Djembe - Concordia College

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Kelly Pflaum English writing & global studies-2012 32 City of Kites: Agra, India I sit on the rooftop terrace, watch the fading daylight– oppressive air polluted, thick gray clouding the burnt sky. Through the haze, patches of color emerge and climb, kites in ruby, indigo, pink. The summer breeze must be just right– every child in the ancient city guiding tethered fabrics to fly from countless apartment rooftops into the fading light. A boy on the closest building, bold against the stained white brick–he unfolds nylon, struggles with a knotted string, tries to raise the toy to greet the colors of a thousand soaring kites. He runs forward, propelling a worn yellow diamond into flight. I follow the swinging shape, watch it mingle with others until I strain to see beyond the rooftop as the sun sets into twilight. I think of these children, wonder what flying these kites might mean if they were the children begging at the Taj Mahal–my few donated rupees could have bought these colorful kites that fly above the city, above locals and tourists who fight their way down dusty streets. A car horn blasts through dry air. I leave the rooftop terrace as twilight gives way to night, as darkness overwhelms colors in the maze of soaring kites.
A Touch of Europe: Intercultural Travel Through Blind Eyes When it comes to international education and intercultural education, the blind are not so much handicapped by their lack of sight as they are hindered by the narrow vision of others towards them. When a blind student (hereafter “Claire”) at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota decided to travel overseas to Europe for one month with the Religion/Women Studies May Seminar, her instructors were both delighted and apprehensive about their ability to make the trip meaningful for her. They wondered, “How do the blind learn in an educational setting where visual stimulus is often the primary mode of learning?” International education in particular takes students to sites (or should we say “sights”) to see and learn about the wonders of the world. But how do instructors convey the visual awe of a cathedral, for example, to one whose primary means of making memories comes through the four non-visual senses? This article offers some humble insights of hope and cautions concerning these questions and examines that intercultural education can be a meaningful experience for the seeing impaired, but it requires work, creativity, and most of all, compassion for both instructors and students to be successful. I. Preparation for Taking the Blind Abroad: A Rocky Start Concerning Logistics and Assumptions A key component of the May Seminar at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota is the requirement of a class, which prepares students for the month-long May cultural encounter. Claire’s instructors had no concerns with her intellectual abilities; Claire was an excellent student because she was intelligent, articulate, and able to express herself in oral and written forms with passion and beauty. She was, however, the first blind student to choose to travel abroad in the history of the Concordia College, and thus her presence in the program was uncharted territory for her instructors and the school in general. Dr. Shawn Carruth and Dr. Roy Hammerling Religion Department Religion Department 33
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