It doesn't say where I was sending it to and I can't remember either. The date was September 10, 1998. It was probably for my family back in the Philippines. Anyway, here it is...
July 28 we had a concert here in Hiroshima. The program is almost the same as the one we were going to present in the US. The first half is classical and the second half are Filipino Songs. I arranged a medly of Filipino songs for Soprano, Tenor and Clarinet. Most of our audiences were Japanese and we were surprised because they liked the program even if they did not understand the words (well, we had a translation on the program) The hall was filled and we had a standing ovation.
July 30 was our departure for Washington D.C. We left Osaka at about 2 p.m. and we arrived in Chicago Int'l airport at past 12 noon on the same day. We changed plane (domestic) for Washington D.C. By the way, the flight from Japan to Chicago was 13 hours. In the plane a Caucasian and a Japanese seated in front of me were arguing. I was not sure what was their problem but I think it was just the overhead light. The Caucasian wanted to read and he wanted to use the Japanese's light also because he said his light was not bright enough but the Japanese complained that he couldn't sleep. Anyway, I was seated in the middle and to my right, on the aisle, is Eugene, The stewardess woke Eugene up and asked him if he could exchange seat with the Caucasian. Eugene agreed and because of that the stewardess gave us first class amenities and 2 bottles of champagne. Good way to start the trip, huh!
We were met buy Eugene's aunt, Tita at the airport. We call here Tita Tita. From the airport, we had dinner at a steak house. Because we were not hungry we ordered the smallest but to our surprise, the small serving looks even bigger than the biggest serving in Japan! We were not able to consume our food. Take home na lang.
In the US all the servings were big. And most often, the you can have as many glasses of softdrink as you can for free.
The following day, noon time we proceeded to the Philippine Embassy to practice. Before the concert we had a reception party. The concert was also successful. The space was too crowded. The organizers didn't think that there would be a lot of people who would come. Just the same, we had a standing ovation. But Grace the pianist was not able to play her piece because her hand did not move --- due to overfatigue!? After the concert we were invited to have a dinner with the Ambassador at his residence. The ambassador was from Cagayan de Oro. His family name is Rabe and his middle name is Chavez. His wife is from Dumaguete. So, both of them speaks Bisaya. When we entered the house, we were asked to sign in the logbook and pick a number. The number was the table we would be seated. I picked 3! It was the table where the ambassador and other important guests were seated. One of the guests was the former ambassador of the Philippines Mr. Armacost. His wife was a pianist who performed with the Keyboard Mafia. We had a very nice conversation. I was not nervous to be seated with them because they were very kind. They asked me a lot of questions about Japan, life in Japan as a student, etc. Mr. Armacost once lived in Japan for 3 years, he said. We also met a very interesting woman, the wife of the ambassador of Korea to the US. She was seated in front of me and she was very kind. She took a lot of pictures for us. When Mr. Armacost and the other big-time guests left, the atmosphere became more relaxed because Ambassador Rabe kept on telling jokes, sometimes in Bisaya. (Eugene's aunt is also from Dumaguete) Then, when the others could not understand, he would say, "Sorry we were speaking in French." We left the house at past midnight. The following day, we went to a cave. I forgot the name but this cave is famous because an organ was built in the cave using the stalactites/stalagmites (sp?) as the pipes. I was not able to listen to the sound of the organ because there was no organist at that time and they would not allow anybody to touch the organ. Then we had dinner at another relative of Eugene. There we had a mini-concert because the cousin of Eugene's Lola loves to sing. She had a complete collection of old Filipino and Classical songs. We had a good time there. She also cooks/bakes well. She baked a very delicious chocolate cake. I usually don't eat chocolate cake but that time I finished about 5 servings (big slices!) We left for North Carolina in a Friday. We do nothing but eat, sleep, visit places, etc. Almost everytime, we had "eat all you can". I lost track of the time. Anyway, I remembered we went to the Smithsonian Institute where the museums are found and the White House. | We also went to George Washington's (first US president) farm and residence. We also went to... well I'll try to remember when I get the pictures printed. Ah, George town, and also to the biggest Catholic church in America located near the campus of the Catholic University. In North Carolina, we had a concert in a Church in Raleigh and in the auditorium of Duke University. The concerts was also successful. Our host in N.C. were Tito Tim and Tita Linda McGloin. Linda is the sister of Tita. They have 2 sons. One is in New York, both 20 plus age. They are very warm couple. We also had a lot of food except that we don't waste them unlike in Washington/Virginia where we had to take home our orders but wasn't able to eat them because in the house there were a lot of food. Tita Tita likes to eat (but she seemed not the person who gains weight easily) |
When we arrived in New York, we didn't know what to do. Eugene was there a year ago but he had no confidence to guide us. Anyway, a policeman approach us and asked us if we have a ride. We said no, so he told us if we will take a limousine for $70 plus $10 tip, we will have no problem compared to taking a train. We will be brought straight to our hotel. We agreed. Because there were 6 of us anyway, we thought it was reasonable. The shuttle going to the city costs $10 each. So, we were feeling rich riding the limo. My first time to ride a limo huh!(kawawa naman ako ano?) I realized later that we were deceived, The limo costs only less than $50, I read it in the Airline Magazine! Sayang I was not able to read it during the flight, well I was too tired to care to read in the plane.
