My Paris Trip
This whole thing started on August 17th, when Mrs. Schwartz announced on the Bali stage that there was going to be an AMIS Honor boy choir this year, and JIS was participating. At this one piece of news, I literally jumped for joy. I couldn’t believe that finally, after all this time; I had a chance to participate in one of AMIS’s legendary music festivals. Last year, it had only been the girls who got to go to Taiwan and sing, so I had a feeling that this was my chance to improve my singing abilities greatly. Even though my excitement was slightly diminished by the fact that auditions were on the 27th and singers would only be chosen on the 30th, I held my head high throughout that whole day.
I’ve loved music in all its forms (except for heavy metal music) since I was 3. As I grew up, Barney’s Family songs became Bollywood’s greatest hits, and those gradually turned into the music I listen to today. I like a wide range of music, which is good since I get exposed to many different singing styles. I like rock, punk rock, electronica, pop (to a limited extent) and country/western music. I am also able to play the piano fairly well. Music has also been the only subject that I always got A’s on throughout my life. Music is a part of my soul as much as my family is. I could not live without music. Any time of the day, you’ll find me singing, humming, whistling or tapping out a beat on my desk.
After the rehearsals, which were relatively simple, I’ll admit that I was absolutely terrified. I had no idea who would be selected and I was fervently hoping that I would be selected but with the amount of boys that were there, it seemed unlikely. However, my fears were never realized as a poster taped to the wall stated:
Congratulations to the six boys who will be going to Paris to represent JIS at AMIS this year! The lucky boys are: Leandro Bengzon, William Strang, Maxwell Weidmer, DaSol Lee, Brandon Fernandes and Madhav Pulle. Rehearsals start August 31st, so be there!
I was ecstatic! After three days of nerve-wracking waiting, I had finally been selected! The five short rehearsals went relatively smoothly. Our songs were difficult to sing but easy to learn, and soon we had mastered the singing too. The songs covered a wide range of genres, form spirituals to lullabies. Our songs were Yonder Come Day, Nenni (a Turkish lullaby), Rock-a My Soul, Rhythm of Life, Kyrie (a Latin funeral song), Pie Jesu (a Greek funeral song), Rainstorm, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, a German Canon and an American toe-tapper called Polly Wolly Doodle. Even though some of our rehearsals were from 2:40 pm to 5:00 pm we still hadn’t mastered the songs when the time to go to Paris rolled around.
After a round of farewells, we were on the bus to Jakarta International Airport. Our group consisted of the six singers, Mrs. Schwartz and Mr. Pendell, the learning support teacher. Our time at the airport was spent doing the usual things such as checking in or filling in arrival and departure cards. The flight to Abu Dhabi was uneventful since I slept most of the way. When we arrived at Abu Dhabi airport my legs were killing me. I bought a cup of hot chocolate and some duty free Hershey’s Kisses with some money my mother had given me. The flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris was even more uneventful, again since I slept most of the way. I also watched the A-Team for the 500th time. When we got to Paris all the kids were half dead, especially me. We took two trains to the American School of Paris, which was hosting the festival, lugging our bags all the way. After meeting our host family and taking the school bus to our host family’s house, we ate our dinner, which consisted of pasta and, being as jetlagged as we were, promptly crashed on our beds even though it was only 6:30 pm.
We woke up at 7:30 am and, having gotten 13 hours of sleep we were feeling relatively refreshed. After breakfast, I noticed an odd sense of elation that I hadn’t noticed before. I looked outside the window at the unfamiliar sky and realized where the elation came. It was the fact that I, who had never been abroad without my family before, was in Paris! But I had little time to think about this, as we had to leave for our first rehearsal.
When we arrived at the theater that would serve as our rehearsal venue I was shocked that so many boys had volunteered for the festival. Call me sexist or stereotypical if you will, but I was pretty sure that this place would be empty since most boys don’t like singing. Guess I was wrong I thought. We met our conductor, Adam Hart, and our pianist, Keith Montgomery, during the first few minutes of our time. Mr. Hart was from the American School of Dubai. He seemed like one of those teachers who is really funny and leaves an indelible imprint in your memory. My assumption proved to be correct. Mr. Montgomery was from the American School of London. After the initial formalities we got down to business and started rehearsing. I can tell you without a doubt that the rehearsals were the most strenuous thing I had ever done. My voice was stretched to the limit and I almost couldn’t speak. I had a bad throat ache after one particularly difficult rehearsal but fortunately it went away before the main concert.
