Sorry
for the lateness of our blog posts! Internet in the areas where we were
teaching was sparse at best. We have also been so busy it’s been hard
to find time to breathe! This post is written by Brian and Midori about
their first week of teaching.
Week 1, Day 1 (June 5, 2012):
Flying
went very, very smoothly, both the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong,
and from Hong Kong to Manila. Who knew that the shortest path from
Chicago to Hong Kong is through the North Pole? It’s always been my
(Brian’s) dream to be met at a gate by someone with my name on a card,
and it finally happened!
Day 2:
After
2 hours of sleep, we went back to the airport to fly to Northern Samar,
our first stop on the trip. We got to watch a beautiful sunrise over
the islands of the Philippines from the airplane, a real treat.
The
airport at Catarman is the smallest I’ve ever been to, and some of the
residents were on the runway to watch the airplanes land. The only gate
area they had was made of lawn chairs and all that separated it from
the security “checkpoint” (a guard who quickly looked through everyone’s
bag) was a thin plexiglas wall. Very different from the US!
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| Parking lot side of the airport |
We got to
the house, and it is gorgeous, right on the water. It’s hard to not
feel guilty staying here when there is so much poverty surrounding us.
It helped to remind ourselves of how much we’re going to help these
kids. We were all very tired, so instead of teaching today day, we
decided to go and just meet the kids. The kids at the Catarman SPED
School were very polite and gracious, but there were a few more than we
had planned on. We decided to split the 60+ kids into 2 groups to make
teaching easier. These groups would alternate between music and dance
classes during the next two weeks. The Catarman National High School was
an experience: the students had prepared a whole dance sequence for us,
and it was simply amazing.
So much talent. Kendra, Leo and Chelsea are
going to have a lot of fun teaching them! And we’ll have fun, too,
because in my experience if you’re a good dancer, you have a pretty good
musical foundation, too. After a great seafood dinner with Julius, one
of our hosts (including what would become one of our favorite foods,
pancit), we finally got a chance to sleep!
Day 3:
Today
we taught an introduction game called "Shabuya", where you get in a
circle, and everyone says their name and three things about themselves.
The students were understandably shy at first, but we were able to get
through the game with all groups at both schools. We also taught a game
called "Zip, Zap, Zop" where you pass those three words around the
circle and try to stay in rhythm (and say the right words!). We ended by
playing part of the Beethoven Duet for clarinet and bassoon, and asked
the students what they felt while we played. We emphasized that music
(and all art!) is all about communicating a mood, idea, or story, and
that you can change the way you play music according to how you want the
listener to feel.
We
ended this day with a performance at the Governor's Ball. In addition
to the governor, the mayor of Catarman was there, and the contestants
for the Miss Northern Samar 2012 pageant. It was a real treat, and great
to eat freshly cooked pork carved off of a whole cooked pig! Midori
and Brian performed a movement of the Poulenc duet for clarinet and
bassoon, and a American folk-style piece that Brian arranged called
"Till Dawn". Both were well-received.
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| Midori and Brian with Gov. Paul Daza |
Day 4:
Today
we visited the market to get supplies for the rest of our 2 weeks in
Catarman. Grocery choices were limited, but we were able to get about 60
eggs for about $3, ingredients for chicken adobo, spaghetti, and some
basics like bread and rice. The best part, though, was the fresh fruit:
mangos, pineapple, and bananas! Like everything else at the market, the
price of the fruit was unbeatable. We bought half a dozen mangoes for
about $.60. Added to the fresh coconuts we were able to get near where
we stayed, we were in produce heaven.
The
music team continued teaching rhythms using the "Zip, Zap, Zop" game as
a basis. The students grasped the concept of half, quarter, and eighth
notes very quickly! We finished by playing an arrangement Brian did of
Mark O'Connor's "Appalachia Waltz", another American folk-style tune
reminiscent of Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” and “Appalachian Spring.” As we
played we asked the students to draw a picture as if we were the
soundtrack to a movie. They came up with some very interesting ideas,
from remembering a pet who had died, to wind blowing through hanging
laundry in the summer. I hope to be able to scan some of the drawings
and send them to the composer!
Day 5 and 6:
Midori
and I woke up early to see if we could catch the sunrise over the
ocean. It was beautiful.
The rest of the
weekend was spent traveling all the way down the island, across a bridge
to Leyte, finally settling in Palompon. On Sunday we went to a
beautiful island near Palompon called Kalanggaman before traveling all
the way back.
It was a long, winding, hilly drive, but we really got to
see what the countryside in Samar is like, and it is beautiful.