The first choir practice I attended at Kyodai University held many surprises for me.\u00a0 That first day, four other KCJS students and\u00a0I were warmly greeted by three choir members at the entrance to the University.\u00a0 They then lead us upstairs to a large room where the rest of the choir was assembled.\u00a0 Members surrounded us and introduced themselves, pointing to their nametags which they all had hanging on strings around their necks.\u00a0 Every single person I talked to made sure to make us feel like we were part of the group.\u00a0 As we participated in the warm-up exercises, the moment we looked confused, or even before we had a chance to, someone was always there to help us along.\u00a0 We went through the routine of stretching, singing while walking, singing while walking backwards and other voice exercises.\u00a0 The new members had their voices examined and I was placed into the Alto section.\u00a0 We practiced with our section and then sang the piece as a whole choir.\u00a0 After practice there was a designated time for people to make
\nannouncements.\u00a0 I quickly caught on to choir rituals such as the established responses to certain phrases.\u00a0 Whenever a member was speaking to the choir he or she announced their name and everyone responded: \u201cWhoa!\u201d\u00a0 If they mentioned a place: \u201cso close!\u201d, a time: \u201cso early!\u201d, a price: \u201cso cheap!\u201d\u00a0 and so on.\u00a0 These responses united
\nthe entire club and created a fun atmosphere while listening to numerous ordinary speeches.\u00a0\u00a0 Once the announcements were finished we met with our section groups one last time before disbanding.\u00a0 The Alto leader gave us a recap on practice and there was time for Alto-specific notices.\u00a0 After some cleaning and a song by the guys,
\nthen girls and finally everyone all together my first practice came to an end.<\/p>\n
Before starting my CIP, I had been warned that it can be particularly difficult to engage Japanese in conversation but, instead, I found that I couldn\u2019t get a word in edge-wise and was shocked by the contagious energy that everyone seemed to be bursting with.\u00a0 After the first day, I left feeling confident that I would quickly make tons of friends.
\nHowever, as time passed and our novelty wore off, students stopped approaching us on their own.\u00a0 I regularly talked to Alto members but otherwise I felt like I was sliding backwards and losing that initial sense of membership.\u00a0 In retrospect, I think joining the circle with five other KCJS members and having that first overwhelming interaction with the Japanese students gave me a false sense of security that ended up reducing my efforts to socialize.\u00a0 Another deterring factor was the number of practices.\u00a0 The students
\nhad most of February off and then when they did meet we were on Spring Break.\u00a0 Despite these drawbacks I do enjoy being a member of the choir and internalizing Japanese social norms.\u00a0 I hope to make the most of the last few practices
\nwe have left and solidify the friendships I have made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first choir practice I attended at Kyodai University held many surprises for me.\u00a0 That first day, four oth … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080