Last weekend, I went back to my home town of Okemos, MI to attend my orchestra teacher's retirement party and concert. One could wonder what's so special about one teacher, but Marilyn Kesler was just that special. She turned a sleepy suburban town's orchestra program into one of the best. She gave me an outlet for my musical interests and provided a community of like-minded musicians for me to grow up with.
The weekend was a great tribute to Marilyn's career. Here's a
Lansing State Journal article about her. There was a nice retirement dinner, of course. But the big thing was the concert. Over 100 alumni, spanning her 42 years of teaching in Okemos, came back to play a three hour concert for her. There were around ten soloists performing in the concert. We put together an alumni symphony orchestra and played three pieces as well. One of these days, I will scan the program and put it online.
I didn't originally plan on playing in the concert. I hadn't touched a violin in over a decade. But during the retirement dinner, old friends convinced me to play. How could you turn them down? The experience turned out to be great. Luckily my friend Brad had an extra old violin in his parents' basement. I was a bit surprised by being able to play. I was able to play the pieces without having seen the music before the day of the concert. I think I played mostly with the right rhythm and in tune. And I remembered a bunch of little things, like various bow techniques and watching the conductor for tempo changes and dramatic effects.
It was amazing to see how many people ended up becoming professional musicians. There were many music professors, members of professional orchestras, and teachers who came to the event. I did not choose a musical career, but it was great seeing friends who did. Sometimes I wish I had the love and the tenacity to do it; I greatly admire those who have such qualities.
The best thing for me was just having a chance to be with this musical community one last time. I saw many old friends at the events. We played together, with Ms. Kesler, every school day for seven years in a row (6th-12th grade). How many teachers did you have who taught you for so long?
I have so many fond memories of music-related things during school. Not only did I do orchestra - I was also a part of the Suzuki program, and I took private lessons. I fondly remember staying after school on Fridays for Suzuki - playing euchre in the hallways, killing time on my friend's Nintendo, and playing Suzuki repertoire pieces as a group during "play-in." I remember going to my lessons with a sense of dread most of the time, fearing that I didn't practice hard enough. My teachers had us play in recitals pretty often. Once during a recital, I drew my bow too far that it popped in the air. Luckily I caught it and was poised enough to continue. I attended a few string camps too. In one camp at Michigan State University, I got to know some of the music stars from neighboring schools. At another camp, I got to experience freedom far from home while playing fun music with other kids from all over the region. We traveled a bit too. There were various solo and orchestra competitions to go to, not to mention trips to places like Chicago and even Germany. Over the weekend, we reminisced about some antics we pulled on these trips, such as short-sheeting other people's beds and playing "superman" in the hallways of a German high school.
Why do I mention these things? At the concert, I heard all these great things that Marilyn Kesler did for my school's orchestra program. I can't top those stories. What I can contribute is my memories of these great times. It wasn't just Marilyn Kesler. Kesler formed the community and brought so much good talent here, but other individuals also made an impact on me personally. Shirley Ploughman (Waverly school district) helped foster my interest in music at an early age in elementary school. Elizabeth Febba (Waverly) got me started in violin in the 4th grade. Jan Burchman was my first private teacher and my first Okemos teacher. And Lyman Bodman was the teacher who helped me elevate my violin playing to a higher level. The last two teachers have passed away; I don't know about the first two. But I hold all their memories dear to my heart. If any of you are reading this (on the internet or in the afterlife), my sincere thanks!!!
P.S... I think I'm going to start playing my violin again. I haven't touched it in so many years. But a few months ago, I took it out of my parents' basement. It's now sitting in my bedroom, close to my bed, but untouched. Stay tuned for future blog posts about my violin...
Today's top ten dish has been high on my list for a long time: the Guacamole at Frontera Grill (website). Frontera Grill is one of Chicago's top restaurants, owned by superstar chef Rick Bayless. There's no surprise that a dish from this restaurant would make it to a top ten list. Yet I bet you may have been surprised that a simple dish such as guacamole (and not the other wondrous items on Frontera's menu) would be the one.
The weekend was a great tribute to Marilyn's career. Here's a Lansing State Journal article about her. There was a nice retirement dinner, of course. But the big thing was the concert. Over 100 alumni, spanning her 42 years of teaching in Okemos, came back to play a three hour concert for her. There were around ten soloists performing in the concert. We put together an alumni symphony orchestra and played three pieces as well. One of these days, I will scan the program and put it online.
I didn't originally plan on playing in the concert. I hadn't touched a violin in over a decade. But during the retirement dinner, old friends convinced me to play. How could you turn them down? The experience turned out to be great. Luckily my friend Brad had an extra old violin in his parents' basement. I was a bit surprised by being able to play. I was able to play the pieces without having seen the music before the day of the concert. I think I played mostly with the right rhythm and in tune. And I remembered a bunch of little things, like various bow techniques and watching the conductor for tempo changes and dramatic effects.
The best thing for me was just having a chance to be with this musical community one last time. I saw many old friends at the events. We played together, with Ms. Kesler, every school day for seven years in a row (6th-12th grade). How many teachers did you have who taught you for so long? 
