Mardi Gras Break!

Nothings better than a whole week off of school. I did so many things during Mardi Gras break. The Friday we got off of school, I had to go straight to the airport to head off to Dallas for a gymnastics meet. I came home on Sunday from the meet, and took the time to catch up on all of my T.V. shows that have been recorded on my TiVo for about 3 weeks. The rest of my week consisted hanging out with friends, going to gym, and even getting a head start on some of assignments. The best part of the whole break was the weekend right before I had to go back to school.

            Friday night, I invited some of my friends to go to the LSU gymnastics meet. My practically sister, Rheagan, is a freshman gymnast this year at LSU, and since I have been going to my own gymnastics meets almost every weekend, this was my first time seeing her compete in college. To make it special, each one of my friends and I had a letter on a sign. When we all held our signs up, they spelled “Geaux Rhea!”.  She actually ended up winning the whole meet, which is a huge accomplishment for a freshman. Saturday wasn’t very fun, but my Sunday was completely packed with things to do. I woke up early Sunday morning to go to gymnastics for 8 o’clock. When gym ended at 11, my teammates and I got dressed up to go see Circus Ole. After the show, I rushed over to a surprise party for one of my good friends, Katie. While Katie and her mom left the house, my friends and I decorated her house with streamers, banners, signs, and balloons. When she got home, we all yelled “SURPRISE!” and then we went to dinner and a movie. It was a great way to end an amazing break!  

Family Drama: Nervous Conditions

       So during the break we were assigned to read chapters 6 and 7 of Nervous Conditions. These chapters are filled with intense family drama, which makes the book a lot more interesting. Nyasha has always had a rebelious side to her, which her father, Babamakuru, cannot stand. One day, they get into a huge argument. They are not only yelling, they are on the floor, punching and hitting each other. Their relationship hasn’ t been the same since. When Christmas time comes around, Babamakuru takes the whole family back to the homestead, where Tambu’s family lives. When they arrive, they discover that Lucia, Tambu’s aunt, her mother’s sister, had an affair with Takesome, Babamakuru’s cousin. Lucia is now pregnant, but the problem is that she will not admit that it is Takesome’s child, she says that it is Jeremiah, Tambu’s father.  When there are so many different stories about what happened, no one can find out which story is true. During the whole two weeks of the holidays, the family is constantly fighting and having arguments.

       Every family has drama. There are always times when family members don’t agree on something, and it causes fights. Sometimes, it can even cause separation of the family. I always hear about family drama happening during the holidays. It is kind of ironic how the times of the year when families are suppose to b close together is the most common time when they are torn apart. It is so common, that pretty much every holiday movie is based on some time of family fuse. Although my family drama isn’t as bad as Tambu’s, we have our issues, but n the end, we all end up getting along.

The Grammys

Sunday night was music’s best night of the year, the Grammys. My sister and I sat on the couch and watched everything form the red carpet to the performances. We watched with criticism, commenting on everything that went on. My sister’s comments were mostly raging at the singers. “What is she wearing?” “Way to lip sing” “You sound better on the radio” were phrases constantly coming out of her mouth. By the end of thing awards, we had come up with reviews of our best and worst performances on the Grammys.

            Cold Play’s performance of paradise was completely off key. Every time an “ooo” was sung, his voice would crack, forcing him to sing it in a different key. Chris Brown’s performance of “Beautiful People” was not what I was expecting. I had seen him in concert just a few months ago, and in the concert the performances was a lot more entertaining. I absolutely loved Bruno Marze’s 50’s themed performance. My dad told me that when he was younger, he used to be an Elvis impersonator. I didn’t believe him at first, but after his performance, you could tell that he had been doing that act for a while. He was amazing! I couldn’t be happier for the artist everyone was cheering for, Adele. She was definitely the Grammy girl of 2012. She won a total of six awards, and preformed for the first time since her vocal surgery over 6 months ago. Although she sounded differently than she did before her surgery, she was still the best performer of the night. I wonder what next year’s Grammys will be like? Has anyone heard any rumors?

Nervous Conditions: The reasons for the first chapters

            In Nervous Conditions, by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Tambu is constantly saying how she “was not sorry when [her] brother died”.  The book actually opens with that statement. But before Tambu tells us how her brother dies, she explains to us why she is not sorry for the loss of her brother.

 Tambu’s brother, Nhamo, is the only one in their family that is able to go to school because of the family’s lack of money, and he never lets his sister forget it. Every time Tambu brings up school with her father, Nhamo remarks “girls don’t belong in school” before her father can even say a word. When Nhamo dies, it allows for Tambu to go to school. She can now live her dream of being educated, and actually making something of herself, without her brother criticizing her decision. I think that the author begins the book in this way, to give the background information to the whole story, and give the reader a better understanding of the narrator. This makes is easier for the reader to understand the decisions of the narrator before the actually story has even begun. 

New York City

      This weekend, I had a gymnastics in New York City. My mom, my sister, my teammate, her mom, and I went just about everywhere in NYC in only three days.  Since we had all been to New York before, we had already seen all of the tourist attractions, letting us go exactly to the places we wanted to go. We went to Time Square, the wax museum, all the hottest shops, and the most delicious restaurants. We were so excited about everything we accomplished in such a sort amount of time. My favorite part of the trip was seeing "Mama Mia".
     Although I have seen the movie, the live Broadway production of "Mama Mia" could not compare. The musical was filled with hilarious characters and the catchiest songs. We were all laughing and singing the entire time. I love seeing Broadway shows. I really want to see Mary Poppins, Phantom of the Opera, and Spider Man: Turn off the Lights soon. I guess I'll have to wait till next time!

A Girl With a Dream: Nervous Conditions

Hey Guys,
     So this week in Dr. D's class, we started to read our new class book, Nervous Conditions. The story revolves around the life of a young African girl, who has a passion for her education. For me, the setting of this story is what makes the book more inspiring. In the 1960 in Zimbabwe, there was civilization problems with the English, causing people to move out of their native lands. It put the natives in a state of economic crisis. With the little money the people had, they would send their eldest son to school. They hoped that he would get an education good enough to be able to get a job and support the family. 
     For Tambudzai being a girl living in family in poverty, going to school is only a dream. Her father constantly telling her that education is a waste, that she will grow up being a housewife just like every other woman in their village. But Tabudzai ignores him, for she wants to actually make something of herself. She  tries everything she can to make her dreams become a reality. Although we haven't gotten far into the story, I can already tell that I am going to enjoy this book.