It's been a while, a long while. And a lot has happened. Get comfy because this could take a while.
So, the first interesting thing I did was go for a hike. It was a 4 day hike in the mountains of Tokyo prefacture, basically somewhere in this region, just west-northwest of the lake. It was part of what CAJ calls "School With Out Walls" or SWOW week. The entire 11th grade class goes into the wilderness with backpacks and hikes from one point to another. Food is packed as well as a sleeping bag and fly sheets for places to sleep and "shelter" I had 9 students in my group and we ended up hiking to the the highest point in Tokyo which stands at a nice 2017 meters above sea level (6,617 feet). We hiked 5 hours on the first day, 6 hours on the second, 9 on the third day, and a quick 3.5 hour jaunt to catch a bus at 8am on the last day. All with a 60lb backpack. I didn't get an official measurement, but it was around there. Did I mention was sick? Photos are on my facebook.
It was a lot of fun and something I would look forward to doing again. The students I had were amazing and I was thoroughly impressed with how they handled themselves. It was a tough task for all of them and they came through it all together. The first day was pretty rough because no one had any idea of what we had gotten ourselves into, but they kept the course and constantly encouraged each other. Day 2 was in a cold rain up to the highest point, but it was by far the easiest day of the hike. It was pretty amazing to watch the students grow together as a group each day and see it only get better as the hiking went on.
We got back safe and sound, and all the pictures I took are loaded on facebook. So, now on to something else.
Thrift shop is a biannual event that the school does. I mentioned it in a previous blog post, but it's basically a giant resale of all the missionaries in the communities stuff. The jazz band again played for the event and I was very proud of our jazzers. I had planned on doing 3 tunes, one featuring a tenor sax player, another featuring a alto sax player, and the 3rd was Blue Bossa, however the tenor and alto sax soloists decided to leave for an optional Cross Country trip. Not to worry though, I've got some awesome students who were able to step in and learn the parts in 2 weeks. I was VERY proud of the work they did. Unfortunately no recording yet. I didn't record it and I'm not sure if anyone else did in the crowd. I'll post something if I get it.
Other new things, I'm in an orchestra that's been rehearsing a piece of new music to be debuted this Saturday. It's nothing too flashy, but it's a paying gig and that's big for me right now. The piece itself is a requiem composed by a guy who teaches at the university in which it is being debuted. They have the college orchestra as well as a community orchestra that is performing the piece. It's exciting for me, but not all that much to write about.
Now, for those of you who made it this far you get the biggest information of all. I had a meeting with my headmaster last week and as of right now I will not be back at CAJ next year, and actually have no intentions of staying in Japan. Yes, that's right, as of right now I'm 95% sure i'm heading back to the States next year. I don't know where exactly because that's dependent on a job. So, if you know of any schools looking for a band director, let me know. It's a little unerving right now at the prospect of not having a job next year, but God is faithful and I will be fine. Because some of you are asking, I'd prefer to find a job in VA, but it would be easier to find a job in Chicago or even AZ because of contacts that I've made. We'll see how it goes, I probably wont start seriously looking until after Christmas.
Alright, I'm off to bed.
Peace Out!
So, the first interesting thing I did was go for a hike. It was a 4 day hike in the mountains of Tokyo prefacture, basically somewhere in this region, just west-northwest of the lake. It was part of what CAJ calls "School With Out Walls" or SWOW week. The entire 11th grade class goes into the wilderness with backpacks and hikes from one point to another. Food is packed as well as a sleeping bag and fly sheets for places to sleep and "shelter" I had 9 students in my group and we ended up hiking to the the highest point in Tokyo which stands at a nice 2017 meters above sea level (6,617 feet). We hiked 5 hours on the first day, 6 hours on the second, 9 on the third day, and a quick 3.5 hour jaunt to catch a bus at 8am on the last day. All with a 60lb backpack. I didn't get an official measurement, but it was around there. Did I mention was sick? Photos are on my facebook.
It was a lot of fun and something I would look forward to doing again. The students I had were amazing and I was thoroughly impressed with how they handled themselves. It was a tough task for all of them and they came through it all together. The first day was pretty rough because no one had any idea of what we had gotten ourselves into, but they kept the course and constantly encouraged each other. Day 2 was in a cold rain up to the highest point, but it was by far the easiest day of the hike. It was pretty amazing to watch the students grow together as a group each day and see it only get better as the hiking went on.
We got back safe and sound, and all the pictures I took are loaded on facebook. So, now on to something else.
Thrift shop is a biannual event that the school does. I mentioned it in a previous blog post, but it's basically a giant resale of all the missionaries in the communities stuff. The jazz band again played for the event and I was very proud of our jazzers. I had planned on doing 3 tunes, one featuring a tenor sax player, another featuring a alto sax player, and the 3rd was Blue Bossa, however the tenor and alto sax soloists decided to leave for an optional Cross Country trip. Not to worry though, I've got some awesome students who were able to step in and learn the parts in 2 weeks. I was VERY proud of the work they did. Unfortunately no recording yet. I didn't record it and I'm not sure if anyone else did in the crowd. I'll post something if I get it.
Other new things, I'm in an orchestra that's been rehearsing a piece of new music to be debuted this Saturday. It's nothing too flashy, but it's a paying gig and that's big for me right now. The piece itself is a requiem composed by a guy who teaches at the university in which it is being debuted. They have the college orchestra as well as a community orchestra that is performing the piece. It's exciting for me, but not all that much to write about.
Now, for those of you who made it this far you get the biggest information of all. I had a meeting with my headmaster last week and as of right now I will not be back at CAJ next year, and actually have no intentions of staying in Japan. Yes, that's right, as of right now I'm 95% sure i'm heading back to the States next year. I don't know where exactly because that's dependent on a job. So, if you know of any schools looking for a band director, let me know. It's a little unerving right now at the prospect of not having a job next year, but God is faithful and I will be fine. Because some of you are asking, I'd prefer to find a job in VA, but it would be easier to find a job in Chicago or even AZ because of contacts that I've made. We'll see how it goes, I probably wont start seriously looking until after Christmas.
Alright, I'm off to bed.
Peace Out!
Did you get the email from Dr. Yontz today about the position in WA?
ReplyDeleteCOME BACK TO VIRGINIA!
ReplyDeletejust a thought. :)
-johann
Much love bro, I'll be praying for you regarding the job hunt.
ReplyDelete