This morning Stacy and I got up early to meet with BYUH graduates Kwon Nam (Ryan) Lam and Sonomi Nakashita. We ate an early breakfast, enjoying the view from the hotel breakfast buffet. Shortly before 9:00 a.m. we met Ryan and Sonomi in the lobby and realized that they had not yet had breakfast. We then went to McDonald’s and enjoyed spending time getting caught up as Ryan had a big bowl of macaroni noodles with pork chops!
From there we went to the MTR (Mass Transit Railroad-Subway) for a short journey to Hollywood Street to search for a traditional Chinese landscape painting to take home. The short journey on foot was interesting: fruit stalls which sold durian fruit—stinkier than tofu—and a restaurant with a couple of forlorn snakes in the window (they probably contemplate which stomachs they would end up in by nightfall everyday!).
Upon our arrival, we saw exquisite shops selling antique sculptures, art and furniture. One shop even sold dinosaur eggs. The ivory carvings of mammoth tusks were intricate and detailed—an amazing feat of artistic craft and curiosity. After wandering through several shops we came across one that had several large vases with pictures painted on the outside. One looked like the composer Johannes Brahms, but turned out to be Karl Marx (we should have recognized Lenin and Mao there too!). Eventually we found our painting and returned to the hotel.
From there it was a bus ride to the Dragon Centre Mall for the next performance. We shopped to try and find something for our oldest daughter Sydney—eventually settling on a watch.
The rest of the day was spent at the concert hall. First, a rehearsal for the whole choir, then the concert, followed by greeting members of the audience. Upon our return home Stacy and I walked to the Ireland Potato outdoor shop and enjoyed amazing fries with some cream and hot honey mustard.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Dustin Geddes—Utah, Accounting, Bass II
Today seemed to be a day of illness. It’s a good thing we were blessed with a few precious hours of free time this morning so people could rest and recuperate. We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 1:00 after over a week of call times before 9 a.m. I for one was grateful.
My goal on this tour has been to stay healthy, and I tell everyone that I refuse to get sick. I am achieving that goal. Jessica Jane Hagemeister enlightened me on a couple reasons why I stay healthy when traveling abroad while everyone around me falls ill: my day-to-day life already involves the constant eating of weird food and minimal sleep, so my body's already used to it. But I think it’s mostly mental. Since I have decided I won’t get sick no matter what, my body is obeying.
Several people were not feeling well and did not participate in our second performance at the nine-story Dragon Centre Mall. Our two twenty minute performances still went well, however. Shoppers got a kick out of us dressed in our Aloha wear, singing and dancing our Polynesian songs. Despite the illnesses, the choir in general seemed to be in good spirits.
After two twenty-minute sets and an hour or so of shopping at the mall, we made our way to the Polytechnic University to prepare for our last major concert of our tour. It was interesting and a bit eerie to see sick choir members sleeping in the aisles and on-stage in the time leading up to the show. The Lord really blessed us because almost everyone who was not feeling well was able to pull it together and perform.
I felt the concert was one of our best. It wasn’t perfect, but it seems like we have ironed out most of the kinks and are singing at a level of professionalism and unity that comes after performing with the same fifty people every day for two weeks. I love singing with the choir and I know I will be very sad when I sing my last notes tomorrow after four years of singing in Concert Choir.
My goal on this tour has been to stay healthy, and I tell everyone that I refuse to get sick. I am achieving that goal. Jessica Jane Hagemeister enlightened me on a couple reasons why I stay healthy when traveling abroad while everyone around me falls ill: my day-to-day life already involves the constant eating of weird food and minimal sleep, so my body's already used to it. But I think it’s mostly mental. Since I have decided I won’t get sick no matter what, my body is obeying.
Several people were not feeling well and did not participate in our second performance at the nine-story Dragon Centre Mall. Our two twenty minute performances still went well, however. Shoppers got a kick out of us dressed in our Aloha wear, singing and dancing our Polynesian songs. Despite the illnesses, the choir in general seemed to be in good spirits.
