kseige

History

Member for

1 year 16 weeks

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http://www.linkedin.com/in/kseiger

State

NY

Bio

I grew up in Ohio, where I had a very typical Midwestern childhood in some ways – wide open spaces to explore, farmer friends, fresh corn and peaches in the summertime. In other ways, my upbringing was anything but typical. My mother is from Chile, and my father is from Brooklyn. When we were growing up, we spent summers in Maine and winter holidays driving to Mexico City. The family lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for almost 3 years. I lived abroad in Belgium and Italy, and I studied international relations and economics. After finishing my Masters degree, I spent the first part of my career focused on judicial reform in El Salvador, post-war reconstruction in Mozambique, and election administration in Haiti. My husband and I always wanted to live in New York City, and we moved in 2000, where I changed my career focus to international marketing and communications. We now live in the West Village, just below the Meatpacking District, where we enjoy the feeling of small town living and familiarity combined with the excitement and benefits of the big city.

What's your favorite public radio show?

I am a Fresh Air junkie, but my very favorite radio show is A Prairie Home Companion. My husband and I brought all the PHC CDs we could carry with us when we went to work in Mozambique. On Christmas Day that year, our families on the other side of the planet, we listened to the shows all day long, and it transported us home. PHC is quintessentially American, and it showcases homegrown talents. I love the stories and the sentimentality, but mostly the way the show turns seemingly mundane situations into global truths. Garrison Keiller should be our Cultural Ambassador.

What's your secret talent?

Is it a secret if I put it on the internet? My secret talent is that I can do front flips and back flips on a trampoline. My husband and I had been together for several years when we came across a trampoline in Swaziland (that’s another story). He had no idea of my talent, which I learned and honed in elementary school. Fortunately, flips are like riding a bike - it’s not as though I had been secretly jumping on trampolines over the years.

What song is stuck in your head right now, you know, a music wedgie?

I can’t stop singing “Salala,” a great song from Angelique Kidjo’s new album, Djin Djin. It is a duet with Peter Gabriel sung in both English and Fon, Angelique’s native language. I’m also singing “Meu Canario,” a classic samba song recently recorded by Marisa Monte. Both songs are beautifully melodic.

What sound is most characteristic of where you live?

Every morning at 5:00 AM, we hear the meat delivery trucks backing into the loading dock downstairs. The back of our mostly residential building houses one of the last meatpacking companies in New York City’s historic Meatpacking District. Most of the old meatpackers have been displaced by fancy restaurants and night clubs. So, even though our meatpackers work ungodly hours, their beeping trucks and rumbling meat hook conveyor belts are a welcome sound every day.

What's your favorite sound memory?

My dad was a rebel in his own way, but at home Mom did everything. Except, that is, for Sunday mornings. Some kind of Sunday spirit would take him over, lift him out of bed at 9:00 AM, and send him straight to the kitchen to make pancakes and fresh, hot coffee. Along the way, he would stop at his prized Nakamichi stereo and blast Mozart at top volume. That’s how I would be awakened every Sunday morning growing up, and that’s my favorite sound memory.

Which station do you listen to most?

WNYC at the office, all day every day. At home, I’ll stream WAMU or KCRW, and sometimes Secret Agent on SomaFM when I’m burning the midnight oil.

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