We had a student performing in an auditioned choir from the Shimonoseki area. Of course, we went to support her but I was excited to hear a choir. They were wonderful--my ears were rejoicing! Their smiles reached their ears and their energy was contagious. We heard a variety of selections: Japanese animae (cartoon) theme songs, English songs translated into Japanese like "la la la la life goes on", and a traditional Japanese story put to music.

The evening also consisted of having the cleaning lady at school wave us down and invited to sit with her family. She even gave us a bag of candy to munch on during the two hour concert! Seeing darling six year olds singing solos, kids of all ages dancing to perfection, legends being sung in theatrical ways, and kids 6-18 lifting their voices in unity. It was lots of fun to see students doing something that they obviously love.