Korea: Concert

After rendezvousing in front of the Lotte department store, we hoofed it over to TTL, the venue for our concert. After lots (and lots) of debate in the previous weeks about what to wear for the concert--the women, cold every time of the year but July, were concerned about staying warm--we had decided on slacks and dress shirts with no ties for the guys, and not-quite-formal dresses for the women. As a last-minute addition, a few of the women teamed up and convinced the group to wear yellow bandanas, so we'd have something in common. I felt like I was on a dude ranch, and knew that, while not that strange a sight in Japan, we looked ridiculous in Korea.

Anyway, the first group to perform was City University Choir, from Hong Kong. I was too nervous to pay much attention to what they sang, though they were good.

After them came Manado State University Choir. They led off with an awesome song whose name I never caught (and wasn't listed in the program), then followed that with Kiss the Girl, from The Little Mermaid. It was even better than the version on YouTube, complete with a Scuttle squawking at the end. Last was My Heart Will Go On, from Titanic. By this point I could barely pay attention, because the more I heard their incredible sound, the more nervous I got, knowing that our just-for-fun eleven-person ensemble couldn't hold a candle to them.

We took our turn on stage, and sang our set as well as could be expected with no conductor (he became our tenor), one tenor, and a motley crew of basses (a 73-year-old whose reading isn't as quick as it used to be, a 40-year-old salaryman who guesses at the notes most of the time, and a white boy who hardly speaks the language he's singing in). Our altos and sopranos are great, so maybe they made up for us. For all that, we were warmly received and applauded afterwards.

After the concert, we headed to the Culture Center for one last visit to the buffet. This time, however, we had a surprise in store. Mr. Nagato's 74th birthday was today, and despite birthdays not typically getting much fanfare, Bara wanted to do something special for him. With Kim's help, he had secretly arranged for an ornate birthday cake from a local bakery. He picked it up, and we managed to sneak it in right behind Nagato.

Kim talked to the convention center staff, and they found a type of English birthday song to play over the PA. At first, we feigned ignorance and innocence, joining Nagato in looking around confusedly. Then, when Kim rounded the corner with the cake full of lit candles, we stood and began applauding. As the rest of the crowd got it, they joined in cheering, and Nagato finally figured it out. He danced around, waving to everybody, and gleefully blew out the candles.