Concert Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTg8St59xVg

Enjoy. ;)

(I'm the 3rd from the right in the purple dress, and Hanna is the third from the left in the white dress)

Sticky

One night during dinner, we were asked to try this food that was a sticky clear substance with little green pieces in it. (I never found out what it was called...) when you brought it up to your mouth, strings of the sticky stuff would still be hanging down. So it was taking Hanna and me a while to eat it, and Okaa-san, Otoh-san and Yuka had all gone either to the kitchen or somewhere else, and all who was left at the table besides us was Hiroki.

As I watched Hanna try to get a bit of it with her chopsticks, I commented that it was "sticky." Hiroki looked up at me and burst out laughing. "Sticky? Hahahaha!" "Yes," I replied, "it's sticky." We weren't sure why he thought that was so funny, but we decided that we would have to ask Okaa-san in the morning.

So morning came around and we went up and asked her what "sticky" meant. At first she didn't understand what we were trying to say. We pinched our fingers together and exaggerated pulling them apart. "Like tape," we told her. She finally got it, and laughed. "Ahhh, sticky." Evidently, "sticky" in Japanese means "nice, cool guy." Or, as some American girls might refer to some guys as "cute" or "hot."

Greeaaat. We just referred to that food as a cute guy. Hopefully Hiroki knew we were talking about the food? Haha. We had Okaa-san explain it to him later in depth. :)

Leaving

I didn't know it was going to be so hard. But surprisingly, (or not so surprisingly?) it was. All too soon, we were dragging our heavy suitcases down the stairs and into our homestay family's cars. Then within minutes we were standing at the bus station, saying goodbye. I didn't think I was going to cry, but what do you know, Okaa-san started to tear up, and of course I couldn't hold it in either. ;) We thanked them again for their kindness, and told them we hoped to see them again someday.

At the banquet, one of the students made a short speech about how that when he came to Japan, one would think that he would be homesick, and I'm sure he was a little. But he would also get homesick when he came back from Japan, because he really had become part of that Japanese family, and felt a closeness to them.

I hope to be able to see my Japanese family again someday, and who knows, it may be sooner than I think. :)

Two random things you may or may not know about Japan:
1. Everyone drives on the left side of the road. (Hard for Americans to get used to.) ;)This also means that moving walkways in airports are also like this.

2. All books/magazines open from the left side, instead of the right.

So does this make Japan just a backwards country? ;D

Just a note

I'm going to continue to post pictures and videos, and maybe talk about some other things, so check back often! :)

Day 17 (April 27th) CONCERT

The past few days have been a blur, and I still can't believe it's over already! I don't even know where to begin...how about the concert itself? :)

Hanna and I woke up early on Sunday morning to prepare ourselves for the day. After a quick breakfast and some last minute practicing, we were off to Harmony Hall. We were feeling good about things, and not too nervous. We arrived at Harmony Hall and started getting ready. We had done our hair/makeup before we left our house, but everyone brought their dresses and put them on there.

[helping Yuka with her dress]

By then I felt a tiny bit nervous, but mostly excited and anticipating what was about to happen. All of the students (250+) were told to go to the small hall and wait until it was our turn to play. It was nice because they had a screen and speakers set up, so we could watch and hear the concert even though we couldn't be in the main hall.

Each group of 10 people were called every few minutes, and before long, they were calling for the Paderewski Minuet! (That's us.) So we lined up with the other students, and went down the hallway towards the main hall. Once outside the main hall, we lined up and waited with the other students. Almost too soon, the group before us played the end of their piece. We all took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage. Luckily, I didn't trip and fall or anything. :)

And....it was amazing. The feeling of playing and hearing such an awesome sound coming from 10 grand pianos is unbelievable. I forgot everything I was thinking about before and just focused on making the best sound I possibly could. Everyone felt that their hard practicing had finally paid off!

After our piece was the Beethoven Turkish March (performed by boys only) and then Clair de Lune, (performed by girls only.) And then for the end, Rondo Brilliant by Weber. And brilliant it was! It sounded like a difficult piece to play as a solo, but even more difficult with 9 other people. After all pieces had been played, we were all brought out on stage for the "final bow."
Was it over? Not quite yet. ;) That was the first performance, and we had to eat lunch and do it all over again!

I have to say that I've never seen so many students looking so nice with the boys looking handsome in their suits and the girls in their gorgeous dresses. :) After all was said and done, Hanna and I changed out of our concert dresses and found Okaa-san and Yuka and got in the car and drove to the Buena Vista hotel where the banquet was being held. The banquet was a lot of fun! Lots of picture taking, and several heartfelt speeches from teachers, students, and even from Dr. Kataoka's daughter and son. I think I might've even seen a few of the teachers tearing up at more than one of those. ;)

After the banquet, everyone said goodnight to each other, and said what a wonderful concert it was. We drove back to our house and Hanna and I started the task of...packing!

