Alex's Journal from the December Japan and Korea conservatory trip:
12/10/01 Seoul This morning Ms. Kautsky and Ji-Young had to perform at a music school in Seoul, and the rest of us were left to fend for ourselves in the wild of the Korean marketplace. Quickly filling our shoes as the typical American tourists, we walked only a few blocks from the hotel before being nearly killed by a driver who had no intention at all of yielding to pedestrians. We soon discovered that this was not at all atypical. On the crowded streets of Seoul, pedestrians and vehicles exist on the same plane, both trying to navigate the same narrow streets, both concerned only with their own destinations.
The markets are a sight to behold. Thousands of people moving, shouting, buying, selling, eating, cooking, stitching, making jewelry . . . The remarkable thing is that merchants go head over heels to offer the most impeccable service to even the most ridiculous of tourists, as we certainly were. Therese mentioned in passing to another member of our group that her hands were getting cold, and a shopkeeper suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand and held it firmly against the seat of his heated chair until she had warmed up again. Therese admitted being initially disturbed by the whole thing, but she then recognized the sheer novelty of a stranger offering such a service at no charge.
Next we went to KFC for lunch (only because we had no interpreter, as Ji Young was at the concert, and we needed a menu that we could understand, mostly for me the vegetarian). We sat and talked there for a while and then explored the city’s secret underground life, literally. Seoul’s wide intersections include no crosswalks or “Don’t Walk” signals because, to get from one side of the street to the other one just descends a staircase into an underground tunnel lined with shops and billboards etc. that leads to the other side. After about an hour of subterrainian wandering we found ourselves actually in the basement of our hotel, and proceeded upstairs to rest before we had to observe at a school that afternoon.
12/12/01- Seoul
In the evening we went to a Suzuki school to observe a group lesson/performance. Things seemed pretty typical of what I understand of the Suzuki method. The students start very young, spending a lot of time perfecting their setup and developing technique, via the close and careful guidance of the parents. There were students from 6-11 years old (and one 13 year-old who played the C major Bach prelude beautifully). They played several early Suzuki pieces as a group, the more advanced students playing accompaniments and variations. There were many levels of ability in the class so that the younger students always had sight of what their goals should be, but could also develop the ability to listen and learn critically. One younger student pointed to the 13 year-old during her performance and pointed out to her friend that the older student did not play with her feet flat on the floor as they had been taught.
Each of the students was beautifully set up, and had impeccable posture and position. I noticed no technical issues, but what startled me most was that, even at their young ages, they could play musically. This is very atypical of most young American Suzuki students that I have heard. Even the 9 year-old who played the Sammartini Sonata in G major (admittedly one of my least favorite pieces) treated the piece with a surprising amount of expressiveness if not emotion.
12/13/01- Osaka
Dinner was an adventure. Let me preface by saying that I found Osaka particularly dirty and unattractive. There was an earthquake in the 1970’s and the city has since been rebuilt. Needless to say the entire city consists of the ugly earth tones and lack of natural light that makes Lawrence’s own Seeley G. Mudd Library such a thrilling place to be. Second hand smoke is apparently of no concern to the people of Osaka, and one can’t go anywhere without being accosted by it. Moreover, Osaka is apparently the Las Vegas of Japan. There are pedestrian walks lined with noisy casinos, strip clubs and theaters specializing in adult entertainment.
Anyway, dinner. We wandered into one of these pedestrian walks in search of food. We had no Emi with us, and so it was hard to find places whose menus could be interpreted. We settled at “First Kitchen,” and American style fast food place in hopes that we could point to the pictures on the menu. Therese bravely volunteered to be the first to order. She pointed to the combo meal #3, which contained a personal pizza, fries and a drink, then held up three fingers to reiterate that it was meal number three that she wanted. The employees nodded with understanding and in time delivered her three personal pizzas.
Journals from the Februrary China Trip:
Doug:
At first, Beijing seemed like any other large city, aside from the signs, as we drove to our hotel. However, the one overwhelming difference that I began to notice, and that was reinforced throughout the week, was that Beijing was changing, and massively. The construction everywhere of huge new high-rise apartment buildings and commercial buildings was really astounding. I have never seen so much construction in my life. It is also interesting to notice that the banks are clearly one of the most important institutions right now—most of the biggest buildings were banks, and there were many of them. This construction, along with the razing of many older districts, gives the city a unique diversified character. Next to old hutong areas, there are huge apartment buildings, and everything is sort of just jumbled together, unlike in most American cities.
