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Feet and Head(scarfs)
Jun. 1st, 2010 07:17 pmI went to the other end of the region on Sunday and did another Volksmarch, this time in Frederick, Maryland. It's still a great town for walking - lots of interesting architecture, historical signs to read, and so on. The stretch through the Mount Olivet Cemetery (where Francis Scott Key and Barbara Frietchie among others are buried) was the only part of the walk I wasn't crazy about, but that was mostly because of the heat.
And I did yet another Volksmarch on Monday. This was the least interesting - through Rock Creek Park and Parklawn Cemetery. (Yes, I am trying to finish up the cemetery special program, which ends at the end of June.) Most of the route was on the hiker / biker trail through the park, which is fine, but was the same coming and going. There were too many bicyclists whizzing past, which is a bit scary. On top of that, the stretch through the cemetery had little shade and the day was scorchingly hot and humid, even earlyish in the morning. So it was not a particularly enjoyable walk.
In the evening, I went to Theatre J to see "Headscarf and the Angry Bitch." This is Zehra Fazal's one woman show about being a Muslim woman. It's structured as a series of "lectures" (with musical accompaniment) that gradually reveal her conflicts about her religious and ethnic identity. For example, she complains about the Christmas season and the lack of Ramadan songs, which she remedies with a ditty to the tune of "Little Drummer Boy." But then she takes things in an unexpected direction ("I lost my virginity on Ramadan...") Some of that was very funny, but there were other times I thought she was trying too hard to be shocking. For example, she explains the prayer times in Islam (complete with an alarm clock in the shape of a mosque). But then she goes on to say that she won't do anything five times a day - well, except one thing or, as her song goes, "the only thing I'd do 5 times a day is you." I also had some issues with the structure of the piece, which was gimmicky and could have benefited from a stronger narrative line. So, overall, it had some funny material and entertaining moments, but wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. That's a pity, since she brought up good issues about identity conflicts - issues which are really universal.
By the way, I did end up just walking to the Vienna metro and the shuttle bus link between West Falls Church and East Falls Church worked reasonably well. Apparently, metro can handle some sort of irregular operations. It's just the normal day to day stuff they screw up.
And I did yet another Volksmarch on Monday. This was the least interesting - through Rock Creek Park and Parklawn Cemetery. (Yes, I am trying to finish up the cemetery special program, which ends at the end of June.) Most of the route was on the hiker / biker trail through the park, which is fine, but was the same coming and going. There were too many bicyclists whizzing past, which is a bit scary. On top of that, the stretch through the cemetery had little shade and the day was scorchingly hot and humid, even earlyish in the morning. So it was not a particularly enjoyable walk.
In the evening, I went to Theatre J to see "Headscarf and the Angry Bitch." This is Zehra Fazal's one woman show about being a Muslim woman. It's structured as a series of "lectures" (with musical accompaniment) that gradually reveal her conflicts about her religious and ethnic identity. For example, she complains about the Christmas season and the lack of Ramadan songs, which she remedies with a ditty to the tune of "Little Drummer Boy." But then she takes things in an unexpected direction ("I lost my virginity on Ramadan...") Some of that was very funny, but there were other times I thought she was trying too hard to be shocking. For example, she explains the prayer times in Islam (complete with an alarm clock in the shape of a mosque). But then she goes on to say that she won't do anything five times a day - well, except one thing or, as her song goes, "the only thing I'd do 5 times a day is you." I also had some issues with the structure of the piece, which was gimmicky and could have benefited from a stronger narrative line. So, overall, it had some funny material and entertaining moments, but wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. That's a pity, since she brought up good issues about identity conflicts - issues which are really universal.
By the way, I did end up just walking to the Vienna metro and the shuttle bus link between West Falls Church and East Falls Church worked reasonably well. Apparently, metro can handle some sort of irregular operations. It's just the normal day to day stuff they screw up.
