Somali DJ

I try to be a good boss. I let the interns I supervise choose the radio station. Usually that results in a dominant person choosing a station and the rest of us suffering through its painfully short playlist for the next few weeks. I never want to hear "Hey Ya" or that redneck woman song ever again.

Right now, the daily DJ is a Somali refugee. She loves music. When the radio isn't on, she sings to herself. She has a lovely voice.

Her radio choices fascinate me. Not being of this culture, she hasn't figured out all that music symbolizes, that young people don't publicly listen to lite rock, black people rarely dance along to country music, etc. etc. She isn't picky - all she wants is music. She switches stations every few hours. This week we've listened to the hiphop station, lite rock, alternative music of the '90s, classic rock, "adult contemporary," country, and classical. It's quite refreshing.

and she teaches me a Somali word each day. Today's word is nanyo, tomato.