KICKSTARTER PROJECT UPDATE #16

A third of the way through

15 mars 2014

Dear Kickstarter Friends,

I apologize for the long silence. I am happy to report that at the conclusion of the sixth week of teaching, everything is going very well with the academic part of my trip. The kids are eating up the information that I am presenting and getting better and better at playing the flute. There is one 6 year-old who just is a natural, has a great sound and won't let his small hands and the size of the instrument, which forces him to stretch his little arms rather uncomfortably, stop him from playing it. The majority of the students are playing well, some more than others, which it to be expected, but they are all trying their best and are music lovers and sit through long working sessions without much fussing. West African kids are really delightful, they are very respectful and raise their hands to participate in class with an enthusiasm that would make North American teachers envious.

As far as reading and writing music, they are making progress. They are absorbing the rhythmic notation rather quickly but reading the notes (do, re, mi..) on the staff is proving to be more challenging but we're forging ahead.

With the help of my trusted assistant and cameraman (and flute student), Rasta Bakou, I was lucky, to find a nice apartment, in a new building. Two large sunny rooms, on the second floor with running water (a great luxury here), airy (a couple of blocks from the ocean), safe, with a large guarded courtyard in a peaceful neighborhood just five minutes from my work. It was not furnished so we live in a rather spartan way each sleeping on a "natte" on the floor. It was a bit hard at first, but I really like it now and i sleep very well, although I wake up a 6 or 7 every morning. The only furniture is a table an three chairs and we cook and make coffee over a little charcoal stove that Bakou has become very good at starting up in a hurry.

The one major hangup is that my computer died. After 6 years of faithful service, the unpredictable Guinean electrical service jolted my 17 inch MacBookPro into disrepair. I lost a lot of data and applications. Apparently, the motherboard was fried either by a power surge or static electricity or both–this is Harmattan season now in Guinea, a dry wind blowing from the Sahara so static electricity is at it's peak right now. I tried to get the machine fixed but they do not have the parts and the price would anyway be prohibitive. Fortunately, a good friend kindly offered to lend me his machine a couple of days a week so I can at least copy camera and sound files into the hard drives and sign on to the Internet. However I cannot edit or even view the videos on the computer as I do not have the proper software. So unless I find another solution, working on that movie that I must produce will crimp my schedule when I return to New York.

As we say in French, "à la guerre comme à la guerre." (in war you make do). But as far as the main purpose of my trip, everything is "tigidou" (fine), as we say in Québec.

I constantly think of all the people who have helped me realize my idea and it gives me fortitude through the more difficult moments when I feel like quitting. I reiterate my deep and heartfelt thanks for your generous and humbling support.

Until next time: bissimila! 
Blessings from Africa

Sylvain

6 year-old Alhassane playing the flute