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China time and date:
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Toddle-loo to Qufu, Say Hi to Mt. tai!
Hi Everybody!
Well, a busy three days in store as the group makes its works its way through the maze leading to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. First up on the agenda, was the farewell banquet. These banquets are a really big deal. This is a chance for the host school/town to honor our students for their participation and contributions. It is especially important for JE to honor and thank everyone for their huge generosity and accommodations. And another new stopover, Rizhao earns a hearty “thank you” as well.
And now it is time to move on.
Here’s Tom to brief us on the day’s events:
We had an excellent class on Chinese folk instruments yesterday. JE kids from a year ago (JE2007) may recognize some of the student performers in the photos of that session. The Zheng, Yang Qin, Pipa and Diza (bamboo flute) were some of the instruments that were demonstrated for our group. The session was inspiring, to say the least. One fine young man gave Alyssa Dolan a lesson on the flute yesterday afternoon and then again last evening. These students are so welcoming and helpful. Rizhao is a great place to be.[Tom]
 First up are photos of the lecture on traditional Chinese musical instruments. Past principal of Leland & Gray Union High School, Bill Lincoln, was to taken by these instruments, he purchased and donated several to the school. These instruments are quite unique. Find out more:
Okay, so let’s dim the lights and turn on the slide projector (remember slide projectors?). Can you get the lights? Thank you.
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Looks like Bo (left) is playing a traditional American instrument!
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Here’s Taylor Horn to give us the inside scoop on the class and performance that followed. What say you, Taylor?
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Taylor Horn, Rizhao, China 4/11/08
We slept in this morning before departing for a lecture on Chinese folk instruments. As with the other lectures, I was dazzled from start to finish. Kids only a couple of years older than us got up and played some of the most beautiful melodies I had heard in a long time, four feet from where I was sitting. An opportunity in the States would only, if ever, come at a very high price.
Looking up at the boy playing the bamboo flute, I tried to draw more parallels with the States but it was hard. In America, it has become cool, especially for kids, to dislike whatever you are doing. Kids try to act too cool to be excited or passionate about something. The kids sitting in front of us were pouring their hearts and souls out for a classroom full of 23 ordinary American students, something that I, as a performer, would find difficult, if not impossible. Kids in America are afraid to put themselves out on a limb like that, which I think is a big loss to our culture. As we were serenaded by the pipa, a lute-like instrument, I gained a new appreciation for these kids and a bit of nostalgia for that sort of intensity in us.
After the lecture, we went for lunch and then onto the campus again for rehearsal. We needed to do some lyrical changes for the song, “Three Treasures,” so that began the rehearsal. We only ran some of the show as time allowed, and then it was another two-way trip to the hotel and back for dinner.
When we walked back into the auditorium that had been dead only a few hours before, it was already full of people, this nearly a half-hour before we were to start.
As always, I was not that hyped until I faced the audience after my entrance for the first piece. So many eager faces gazing up as if we were going to explode in a burst of confetti, eager to see what we could do. Our job as performers is to fool them into thinking that we can do something, which is exactly what we did. Our group’s energy grows with every performance and we get better and better. This performance is bringing us and our audiences closer and closer together and that’s what the whole thing is about. That’s why we are here.
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 As Taylor mentions, after the musical instrument session, the gang then went on to rehearse for their final performance before leaving for Hohhot. Once again the audience was plentiful and enthusiastic. Our JE group has definitely responded to the high degree the Chinese embrace performers, on and off the stage. The Chinese audiences really help to get the juices flowing and the vibes happening at each of these shows! They light up the stage and show they are fats becoming seasoned performers. There is nothing like performing for an energetic and responsive audience!
And here they are, performing one more time . . .
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So, Let me Introduce to You . . .
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Here’s Tom with what is happening next:
We leave here (Rizhao) early to go to Mt Tai and then we will stay at the Simpson Hotel in Jinan tonight. We have a 5 A.M. wakeup call [Sunday] morning and fly to Hohhot through Beijing. [Saturday and Sunday] are both going to be long days. It will be good to settle down in Hohhot for a while. [Tom]
Mt. Tai is a cool place. It is one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism. Check it out. And the group will get to travel through Beijing, so they might get a chance to see some of the Olympic preparations!
Here are some photos of the group’s trip to Jinan:
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On the
Road Again
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The group has safely made it to Jinan. Here’s Tom on the latest:
We are now safely ensconced in the Yuquan Simpson Hotel in downtown Jinan, the capitol of Shandong Province. I have been here many times and continue to be amazed at the amount of growth; new highways, new buildings, new everything. The kids are with Carol, Vera and Kurt, visiting the Silver Plaza Shopping Centre right next to the hotel. Big, modern mall. They are in pig heaven. [Tom]
Okay everybody, next up, photos of the visit to Mt. Tai.
Enjoy your weekend. Looks like the JE gang is enjoying theirs!.
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