And now for something completely recent

Oh, travel blog - how we've ignored you over the last few months! Will you forgive us?

So much catching up to do! Trips near and far, new stories, old friends, new projects, old selves.

But this post has nothing to do with any of that, really. This post is about how amazed I continue to be by the kids I teach.

Last Tuesday, there was a sort of regional music competition among local elementary schools. I don't think each school's group performed exactly the same pieces, or even the same styles, but I do know a little about what my school performed. The 3rd graders' homeroom teacher invited me to watch them rehearse on Monday, and agreed to let me come back and tape them at a lunchtime rehearsal. The video below is an example of 사물놀이 ("sah-mul-nol-ee"), which is explained in my cellphone's Korean-English dictionary as "the ensemble of the four farmer's percussion instruments." These kids had this 9 min. piece pretty well memorized for the competition, which blew my mind.

If you watch it to the end, you'll see a special congratulatory message for someone special back home, too. :)



Not bad for 8-12 year olds, eh?