Songs, Syllabi, and North Floridians

I have essentially planned out my syllabi. All of my classes (except the factory) will be subjected a good bit to my taste of music, as I have decided to include a song in every class. Before coming to Russia, I made a collection of five different mix cds with songs that I figured I would feel comfortable explaining in class. (Oldies are especially dirty when you stop to think about the meanings! And while I do not yet know the makeup of my classes, I know that I could possibly have students as young as 13. I figure I should try to keep things clean.) I did not select songs based on grammar points that they featured, which is somewhat unfortunate. There are certain grammar points that really can only be illustrated with one song off of all of my cds, and many of my favorites will not make it into class at all. I’m only using two songs by The Clash, and nothing from the White Stripes even made the list. If only the lesson that features illness-related vocabulary were in a more advanced class, then I would totally play the Acetaminophen song. But, since I have the lower level classes, I cannot use any of my Disk Five songs, as they all contain very advanced vocabulary. Anyhow, below is the list of all of the songs which, if all goes well, shall make an appearance in at least one class. (I don’t suppose anyone knows any good Thanksgiving rock songs? Sigh; probably not.)

Sweet Jane (the Cowboy Junkies version)
I am a Rock (Simon and Garfunkel)
Here Come the Martian Martians (Jonathan Richman)
Walking After Midnight (Patsy Cline)
Bankrobber (The Clash)
Shiny Happy People (R.E.M.)
It’s Coming Down (Cake)
Eternal Flame (The Bangles)
Nellie the Elephant (The Toy Dolls)
The Deep South (The Promise Ring)
Do You Know The Way To San Jose (Dionne Warwick)
Blowin in the Wind (Bob Dylan)
This is Halloween (from The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Monster Mash (both the Bobby Pickett and the Misfits versions)
Dead Man’s Party (Oingo Boingo)
I Fought The Law (The Clash)
Jane Says (Jane’s Addiction)
Jane (Elf Power)
The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel)
Space Oddity (David Bowie)
Dead (They Might Be Giants)
New Year’s Day (U2)
Griselda (Yo La Tengo)
Mysterious Ways (U2)
The Bird With The Candy Bar Head (Elf Power)

So, this weekend they will be celebrating Vladimir City Day 2005. I really do not have any idea what this entails. The other day, Nina M asked me if I knew who the Americans were who were going to be coming to the City Day celebration. I of course had no clue. It's not as if I know every American, right? Well, this morning she told me that she heard on the radio that the Americans coming to Vladimir's City Day were from North Florida. Now, I certainly do not know every person in North Florida, but I would like to know who these mythical Northern Floridians are. (I know that one of Vladimir's sister cities is Sarasota... and it would make sense therefore for some Sarasotans to be here, but I would never describe Sarasota as being located in North Florida) If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. If I ever find out, I'll post.