OCA REPORT NOVEMBER 2016 TAIWAN / THAILAND TOUR | １

OCA

Report

MAY 2017

November 2016 Taiwan / Thailand Tour SPECIAL EDITION

KaoriHanamiya(Hana)

MynameisKaoriHanamiyafromCommonBeat.Pleasecallme“Hana”.IwasinchargeoftheAsianBeattourasastaffmemberlastNovemberandhandledtheprocessfromarehearsaltourofTaiwanesecaststothisreportwrite-up.IwillreportonourwonderfultourasmeetingmanygoodpeopleinTaiwanandThailand.

Firstofall,pleaseseethecoverpictureofthisreport.ThiswastakenatBanRomSaiinChiangMaiinNovember.WeplayedgameslikeOrigamiandcookedriceandcurrywiththeorphans.Wehadsuchagoodtimethatitwasverydifficulttosaygoodbyetotheorphans.AuditionandrehearsalinTaiwan

CastinvitationsinTaiwanbeganinMayand15peoplewereselectedaftertheaudition.Fiveofthemwererepeaterswhohadjoinedlastyear.MihokoArai(Sampoko)andIwenttoTaichunginJuneandexplainedtothecast,theirfriendsandparentsaboutthepurposeofthetouratCentralTaiwanUniversityofScienceandTechnology

ThenwewenttoavillageofthemountaintribeswiththeTaiwancastmembersforrehearsingandcreatingnewperformanceideasfor3days.

SummerCampinJapan

TaiwancastmemberscametoJapanonAugust26thtoparticipateinasummercampattheIchikawaBoysNatureHouse.IincludingtheJapancastmembers,therewereatotalof40people.MikafromthePhilippinesalsojoined.TheprogramwasconductedbySampokoinEnglishandtherewereworkshopsandrehearsalsforsinginganddancingtoexchangeimagesofourcultures.Itwasonlyatwo-dayevent,butweallbecamegoodfriendsandatthelastperformance,wesangasongtogetherwithtearsinoureyes.WehadkeptintouchviaemailorLinetopreparefortheTaiwan/Thailandtour.

Nowthetourhasstarted!FirstisTaichung!

33peopleofdifferentagesandnationalitiesparticipatedinthistour.Therewere16includingstafffromJapan,1highschoolstudentwhoknewaboutthistourfromMRA'sHP,1fromthePhilippines,and15fromTaiwan.AllmembersgatheredinTaichungontheeveningofOctober29th.TheTaiwancastandtheirfamiliesgreeteduswithawarmperformanceandahotmealtocelebratethereunionfromtheAugustsummercamp.

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Thenextday,werehearsedinthemorningandthenperformedaflashmobinfrontofafamoustempleinTaiwan.

AbigcrowdofpeoplegatheredanditwasagreatsuccessasSNSpraisedourdance.Itwasalsotheicebreakingperformanceforusandweallfeltnervousbuttheeventhelpedstrengthentheunitybetweencastmembers.ThenwemovedtoarestaurantwhichwasrunbyAboriginalpeople.Itwasavaluableopportunitytolistentotheirbeautifulsongsandsing"NadaSohSoh"together.PerformanceandinteractioninTaipeiOctober31stwevisitedtheAletheiaUniversityinTaipei.StudentsmajoringinJapanesewelcomedus.Weweredividedintogroupsandvisitedtheuniversitysitesandhadlunchtogether.Wediscussedvariousthingssuchastheschoolsystemandcountryproblems.Intheafternoon,weheldaforumtodiscussthetheme"Howdoyoungpeopleunderstandeachotherbeyondlanguagesandcross-culturalbarrierstobringAsianpeace?"Althoughitwasadifficulttheme,therewereopinionsthatvariousactivitiessuchassinging,dancingandeatingtogether,mightconnectindividualsfromdifferentcountries.Afterthediscussion,weperformedashowattheuniversity'sgrandcathedral.Theneighboringhighschoolstudentsalsocame,andabout300peoplegotinatthevenue.Weperformedforabout30minutes-singinganddancingnumberssuchas“SoranBushi”bytheJapanesecast,thelatestPOPSandTaiwanesetraditionaldancebyTaiwanesecast,and"NadaSohSoh"bythemixedcastsinJapaneseandTaiwaneselanguages.Intheend,weinvitedtheaudiencetodancetogether! Thatevening,wehadanexchangepartyinvitingOBOGatSINGOUTTAIWAN,andwealsodidaminiperformancethereaswell.