I have so many fond memories of music-related things during school. Not only did I do orchestra - I was also a part of the Suzuki program, and I took private lessons. I fondly remember staying after school on Fridays for Suzuki - playing euchre in the hallways, killing time on my friend's Nintendo, and playing Suzuki repertoire pieces as a group during "play-in." I remember going to my lessons with a sense of dread most of the time, fearing that I didn't practice hard enough. My teachers had us play in recitals pretty often. Once during a recital, I drew my bow too far that it popped in the air. Luckily I caught it and was poised enough to continue. I attended a few string camps too. In one camp at Michigan State University, I got to know some of the music stars from neighboring schools. At another camp, I got to experience freedom far from home while playing fun music with other kids from all over the region. We traveled a bit too. There were various solo and orchestra competitions to go to, not to mention trips to places like Chicago and even Germany. Over the weekend, we reminisced about some antics we pulled on these trips, such as short-sheeting other people's beds and playing "superman" in the hallways of a German high school. 
P.S... I think I'm going to start playing my violin again. I haven't touched it in so many years. But a few months ago, I took it out of my parents' basement. It's now sitting in my bedroom, close to my bed, but untouched. Stay tuned for future blog posts about my violin...
The main reason we went to Xi'an was for the Terracotta Army (Wikipedia). It's supposed to be the 8th wonder of the ancient world or something. Perhaps the most significant archaeological find of the 20th century. It was pretty amazing to see how much effort they put into crafting these figures. Different types of soldiers, weapons, uniforms. And each one had unique facial expressions!
I was not super impressed, however. All I could think was "why did they do it??" Basically it was so this army could join Emperor Qin Shi in the afterlife. One big ego trip!!! Yes, Qin was a great emperor, being the first to unite China, standardizing language and measurements, and building the first of the Great Wall segments. But still - the dude must have had a god complex! What gives??? Not to mention - they call his reign the Qin dynasty, even though the dynasty consists of only one emperor. That seems a bit silly. At least Mo was able to buy a Terracotta soldier figurine at the market...
If the Terracotta Army was not that impressive, was Xi'an worth the trip? Absolutely. I have already written about how lively and interesting the city is. The other excellent landmark was Hua Shan (Mount Hua), one of the five sacred mountains of China (See Wikipedia). The mountain is about 7000 ft high (2100m) and features five peaks, four of which we hiked. 
The hike itself was strenuous but awesome. We took a cable car up to the lowest peak, then we hiked between peaks for about five hours. It would have taken another four hours to hike from the base. Various websites have stated that this mountain is really dangerous. I was a bit worried myself, after reading them. But it really wasn't that bad. The mountain actually gets a lot of tourists, many of which did not appear to be in great shape. There was even a guy yapping on his cell phone as he hiked up. The one warning is that there is very little hiking documentation in English. You don't get much of a sense of how far any of the trails were, or how long it would take you. For example, if we had hiked from the base as we had originally planned, we wouldn't have had time to hike up all the peaks. Oh well. At least there were vendors on the mountain selling food and drink :)
Yet another interesting thing about Xi'an is that it was the eastern end of the Silk Road back in the day (ya know, Marco Polo?). Check out the Wikipedia entry. Not only is there historical significance to this, you could see its effects even today. Most notably, there is a Muslim Quarter in Xi'an. Within the quarter is the Great Mosque. In this photo, you can see us having stumbled upon a funeral at the Great Mosque. It was a bit interesting to see Chinese people wearing Islamic garb. You could even tell that some people in this area had facial features that came from mixed blood with west. Now that I think about it, it was also a unique multicultural feat that my Mexican friend whose name is Mohamed but isn't Islamic was visiting a mosque in China.
I will stop raving about Xi'an - after this last tidbit. The final cool thing about Xi'an is that it has fully intact city walls that surround the city. And you can ride a bike on them! It's a great way to appreciate life, living conditions, culture... and smog! I think it's about 15km all the way around. It took us about an hour at a leisurely pace.
It's really nice to see so many people walking around all the time. In the States, it seems that everyone cloisters themselves at home. Once in a while, they may go shopping or out to eat, but they go right back home afterwards. It seems that people spend more of their time outside in Xi'an. You see lots of people just taking a stroll, hanging out on a park bench, grabbing a snack from a street vendor. Perhaps it's due to tighter living quarters. Or perhaps it's just culture.
I have to admit that I was a bit surprised about Beijing as a city. Although I knew it was a huge city of over 10 million people, I didn't think it was as modern of a city as it really is. It's full of large buildings - skyscrapers, office complexes, and high-rise apartments. The streets are arranged in a grid pattern, with "Ring Roads" running as beltways around the city. Aside from the smog, the city is very orderly and clean. When I told one of my friends about this, she was shocked; everyone else seems to think it's a dirty city. Perhaps they are trying to change their image for the Olympics. (check out the new Olympic stadium). I didn't even see as much public spitting as I thought I would see (though it still happens). One advantage about being a communist state is that you can choose to build anything or to clean anything up, and the people will comply...
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall. What an amazing place! The Great Wall is actually multiple walls, constructed at different times by different dynasties, and located in different places. Most people go to the wall at Balaling, where it is fully restored and is very tourist friendly. We were sick of the crowds and wanted a more natural view. So we did a 10km (6mi) hike between the Great Walls at Simatai and Jinshangling. It wasn't a long hike, but man was it tiring! Up and down, up and down, along the countours of mountains. It was the most strenuous hike I have ever done. It was well worth it though. The scenery was spectacular!
