our dance class.

-Kat

Tuesday, January 26, 2010



At the Royal Automobile Museum picking out our first set of wheels...we wish. The Ferrari was my favorite...



Taking in an incredible view of Amman.



Showing our Jordanian pride at the Roman Amphitheater.


Putting on our Jordanian scarves!

Monday, January 25, 2010

"i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop"

Time to catch up on some things!

Marianna and I both went home for the holidays - it was truly amazing! Coming back after the New Year took some re-adjusting but we have added some fun things to our routine including dance and cultural excursions.

We recently attended a great lecture on Urban Planning at the Columbia University Middle East Research Center given by two CU graduate professors. The lecture covered their work in Caracas and other cities where they have implemented projects such as cable cars and recreational/arts facilities to improve mobility in cities and quality of life.

Also, we recently began hip hop classes at a dance studio in Amman called Tempo. Each Sunday and Wednesday we take the shuttle into the city and pop and lock for an hour! The teacher is really fun and it has been awesome to get back to taking dance class. We have been learning the terms for such moves as the scooba hop and scooby walk. Each month the studio has "Tempo Night," an event which gives students the opportunity to perform what they've been doing in class and listen to a great DJ. This Thursday Marianna and I may go and may even be performing one of the phrases we learned. We'll let you know how it goes!

In other news, the Junior Fellows have a new project - a monthly newsletter that will be sent to King's students, faculty, staff, and parents. We have begun weekly meetings and each department has their section of the newsletter in which they highlight cool events and activities going on in the community. More on that later!

-Kat