Throughout my life I have maintained loose mental list of things
I would really like to do, but would probably never have the chance
to experience. One of the top things on that list was being able to
come back to Takko-machi, Japan. On my first trip I made so many
friends and was moved by how welcoming everyone in Takko was. I was
hopeful I would see them again. However, as left Takko at the end
of that trip I knew that that hope would most likely not become a
reality.
Last week, alumni from the Gilroy High School choir landed in Japan and were greeted with open arms by their hosts in Takko-machi. The group of alumni then performed for their hosts, kicking off their week-long reunion tour.
Throughout my life I have maintained loose mental list of things I would really like to do, but would probably never have the chance to experience. One of the top things on that list was being able to come back to Takko-machi, Japan. On my first trip I made so many friends and was moved by how welcoming everyone in Takko was. I was hopeful I would see them again. However, as left Takko at the end of that trip I knew that that hope would most likely not become a reality.
Then one day a letter came in the mail. It was from Mr. Robb inviting me on the Alumni Choir Tour that would be traveling to Japan in 2008. I knew immediately that I had to do everything that I could to ensure I was a part of the alumni trip. I had been on the Chamber Japan Tour in 2007 as a junior. I remember being overwhelmed by everything that I saw and heard. Even after hearing students’ accounts of past trips and doing a bit of research myself prior to going in 2007, I was not fully prepared. I think that’s how it must be for everyone though. Japan, its rich culture, amazing hospitality, and beautiful countryside is something that must be experience in person to fully appreciate and understand. On that first trip I took in as much as I could, attempting to learn the language, trying to converse with everyone I met, taking in all the scenery. I tried to catch it all in my memory, with a great deal of help from my camera. I thoroughly enjoyed everything – the food, the language, and most of all the people. I left in 2007 feeling satisfied with what I had been able do and see.
Weeks later, as I sat in Gilroy recalling my trip, I wondered: if I had the chance to go back, could I talk to more people, learn more of the language, have an even greater appreciation for everything? The Alumni Trip has given me that chance. It is everything that I, or anyone else on the trip could have hoped for. I, along with all the other alumni, have been able to reconnect with friends.
For almost all of us it is our first trip back to Takko or Japan since high school. For Nancy McAllister Chappell it has been 19 years. She was a member of the original choir tip to Takko in1989. Like most of the alumni she is staying with the same host family this trip that she did on her first visit. Nancy jokes that during her visit she held in her arms the Yamakage Family’s toddler son who is now fully-grown.
This trip has been an amazing journey in reconnecting and celebrating 20 years of music, smiles and friendship. It has been a privilege to relive a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I left Takko the first time hoping to come back, but resolved to the fact that it would probably not happen. We all ended our first trip thinking we had said sayonara for forever. I now know never to doubt hope and I hope that many more students and people from Gilroy can experience this amazing place and its wonderful people.