After two twenty-minute sets and an hour or so of shopping at the mall, we made our way to the Polytechnic University to prepare for our last major concert of our tour. It was interesting and a bit eerie to see sick choir members sleeping in the aisles and on-stage in the time leading up to the show. The Lord really blessed us because almost everyone who was not feeling well was able to pull it together and perform.
I felt the concert was one of our best. It wasn’t perfect, but it seems like we have ironed out most of the kinks and are singing at a level of professionalism and unity that comes after performing with the same fifty people every day for two weeks. I love singing with the choir and I know I will be very sad when I sing my last notes tomorrow after four years of singing in Concert Choir.
Joseph Woodruff—Idaho Falls, Idaho, Vocal Studies, Tenor II
Sickness swept the choir all week long, but it was particularly bad on this day. We had been spending too much time talking and many had begun to lose their voices. Consequently, e were given time in the morning to recuperate and do whatever we wanted. The extra time to sleep was more than needed for some. Others took the transit system over to the the Dragon Centre ahead of schedule to shop and have a hoot in the mall. Sone [Naunau] found an all new low price for ties: 18 for $260 HK, which comes down to about $1.5 US per tie. Several others went ahead of the group as well.
We all met up that afternoon to perform our second to last venue, however several members were too sick to perform. Teren [Taniuchi] and Tori [Silfverberg Simpson] were both too sick to be there, as well as others. During the performance, some of us had to go off stage and sit down. At one point, both the people on either side of me were down and out. All in all, the choir was hurting health wise. Many sought blessings, and our prayers were answered, more especially that evening at the concert.
Following more shopping and ice cream filled waffles, we traveled to Poly U and prepared for our show. Back stage, the bathrooms were generally packed with poor souls with the squirts. Sone fell ill and was missing from our rehearsal—no one knew where he'd gone. Later he said he could hear everything we said but didn't have the strength to get up and join us right away.
When it came time to perform, more blessings were given, and many promises of health were granted. Many, if not all of the choir was able to perform at their best ability. Sone, Mark [Serrao] and Teren were all very sick, but through the grace of our Lord, they danced as well as they ever had. Sone was able to get the rougher Hong Kong crowd to loosen up and have a good time. In fact, he was even able to get them to clap and cease clapping by raising and lowering his hands.
Following the concert, I asked Brother Johanson how it went. He said that it was the best yet here in Hong Kong. My heart was touched. There was nothing short of the divine help that would allow a choir as sick as we were and as vocally drained and tired as we had become to perform our best yet. The people I talked to had nothing but great comments. The director of the boys choir that sang with us was equally impressed and was very, very grateful that we could sing with her little ones. My feelings while talking with her are that she would be willing to have the exchange we had with her children again in a heart beat.
Following the concert, some of the choir went to the restaurant called the Modern Toilet. :) It is a place which uses see through toilets as chairs, squatters (eastern style toilets) for plates and other toilet paraphernalia for the various things you need at a fancy restaurant. Other choir members caroused the Lady's Market and several of us opted to eat some standard American food from McDonald's/ Burger King. Many searched for a way to spend all of their money. Seeing as we wouldn't have to be in the lobby till 12:45 the following afternoon, there was plenty of time to do whatever the heart desired.
All in all, we were richly blessed. As His servants, the Lord took extremely good care of us. In the words of my father, when the Lord wants something done right, it will happen. This day, we were able to represent His University well. I'm sure Hong Kong is the better for it.
We all met up that afternoon to perform our second to last venue, however several members were too sick to perform. Teren [Taniuchi] and Tori [Silfverberg Simpson] were both too sick to be there, as well as others. During the performance, some of us had to go off stage and sit down. At one point, both the people on either side of me were down and out. All in all, the choir was hurting health wise. Many sought blessings, and our prayers were answered, more especially that evening at the concert.
