Concert

The flowers and sweets we got from friends who came to hear us--thank you so much!  Des fleurs et des pâtisseries que nos amis nous ont données après le concert--merci beaucoup !

Sorry I've been MIA.  I just got through doing a charity concert with Gabe and we were practicing pretty often.  The concert actually got a fair number people (どうもありがとうございました！) and we raised about $100 that we'll send to UNICEF, so it was a good time.  The set included (nestled between a whole bunch of Beatles songs): One Headlight (The Wallflowers), Hana (a sweet pop song by Kosuke Atari, who's from Kagoshima) a bluesy rendition of Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash), an original song--Gabe did the music, I wrote the lyrics in Japanese--and the theme from Snakes on a Plane.  We also did Yellow (Coldplay), which went over well, but only because they hadn't heard Nathan's version yet.  We took pictures (thanks, Kyoko!) but they're on Gabe's camera so they'll be up in due time.  We recorded it too, so I'll try to upload some clips of it soon.

Before that, Gabe and I headed north to Kedoin for Burns Supper (a celebration of the eponymous Scottish poet and Casanova, author of "Auld Lang Syne").  A couple of Scottish JETs hosted, and it was a fantastic time.  Most of the JETs around the prefecture made it there and the wintry night rang with cheersing and the reading of Burns' charming and incomprehensible poetry.  Had to get up at 8:00 to head back for the concert in Koyama, which was tough, but it was snowing when we left, which more than made up for it.  New banner photo!

Ce week-end était tout plein pour moi et Gabe--on est allé au nord de la préfecture pour passer le souper de Burns, une célébration de la vie du célèbre poète et libertin écossais, avec d'autres enseignant d'anglais venus de toute la région.  C'était une soirée très amusante, autant pour avoir revu beaucoup d'amis que je n'ai pas encontrés depuis longtemps, que pour les traditions écossaises qui y régnait (y inclus la lecture de plusieurs poèmes de Burns, charmants et incompréhensibles).  On y a passé la nuit, mais on a dû repartir à huit heures pour arriver à Koyama à temps pour un concert qu'on a fait au bénéfice de l'UNICEF.  Comme on était dans les montagnes, ça neigeait !