Unfortunately I did not get to meet with my conversation
partner this week due to some pregnancy issues.
But I did get to volunteer at the international center on Friday. Since it was the last “global café” it was a chill
week. Instead of having a student
organization come to present we just hosted a karaoke knight. Since not as many people as usual showed up
we, the volunteers, had to provide most of the entertainment. I saw it coming earlier that day when I had read
the email that told us what we were going to be doing that night. After a lot of coaxing by my peers I finally
got up on the mic and sang smooth criminal by Michael Jackson. Being the amazing singer that I am I had no
problem hitting the high notes and after my performance I received a thunderous
round of applause. Actually I don’t
think I sang that well but I had fun doing it with the other volunteers and
even though I didn’t want to do it at first I ended up singing a few more
songs. Soon after I was finished a guy
named James walked in. Next thing I knew
he had a guitar in his hand and he was playing “never say never,” not by Justin
Beiber but rather by the fray. He was surprisingly
talented and everyone was impressed by his performance. However, before that, the student who runs
global café, Ashwin, also played us a song.
I was shocked that he knew how to play because I had seen him play a
guitar before and I didn’t think he was very good. He told us afterwards that he taught himself
how to play which, to a musician such as me, was very impressive. We even had one of the student volunteers
play a song on the piano. Sadly, no one
else knew how to play an instrument or how to do anything else so we ended the
final global café of the year. I will
definitely miss global café because it has been so much fun. I think I might even attend in the future years
to see the presentations, if not to catch up with the acquaintances I made
there.
First of all I had no idea that a global cafe existed. I will definitely have to check out those events, especially the presentations, next year if I get the chance. It's unfortunate that not many people show up to those events, but myself being one of them, I think it could benefit from more publicity or maybe just from volunteers giving first-hand accounts of the events like you are doing with your blog. I think it was a great idea to do a karaoke night even though I am not much for getting on stage and doing anything in public. I would lunch rather listen to other people sing, but I guess it would make for a more memorable experience to get up there and try. Smooth Criminal is not an easy song to sing so kudos for doing that in front of an audience of mostly strangers. It's very interesting that the event drew a crowd of people who were so musically inclined. It makes me wonder if the global cafe was held inside or outside. If it were outside, then I see how you could draw a crowd, but if it was inside it must have been in a central location on campus. Either way, I am glad I am now aware of global cafe and I will try to be one of those attendees or a volunteer in the future.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you were a musician Matt Smith? What instrument do you play? I am really sad that I did not make it too the global cafe this semester because it sounded really interesting; however, there is always next year. Maybe we can both volunteer there in the fall? That is awesome that you got up in front of everyone and sang on the mic. I can just picture this happening! haha. It obviously made you come out of your comfort zone, which leads me to my next point. I think that one the major benefits of serving others is learning how to come out of our comfort zones. For me, this occurred when I was forced to speak Spanish with native speakers. For you, it was when you had to sing in front of everyone. Though it is difficult and oftentimes embarrassing at first, moments like these feel good when they are over. It sort of boosts your confidence, so the next time you aren't as afraid to take a risk. I know this definitely happened with me and my Spanish. The more I was required to talk with each consecutive visit, the more comfortable I became. Overall, I'm glad that you enjoyed your experience at the global cafe.
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