I've heard from other students who have been to more than one 10 piano concert that once you go to one, you are addicted and can't wait to do it again! I know I will remember the experiences I had, the kindness and generosity I was shown, the friends I made, and this trip forever. Not everyone has gotten such an opportunity as this, and I am thankful that I was given this opportunity!

It's good to be home. ;)

Day 16 (April 26th) Dress Rehearsal Day

I don't have time to write much today, but the dress rehearsals ran all day from 1 to about 10 pm. Ours went pretty well, and Hanna and I are very excited for tomorrow. :) We've worked so hard, and now's the fun part.

Oh....I ate Eel and some raw Octopus today. :D Mr. Boiney told us that eel (onigi) was one of his favorites here, so I had to give it a try. It was gooood.

BIG DAY TOMORROW!

Day 15 (April 25th)

Today was a very....tasty day. :) Mr. Boiney called me on Thursday night and invited Hanna, me and Okaa-san to lunch with him and Ms. Shen, (Hanna's teacher.) Of course, we agreed. ;) We drove into Matsumoto and met them in front of Matsumoto station, then walked down the street a ways and into a curry shop.

It was delicious!

Afterwards, we went in search of this tea shop that we had heard about from a few teachers who had been there. We weren't quite sure how to get there, but as luck had it, we ran into one of the teachers at the cross walk! Imagine that. :)

Too many choices! But we heard that the cream puffs were excellent....

Me, Ms. Shen, Okaa-san, Hanna

Ms. Shen and Okaa-san drinking their tea.

It was good tea. :)

And the cream puffs were indeed excellent! Mr. Boiney had to have three. :) See the way he looks at them?

Afterwards, after thanking Mr. Boiney and Ms. Shen for lunch, (and tea!) we parted with them and visited a shop on the street, where I bought a few things. Okay, more than a few things, but you'll have to wait to find out what they were. ;)

Dress Rehearsal tomorrow!

Mata ne. ;)

Oops. :D

This evening we were looking at pictures with our homestay family from Hanna's facebook. They were ones from here in Japan, and she had them captioned.

One was a picture of a building of which we thought was Hiroki's "cram school." They saw it and burst out laughing. Evidently, it was a fried chicken restaurant, NOT his cram school. Oops! :)

Another was a random building. They read the sign on it, and laughed again. We asked why and Hiroki explained that if Otoh-san lost his hair and went bald, then he would go there. It was a wig shop. Hah!

So...what have we learned? If you take pictures of Japanese buildings, you better know what they say first. :)

Day 13 & 14 (April 23 & 24) Wasabi Farm!

Yesterday, we visited a Wasabi farm. I needed to be outside somewhere after the previous day of practicing...so, I looked up things do to in Matsumoto, and came up with the Wasabi farm. It was pretty cool! I even had some Wasabi ice cream. ;)

If you don't know what Wasabi is, it's a plant with a big root that needs lots of cool, fresh water to grow. It's kind spicy and tastes like horseradish. Japan is known for growing Wasabi, and it's used as a spice in many of their foods.

Me on a Wasabi root. :)

Wasabi

This is a little fortune telling-like machine. You put in 200 yen, and out comes:

Your fortune! Okaa-san went first. Hers was very bad! I went second, and mine was a little good. Hanna's was just plain good. Hmm...

Then you tie it on the string.

Sorry for the sound. :) These are the water mills. Okaa-san was telling us about the old houses there and how they are made out of mud and straw for the bottom, and straw for the roof.

I have more pictures, and I wish I could post them all, but I can't. ;)

Tonight we have a rehearsal, and we are practicing hard today to prepare for it. Only 2 more days until the dress rehearsal, and 3 more days until the concert!

Yikes.

Day 11 & 12 (April 21 & 22)

Sooo....yesterday, our group went to Fujikyu Highland. Let me tell you, they have the most awesome rollar coasters! Definitely some of the best. Here's a few pictures from the bus and some from the rollar coaster:

First glimpse of Mt. Fuji!

Oooh, Ahhh.
Um....hehe? This was the 4th time we rode this rollar coaster, so we planned ahead for the picture. ;)
This is my teacher. His name is Mr. Boiney. He likes rollar coasters.

:D

See Mary Ann's mouth? (She's wearing the blue hoodie.) Yeah. Wow!

Hanna and me on the bus.

We had a great time, to say in the least. We rode one of the tallest, and one of the fastest rollar coasters in the world. I'd say that's a pretty cool feat, wouldn't you? It was fun to see the teachers more carefree and relaxed. But today it was back to work for everyone.

