The Open Mic Night event at the East African Cultural Community Center was full of excitement, fun, and community. In this event I was able to see a special person. His name is Samuel Sefu, who was also part of the Refugee Teaching Symposium that occurred on Friday and Saturday, November 3-4, 2017. This event was hosted in collaboration with the Ethnic Studies department at UCSD. Samuel at the time had only two years in the United States and was a student at Crawford High School. During the Refugee Teaching Symposium, I was captivated by Samuel’s narrative and expression. In the Open Mic Night event, Samuel performed a song with his friend. During this event there was food, dance, music, and poetry.
https://refugeeteaching.wordpress.com/
Throughout the day I had traveled from Lo Jolla to City Heights by the bus and trolley. In this journey, I had the opportunity to buy some equipment for my final project of the class. After using some of the community spaces, I headed to the community center where I helped with the set-up of the event by moving chairs, tables, food, and drinks. Throughout this time, I was able to explore the community center and witness the Basketball court and the kitchen. There I met a person that was in charge of cooking for the center and their events. He was very generous. As the beginning, I saw more young community members were coming in. There I met a person by name of Lincoln. It was a moment where people came to enjoy each other’s presence. At this site visit. I was able to meet Abdul who will be my interviewee.
