Keeping On

Well the semester is definitely beginning to come to a close. You can feel all the tension and stress building up as papers are written, tests taken, projects presented and of course, the infamous Christmas with Wartburg (CWW) performances that are just around the corner. After working separate ensembles, we have finally begun to come together in Neumann Auditorium to put the finale and hymn/audience sing-alongs together. I must admit the finale is kind of weird, but people say it sounds good all together from an audience prospective, so I guess that's good. There is a reason the band music for it isn't all that music-like, but we won't go into here in case people's feelings are hurt. Anyway, performances are the following dates and times:

Dec. 3-7 Wed 5pm invitational Neumann Auditorium
Thurs 7:30pm openning performance Neumann Auditorium
Fri 7:30pm Nazareth Lutheran Church Cedar Falls
Sat 7pm Des Moines Civic Center
Sun 3pm Neumann Auditorium

For tickets/info call Wartburg College and we'll try to hook you up!


Friday starts Thanksgiving Break, and after that, there are 3 weeks total until the end of semester I believe. Hurry and catch up!!!! It's all downhill from here! Buckle up and enjoy the RIDE!

Nearing the End

Today is our last full day of exploring everything Japan has to offer. Tomorrow we will head back to Tokyo for some last minute sight-seeing and shopping and then we will be on our way to Hawaii. This trip has felt like ages, yet at the same time , I have no idea where the time went. It seemed like yesterday we were boarding that plane for probably the longest flight in our lives.

We are currently in Uto, Japan, and today is our free day with our host families. As I said, when we arrived Friday, we got to experience some Japanese culture first hand. We began as a big group, learning the art of making sushi. There were four types of fish-yellowtail, salmon, tuna and shrimp (which I guess isn`t necessarily fish) that we used, along with a little wasabe, and a small ball of rice. After wetting your hands, you take a small ball of rice in your right hand, get a little bit of wasabe on the index finger of your right hand to wipe onto your meat of choice, lay the meat on top of the rice and press it down until it is attached to the rice. VOila! Sushi!

After sushi, we went in our pre-determined groups to experience our activitites. I started with archery, which in Japan is actually a form of meditation and art, versus a sport in the US. There are a lot of special steps and moves you do before you even get ready to shoot the arrow. It`s very relaxing and very cool to watch.
Next we got to learn how to play Sakura Sakura on the Japanese kuto, the thirteen stringed traditional instrument in Japan. It was fairly easy, but really cool to learn. I wish we had gotten more time there.
Our last activity was a tea cermony. We didn`t get very long there, but there`s a whole process of pouring the tea for each other, bowing, praying at the shrine and of course eating the sweets and drinking the extremely green, green tea. That`s about the only tea I have discovered I like though.
My group didn`t get to do taiko drumming, but we got to watch anothing group learning rhythms, patterns and chants that go along with some of it. It looked like a lot of fun!

Our last thing before we met our host families was the planting of some of the Hydrangeas we sent to Uto from Waverly. Dr. Hancock and band council members got to help plant the beautiful hydrangeas and the rest of us took lots of pictures. There are even plaques stating where the hydrangeas came from, so we will always be a part of Uto City.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday, three ensembles played at three different elementary schools. I was in the flute ensemble that played at one of them, and it was so much fun! We got to hear the middle s chool students play some songs for us on accordions and percussion, and then the whole school sang the school song and If You`re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands. We could actually sing along with that.
The flute ensemble then played some pieces, Professor Cawley played her cool yet different solo, and then we taught some of the students how to play the flute using our headjoints. It was quite the experience for all of us, since we`re not quite able to communicate with each other. It was lots of fun though, and all of us got pictures with origami flags on them as gifts. I know some of the other schools gave Wartburgers paper crane/flower necklaces that were really neat too.

The concert last night was a great end to a great year. It was sad for the seniors that are leaving, and those of us who really look up to them. However, we all played well and had a good time. The concert began with a traditional Japanese dance and drums with people dressed up as an animal with horns. It was soo cool, even with its length and repetitiveness. Then we listened to the combined middle school and community band, and then it was our turn. After the concert, we left with our host families.

Today we are exploring Uto with our host family, hopefully buying some wooden swords to bring back home, and at 5pm I have an ensemble concert in Ichi New Town park. Supposedly, we`re supposed to have the biggest crowd ever. I guess we`ll see, but it`s a little intimidating. Well I suppose that`s enough for today, and I must make my other internet rounds. Thanks for reading my posts! See you in a few days!! Jen

On Our Way

We are currently waiting for the bullet train to take us to Uto. Today is the day where we get to try our hands at some Japanese culture. We picked from six different activities: Taiko drumming, meditation, archery, tea ceremony or Japanese instruments. After our first pick, we will get to experience a few of the others and we also get to learn how to make Japanese sushi. We are in our last home stays for the next 3 nights and then it will be back to Narita for some last minute shopping before we catch the plane headed to Hawaii.

