Learning About the World We Live In; We're In the Perfect Place to Do It.

[Guest]

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[Jill]

         Just had an inspiration.  Well, at least, I thought it was an inspiration.  Of course, I would, since it came from my mind, but I think I probably would have liked it if it had come from any one of your minds, too.   I just hope someone else will feel the same way that I do about it.

         You know how some of us regard Kiva as a near infinite treasure trove of learning, just waiting to be tapped?  Well, I just thought of a way that we might do some community (treasure trove) tapping and teaching which, then, absolutely painlessly, will lead us all to a whole lot more of that lovely lovely learning stuff.

      What if:

         At the beginning of each month, or, now, for the first one, for January, each one of us would look at our Lender pages for a "favorite" loan.    Then, we'd each come here to this thread, we'd post that loan, with picture and description along with, and that choice would then dictate which country we were going to "research" for that month.

         When I say "research", all I mean is that we'd take whatever country that loan was from, and during the month that we'd posted it, we'd look for and would try to find, from that country, one or more examples of:

1) ART
2) POETRY
3) SOME CULTURAL MORE OR CUSTOM OR TRADITION
4) SOME PARTICULARLY INTERESTING FACT OR CURIOUS TIDBIT**
5) SPECIAL FESTIVALS/CELEBRATIONS THAT THAT COUNTRY OBSERVES**
6) OTHER?

              and we then would post in the threads that are already established, and for ##'s 4-6, in new threads we can
start up in the next several days.

      Besides accruing the benefit of educating and enriching ourselves, if this takes off and people get into it, we can help make the Forum even that much more desirable than it already is for teachers, parents and everyone else to visit and to want to hang around.

       Any takers?     
Sign-ups start below.
It's worth trying, well, I think it's worth trying.  Hope you do, too.

       Those of us who have more time and practice in magic carpet-riding around on the Internet can probably turn some of the others of you onto some websites that can get you started.  If you need help, just ask for it.   
The Universe is the limit.....

[Dagfinn]

A great idea that goes well with what I understand about Kiva's goal - one worry though - I have to quit work and go on fulltime as Kiva is the closest I have been to heroine 

Probably there is people on here that can manage in which case I would be a happy reader - I have already experienced one side effect to Kiva - I learn 

[Robert]

Same for me: great idea, and I would love to read the texts. However, I have decided to spend less time on Kiva and KivaFriends next year. When could I have the time to write a PhD thesis every month?

[Jill]

      Oh-hhhhh, you guys. 
I've got a one word sum-up as my response to the two who have responded and to all those whose enthusiasm, apparently, bordered somewhere between hohum-humdrum-yawnyawn-apathetic and merely uninspired:

     Sigh.

     But no worries.  I'm thinking that I probably didn't lay it out, right, because the last thing I had in mind was some time-scarfing Ph.D-type explication or research.  No one knows the feeling of wanting/of NEEDING to spend less time at Kiva and at KivaFriends better than I.  Just to put it out there, I have no question in my own mind that I, personally, have passed the point of (it being) pathological.

     But that said, I have little question that most, if not all of us hardcore KivaFriends are going to be spending some significant amounts of time here, if hopefully less time here, for all our concerns .  So, I was thinking that if that's going to be our reality, anyway, why not devote at least a small portion of that time doing something enriching, enhancing, and particularly worth sharing
with our KivaFriends and with all the Guests whom we're hoping we can convince to become Kiva Friends.
     
      What I, actually, was thinking about would take no more, I believe, than maybe 30-45 minutes, perhaps an hour, tops,per person per month, and the time that you/that we did spend would take us to all kinds of really interesting places and could broaden all our horizons,
Broadly! (quiet smile).

       It's very possible that for some of the lesser-known or smaller Kiva countries, we would not be able to easily (and quickly) find something to place in all the categories, the threads, I mean, especially, I'm thinking, perhaps not (always) the Poetry thread.
But for sure there's Wikipedia, there's Google Image and an abundance of Geography-related, Art-related and other easily accessible websites, right there at our fingertips, so....

      I don't think it would be very hard or very time-consuming at all.

     But obviously, I and perhaps a couple of my stalwart KivaFriends need to try it and model it, ourselves, just to demonstrate and just to find out how difficult, how easy and/or how time-consuming it would be, so....

       I will.
And thanks, at least, for reading this. 
I will continue to hope that, at some point, you will feel the inclination to do even more than that.

[Peter S]

         
     . . . I don't think it would be very hard or very time-consuming at all . . .

Well in that case, OK.  You choose the first one?

