Yesterday, I went to work and was so thankful that one of my students (even though she was my favorite student here because she speaks English very well) had cancelled! I was able to actually get my one hour lunch break which was very nice. I know my mom won't like this, but since I didn't bring a lunch (since I didn't think I had a break), I went to Lawson's, the local convenience store (called a conbini in Japanese). I was going to get something like sweet bread, since almost all bread here in Japan is considered a dessert, but instead I spied something better: chocolate covered peanuts! ^_^ They were so filling, which was great since my stomach had been growling all day before this since I was too busy preparing for my classes to eat any breakfast. I sat on the bench outside, but it started to sprinkle, so I slowly wandered back towards my building and idled around for a bit. I bought a coffee from one of the vending machines in our building and sat on the stairs just to be alone for a bit. Since it was Saturday, hardly anyone was there so I didn't have to worry about anyone wondering why I was sitting on the stairs. A window happened to be cracked on the 4th floor, so I looked out over part of the city and watched the people go about their business. It was really meditative and helped calm my mood. I had to prepare for double-booked students since I'm the only one who works on Saturdays and one student's session ended at 5:55 while a group of students began their session at 5:50! She ended up cutting the last session shorter so that it wasn't a problem, and after work I was able to go to a free piano concert! No one else went with me, but Ms. Maeda literally ran me over to the music hall after work. In Japan, we get Obon week off, which is the week where people go and visit the graves of their loved ones. Ms. Maeda had a flight back home to Tokyo at 8:30 and we got off work at 7! Apparently the music hall was on the way to her apartment, so she ran me over there so I wouldn't get lost. As we were running, she asked me if I liked classical music and I said I did. I asked her if she liked it and she said it makes her sleepy :P She is adorable, if she wasn't in a higher position than me, I'd hug her ^_^ She's so much fun even though she's older, and she's so sweet.
I wandered down the stairs and with many "dozo"s and bows, I was directed to the music hall. I had to sit for a bit and wait since she was in the middle of playing, and when I went in, I stood in the back with a few other people. The music hall was fairly small, but beautiful. It had a deconstructionist design where the bottom of the bricks were flush with each other, but as it reached the ceiling, they began to protrude irregularly. The walls also began to ripple in huge waves as it wound closer to the front of the stage. She played with such precision, and was able to perfectly render every loud and soft note to the degree that was intended by the composer. I was amazed at how accurately she followed the difficult patterns of the notes, emphasizing them to form a beat. When I played piano and the violin, this was one of the most difficult things for me, figuring out the beat and which notes have to be emphasized in order to create the right sound. As I listened, my mind was drawn into Debussy's world of grey contemplation, like a memory of childhood that almost faded.
After the intermission, I waited for everyone to be seated, and then found an empty seat. I didn't know how to ask if a seat was available so I waited until the last second! I was very glad that I went, and thankful that we have generous students who give us free food and free concert tickets! One of the girls who works with us is also a student, and last week she brought us each a quarter of a watermelon! This week she brought us each a bunch of huge grapes! I am so fortunate to have this job ^_^
Here's the program from the concert, as well as the giant grapes. Look at the size of them compared with my hand!
Anyway, I got side-tracked there . . . after the concert ended, we all rushed out into the rain. Thankfully, the rain had been unpredictable that week already so I learned to bring my umbrella in spite of what the weather websites said. I couldn't fall asleep, so I drank some of the wonderful Bailey's Irish Cream (one of my favorites) that Marc had left in my apartment! I feel so much more free out here, I never would've gone to a concert by myself in America, I'm not sure why. I think because everything's so new I feel like I should try more new things :P
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