Music: A Never Ending Love

When this blog was started, I was not sure whether or not to participate. However, after taking a quick glance at the blog and reading a few posts, the choice was clear. Even after hearing that it would be international, I was surprised when I saw posts that were written by other IB students on the other side of the globe. I suddenly felt the need to interact with this international community that we are all a part of. The next step was to decide what to write about. Being more inclined in Math and Science, I saw many challenges awaiting me in the future of my blogging. After brainstorming for a few minutes, I decided that I should write about something that I find appealing. I made a list in my head, and as I did so I had a wonderful idea. I was listening to the music coming out of the speakers of my computer.

Music is a beautiful sound to my ear. It calms me in stressful times, encourages me when discouraged, builds me up before a race, starts off a morning, and tops off a great day. I listen to music on a daily basis, no matter the situation. It is one of the many things in this world that I can say I truly love. I have always had a love for music. Whether it be singing along to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe, and AC/DC as a young child, or the present where I listen to almost anything, music has always been a part of my life. In the song “Luckenbach, Texas”, Waylon Jennings sings, “The only two things in life that make it worth living, are guitars that tune good and firm feeling women”. Music is definitely one of many things that makes my life worth living. 

I took piano for two years when I was younger. This consisted of a one year period in third grade and another year in seventh grade. From a personal point of view, I was not that bad. I learned to play by ear and by reading sheet music. At the time, I loved playing, but I didn’t, however, love practicing as much. I also hated playing classical music, which my piano instructor loved. Instead, I wanted to play classic rock. After months and months of begging, I went out of my way to buy a piano book that had classic rock songs in it. After a few more weeks of begging, she taught me how to play “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. Even though I have lost most of my talent, I can still play that song just as well as I could four years ago. Now, I wish I had kept playing the piano and advanced my musical abilities. It is not too late though, and hopefully one day  I will learn how to play an instrument.

Music is a language of its own. At one point during Theory of Knowledge, we discussed whether or not music is an actual language. I am not sure if we ever reached a conclusion between all of the confusion and mind blowing thinking we did in Theory of Knowledge. However, based on my personal criteria, I would say that music is a language any day. Behind every song, there are meaning and symbols. Behind every word, every musical note, every draft, every minute put into the song, there is a purpose. Musical artists put their lives, hard work, time, and emotion into their songs. They use their feelings to create these wonderful masterpieces. At a concert I attended, Chris Cornell said, “You never know when you will have an idea. I was driving down the interstate one day, pulled over on the side of the road, and wrote this song.” He then proceeded to play “Black Hole Sun”, which is one of his best songs. It amazes me that he came up with such great work in such a place. The emotion put into a song also effects the emotions of the person listening to the song. For example, I know someone who cries every time they hear the song “The Christmas Shoes”. Music can change a mood, whether it be for the better or worst. It can relax, calm, excite, and maintain emotions.

One of the greatest things about music is a memory. Music creates memories, and allows you to relive them. I can connect different songs with different moments in my life. I can remember dancing to “Born on the Bayou” on the way to Evergreen to hunt with my dad. I can remember listening to Metallica on the way to work when I was in Elementary School, and getting in trouble for reading the lyrics and accidentally cursing. I can remember listening to John Mellencamp on the way to church. In the song “Sing Me Back Home”, Merle Haggard sings, “Let him sing me back home, with a song I used to hear. And let my old memories, come alive. Take me away, and turn back the years. And sing me back home, before I die”.

I hope that music continues to be a part of my life until my last day on this beautiful Earth. I hope that it continues to make wonderful memories, free me of stress, and give me something to enjoy no matter how I feel. As I finish this article, while listening to relaxing country music, I feel like I have made the right decision to interact with this international community. I hope that all of you, whether you love music or not, allow it to be a part of your life.


Josh
Fairhope
USA

Communities

So here I am, writing this article while sitting in the common room of my boarding school in Aamby Valley City. This is where I have been staying for the past four years (except vacations) and hence I consider this as my community. Things here are rather different from the place where I was originally brought up, the metropolitan city of Mumbai. The first time I entered Aamby Valley, it felt like I was in a foreign place. I mean, imagine moving from: 

Here

 to 

Aamby is a small place but it has its attractions. There are things ranging a town plaza to a historical fort. So here are some attractions and places that are part of my community:

Town Plaza

As a boarding school, we do not have the freedom to wander around the valley however, we have weekly trips to the town plaza. Town plaza is the main market place of the valley (although there is nothing much to buy!) but for people who miss the city delights such as branded ice cream and other food items, the presence of a Baskin-Robbins outlet and a small grocery store attracts the likes of many people.