Following more shopping and ice cream filled waffles, we traveled to Poly U and prepared for our show. Back stage, the bathrooms were generally packed with poor souls with the squirts. Sone fell ill and was missing from our rehearsal—no one knew where he'd gone. Later he said he could hear everything we said but didn't have the strength to get up and join us right away.
When it came time to perform, more blessings were given, and many promises of health were granted. Many, if not all of the choir was able to perform at their best ability. Sone, Mark [Serrao] and Teren were all very sick, but through the grace of our Lord, they danced as well as they ever had. Sone was able to get the rougher Hong Kong crowd to loosen up and have a good time. In fact, he was even able to get them to clap and cease clapping by raising and lowering his hands.
Following the concert, I asked Brother Johanson how it went. He said that it was the best yet here in Hong Kong. My heart was touched. There was nothing short of the divine help that would allow a choir as sick as we were and as vocally drained and tired as we had become to perform our best yet. The people I talked to had nothing but great comments. The director of the boys choir that sang with us was equally impressed and was very, very grateful that we could sing with her little ones. My feelings while talking with her are that she would be willing to have the exchange we had with her children again in a heart beat.
Following the concert, some of the choir went to the restaurant called the Modern Toilet. :) It is a place which uses see through toilets as chairs, squatters (eastern style toilets) for plates and other toilet paraphernalia for the various things you need at a fancy restaurant. Other choir members caroused the Lady's Market and several of us opted to eat some standard American food from McDonald's/ Burger King. Many searched for a way to spend all of their money. Seeing as we wouldn't have to be in the lobby till 12:45 the following afternoon, there was plenty of time to do whatever the heart desired.
All in all, we were richly blessed. As His servants, the Lord took extremely good care of us. In the words of my father, when the Lord wants something done right, it will happen. This day, we were able to represent His University well. I'm sure Hong Kong is the better for it.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Ashley Curtis—Alberta, Canada, Biology, Alto II
We got to “sleep in” today, we didn’t meet until 9:15. Woohoo! Then we piled on these really uncomfortable buses to travel to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. It’s the biggest outdoor, sitting Buddha in the world (or something like that). And today was Buddha’s birthday—kind of cool eh? So there were lots of decorations and people praying but it was still fun. Buddha is huge! And there’s a lot of stairs going up to it (it’s on a hill) and it’s like a million and three degrees Celsius outside and super super humid so I melted but it was all worth it.
The mountains and islands here in Hong Kong are so beautiful and misty—they look magical. On the way down from Buddha there are lots of shops and market stores near the Po Lin Monastery where Big Buddha is—I bought lots.
After the monastery we went to lunch in Tai O at a little restaurant that is apparently famous. It’s a cute little fishing village. We had shrimp—with the heads, feet and tails attached. Some girls had problems eating it. Then they brought out chicken—WITH THE CHICKEN HEAD on the plate! Crazy! But worst of all—Dustin [Geddes] ATE the chicken head! Words cannot describe the feeling that made in my stomach. They served other authentic Chinese food and surprisingly a lot of it was very good. I enjoyed lunch.
We then had a long drive back to the hotel to pick up stuff we’d need for the concert. Then we went to Polytech University to rehearse. We sang with a couple groups of young children for the concert. The concert went great, but the audience was not very lively. And that was it.
The mountains and islands here in Hong Kong are so beautiful and misty—they look magical. On the way down from Buddha there are lots of shops and market stores near the Po Lin Monastery where Big Buddha is—I bought lots.
After the monastery we went to lunch in Tai O at a little restaurant that is apparently famous. It’s a cute little fishing village. We had shrimp—with the heads, feet and tails attached. Some girls had problems eating it. Then they brought out chicken—WITH THE CHICKEN HEAD on the plate! Crazy! But worst of all—Dustin [Geddes] ATE the chicken head! Words cannot describe the feeling that made in my stomach. They served other authentic Chinese food and surprisingly a lot of it was very good. I enjoyed lunch.