P

[Jill]

       Hey, (My English) Bro,
       Give me a break.  I said I would.
       Incredible as it may seem, I do have a couple of other things I should be doing, and will do, instead of this, right now.  However, just out of curiosity, just to see how long it might take and what I might find, in a hurry, I just now punched in to the Google search space, the following:
"festival" +Azerbaijan
     
          I immediately happened upon the following link,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugham_Festival,
which, if you go there and skim to the bottom, reveals the following:
Mugham Festival
The Mugham Festival or Shusha Festival is an annual musical festival that is held in Azerbaijan. The festival features traditional Azerbaijani music known as Mugham.......

........The Children's Mugham Festival, which is also held in Shaki, has emerged from the Mugham Festival. During the Children's Mugham Festival, many talented children, mainly refugees from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan, get the chance to share their music and sing to a large crowd.

     Now, if either you or someone you knew were planning a trip to Azerbaijan, sometime in the near future, wouldn't your knowing about that Azerbaijani (?)  Children's Music Festival be something you'd be glad you'd learned about at KivaFriends?!?

[Sherri]

Hmm... Jill, I really like this idea!

So are you saying that we would pick just one country per month, then all the kiva friends interested would contribute info and tidbits about that country, or would each person pick their own country?

I'm really interested in this idea- more feasible if we all contribute info on one country collectively per month. Sounds great. 

Might I suggest Pakistan as our first country? The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto today is one of the biggest world-news events in a while and I find it very interesting that a country that was formerly progressive enough to have a female prime minister, is now struggling under increased Islamic extremism problems. It might help prevent some misconceptions if we all learn a little more. Plus that 'Three Cups Of Tea' book I'm reading has me interested in learning more about the country...

[Jill]

      As soon as I finish this post, I am Out of Here, I mean, REALLY Out of Here, but, til then....

Hey Sherri,
      That was a nice spin you put onto my idea.  I really hadn't thought of it that way/your way, but I'm thinking that maybe your alteration is an improvement on the original idea -- probably a lot more feasible, and maybe a bit more likely  to get more people
contributing.
     
       Spinning your spin, I'd propose that if we do it that way, we do one country a week instead of one country a month, having everybody who is willing to contribute something, do so.... every little bit will help.

       If we do it the way you conceptualized it, it may make more sense to put all the information about a particular country into a separate thread devoted to that country, instead of parsing it out among the Art thread, the Poetry thread, the Festivals and Celebrations thread, the Customs and Mores thread, whatever.

       As I trudge through the snow that's currently falling outside my window (a little poetic license, there, as it hasn't begun to stick, yet), how about the rest of you, those who are willing, that is, respond to Sherri's idea, my maybe yes/maybe no modifications, come up with some of your own, if you choose, and.....

     the first person to name a country, here, will be the one to determine Next Week's Choice (beginning Monday or today, if you like) for the First Honorary KivaFriend Forum Country of the Week.
       

[Peter S]

. . .here's that link without the comma at the end of it that was taking it to an error page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugham_Festival

And hey, here's some Mugham (did I mention that my other addiction is YouTube..?)



(finding it wasn't all that encouraging, Azerbaijanis and Armenians are continuing their war in YouTube "comments")

So now we are three! - welcome Sherri.  This bird might fly...

[Jill]

      In the Pakistan thread, http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1541.40.html
miGIRLS' Karen asked if it weren't time for us to start researching (I meant, celebrating) another country.  Due to the proliferation of Peruvian loans up at Kiva, right now, she nominated Peru.
      So, with a smile aimed at Ramón, from whom we'll be expecting, read, hoping for lots of input, I'll go ahead and start another thread, this one for Peru.  Peru's thread will open, officially, January 3, one week from the beginning of the Countries' threads, but if anyone like Karen or Ramón wants to have a head start, go for it.

    A Couple Things To Note:
1-- Even though Peru may be the featured country, beginning Thursday, please understand that the idea is that people can and will continue contributing to the Pakistani thread, and in the future, for that matter,  anybody can and should continue contributing to any of the previously "nominated" countries, when and as the inclination strikes.

2--  As I hadn't suggested any plan for how a new country might be nominated, because Karen took the initiative and nominated Peru, I thought we'd go ahead with that.   If you all would like to keep the selection process operating in this fashion, sort of a "first come, first served" variety, that's fine with me as long as different people, each time, designate the new country.
      On the other hand, if somebody has another idea, perhaps a better idea for how to make the selections after Peru's time in the KivaFriends' sun is over,

This thread would be a good place for making suggestions about:
1- How to Choose the Country of the Week

2- How We Might Improve the Featured Country Threads,
     though, truth be told, I've been really pleased with the enthusiasm shown for our first effort, Pakistan.

3- Which Country Should Be Next Up after the current one has had its week
     (But please wait til the current country's week is nearly completed before suggesting a new one).