The historical sites were fascinating and beautiful, but the most exciting part of the day for me was something that happened in the park right outside the Temple of Heaven. It was a Saturday afternoon, and along the covered walkway through the park, there were probably a couple hundred people gathered in groups, some of them playing chess or go, but there were several groups of people singing folk songs. There would be an instrumentalist or two, playing out of what looked like essentially a folk music fakebook, and then a bunch of people singing along, quite enthusiastically, and occasionally dancing a little bit as well. There was one group consisting of an accordion, a tenor sax, and a Chinese mandolin like instrument. It was just really exciting to see people gathered around making music.
Julie:
The part of the trip that I liked most was going to the pre-college for music students. The first day the professors gave master classes most of the day. It was wonderful to see the high technical level of playing of the students there at such a young age. And I know that we all wished that we could have spent more time talking with the students there learning about how they live their lives and how they chose to become musicians at such a young age (you have to audition for the pre-college at 12). The following day we had demonstrations of the Erhu and Pipa. It was fun to learn about how to play them, and how they work. We got to learn about some of the repertoire of those instruments, and how they are used in the orchestra and as slow instruments. We were also able to observe lessons with some of the students of those instruments. It gave us a good idea of how intense studying music there becomes at such a young age.
I appreciate the opportunity to go to China more than I could ever put into words. Seeing such a different culture, and realizing that most people don't live how I do made me think a lot about how I live my life. I haven't really figured out how to put into words just how I feel about the trip, or how it changed me, I just know that it was a good thing. I want to go back someday, but for much longer than six days, and after I've learned a bit of Chinese.
Sarah:
I could not believe it, but members of the Chinese Olympic team were on our flight just a few rows ahead of us. They were wearing pink and red wind suits that said “CHINA” on the back and front. When one of the boys came to put his carry on above my head I asked what sport they did and he answered aerial skiing. It was a little funny because Dan and I thought it was pretty exciting to watch them, and try to hear if they ordered chicken or meatloaf, or what movie they chose to watch, or if they liked soda or juice etc. We noticed that none of the Asian passengers on the plane paid much attention to the team. I don’t know where or when I got the notion in my head that Asian cultures did not show as much emotion as westerners, but walking around Tiananmen Square this was not the case. I saw many families with children and everyone was very happy and excited. Pictures were taken with people being cheek to cheek with arms wrapped around each other smiling. I really liked the fact that smiles were exchanged quite easily between strangers. I do not think that is always the case in large cities. The weather was beautiful and so many people were out flying kites. When I took a look at the people around me I noticed that many were dressed in a more western style, but many people including children, wore colorful and traditional clothing also. Growing up I was always pretty self conscious about being Asian. My parents are both Caucasian as were most of my other school mates. As a child my family moved to Minnesota, Ohio and finally Wisconsin. Whenever I met new friends they would usually ask where I was from and I would say Minnesota or Ohio. Then they would always say no really, where are you from. They meant what nationality was I. I think that made me feel really aware of looking different. One really nice thing about being Korean in Beijing was that I looked like everyone else. No one looked at me or paid any attention to me! This was not necessarily the case for my poor friends Julie and Katie. The Chinese people loved to take their pictures with them because both of those girls have such shiny, bright blonde hair.
I think about my trip to China everyday still. It is not the first thing on my mind always now like it was for a few weeks. I felt so welcome there and we were treated so kindly. I constantly sit and remember parts of my trip and play events over in my mind. It’s crazy, but I only have developed one roll of film from China so far because I still enjoy my memories too much. When I look at pictures too much (which I do) I always feel disappointed because I see it differently than my friends and family. I can see all of the surroundings, see all of the people, hear all of the exterior sounds and feel the temperature of the air that a basic glossy 3’’x 4’’ can not recreate. I constantly think of ways to return and how lucky I was to absorb the experience with friends.