I can`t believe how fast the time has flown. We have 3 days left in Japan, 2 in Hawaii and then we come back. We have very little time left as the 2006~2007 Wartburg Wind Ensemble, and seniors have about a week left with us at Wartburg. As many have said during devos, ``Dont take this time for granted, because it goes sooo fast!`` Well we are getting ready to head out, so that`s it for now.

Thanks for reading my posts! Hope everyone at home is hanging in there! Jen

Hiroshima

Sorry about the posts that didnt show up before I was reading everything in Japanese and didnt know what exactly I was pushing.

We are in Hiroshima right now at a youth hostel. Im in a room with 18 other girls, and everyone else has doubles or triples, so it might get interesting. Its a good chance for us to get to know each other a little better though, so we`ll see how it goes.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Peace Park to look at the memorials and story left from the A bomb. We are taking 1000 plus paper cranes to leave at the Memorial, so that is really cool.

Well I have to pay to use the computer, so I will write more later. Sorry again for not being able to see the posts. I finally figured out how to set the language to English. Catch everyone again soon!!! Jen

Japanese home stays

We are currently in Osaka, Japan for the night with our second Japanese host families. Before Osaka, we spent 3 days in Utsonomiya with host families, seeing some sights, eating traditional Japanese food and becoming part of a family. Some people did not speak much English at all, and that was really hard for lots of students, but many of us also went alone into Japanese families to see what life is like. My family had two children and two parents and they lived in a small two-story house near some rice paddies. I learned some Japanese phrases, tried lots of new food like rice cake, squid and miso soup and quickly became very comfortable with the daily routines of family life. My host mother spoke very good English and I got a chance to talk with her and her kids about anything and everything. It was so much fun! When we departed this morning, we sang Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow and the Loyalty Song, and afterward, many people, both students and hosts were crying, because they were sad to leave each other. I hope to some day get back to visit my wonderful family again. They have forever changed me and helped me to understand Japanese culture a lot better.

Tonight for dinner we had a catered buffet style meal with lots of seafood, chicken, sushi, salad and other dishes for us to share with the students of Osaka. We ate and played our concert at the same school that our own Aayako Toyama attended when she was younger. It`s an all girl school, so the boys were a little out of place, but the girls kept taking pictures with them and we all had a great time eating and talking to one another.

Later today we head to Nara, Aayako`s birthplace to tour the city with guides and get more of a taste of what Aayako calls home. I am excited to experience more of what Japan has to offer!

Another thing I got to experience for the first time tonight was a hot spring here in Osaka. They have hot spring places to soak, jets like in a hot tub, saunas and a cool water pool also. It was quite the experience, considering it`s only for women and children on one part and men on the other. Also, you do not wear anything into the springs or sauna, so that was a bit awkward, but it`s quite natural for the Japanese in the springs, so it wasn`t bad at all.

Well it`s late and we have a long day ahead so that`s all for now! Sayonara! ~Jen

In the Navy.... or just on the base.

We are currently stationed on the Yukosoka Naval Base and in the cities around it in our first Japanese home stays. Actually the people we are staying with are American and have incredible stories of all the places they've been, but it's still a little taste of Japanese homes and such. Yesterday we saw the largest Buddha statue in Kamakura and even got to go up inside the statue. Then we spent the rest of our time trying Japanese food, buying souvenirs and walking the streets in Kamakura. Most people tried some Japanese ice cream or popsicle-type thing ... they have some interesting flavors like soda, green tea, bean ( I think it's like vanilla)... They even had a 100 yen shop which is kind of like a dollar store in the states, but because of the exchange rate, is more like a 90 cent shop. It was really neat to see something like that. So far everyone is still getting along and having fun. We're all anxious and excited for our real Japanese home stays starting tomorrow. Hopefully there will be more time for me to write soon. ~Jen

Destination:Japan

Well we have touched down and have spent our first full day in Japan. Yesterday we took a walking tour in small groups all around Tokyo with Japanese guides. We saw Kabuki theatre, small shops, ate Japanese cuisine and even got to go up to the 30th floor of an apartment type building to see Tokyo from a bird`s eye view. It was amazing! Today we head to the naval base and have our first concert in Japan there. It should be fun. We are slowly but surely being introduced to a different kind of life and culture here. It`s great! So many life and culture here. It`s great! So many of us don`t want to leave Tokyo and we`ve only been here one day！!! Well we`re taking off soon...All for now! _Jen_