Arts Lab 5.0: Muhammed Awed Badr Ali, Egypt - Month 2

Today I'm going to talk about my second month in Romania with the best friends ever. This month went by so fast. I still remember writing the first report like it was yesterday.

Not much happened, but at the same time, it was enjoyable. I started my new workshop at Școala Gimnazială "Garabet Ibrăileanu" in Tg. Frumos. It lasted for only 6 days, but I met the best students. They were very funny, kind, smart, and had amazing singing voices.

My plan was to give them an introduction to Cucuteni Culture on the first day, as well as to get to know them better. We played some music, and I asked everyone to sing for me. They were amazing.

On Day 2, we started writing a song representing Cucuteni culture. I gave everyone a piece of paper and showed them some song examples I had written for inspiration. Then, I let them start writing. Once they finished, we tried to collect and choose the best sentences from each paper to write the first verse of the song. I also emphasized the importance of considering the endings of the sentences to create a perfect rhythm. We finished writing the song as a team, but I told them we still had time to make changes if anyone had any new ideas.

Day 3 was really enjoyable. We all started getting creative about how to sing a song without any instruments while still making it heartfelt. It took some time, but they loved how we worked together. After we finished, we made some new edits to the song lyrics and tried singing it once. In the last three days, two of them practiced, we added new sentences to the song. The last day we recorded a videoclip for the song. I had so much fun with them.

The best part of each day was taking a break and taking the students to visit the other workshops my friends were conducting. We also went to the supermarket to buy chocolates every day, and we played football together after the workshop. I can't forget to mention my brother, Ahmed Hakmi. He would come to my workshop every day after he finished his own workshop. He played football with me and the kids, and I wanted to express how much I enjoy my days here in Romania because I have such wonderful friends and a supportive brother like him. I'm really lucky to know them and excited about the next few months. 

 Muhammed Awed Badr Ali and he is participating in a six-month volunteering program within Arts Lab 5.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps.