Thursday, August 19, 2004
Love and Lacking Musical Talent
This morning started loverly with a ride to work from Komatsu-sensei. I was in the teacher’s room this morning, checking email on a school computer, when it started to clear out. (They said this might happen to us: All the teachers would be gone in about two seconds and there was some event that no one had thought to tell you about.) Well, someone did come and tell me shortly afterwards that today is a school volunteer day and all the students and staff were all headed to a clean-up at the beach. I was asked to stay in the school office and watch. Watch what? I’m not sure, but there I was watching.
Then Tomonaga asked me if I wanted to go with the school band. Their part of school volunteer day was playing a few songs for the nursing home. ...I wondered if it’d be that nursing home with the wonderful, old umbrella lady and it was! About six students from the school band and Tomonaga played several songs for this Catholic nursing home. I was under the impression that Japan didn’t really have large or numerous nursing homes because parents just live with their children when they are older, but this one had a healthy number of elders for a pretty small town. Not to confuse you, they weren’t healthy at all—there were just a lot of them. I really enjoyed the performance, and so did everyone else; I watched them tapping along with the beat. Unfortunately I never did see umbrella lady so I couldn’t give her a proper thanking, but I sure was looking out for her!
Afterwards, the band members and I were invited to stay for tea. We were given this room all to ourselves and they gave us coffee and honeydew! I was so pumped about the melon! I got to talk to the students, ask for names, year in school and instruments played. I get the feeling the students here are going to be really wonderful to teach because I am so impressed with much they try to speak English outside of class. My volleyball team really tries hard, those guys on the bus (even if they didn’t understand my question) and now the band members. I asked if I could join the school band and they really liked that idea.
For those of you how know the extent of my musical talent, please quit laughing now. I was warmly welcomed, despite the fact I can’t play anything. We discussed which instruments are available and of them all, I think the trombone is the best bet for me. Can you see me playing the trombone? Me either, but I’m going to try. I would play the flute because I played it for a couple months in fifth grade, but there are none available. Next I’d choose the trumpet, but there are already two in a band with 5 members. There is some instrument that is like a trumpet, but smaller, but no one plays it so there’s no one to teach me. There is a freshman girl playing trombone that might be confident enough in her English to show me the ropes. I’m looking forward to getting involved in another school activity and meeting more students before classes start.
In the afternoon I played more volleyball with the students. There was a former student there who is now playing volleyball for her college and she taught me some more techniques—I’d name the techniques, but I have no idea what they’re called in English—and she was happy to be able to use her English. Three more hours of volleyball today and that about sums up my school day.
When I get home I’m rushing to shower, pack and run down to the port to catch the last bus to Aokata. It leaves at 6:10 p.m. and then we’ll spend Friday and Saturday nights with our fellow island-dwellers, Kerry, Laura, and Peter.
Love and lacking musical talent,
Sierra
Then Tomonaga asked me if I wanted to go with the school band. Their part of school volunteer day was playing a few songs for the nursing home. ...I wondered if it’d be that nursing home with the wonderful, old umbrella lady and it was! About six students from the school band and Tomonaga played several songs for this Catholic nursing home. I was under the impression that Japan didn’t really have large or numerous nursing homes because parents just live with their children when they are older, but this one had a healthy number of elders for a pretty small town. Not to confuse you, they weren’t healthy at all—there were just a lot of them. I really enjoyed the performance, and so did everyone else; I watched them tapping along with the beat. Unfortunately I never did see umbrella lady so I couldn’t give her a proper thanking, but I sure was looking out for her!
Afterwards, the band members and I were invited to stay for tea. We were given this room all to ourselves and they gave us coffee and honeydew! I was so pumped about the melon! I got to talk to the students, ask for names, year in school and instruments played. I get the feeling the students here are going to be really wonderful to teach because I am so impressed with much they try to speak English outside of class. My volleyball team really tries hard, those guys on the bus (even if they didn’t understand my question) and now the band members. I asked if I could join the school band and they really liked that idea.
For those of you how know the extent of my musical talent, please quit laughing now. I was warmly welcomed, despite the fact I can’t play anything. We discussed which instruments are available and of them all, I think the trombone is the best bet for me. Can you see me playing the trombone? Me either, but I’m going to try. I would play the flute because I played it for a couple months in fifth grade, but there are none available. Next I’d choose the trumpet, but there are already two in a band with 5 members. There is some instrument that is like a trumpet, but smaller, but no one plays it so there’s no one to teach me. There is a freshman girl playing trombone that might be confident enough in her English to show me the ropes. I’m looking forward to getting involved in another school activity and meeting more students before classes start.
In the afternoon I played more volleyball with the students. There was a former student there who is now playing volleyball for her college and she taught me some more techniques—I’d name the techniques, but I have no idea what they’re called in English—and she was happy to be able to use her English. Three more hours of volleyball today and that about sums up my school day.
When I get home I’m rushing to shower, pack and run down to the port to catch the last bus to Aokata. It leaves at 6:10 p.m. and then we’ll spend Friday and Saturday nights with our fellow island-dwellers, Kerry, Laura, and Peter.
Love and lacking musical talent,
Sierra