November1st,weenjoyedTaiwansightseeing.ThenwewenttothefamousShoRonPorestaurantforlunchandthenflewtoBangkok.

MourninginBankokCity

WecancelledperformancesatChulalongkornUniversityoutofrespectastheKinghadpassedaway.ThereforewewerefreeandsomemembersvisitedtheRoyalPalaceandwalkedaroundthecityofBangkok.Intheevening,studentsfromChulalongkornUniversityandfriendsjoinedinadinnerpartyandareunion.

VisitMaeKokFarminChiangRai

WeflewfromBangkoktoChiangRaiearlyinthemorningofNovember3rd.Ms.AnuluckfromMaeKokFarmwarmlywelcomedus.Intheafternoon,wevisitedschoolsthatnearbymountaintribechildrenattend.Thechildrenfirstshowedustheirtraditionaldance,andAsianBeatpresentedourperformancetothem.Lastlyweallgottogetheranddanced.AfterreturningtoMaeKokFarm,wewentforawalkinthevillageofthemountaintribes.

Intheevening,peoplefromnearbyvillagescametoMaeKokFarmforadinner,singinganddancing,andplayingwiththechildren.WewerejustlikeabigfamilyatMaeKokFarm.

VisitBanRomSai(BRS)inChiangMai

WemovedfromChiangRaitoChiangMaibybusonNovember4thtovisitBRS.MomoHoshinowelcomedusatBRS.ShehadcometoBRSonedayearlier.Atfirsttheytookusaroundthefacilityandwehaddinnertogether.

Onthenextday,wecookedriceandcurrywiththechildrenandthegraduatesfromBRSwhilesomeplayedwiththechildrenwiththegiftswebroughtfromJapanandTaiwan.ThenMs.MiwaNatori,therepresentativeofBRSsharedinvaluablestoriessuchashowtousemoneyforsociety.

Lookingbackonthetour

WereturnedtoBangkokandheldafarewellpartyintheeveningofNovember5th.Atimeforlookingbackonthetour.Somesaid“IwassoimpressedwiththehonestThaichildrenandtheirshiningeyes.”,“IwasmovedbytheTaiwanmembers’attitudetomakeeveryonehappy.”,“Iwanttokeepthisrelationshipforgood.”andsoon.Althoughtherewasalanguagebarrier,wetriedhardtounderstandeachother.Wearesurethatourfriendshipsandnetworkthathavebeencreatedthroughoutthelast10days’tripwilllast.

OCA REPORT NOVEMBER 2016 TAIWAN / THAILAND TOUR | 3

HayatoBan(BanBan) Ireceivedthreetreasuresduringthistour.

Thefirstisthesmileandhighfiveswhichareuniversalintheworld.Thisismagictocomfortpeoplewithoutwords.AfterIreturnedfromthetour,ItaughtEnglishtoelementaryschoolchildrenandIwasconvincedthatwehavegrowncloser.ItworkseveninJapan!Thesecondistoimprovemycommunicationskills.IhadanopportunitytointerpretMs.Natori’sspeechinfrontofmanypeople.IfeltmylackofEnglishskillandthatgavemeanewgoaltobecomeabettercommunicator.Thethirdistochangethevalueof“happiness”.PongPong,aTaiwancastmember,taughtmewhyshecouldcareaboutpeoplesonaturally.“Justthinkabouthowwecanmakepeoplehappy.

Forexample, ifaproblemarises, trynot topursue thecausebut focus on solving the problem quickly. That will makepeoplehappy,won’tit?”

Itmaysoundlike“whitewashing”inJapan,butitisgenuineforherifyourememberwhathappenedwhenJohnson’stoothwaslostinthepool.

TheTaiwanesedidnotblamemebutjumpedintothepooltofindthetoothimmediately.Theirsubjectisnot“I”but“We”.Thisnewmagic,mynewgoal,andthenewhappinessmaybethebiggest20thbirthdaygiftforme.

KanaYamase（Seattle）

Itwasatrulyfunandliberatingtour!

■Ms.MiwaNatori

Natori-san has founded a facility Ban Rom Sai (BRS) whichacceptsorphansinfectedwithHIVbytheirmothers. IwantedtotalkwithherduringlunchbuttearsgushedfrommyeyeswhenIstarted to talk toher. Maybebecause I receivedherwarmauracomingfromherdeepthoughtsandwayofliving.