We then had a long drive back to the hotel to pick up stuff we’d need for the concert. Then we went to Polytech University to rehearse. We sang with a couple groups of young children for the concert. The concert went great, but the audience was not very lively. And that was it.
Ashley Curtis—Alberta, Canada, Biology, Alto II
We got to “sleep in” today, we didn’t meet until 9:15. Woohoo! Then we piled on these really uncomfortable buses to travel to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. It’s the biggest outdoor, sitting Buddha in the world (or something like that). And today was Buddha’s birthday—kind of cool eh? So there were lots of decorations and people praying but it was still fun. Buddha is huge! And there’s a lot of stairs going up to it (it’s on a hill) and it’s like a million and three degrees Celsius outside and super super humid so I melted but it was all worth it.
The mountains and islands here in Hong Kong are so beautiful and misty—they look magical. On the way down from Buddha there are lots of shops and market stores near the Po Lin Monastery where Big Buddha is—I bought lots.
After the monastery we went to lunch in Tai O at a little restaurant that is apparently famous. It’s a cute little fishing village. We had shrimp—with the heads, feet and tails attached. Some girls had problems eating it. Then they brought out chicken—WITH THE CHICKEN HEAD on the plate! Crazy! But worst of all—Dustin [Geddes] ATE the chicken head! Words cannot describe the feeling that made in my stomach. They served other authentic Chinese food and surprisingly a lot of it was very good. I enjoyed lunch.
We then had a long drive back to the hotel to pick up stuff we’d need for the concert. Then we went to Polytech University to rehearse. We sang with a couple groups of young children for the concert. The concert went great, but the audience was not very lively. And that was it.
The mountains and islands here in Hong Kong are so beautiful and misty—they look magical. On the way down from Buddha there are lots of shops and market stores near the Po Lin Monastery where Big Buddha is—I bought lots.
After the monastery we went to lunch in Tai O at a little restaurant that is apparently famous. It’s a cute little fishing village. We had shrimp—with the heads, feet and tails attached. Some girls had problems eating it. Then they brought out chicken—WITH THE CHICKEN HEAD on the plate! Crazy! But worst of all—Dustin [Geddes] ATE the chicken head! Words cannot describe the feeling that made in my stomach. They served other authentic Chinese food and surprisingly a lot of it was very good. I enjoyed lunch.
We then had a long drive back to the hotel to pick up stuff we’d need for the concert. Then we went to Polytech University to rehearse. We sang with a couple groups of young children for the concert. The concert went great, but the audience was not very lively. And that was it.
SeungHyun (Sarah) Woo—Hong Kong, Vocal Studies, Soprano II
In the morning, the concert choir members went to see Big Buddha. The Buddha statue was huge. It was amazing. I was impressed how people built the huge Buddha. Many people took pictures around the statue and were busy buying souvenirs.
Then we went to Poly Technic University to perform. The stage was enough to perform greatly. We rehearsed though our voices were tired and we gave our all and the concert went well, thanks to Heavenly Father’s help.
During the performance, I realized again how wonderful music is. I felt the choir and audience became one through our music, even though we all have different languages. Music can influence people in their mind and heart spiritually and emotionally. The choir tour makes me taste great fruit as Lehi said, “which is most sweet above all the I ever before tasted.” (1 Nephi 8:11-12)
Then we went to Poly Technic University to perform. The stage was enough to perform greatly. We rehearsed though our voices were tired and we gave our all and the concert went well, thanks to Heavenly Father’s help.
