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Japan OELP Day 4
19 December
Waking up to the alarm at 6am, we rushed down to Neuf Neuf restaurant downstairs at 6.30.
By 7.30, we had to get ourselves ready and up the bus, with instruments and bags in tow. From there, we made our way to Wakayama, where the Koyo High School are situated. When we arrived at the school, we were brought on a tour personally led by the Vice Principal, Yukawa-sensei. Yukawa-sensei was once a conductor, and thus, was visibly enthusiastic about the exchange that lay ahead. He told us about the history of Koyo high school, about how the 100th Year Anniversary was drawing near, and how many of their students excelled both academically and co-curriculumly. They prided themselves upon the achievements of their baseball club, which had gained many awards in the past.
The VP, Conductor of KHSSB, Mr Ong.
In a middle of a Maths lesson
In the school library
In the baseball field
Their band was overall champion in the Wakayama prefecture's local competition for the past 30 years consecutively, which was rather intimidating to a tiny band like us. Looking at how they could excel in both their academic and co-curricular pursuits, we were shown that it is possible for people to do well in more than one thing, as long as they put their hearts and sweat into it. We were brought around the school on a tour and attended their mathematics, D&T and music classes. We could see that they paid they full attention to their sen-sei and even our arrival into their classroom could not lead them into transgression. Undoubtedly, we were astounded by their determination to do well in every aspects of their lives.
The music class was an eye opening experience for us. We were led to sit among the Japanese students and was give two music scores - WHITE CHRISTMAS and YOU CAN DO IT! the former being more choral and the latter, body percussion. After the stretching exercises and vocal warm-ups, we bounced into singing the given songs. The body percussion session was the highlight of the lesson. Like, seriously. Lengwei, Emilia, Meihui, Irfan and Shawn went up to the front of the classroom to play the songs using their bells. Everyone had fun. The enthusiasm of some of the students let us understand that we should have fun doing what we doing, and should not let embarrassment be a barrier for us in our lives, be it playing a game, taking part in class discussions or playing a solo part for pieces.
We then moved on to the band practice. We sat in for their warm ups. It was mouth-gappinng because some of them could actually keep their notes always in tune, and know about how sharp or flat they should play when playing chords. After warm up, we played a few pieces from our repertoire, Cincinnatus March, Zapin, Postcards from Singapore and All I Want for Christmas. After playing our pieces, we were led to the front of the room, to hear their performance. It was awesome, and their enthusiasm and expertise could be seen the clarity of their playing, and the gimmicks that they added into the song.
After which we went to Marina City, Kuroshio Market, a fish market, to have our lunch which was shortly followed by a show of Tuna cutting demonstration. The demonstrator was so skilled that he left us in awe and pure astonishment.
The visit to Wakayama Castle was indeed memorable. Seeing all the original amour and footages during the 1850s to 1860s, images of actual warfare gushed into our mind. On our way out, we were required to remove our shoes before stepping foot on the Ohashi Rouka Bridge. Following in on, we took numerous photos in the Japanese garden. We sure had lots of fun!
"We are careful in our heads" (LOL)
Enjoy the video of failed jump shots on FB page :)
The bus then brought us for Yakiniku buffet for dinner. The hands-on experience of barbecue and making of cotton candy in this cold weather climate is certainly etched in our minds.
Everyone was in high spirits on the way back to Ramada Hotel, Osaka for a good night rest. Yet again, we had another fruitful day of learning. Lets all remember to also apply these things we learnt when we return.
Tiny Band with Epic Dreams.
Group 3, signing off~ |
