Day 1138: Jazz band

After musical rehearsal tonight, many of the cast shifted over to jazz band.  Andy was trying to get the brass to tone it down cause they were drowning out the saxophones.  I thought they sounded bold and exciting.  They were supposed to have their yearbook photo taken tonight, but the photographer forgot.  Lighting on the stage is so harsh that several faces were overexposed.  Steve was impressed that I knew nearly every student's name from when they backpacked with us.

FHS Jazz Band

Kate has a glamorous role this year!

The interview project continues! 

For over twenty years, students have interviewed a family member or friend who had a foreign experience.  I listened to a family in Amy's classroom tonight who was speaking about the impact the project had on their family.  Their son had interviewed his 98 year old great grandfather about serving during WWII.  Many of the stories were new to them and they were surprised at how vivid his memories were.  They will treasure that project forever.  

The project above is a storyboard based on three students'  interviews with my friend Suzanne.  She  is an ESL teacher at the HS now and she guided her students through the process.  She lived and taught in Japan for 26 years before moving back to the states a few years ago.   Back in the early 1990s, we provided three of her Japanese students with American experiences for a few weeks in the summer.  The first was a 16 year old boy named Moichi who we loved very much.  The next two were post graduate students who were preparing for professional presentations to international audiences.  It was a joy to host them and I think they enjoyed their visits.  

She also arranged for me and our son Justin to stay with another one of her students in Yokohama.  He was a thoracic surgeon who practiced in a major hospital in Tokyo.  He and his wife Kumi and their two sons entertained us for two weeks.  Moichi and his family invited us to a traditional dinner in their tiny Tokyo apartment.  

It was in Japan that I found out I am allergic to sushi!  At least the raw tuna type.  I passed out at the table and fortunately, the doctor had medications to treat me.