Variety Editor- Colleen Coleman

This past May term, I had the great privilege of touring Japan with the Gustavus Choir, performing in Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. During our tour, we had the opportunity to collaborate with high school and college choirs. It was so eye opening to realize that these were students just like me— that we shared such common experiences even halfway across the world. Even though we didn’t speak much of the same language, we still understood each other. 

As a vocal music education major, I deeply enjoyed learning about the culture and traditions of music in Japan. A majority of music academia is based around the Western, Eurocentric world and doesn’t really go in depth into other musical traditions in the same way. It was interesting to me to learn music in Japanese, as it was a language I had never sung before this experience.

Before traveling, I knew that Japanese culture had a big focus on respect and manners. However, I never could have expected the level of kindness and generosity that we experienced from locals. No country and culture is perfect, but Japan seemed to be that “Minnesota Nice” we always try to be. While I knew this before, I did not realize how “Minnesota Nice” wasn’t … that nice. It’s a veil of passive-aggressiveness or “polite because I should be.” When our tour guides, collaborators, hotel and restaurant staff welcomed us into their lives and cultures, it wasn’t because it’s what they thought they should do, it was just what they did. 

While many of us Gusties were not happy with the change of J-Term, there was something refreshing about touring in May. To be completely honest, preparing for tour at the end of the semester was … a bit overwhelming. I never went on a tour in January, however knowing that we were completely done with the spring semester gave us that blissful end-of-school feeling.  

However, I felt as though the SigX requirement was a good change for tours. Learning and memorizing 17 pieces is challenging enough, let alone learning about the culture during the spring semester and traveling for almost two weeks. These international experiences are important to us as students, musicians, and humans. We put lots of effort into our individual craftsmanship and group performance that should be recognized as a signature experience. 

While riding the Shinkansen (bullet train), I loved seeing the cities and landscapes of Japan. I especially enjoyed visiting Miyajima Island in Hiroshima and its beautiful scenery. While stuffing my face with many momiji manjū, a maple cake filled with red bean paste delicacy of Miyajima, I was in awe of how calm and quiet life seemed.

 This was my first time ever traveling abroad, and I never quite realized how small my worldview was until now. While I consider myself to be a very knowledgeable and accepting person, I had never left my little bubble of America. It felt like I was experiencing a different way of life for the first time. Along with that, I never realized how grateful I was to live in a “melting pot” type of environment. To me, it was eye opening to experience a monocultural society and realize how privileged I was to grow up with numerous different cultures in my community. 

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be in the Gustavus Choir and have experienced this tour. From learning new languages and cultures, making friends from halfway across the world, I am forever changed by this experience abroad.