The rehearsals usually lasted around four hours with breaks in between. After the rehearsals we went back home to our host families. The host families had children in ASP and Brandon, Max, Will, DaSol and me stayed with Mary and Roland. They also had a seventeen-year-old son named Luke. Leandro stayed with a different family just around the corner. I can’t thank Mary and Roland enough for their kindness while we were there. It was Mary’s delicious cooking that sated my ravenous hunger at the end of the day and it was Roland’s effort to get us there on time (we had to take two trains to get to ASP since they lived far away) that helped us to be there when we needed to be there.
Finally, after 16-plus hours of rehearsing at ASP, and countless hours back in Jakarta, the day came when we had to perform for all of ASP. After a quick 30-minute rehearsal, we put on our concert clothes and prepared for our unorthodox but enjoyable entrance into the theater. At that moment I was standing next to my fellow alto and friend Nico Thiry. I looked him in the eye and saw my emotions reflected there. Fear, anticipation, excitement and nervousness. All these combined to form a simmering emotional soup in my gut that made me want to puke. But I had to be strong, because the auditorium doors were opening, and it was time for the show to start.
After our stunning entrance with Yonder Come Day that earned us a two-and-a-half minute long applause from the crowd (I know the exact time because Nico was wearing a watch) we proceeded to sing our other songs. By this time the soup had cooled down a bit and I was more relaxed, despite the fact that several people around me, including Nico, had nervous expressions on their faces. After six more songs, we finally got to sit down. During this time Mr. Hart introduced Mr. Halvorsen, the Middle school director, Mr. and Mrs. Basset, founders of AMIS, Mrs. Lynn Hutchinson, arranger of Nenni, and Mrs. Beamic, our violinist for Polly Wolly Doodle. But we hardly paid any attention to all this because we were too busy rubbing our aching knees! We sang two more songs, then, during the tumultuous applause that followed, somebody shouted “Encore!” everybody else in the audience seemed to agree, and soon we were singing our 10th and final song, which was Rock-a My Soul. The audience literally exploded with applause. All of us were beaming so much that our cheeks hurt. Then, after we were given permission to leave, I ran like a madman to the changing room to get out of my stuffy clothes. Then came a round of cheers, tears, photographs, and frantic searches for paper to write email addresses on. In the middle of this sea of people, I was standing there with a contented expression on my face, the expression of one who has just accomplished something difficult, and he is tired but happy, experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done. Soon the time came when the trickle of people leaving became a flood and just me, Will, Brandon, DaSol and Max were left, along with two other singers from Ankara. Apparently we were the group whose host families had decided to go to the cocktail party, and had left us in the care of Mr. Halvorsen and two other teachers. We ate sandwiches in the teachers lounge and watched Casino Royale until 9:30, and then we had to leave. We slept all the way and when we got home, fell into bed like chopped-down trees.
We woke up early the next morning and got ready for the long drive to Charles de Gaulle International Airport. We thanked Mary and Roland one last time and then rode the train to the station to meet Mr. Pendell and Mrs. Schwartz. Then we took a van to the airport and boarded our flight. This time I stayed awake longer and watched Jonah Hex, Marmaduke, The Losers and an episode of Bones. In Abu Dhabi airport I lost my backpack and spent an hour searching for it with Mr. Pendell. Thankfully we found it at the police station. During the flight to Jakarta I slept the whole way and woke up feeling excited at the prospect of returning to my family. As I said goodbye to the airhostess I breathed in the humid, heady air of Jakarta. I was home. The drive back to JIS was pretty funny, as we cracked jokes to pass the time. I learned a funny one about blondes (no offense to all the blondes out there) and added it to my repertoire for future sharing. When we reached JIS my family’s driver Trisno was waiting there. I stuffed the bags into the trunk and we drove to our house. When I got there I was ready to drop dead and absolutely starving. I ate a quick dinner and then when my dad got home I hugged him so hard I think I bruised him. Then I got ready for bed. As I slid the covers over my body, I reflected on the past week’s events. I had made new friends, sang in a professional choir, and had a great time meeting new people and had seen a slice of one of the most famous cities in Europe. All in all, a very good trip, I thought to myself, as I fell asleep and ended one of the shortest yet the most memorable chapters of my life.
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