IwasinterestedinglobalissuesbecauseIhavelivedabroadfromayoungage(althoughitwasaWesternculture).Iamalsointerestedintheproblemsofpovertyandtheeducationgapamongchildrenindevelopingcountriesandtherestoftheworld.ButthethingImostwanttodoistomakeJapanabettersocietybyworkingontheeducationofJapanesechildren.LetJapanesechildrenknowtheworldbettersothat“alotofpeoplenolongerworryandmisunderstand.

Thenprejudicewillbegone”whichNatori-sansaid.IwanttohelpwithsuchJapaneseeducation.Isometimesfeeloverwhelmed,though.Shesaid“Itisokay,youareyou.Isometimesdon’tconsidermyselfasaJapanese.ImaybeaJapaneseoraThai,butbeforethat,firstIamMiwaNatori.”Ifeltrelieved.

■Membersof2016AsianBeat

ThistripwastakenjointlywithSingOutTaiwan(SOT)whichdoesinternationalexchangewithTaiwanesesinginganddancing.Webecameveryimportantfriends.OurconversationswereinamixtureofEnglish,JapaneseandTaiwanese.OurschedulechangedsomuchduetotheThaiKing’spassingthatinformation-sharingcouldnotbemaintained.Eveninsuchasituation,ourperformanceswereagreatsuccessinvariousplaces,withoutinjuriesnortrouble.Weallshedtearsatthefinaldinnerparty.

IamthankfultotheJapanesememberswhomadethistripvaluablewithourTaiwanesecolleagues.Itwasaprecioustimeformetorealizethattheteamworkwasmyfavoritething.Thankyoueveryone.

OCA REPORT NOVEMBER 2016 TAIWAN / THAILAND TOUR | 4

Claire Huang(Claire)

IparticipatedinthesummercampattheIchikawaBoysNatureHousefromAugust26.TheculturaldifferenceswhichIwasthemostimpressedwithwasthe“bath”culture-girlstakeoffalltheirclothes,andshowertogether.WhenIgotinthebathroom,Ifeltveryshy.“OMGgirlsaresoooobrave!”Wechatted,laughed,andbecamenatural.Ithinkthismadeusmuchcloser! Whenwesangthefinalsong“SingthePeaceSong”,nationalitydidn’tmatter.Wesangthesamemelody,cried,andembracedeachother.Atthatmoment,Iknewthatthiswouldbealastingmemoryinmylife.Ireallywanttocherisheverymoment.

TheJapanesememberscametoTaiwanandSingOutTaiwan(SOT)gatheredatthePutianTempleinthemorningonOctober29.AsianBeat2016membersmetatnight,andSOTbroughtarelaxedandhumorouswelcomeperformancetotheJapanese,andweenjoyedtheJapanpopularsongPPAP.Fromthebeginningofthemeetingweweresmilingandcaringforeachotherjustlikeafamily,andalsohadtaroandoysterporridgewhichAmy’smotherhadcooked. 【ThatiswhatIadore–thespiritof“AsianBeat”!】

TheTaiwantripmadeallthemembersbraver.WewenttoLugangMazuTemple,themostfamoustempleinTaiwan,andperformedaflashshow.Aftertheflashshow,wesawtheAsianBeatontheTaiwannews,andvisitorshadpostedourperformanceonFBandInstagramsayingthattheyhadenjoyedeverymomentoftheperformance.Ifoundthatbecausewemaintainourenthusiasmwhiledoingwhatwelove,peoplefeelourenergy.

【ProudofbeapartoftheAsianBeat.】

WeleftforThailandonNovember1st.Althoughwecouldnotsingordancewithjoy,wesangaslowsong,andenjoyedadinnerwithChulalongkornUniversitystudents.Theywereverynice.SomestudentsarefluentinJapanese,somearefluentinChinesewhichisoneofthemostdifficultlanguagestolearn.Thoughwe

werebornindifferentcountries,wecanunderstandeachotherwithourheart.

AtMaeKokFarm,weenjoyeddinnerwiththechildrenandneighbors.Weovercamethewallsofnationalitywithourmusicalperformance.Therewerenolanguageorculturalproblemsbutalotoflaughterintheroom.Beforethenightparty,Ichattedwithaboyusingbodylanguage.Ismiledinhiseyes,thetwoofusunderstoodeachother.HecouldnotunderstandEnglishnorIcouldnotreadtheThailanguage,butwecommunicatedwithourhearts.Duringtheparty,theshyboyshoutedloudlywhenIwasonthestage,sayingthathelikedus.