During the performance, I realized again how wonderful music is. I felt the choir and audience became one through our music, even though we all have different languages. Music can influence people in their mind and heart spiritually and emotionally. The choir tour makes me taste great fruit as Lehi said, “which is most sweet above all the I ever before tasted.” (1 Nephi 8:11-12)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Kaden Peek—California, Political Science, Bass II
Today the choir was split up into two different groups. Part of them went in the morning to a special needs school. The rest of us went to a school for children with special needs. It was absolutely amazing to see all of the kids and feel their spirit. We sang a few songs for them and then we taught them how to play a few games like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” The kids seemed to be having an absolute blast. I met two boys at the school who quickly accepted me as their friend. One of them had a hyperactive disorder and a short attention span so he couldn’t concentrate on any one thing. However, he kept hold of my hand pretty much the whole time and when we sang “I Am a Child of God,” he stopped to listen for a while and became kind of calm. The other boy started singing along with us too. I felt the spirit so strong in the room that I started to cry and I couldn’t really stop until we left. Those kids were so pure and so happy that it brought me great joy to be able to bring a smile to their faces.
Later, the choir all got back together and we went to an all-girls Catholic school. The girls were so excited to see us and they were absolutely adorable! They sang us this song as we came in the doors and seemed to love the performance. Then, afterwards when we went to go and meet them, they would pretty much mob anybody with a camera trying to get in the picture. It was hilarious! We were able to sing “I Am a Child of God” and “Holding Hands around the World” for them as well. The Spirit there was so strong as well that it literally filled the room.
Next, we went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. I always love being in the temple because I get the chance to think and to receive the revelations given to me by the spirit. It really got me thinking about the tour and the purpose of our tour in general. Mainly I started thinking about how much good the choir has done in Taiwan and Hong Kong so far and all of the many lives that we have touched.
Afterwards, we had dinner with President Goo, which was prepared by the Filipino ward. It was delicious! As we sang for them as a thank you for preparing the meal, the spirit touched my heart so strongly that I was almost unable to sing.
After dinner, we went to see the peak, but it was raining when we got there. A few of us decided that we wanted to go and see the view anyways and so we ran out in the pouring rain. We took a couple pictures, but ended up having a bit of a water fight since all of us were soaked by the rain anyways.
We had so much fun today, and I have felt the spirit so strongly everywhere we went. The Lord has truly blessed our choir and has also blessed me by giving me the opportunity to take part in this tour. I have felt the spirit so strongly as we have strived to share our message of peace and love with the people of Taiwan and Hong Kong. My testimony has been strengthened so much and I can only hope that the Lord continues to bless us as we finish our tour!
Later, the choir all got back together and we went to an all-girls Catholic school. The girls were so excited to see us and they were absolutely adorable! They sang us this song as we came in the doors and seemed to love the performance. Then, afterwards when we went to go and meet them, they would pretty much mob anybody with a camera trying to get in the picture. It was hilarious! We were able to sing “I Am a Child of God” and “Holding Hands around the World” for them as well. The Spirit there was so strong as well that it literally filled the room.
Next, we went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. I always love being in the temple because I get the chance to think and to receive the revelations given to me by the spirit. It really got me thinking about the tour and the purpose of our tour in general. Mainly I started thinking about how much good the choir has done in Taiwan and Hong Kong so far and all of the many lives that we have touched.
Afterwards, we had dinner with President Goo, which was prepared by the Filipino ward. It was delicious! As we sang for them as a thank you for preparing the meal, the spirit touched my heart so strongly that I was almost unable to sing.
After dinner, we went to see the peak, but it was raining when we got there. A few of us decided that we wanted to go and see the view anyways and so we ran out in the pouring rain. We took a couple pictures, but ended up having a bit of a water fight since all of us were soaked by the rain anyways.
We had so much fun today, and I have felt the spirit so strongly everywhere we went. The Lord has truly blessed our choir and has also blessed me by giving me the opportunity to take part in this tour. I have felt the spirit so strongly as we have strived to share our message of peace and love with the people of Taiwan and Hong Kong. My testimony has been strengthened so much and I can only hope that the Lord continues to bless us as we finish our tour!
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