This semester I participated in Doshisha\u2019s Piano Circle, and it proved to be a very interesting experience, despite being nothing like I expected.\u00a0 For starters, there was no set \u201cmeeting time\u201d for the circle.\u00a0 Instead, there was just an open room in the Shinmachi campus building where club members could come in, play piano, and talk.\u00a0 I went to the club almost every week, and stayed for a few hours every time.\u00a0 However, I probably played a grand total of about 20 minutes of piano.\u00a0 The rest of my time was spent talking with the club members.\u00a0 We would talk about all sorts of things, from our majors, to our favorite music, to our favorite characters in Super Smash Bros.\u00a0 It was a very informal environment, which I think helped me quickly get comfortable with participating every week.<\/p>\n
Although convenient, the flexible time schedule of the club did have its downsides.\u00a0 Since people could come whenever they wanted, and the club was comprised of about 70 people, I would rarely ever get the opportunity to meet the same person more than once.\u00a0 This made developing any sort of deep connections practically impossible for me.\u00a0 However, although the people would constantly change on a weekly basis, the general atmosphere of the club remained the same.\u00a0 People would often bring their lunches to the clubroom, and just chat with the other members there.\u00a0 Occasionally someone would play the piano, but there was never any real formal practice.<\/p>\n
After seeing this week after week, I came to the conclusion that Japanese students use the Piano Circle as a way to meet new people with similar interests, and keep in touch with friends in a smaller, less crowded setting.\u00a0 Actually playing<\/em> piano is secondary to talking with people and hanging out.\u00a0 When I think about it this way, I feel like this concept is reminiscent of my experiences joining clubs at University of Michigan.\u00a0 While some clubs have serious, regimented schedules, a lot of them exist for the sole purpose of making the campus feel smaller, and providing more opportunities to get to know other people who like the same things that you do.<\/p>\n All things considered, I\u2019m glad the Piano Circle turned out to be the latter kind of club.\u00a0 It was great getting the opportunity to speak with Japanese students in a relaxed, informal setting.\u00a0 However, as I mentioned before, it\u2019s a real shame I didn\u2019t have many opportunities to develop any deep connections with people, as I would often see them only once, and then never again.\u00a0 Despite that, I feel like my participation in the club has taught me a lot about daily student life, and how similar it is to my own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This semester I participated in Doshisha\u2019s Piano Circle, and it proved to be a very interesting experience, de … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080