Guess what? I ate some octopus last night. Okaa-san was smart though. She didn't tell us it was octopus until after we took the first bite. ;) It really wasn't too bad. Kind of like ham with a bit of a fishy taste. They also managed to get me to eat some raw fish the other day...whew. It took everything I had to chew and swallow. But they do have some pretty awesome food here, (besides the raw fish.) ;)

Today was a rehearsal day, and Hanna and I each practiced for 4 hours. Yuka also had a rehearsal at 6:30. But they were running behind schedule, so we had to wait for an hour or so. I tried to do some homework, but ended up talking to some of the other students instead. Oh well. :)

It's interesting to see how the other students are doing with their room mates. Some clicked right away and seem like best friends, but some just don't quite match up. Hanna and I get along well, we have our differences but we try hard to accomodate each other. ;)

That's all for now. Mata ne! Oyasuminasai!

Day 10 (April 20)

It was a beautiful sunny day today, as you can see. ^ Hanna and I had a rehearsal this morning, (which went okay) then our homestay father and Yuka came to pick us up, and we went to a memorial concert for Shinchi Suzuki. There were students from all over Japan that came to perform. They were simply amazing! These were all pianists, and some of them were quite young but SO good.

Afterwards, Otoh-san (what we call our homestay father. ;) took us to get ice cream. Yum.

Tomorrow we are going to the Fujikyu Highland amusement park. I hear they have some pretty awesome roller coasters there. Mwhaha. :) We have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to drive to the bus and from there to the park.

Oyasuminasai. :)

Day 9 (April 19th) 9 PM

Well, you guys asked what kind of cars my homestay family drives, so here they are! On the top is my homestay mother, Kyoko's car. It's a Volkswagon Polo. On the bottom is my homestay father, Kenichi's car. It's a Audi A6 ( I think!) These are not pictures I took, but found on the internet after learning what the names of the cars were.

It seems that everyone drives new cars here...it doesn't matter how wealthy you are, you still drive a nice car.

Today Hanna and I spent the day with the boys. (Kenichi and Hiroki. ;) Kyoko had to be out all day for something buisness related, and Yuka stayed home and (hopefully) practiced. They took us to a Ramen place for lunch (which I'll talk about in a minute) and then we went to a movie.

Okay, so at this Ramen restaurant, they serve huge bowls of Ramen noodles with various flavors of broth and toppings. When you eat this, you pretty much get a steam bath for your face too. ;) Often times it can be really spicy! So guess what they have on the table? Tissues. :) Because your nose is sure to run if you eat those spicy/hot noodles. Some guys in there where eating away and their faces were starting to get sweaty...haha. When they serve it to you, they give you a giant ladle like thing to drink the broth with, and then you eat the noodles with chopsticks. Quite an experience, I'll tell you that. ;)

I heard there was an earthquake the other day in Kentucky! Anyone care to inform me?

Oyasuminasai!

Day 8 (April 18th) 9:30 PM

I can't believe it's been 8 days already! I think I'm finally feeling comfortable with the culture, the people, and my surroundings here, and it feels nice. I've been so lucky to have this awesome opportunity to be here, and I want to thank everyone supporting me and helping me get this far. THANK YOU!!!

It's interesting how animals around the world "say" different things. We were sitting at the table after dinner, and somehow came upon the topic of animal sounds....."In America, what does a cat say?" We went back and forth and heard their Japanese animal sounds, and we'd tell them the American ones. We were laughing so hard...then they wanted me to do the elephant one, and I refused. ;)

Oyasuminasai! (Good Night.)

Day 7 (April 17) 9 PM

Mirrors on the corners

Bonsai

Hiroki and his new....bike thing

The Fence

Down the street

Not much to report today! This morning before it started raining, Hanna and I went for a walk up the street toward the mountains. We only got about 1/2 a mile or so before we came to an electric fence and couldn't go any further. Oh well...we've been told there are bears in there. :)

Tonight we had our second rehearsal....there were small improvements, but we still have to keep practicing hard. The teacher, Kawamura Sensei is very strict and it's hard to please her...but that's why she has the job I suppose. Our next rehearsal is on Sunday, so we have three days to prepare for it.

That's all for now. Mata ne!

Day 6 (April 16th) 4 PM

We had quite the eventful day today! It started off with getting up early and leaving for Matsumoto city hall to meet the mayor of Matsumoto. We arrived a little early, so we walked across the street and took pictures of the cherry blossoms.

As we waited to see the mayor, we were reminded to sit straight, don't slouch, and speak clearly. We were also told to rise as he came into the room, as you would for the President.

The mayor was a very kind, funny gentleman. My teacher, Mr. Boiney introduced each of the 20-something students and teachers. The mayor asked us how we liked Matsumoto, and if we liked the food in Japan. Then we were invited to ask him questions, if we were so inclined.

