�@

�@

Will's Tour Diary - updated daily (ish)!

Will's tour diary - What? Why? When? Where? - Shows - Seminars


Wed 13th December 2000

Fri15/12

Tired. And cold. And this was the last day of the tour.

Toyofuku Primary - one of Jude's schools. A warm reception by friendly teachers (you can nearly always tell from the initial greeting what sort of school it will be. Smiles and hellos = good school. Lack of eye contact and everyone trying to look busy = not so good). Lots of parents too (a good sign - taking an interest in their kids' education). First time we had a child in a wheelchair attend a show - no problems, Genki English is barrier free! Cool show, lunch and then we were mobbed by kids seeking autographs. We wanted to stay and sign everyone's notebook, but we had to flee lest we run late for our next engagement.

Toyokawa Primary wasn't quite organised. The CD player arrived minutes before we were to start so everyone got to see Richard and I jumping around on the stage like lunatics as we tested to see if the CD would jump or not.

Trouble in the ranks. The 1-3 sang well, but there was a bunch of boys delighting in beating each other up during Left and Right. I signalled a teacher to go in. Limited effectiveness. I got Jude to film the interaction for posterity.

The 4-6 kids had just had marathon practice, and it showed. We were doing our 5th show for the day so we knew how exhausted they felt. At first they couldn't muster much volume, and neither could Richard.

We didn't get frustrated with this - it was our last show of the tour so we just laughed and had fun with the whole situation. We were grinning broadly as we ad libbed away. The kids were keen, but they were shattered from their exertions at marathon pratice.

Come the final song it hit us that the tour was over.

We said goodbye, walked offstage and Richard collapsed exhausted against a wall - in clear sight of all the students, who burst out laughing.

Afterwards, in the principal's office Yoshinaga Sensei offered us a drink. "A beer would be good!" I said jokingly. She left the room, and reappeared bearing a tray on which sat 2 cans of Asahi Super Dry.

The teachers proceeded to quiz us a little, starting out innocuosly and then probing slightly.
"How long have you known each other?" asked Yoshinaga, with an ever so slight arching of the eyebrows.
Smiling broadly I replied "It's strictly a business relationship!"
Everyone laughed.

We were completely shattered.

Dinner at Judes. Tomorrow I head back to Ehime - I fly out on the 19th.

Will

Previous Entries

Diary Main Page



Opinions expressed in this diary are personal views of Will Jasprizza. They do  not necessarily represent those of Genki English, especially where he is  making jokes which sounded better at the time!!! Please be understanding!

�@

Copyright (C) 1999/2023 by Richard Graham www.GenkiEnglish.com

�@