Yesterday at my mountain school, there wasn't a ton going on because the students had tests all day. Which is to say, they had tests until lunch, ate lunch at the school, and then went home. That being the case, the teachers had the school pretty much to ourselves all afternoon. The fun part came when I was invited to watch the "choir practice". At the Culture Festival, the teachers will sing a song together, and then sing some other songs with the PTA.
I thought I would just get to watch, but it turned out that my English teacher wanted me to try singing with them since part of the song was in English. The only English in the song was "la la la, keep on believing", but I was actually able to sing some of the Japanese since the lyrics were all written in hiragana. It was hard to read fast enough, so I missed a lot of words, but I did much better than I expected. An extra challenge arose when I discovered that the soprano part was too damn high for me to sing, so I was moved to the alto section, which is now comprised of me and the science teacher. I was having a hard time hearing the harmony that we were supposed to be singing, and they even went so far as to run through the song once with just the alto part.
Once they discovered that I could kind of sing along, it was decided that I would sing with them at the Culture Festival. They've even lent me CD with a track for each part (soprano, alto, piano only, etc.) and sheet music so that I can practice on my own. After messing with it last night and for part of the day today, I feel like I've learned the main song pretty well. Sometimes I still can't read all the words fast enough, but I know the notes and rhythm now. I've also started on the PTA songs, and I've got one of them mostly figured out. The other is harder because it's a bit faster and higher. But I've got this weekend and next week to work on it, so I think I'll be alright. And in any case, it's not as if I'm singing a solo, so mistakes aren't that much of an issue.
Beyond making my afternoon a little more entertaining, this was a heartwarming development in that it means I'm being included even more in a school event. This school has always been pretty good about involving me in things, but they've really gone all out this time. I'm singing one song with the teachers' choir, two songs with the PTA, doing the Gaga dance with the 3rd graders, and performing a solo dance. It really makes me feel like I'm part of the school and not just a visitor. Of course, it means I've got some homework to do, but I'm enjoying it. And I think that once the teachers see that I'm willing to put in the extra time, and that I am capable of learning, they'll probably include me even more in the future.
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