Campfire Point

When IB really starts to play with your head, the Campfire Point is the perfect place to be at! Imagine sitting in a moderately comfortable seating under the shade with your friends and watching the lake glisten at the time of sunset along with songs like ‘Summer of 69’ playing without disrupting the calm and peaceful ambience. A pretty good stress busting recipe!

Water sports

When the valley is hit by the scorching sun, water sports is always there to the rescue. Featuring a range of fun filled activities such as jet ski, banana boat, kayaking and speed boat, water sports never fails to satisfy. The newly introduced Jet boat has attracted the likes of many students as it literally takes you for a ‘spin’ before surprising you with an unexpected splash of the cold, refreshing water. The thumping music in the arena also contributes to the high spirited ambiance found at water sports.

Golf course

They call it one of Asia’s best! Hence, the influx of tourists and some renowned golf players is inevitable. Some national golf tournaments have also been hosted in this course.

Lagoon

The lagoon is another place to just relax and chill out. The lagoon is like an artificial beach with sand and a wave pool. With things like like beach cricket and beach volleyball, the lagoon is a fun place to be at during the weekends.

Fort

The Korigad fort being five hundred years old, is the only historical place in the Valley. The  fort is a part of Shivaji’s kingdom who was one of the greatest rulers of Maharashtra however, on February 14, 1818, Col. Prother ignited the stored ammunition by means of a loose cannon and the British took over the fort.

Parth

Aamby

India

Communities

Kenya is a unique place; we have over 43 different communities each with its own dialect, customs, foods and music. These communities all have something unique and what's amazing is our ability to consolidate our unique cultures into a single national identity. The official languages here are English and Kiswahili but also Sheng is widely spoken as well. Sheng is a complex mixture of the two official languages and communal languages. It is a sort of language or languages and is spoken mainly by the youth. What’s interesting about Sheng is its lack of a dictionary and its constant evolution for example the Sheng spoken today is very different from that from five years ago. New words are created and old ones discarded all by “market forces”, kind of like in economics. It mysteriously just happens.

In Kenya, most people have two homes especially those who work in Nairobi. The Nairobi home and the rural home and most people travel back during festive season such as Christmas, Eid, Easter etc. The entire extended family gets together and as in the norm of such celebrations a goat or sheep is slaughtered for the barbeque. This is a tradition for the rich as well as the not so well off.
 
Kenyans have a lot they are proud of, for instance Kenya is one of the only places in the world where you can wake up and eat breakfast in a hotel, lunch at a Nairobi national park with all kinds of wildlife and dinner next to the beach. Kenya is the only country that welcomes tourists home as it is thought our Great Rift Valley is the cradle of all human kind.

In conclusion Kenya is an awesome place, great weather, great people and vibrant.


Samuel
Nairobi
Kenya

Communities

I have a small wooden plank balcony outside my room that my Dad built. It’s wrapped around this big tree which I can’t really decide if its an oak or hickory. I can hear all of the birds and big grey squirrels from here. I can feel the constant breeze from Mobile Bay; its still a little chilly even in early May. The occasional car meanders down my suburban street, and human voices are rare. This is a nice place to relax after school. In Alabama we have close to three weeks left of the school year. School life is hectic right now with final grades and exams piling on top of each other and clamoring for attention in your brain. Fairhope High School is a small public school. I have known most of the kids since kindergarten. I may not know their names, but they are such a familiar sight it hardly matters now. 

Everyone knows everyone else in Fairhope. The only car horns that honk are for the pedestrian you know on the street. Downtown is covered not in neon, but flowers; put there by the city for tourists and general beautification. I can think of nine different churches in Fairhope alone, and  people that go to them. I always see someone I know at the grocery store. 

Fairhope is a hot spot for wealthy retirees and young families. We just built a new Elementary school to hold all of the new school-age kids. I see them every morning walking with their parents to the brick monster that holds all of them. As for the High School, it is comparatively smaller and older than the Elementary. I don’t really know how long its been there. Most of the 11th and 12th graders drive themselves to school and as a result the morning traffic is absolutely horrific - for a little town at least. I’m not one to follow the mainstream goings ons of my school. Like all of the writers of this blog, I am in the IB programme. This just happens to be the highest diploma programme in our school, and not many people participate. I am one of 19 members in my Junior class. We have separate classes with separate curriculums. We are the nerds with our noses in books and study time on the weekends, and as you might have guessed this is not the norm for normal American teenagers, so by no means is my experience a good example of what usual teenagers of my area do. 