In New York, we had to part ways after we had lunch at the Central Park (the place where the Home Alone 2 was shot). I wanted to go alone because they walk very slow. I wanted to visit as many places as I wanted. The first day/afternoon I went to Radio City, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Empire Estate bldg. The line in the empire state was very long because there were a lot of tourists. I was very tired because I had been walking for 4 hours and I had to line up for 2 hours. I thought it was not worth the waiting. All you can see up there is the city view at night. With so many people in the tower walking around, I didn't feel the beauty of the view.
The following day, I went to the Bronx Zoo. It was scary. I only realized that Bronx is a dangerous place when I was already halfway to that place. It was very far from the city. We stopped at the last station of the train. There were a lot of blacks and there were Spanish speaking people. I hid my camera in my bag so that they would not know that I was a tourist. But when I was in the Zoo I felt safe... no, not because my brothers (monkeys) were there :-) but because there were a lot of tourists, there were Japanese, also. I enjoyed it very much that I went home at the closing time, 5 p.m. I was waiting for the train together with other people. In that station, there were only 2 trains leaving, number 9 and 5. I would take the 9 train. The 5 train left so I thought the next train would be 9. I boarded the next train and I was too tired so, I slept for a while.
When I woke up I noticed it was not the same scene I passed by before. I later found out that the train I was in was No.5! I had to do something. I would be late for the Les Mis! I transferred trains and I was able to arrive 7:30 in the hotel. The play was at 8p.m. and my companions were already leaving. I had to go alone by myself because I had to change my clothes. I left the hotel 7:40. I asked the guard how to get to the theater fast, he said to take the taxi or walk! The taxi cost about $20 or so...! I knew I could get there in 10 minutes by subway but I didn't know which train. I went to the subway and I tried to figure out what train to take. I could not afford to commit a mistake because I had no enough time. I asked a lady and he said I was correct, it was train A, I could take that train and arrive there in 10 minutes. It was 7:45. The train has not arrived yet. (I missed the earlier one because I was not sure it was the one). At 7:50, the train arrived. I arrived at the theater, after running 2 blocks, at exactly 8:00 but the show has not started yet because there were so many people. The theater was full! Anyway, I enjoyed the show very much. I loved Les Mis. I couldn't help but cry when Valjean was about to die., and also because I could hear the people around me sniffing or sobbing? The music, the singing, the orchestra, etc. perfectly blended.
After the show, I decided to watch the Phantom of the Opera also the following day.
Sorry, I have to end here. The Second Chapter will follow... keep in touch.
We had lunch at Planet Hollywood restaurant at about 12:00. I planned to go to the statue of liberty afterwards but our conversation lasted until 3 p.m. Marie said that she had already asked permission to her officemate (the manager is out of town) to be late because she will be meeting a friend. It was a happy conversation about the life we had in Cagayan de Oro as students, and about life. Marie is about 3 years older than me so our conversation was more matured. She told me about her boyfriend, about her job and life in New York City etc. etc.
After that I checked my e-mail in a computer store (unlike Japan which gives free e-mail service, in the US we pay 20 cents per minute for internet use.) After that I took a train to get to the ferry port to go to the statue of liberty. When I arrived there, the last ferry has already left and it was very full. but it was only about 4:30 in the afternoon! Because it was too early to go back, | I stayed in the park for a while and I watched a shooting of a movie. The scene was taken with the statue of liberty in the back ground and the actors were a boy and a girl about 12 years old. After that, I went back to the hotel but along the way, I visit an interesting place where the buildings are the same as those you see in the movie musicals "West Side Story" and I was not late for the Phantom. The production was very beautiful. The singers are even better than the Lis Mes casts. I began to appreciate the music and the story after I saw it. Before, I thought Les Mis is more beautiful than the Phantom but after I saw it, my impression was changed. The choreography, the costume.. everything was beautiful. I did not cry though there was also an emotional scene. |