Day 9 - Final Concert Day

Today, our guides took us to an old neighbourhood in Beijing.  And by old, I mean really old.  It is called a Hutong.  It is a community which was originally build around old water wells of the city.  These houses are between 200 and 400 years old.  They are small and very tight-knit.  What is unique about the Hutong, is the community that exists around them.  The entire area actually shares several community bathrooms, so everyone gets to know each other very well.  It is a very close community, and it was here where we were treated to a rickshaw ride through the hutong.

The people were so welcoming, that we ate at one of the homes for lunch.  Our host was a retired chef at a 5-star hotel, who loves to cook.  We were told that, while these are poorer communities, what makes them special is the sense of family that permeates them.  Some people live here precisely for that reason.  Our hosts home was small and humble, but the family was so warm and welcoming, and the food was amazing!  You could tell that he loved having us there, and it was great to see how people actually live in these communities.  This was one of the most memorable meals of the trip.

In the centre of this hutong was a large square with a bell tower and small tea market.  It was great to see families out playing and children from the community playing their games in the square.  We were also treated to a tea ceremony where we learned the right way to drink tea.

Then it was time for rehearsal.  This was the day of our last concert.  It was at the National Library Arts Centre, which is a large centre and school for a variety of arts endeavors, like film, music, and literature.

Philip and I wanted to create something quite special for our kids.  We wanted to really empower them to achieve their true potential.  So with that in mind, we began rehearsal quite differently.  We gathered the singers on stage, and had them sit in one large circle around the centre of the stage.  We gave them a few questions to consider as they sat there, and then we left them.  I ushered the chaperones out of the concert hall, Philip and I and Leanne left, and the students, for about half an hour, had the whole concert hall to themselves - to share experiences, to express to each other what the choir meant to them, etc.  I will never know exactly what was said - and that's as it should be.  All I know, is that when we finally gathered to sing it was the most glorious sound any of us had ever heard from these wonderful singers.  The chaperones came to us and asked us what we had done to their kids.  We assured them, it had nothing to do with us.

The concert was brilliant.  A lot of tears were shed, and a lot of happy memories created.  I'll let the students tell you more at home.