Fairhope is an artsy town. We are known for our annual Arts and Crafts festival (artists from all over the country come to participate), First Friday Art walks (when all of the art galleries stay open late on the first Friday of every month), many book signings at the local book store with surprisingly frequent and famous authors, and a local theatre.The community is very supportive of the school arts programs. This includes our theatre, visual arts, and band classes. There are numerous opportunities for the public to share in their students’ progress. Art is displayed at the local hospital, The band plays in Christmas and Mardi Gras parades, and our Theatre club has public showings. We are all very proud of our arts even as funding for them is reduced all around the country. 

It seems that I have run out of things to say, though I know there is more. Sometimes summaries are the hardest things to write! Have every confidence that I will return with specifics and surprises that will allow the world to become well aquatinted with Fairhope, Alabama! Goodbye for now!

 Maggie
 Fairhope
 USA

Communities

When I moved to Switzerland this summer, I of course knew it'd be different from Germany. Even though you might think the difference can't be that big, neighbourhood countries, same language, although this would be the first thing I'd like to point out. 

When I skyped with Maggie the other day, I promised her to write an article about the weird Swiss people. And honestly, I can keep my word. Look at their language- an average German person can't unterstand Swiss German. Look, Swiss Italian is fine. Swiss French, too. But Swiss German? No way. And believe me, Swiss people actually think they don't have anything in common with German language. I don't even know… 

In other terms, it's also quite different here then in Germany. They don't get German jokes (which was quite strange in the beginning) and their highway speed limit is 120kmh/h- while in Germany you have none at all at some parts of the highway.

I sound so evil. Switzerland isn't bad. They've many nice people here and I've found many friends here. Also, the fact that I go to an international school gives one the chance to get to know many people from many different countries, cultures and religions. This is completely different from what I've had in Germany as there it was a German school only. Of course, it doesn't save you from all prejudices, but it helps a lot. Also, it helps to find yourself- kind of. In Germany, everyone has seen me as something in between German and Russian (perks of being bilingual) and here it's just normal. People accept I'm only Russian with German ideas. They don't judge you because the community is international and everyone has friends from somewhere. You don't have the "one way" view people in my old school often have had. 

But then, I'm speaking of International Schools. I'm pretty sure (and I know it's that way) that for Swiss people it's not that easy to accept foreigners. It's a proud nation and I don't have anything against it. I barely get in touch with this and I'm glad about it to be honest. It's just good to be in this community where you're what you're and you don't get judged by nationality. 


 Natalia
 Zugerberg 
 Switzerland

Communities

Ecuador is a small country located in the northwestern coast of South America. Although Guayaquil is not the country’s capital, is the largest and most populated city in Ecuador. The city is located in the Pacific coast, and has a warm-humid climate throughout the entire year.

 There are public and private schools in the city, where children start pre-school when they are 3 years old, elementary when they are 6, and elementary and high school, which are unified, when they are 12 years old. The school year starts in May, and ends in February. Unlike other countries, it is usual for university students to live in their childhood home with their parents until they marry.

There are many children that don't have any access to education due to lack of funds, or living in distant locations. People living in rural areas work in agriculture and cattle, while people in the city work on office functions.

 The city has a high population of young people, where the majority is Christian Catholic. Families have an average of 3 children, and they tend to be really conservative. Citizens are really friendly, welcoming and hardworking.They usually live with their families, often with uncles and grandparents, which is really common in our community. 

Overall, Guayaquil is a beautiful city, with unique cultures, a lot of places to visit, things to do, and most important of all, pretty nice and fun people. 

Talking from experience, school life is actually really fun given the circumstances. I am in an only-girls school, where the teachers are also only-women. The school has a tendency towards the Cristian Catholic religion, which is why it has a chapel where an optional daily mass is held for the students. Unlike other countries, say USA, we can't choose our classes. Meaning that each one of us have a given classroom, where we have to stay the whole day and the teachers are the ones who have to change classrooms depending on the subject they teach. 

The relationship of the students with the teachers is really respectful, though we call the teachers by their first name, instead of the typical 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' 

Being a senior, as a tradition of the school, we get to design a hoodie that will be used by the entire senior class. The hoodie can be the color that we please, and each one of them has the name or nickname of the owner in the back; while in the front it says the number of our class (in Roman numbers) and the year that we graduate.

Some might say that being in an only-girls school is pretty boring, but I say it's just the opposite (You can't do or say everything you want when there are boys present). Of course we hang out with guys after school and in the weekends, we actually have dance parties, pool parties or go to clubs (since the legal age here is 18+)  that usually start at 11pm to 2:30-3:00 am. And they are just SO much fun!



 Andrea
 Guayaquil
 Ecuador