Our workshop is at the National World War II Museum, which is a huge structure/complex. While we can only see the entrance hall without paying admission, it's pretty incredible: lots of aircraft are suspended above us. Today's morning session was facilitated by Tony Calderbank, who works for Qatar Foundation International. Prior to working for QFI, Tony worked for the British Council in places like Sudan, Bahrain, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. He also taught Arabic and translation in the UK as well as in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the American University in Cairo. For us, though, Tony gave an expedited background on Arabic, including how the language is structured as well as how to say various phrases (like 'my name is'). Arabic is a challenging language! The second half of the morning session was focused on Arabic calligraphy, something I was super excited to learn. We each had markers, specialized pencils, and nice paper -- and experimented with writing the language. Tony also gave each of us our names in Arabic. Our afternoon was spent learning about Arabic music from Michel Moushabeck. He taught us about different instruments, including the oud, the qanun, the nay, the kamnjah, and the riqq, and he demonstrated various rhythms as well. The session culminated with an ensemble performance with Michel, his nephew, and his nephew's friend. It was wonderful. (For video of the performance, please check out my Instagram account.) After the session, a few of us wandered around the French Quarter a bit more, ending up at Jackson Square and the Mississippi River around dusk. After getting glammed up at the hotel, we headed to Brennan's for an absolutely incredible dining experience. We were led to the Queen's room, a private room that was decorated, well, royally. We enjoyed wine service, cocktails, and an incredible three-course meal. I opted for the seafood gumbo, the braised short rib, and the blackout doberge. Wow. We ended the night at BJ's Lounge, a local live music joint. It was about a 15-minute Uber ride from the French Quarter, so it was nice seeing a different part of the city, too. What a fun day!
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