Choirs & Reasons

Dear Virtual Diary,

The end of November is fast approaching and things are moving along well. It had gotten cold here a couple weeks ago, but recently it has returned to nice cool autumn like weather. The sun is only up for about 10 to 12 hours and I am able to watch it rise from my window sometimes. Those moments are peaceful.

On the 23rd  I will be going to a concert of the city’s (Kure-shi) Boys Choir. I had an opportunity to hear them sing earlier in November and I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to have heard them sing. I have seen more classical concerts in the last 2 months, then this entire year. This seems to be a common thread with a lot of things I have been doing lately. I’ve caught myself saying this many times lately, so I wanted to try to write and see if a reason reveals itself.

The first important factor I need to remember is the culture. Japanese culture, to me, is obviously more interesting than North American culture. And I think this is because I have lived North American culture my whole life. New is always exciting, no?

Second, I live in a small town so the events here are advertised immensely and going to them are really effective ways of experiencing the “local culture”. Teachers as well as local acquaintances are always informing me, as well as reminding me, about these events. I guess my event attendance record has sky rocketed due to such circumstances.

Third, my interest in Gary Snyder. Much of his work is immersed in aesthetics of East Asia. And my motivation to understand the heart of his work motivates me to continue to dive deep into East Asian culture. “Dive” is the perfect word to describe it to, as I cannot swim!

Fourth, moving away from home definitely allows a fresh start. Everything is new, unknown and as a result interesting.

I think these are the four major reasons why I have been saying that kind of phrase more often lately.

マイハート (My Heart)

“Something about leaving your surroundings/

Going to a place where duplicates are never found in/”

Dear Virtual Diary

On October 29th, 2016 I had the opportunity to meet and break bread with マイハート (My Heart). They are a Japanese string quartet made up of 3 violinists and a cellist. I actually got to see them perform twice and they were brilliant.

The fondest memory I have of them is my first encounter with them. The first time meeting them they were wearing full tuxedo ensembles with the tails and all. When they changed into their regular wear they looked like the most regular men you’d ever seen.

I know this may not be especially shocking on the surface, but in a country where status and respect for that status being integral to the entire country’s operation it was very nice to see them not have the higher class, nose in the air, stereotypical attitude. The leader of the quartet is in the Hiroshima Orchestra and from talking to him he seemed more like a regular average joe.

My Japanese language is so-so, but I don’t recall any high browed remarks either.

More so, the men all had a warm glow about them, even before I heard them play. I thoroughly enjoyed our encounter and will sincerely remember that night for quite some time.

We all had dinner together and watched the Hiroshima Carps lose 4-10 to Hokkaido, in the Nippon Series.

I will link some of their work at the bottom of this post.

 

I Miss Things

I miss

An overcrowded home

I miss

The sound of nephews playing

I miss

Mother’s voice

I miss

More books than I could ever read

I miss

Library studies

I miss

Conversations with Nabil until dawn

I miss

Crushing on women and enjoying the feeling

I miss

Drives to clear my mind

I miss

The smell of Mother’s cooking

I miss

Scooby Doo laughs of Sister

I miss

Complete Understanding

I miss

Control

I miss

Visits to Powe for inspiration

I miss

Music powwows and the universe with Ian

I miss

Softball with the kind hearted

I miss

Head Space

I miss

Never hitting my head

I miss

Small talk in the morning

I miss

Deer under the Burnhamthrope bridge

I miss

Any cuisine I want

I miss

Complaining about bad dates

I miss

Basketball courts with Dane