MUSIC FOR HUMANITY. Appreciations. (Staff: Wryneth)

Posing for the camera after the Music for Humanity event.

Fujino, Japan. Wanting to see and play with snow and enjoy the cold breeze of winter but at the same time desiring to keep warm are two things I want to do in Japan simultaneously, but I realized that doing both at the same time is such a challenge after finding out that wearing a complete winter gear is not enough to fight off the nerve-wrecking cold especially for those people coming from the tropical areas and are having their first taste of winter (like me). It is funny to think that I was so excited to feel what winter is all about, and when I am faced with the raging cold breeze, I want to seek the warmth from inside the building at least. But I like winter at a certain level because it allowed me to play with the snow, and maybe, I would like to experience it again (next time I hope I could see snow falling.

 

It is not a winter trip if we haven't experienced a bit  of snow.

Throughout the 6-day trip I had, I proved that winter cold is nothing compared to the warm welcome and appreciation not only of friends but of people who appreciate you even if you meet them for the first time. During this trip, it was in Fujino that I got to meet more new faces but who made nonetheless still made us feel welcome, and I think that is one of the best things about Japanese people. They are generally nice. And that is something that I personally appreciate a lot.

Finding warmth amidst the winter cool. Fresh from the Onsen experience.

Performing our thing in Fujino was also one of probably the times that I felt a deep sense of nervousness especially when we heard that somehow, the people expect us to be good with bamboo musical instruments and that is something that shook each and every one. Also, considering the fact that the real master is not with us to lead us in our performance. And since we had to let go of the comfortable warm clothes for us to be able to slip into our traditional attires so we could showcase it to the people, we also started shaking because of the cold entering our system. It was most challenging for our male companion because he has to only wear a g-string and no underwear and shirts.

With the lovely lively kids who joined our jams.

When we did the performance, we were really happy to see kids with enthusiasm in the audience. We have already been informed that Fujino is a village of artists, but to see little children interested in the culture is something that I personally really appreciate because I know that in my own region, it is a struggle to get the interest of the younger generations. Knowing that we haven’t delivered a close-to-perfect performance makes us feel down but noticing how the young kids had fun was our delight. At the end of the day, I realized that I also fell in love with Fujino and someday, when I learn more, I wanna come back again and share and hopefully learn from them.