WevisitedBanRomSai,anorphanageforchildreninfectedwithHIVbytheirmothers.Weknewthathuggingandfacekissingwouldnotcauseustobeinfected.Itouchedthechildren'shandsandheldthemupandIsawtheirsmiles.IpaintedaportraitofSoyse,oneofthegirls.SheaskedaJapanesemembertopaintmyportrait.Icouldnotstopcryingwhenshegavemeherportraitandtookmyportraitwithherlittlehand.Ithoughtthatshewantedtorememberme.Aftertakingphotos,thetimehadcometoleave.Soysegraspedmyhandtightlyshowingshewasafraidoflosingme.IfIhavethechance,Iwanttocomebacktofindher,andgiveherabighugagain. 【Youareafraid,becauseyoudonotunderstand.】

Manythanksto「SingOutTaiwan」and「AsianBeatGroup」

forlettingmeseeapowerfulandcolorfulworld.HowluckyIam!Ihopethiskindoffeelingofbeingtouchedwillcontinue,andIcanbecomeabetterpersonwhohastheabilitytogive.TheAsianBeatTourhascreatedanunforgettablememoryinmylife. Itrulyappreciateit!

ContactAddress

OCAInternationalExchangeDivision,MRAHouseFoundation

4-9-17MinamiAzabu,Minato-ku,Tokyo(106-0047)

TEL:81-3-3445-5111FAX:81-3-3444-8629

URL： http://www.mrafoundation.or.jp/

Amy林庭羽

Ting-Yu Lin

Claire黃榆喬

Yu-Chia, Huang

David林奕廷

Y-Ting, Lin

Eric杜哲旭

Zhe-Xu, Tu

Paul 黃淩軒

Ling-Hsuan Huang

Penny康文品

Wen-Pin, Kang

Sun李宜玲 Y-Lung, Li

Teresa杜懿靛

Yi-Dian, Tu

Pon Pon 彭歆庭

Hsin-Ting, Peng

Star 何星瑩

Sing-Ying, Ho

Eva王瀞玉

Jin-Yu, Wang

Gruuu陳鈺婷

Yu-Ting, Chen

Johnson 蔡禮謙

Li-Chien, Tsai

Matt莊英愷

Ying-Kai, Chuang

Participants from Taiwan2016 Taiwan / Thai Tour

Participants from Japan (continued)

Ban Ban伴 捷人

Hayato Ban

Damon木暮 美樹Miki Kogure

Imami今井 美咲Misaki Imai

Koh浜松 幸

Koh Hamamatsu

Seatle山瀬 加奈

Kana Yamase

Takeshi斎藤 猛

Takeshi Saito

Mika大城 ミカMika Oshiro

Momo星野 桃子

Momoko Hoshino

Yusa佐藤 ゆさこYusako Sato

Sayaka鈴木 彩夏

Sayaka Suzuki

Sampoko新井 三保子Mihoko Arai

Takahashi高橋 信幸

Nobuyuki Takahashi

Men Men毛受 永理奈Erina Menjyo

Miki平山 美樹

Miki Hirayama

Rakko木下 桜子

Sakurako Kinoshita

Sachi柳瀬 幸恵

Sachie Yanase

2016 Taiwan / Thai Tour

Special thanks to (continued)

Participants from Japan (continued)

Ted我妻 宣忠

Noritada Agatsuma

Ryo安達 亮

Ryo Adachi

Hana花宮 香織

Kaori Hanamiya

Mon <Mae Kok Farm>

Miwa名取 美和Miwa Natori

Akiyama秋山 泰三

Hiromitsu Akiyama

Momo星野 桃子

Momoko Hoshino

Miho名取 美穂Miho Natori

Ohara大原 美穂Miho Ohara

David林 定三David Lin

Robert陳建舟

Robert Chen

Tobe sensei 戸邉 治朗Jiro Tobe

Anuluck <Mae Kok Farm>

2016 Taiwan / Thai Tour

This project was organized by

This project is financed by MRA Foundation

Ted我妻 宣忠

Noritada Agatsuma

Ryo安達 亮

Ryo Adachi

Hana花宮 香織

Kaori Hanamiya

Sampoko新井 三保子Mihoko Arai

Takahashi高橋 信幸

Nobuyuki Takahashi

2016 Taiwan / Thai Tour