For one thing, all of those things they say about collegiate taiko - about the "real world" taiko not being that, about other taiko not being that - that's true. Collegiate taiko is not TP, and TP is not KETE. I guess all in all, taiko groups are just not the same.
More than the rigorous schedules and expectations, which are exactly what I was looking for in a year-long taiko experience to help me become more experienced, well-rounded, and well, good, I think I most have to adjust to the new personality of this taiko team. It's the black to the white I knew before, the all-new to the all-too-familiar.
Although I miss things about Kyodo, and definitely some things about TP, and even Prota, I think I'm trying to take it all in, in a matter that's - well, I guess, going to help me make the most of this experience. I already feel things about me changing, physically, and I'm constantly learning new things about what taiko IS, what taiko means, and what taiko can be - both to KETE, and to me.
I could go on forever about that - but bottom line - it's a whole new game.
I also...miss kendo. And that's weird to me, because I always think of having chosen Taiko over Kendo - Kendo was that thing I was forced to do, all these years growing up, until I got to UCLA, found taiko, and made a choice.
Taiko is to Kenny Sensei what Kendo is to my dad, and I think making that connection - missing my family, missing that culture back home - is also making me miss Kendo. The disciplined culture of Japanese Taiko is very similar to that of Kendo - hierachical, yes, but that aside - very strongly tied to Japanese culture, one that I grew up with in that kendo world. I think I also relate Kendo to a part of my life, a part of me, that a lot of my college friends don't know - I did Kendo with the UCLA team for a year, but after that, I was Kyodo-NSU-APC Candice. Not Kendo Sayuri. Definitely different, and a part of myself I'm thinking of reclaiming.
Maybe Hawaii is a crossroads of what seemed before like two completely separate parts of my life, and my time here will let me patch the two together, for a more holistic understanding of what my 22 years mean.
Deep, huh? I'm getting a headache.
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I've also met people, seen things, done things, that strangely, in the most cliche way possible, have begun to teach me to appreciate all the things I've always taken for granted.
Like - working in a family law firm? Makes me so grateful, and almost baffled - that my parents have stayed together, seemingly happily, and have done so well together the past 25 years.
Meeting an amazingly strong woman, who's been through so much hardship, and lost loved ones suddenly, makes me feel lucky to still have my family, and have them well.
Being away from organizing work and in a society that perpetuates its own oppression makes me see how much of a gem LA progressive work is.
It's kind of weird - even surreal - and right now I guess I don't really know what to make of it.
Kung Fu Panda is a good movie, and I need to eat. Thai curry and sticky rice, here I come.
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