Now, shortly before the mayor entered the room, a woman came over and spoke to Mr. Boiney in Japanese. He then told me that I was going to be interviewed by a reporter for TV! *gulp* There was also a photographer for the paper in the room, and there should be a picture in the paper tomorrow as well.


So, I think I did all right! The reporter asked me to say something about the 10-piano concert, and I said how this was my first time coming to Japan, and also my first 10-piano concert, but that I am practicing hard and looking forward to the concert very much. (I had to say this in several sentences, as someone had to translate it into Japanese.) But thankfully I didn't stutter or anything, and and it went just fine. :)

After we left city hall, Hanna and I and our homestay mother, along with two other students and their homestay mother walked across the street again towards Matsumoto Castle. It is simply amazing! We learned a lot about it, because Kyoko is in training to be a guide there, and she has to memorize it all in English! So she had many things to tell us about the castle. One thing to mention if you ever happen to visit it:

(If you can't read it, it says that the stairways rise at a steep 55 to 61 degree incline. "The stairs between the 4th and 5th floors are the steepest, with each step rising approximately 40 centimeters."

Yeah, yikes! Especially when you're wearing a dress. ;) You also have to remove your shoes before walking through the castle, but I guess that was a good thing for me, because I would have definitely killed myself climbing up those stars in heels.


There is much to say about the history of Matsumoto Castle, as it's been around for over 400 years. But I won't go into detail at the moment. ;)

One of the entrances.

Matsumoto Castle.

View of Matsumoto city from the 6th floor.

From the left, Kyoko; Our homestay mother, me, Hanna, Kristina, Kristen.

After our tour of the castle, we said "goodbye" to the two other students, and Hanna and our homestay mother and I went to a Soba restaurant for lunch. Soba is buckwheat noodles. It was quite good! At the restaurant, you have to take off your shoes and place them on a shelf before stepping onto the tetami (straw) mats.

We made one more stop before returning home...the 100 yen store! They sell pretty much everything there. So we bought a few things to bring back to the states with us. ;)

Back to practicing.....

Day 5 (April 15th) 10:30 PM

Me. :)

Driving by the park.

Cherry Blossoms!

The park and the mountains in the back.

Well, today was our master class lessons, and our first rehearsal! Both went pretty well, but the rehearsal was brutal. Everyone has a lot of practice to do, and it's going to take a huge effort to get everyone to play together.

It is also difficult, of course, to understand what the teacher is talking about when we are rehearsing, because she is speaking rapidly in Japanese, and my teacher, Mr. Boiney can only translate so fast, so sometimes Hanna and I get left behind. ;) So that's a little stressful, but we'll get better.

Just listen for the "HAI!" (Go!)

I'm exhausted! We have to meet the mayor tomorrow, so that means getting up really early. We are also going to visit Matsumoto Castle. I'm looking forward to both. :)

Konbonwa!

Rehearsals and Chopsticks

Hanna's teacher, Ms. Shen called tonight and told us we are having our first rehearsal tomorrow night! We weren't supposed to have one until Thursday, but it's nice for it to be sooner. Yuka has her rehearsal at 6:10 PM, and ours isn't until 8 PM, so we'll probably hang out there until then.

Over dinner we were discussing chopstick techniques. There really isn't a right or wrong way, but some ways are more efficient than others. :) Both Yuka and Hanna hold them very differently, and I hold mine the same as Hiroki does. You do want to hold your fingers towards the top though, rather than the middle. And it helps to hold the bowl of whatever you are eating closer to your mouth as not to spill it all in your lap.

For lunch, we had soup like Ramen noodle soup, with really long noodles in a broth. As we were eating, Kyoko commented that we didn't "slurp." We just smiled and said "oh, I guess not." In Japan, everyone slurps! It's not rude in the slightest. So if you have a long noodle hanging from your mouth, just slurp it up. ;)

Konbonwa from Nihon!

Day 4 (April 14) 6 PM

The Japanese like their Mickey D's! Open wide.

Gas Station

My homestay family's home. See the bonsai? :)

Homestay mother, Kyoko. Driving on the "wrong side."

My roommate, Hanna. (And her ice cream cone)

Paper Origami. Mine's the purple one! :)

Walking yesterday. The river on the right is called Metoba River.
Pictured also is Hiroki on the left, and Yuka on the right.
(Homestay brother & sister)



Pretty mountains and Metoba river again.

Mountains and farm land.

I don't have much to write about today, so I thought I'd post a bunch of pictures. :) Evidently, we had been mistaken about the schedule, because it was only the teachers who were visiting Kataoka Sensei's grave. Oops. So we just hung around today and got some homework done and practiced for a few hours.

So...right now my homestay mother and Hiroki are out buying a motorcycle! Hiroki has been practicing to get his license. (Don't worry mom, no chance of me riding on it!) Then they will pick up Yuka from school.

I have my master class lesson tomorrow...wish me luck!

Mata ne. ;)