I used to think of India as something crazy, dirty, horrible, and a place I would NEVER in 100 million years go to. But, the universe gave me an opportunity to come to India for a choir trip, AMIS. I go to an International School in Hong Kong, so I was able to audition and go to AMIS Asia Honor Girls Choir festival, which was held in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) this year, at the American School of Bombay. It’s very intensive. Very. We spend 3 days preparing for a concert on the 3rd day, practicing for up to 8 hours a day. It’s stressful and puts a lot of strain on us mentally, emotionally, and physically (our voices!!!) I was able to:
a) travel to an amazing country
b) make tons of new friends
c) learn about a new culture, and
d) sing!
This experience was crazy to me since I had never done, seen, or even heard of anything like it in the states. Our repertoire was extremely difficult, and I’m so proud we were able to finish it in the time we did.
Here’s a video of another choir singing one of the songs we sang:
Las Amarillas — Gondwana Voices
On to the trip itself!:
Day 1 was uneventful. We just got to Mumbai very late at night and slept the night at the Sofitel BKC. Customs for e-visa in India takes a very long time, especially if there are a lot of people waiting in line. We were tired after a 7-hour flight, so this was a huge nuisance.
Day 2 was much better. We toured around Mumbai, with notorious traffic all along the way. We visited popular sites such as the outdoor laundromat, Dhobi Ghat, the Gate of India, the Victorian train terminus, and Marine Drive. Dhobi Ghat, the laundromat, was really interesting as there were so many colors and so much going on. I noticed one man take a tan button-up shirt, and just pound it against a rock! He would hold one end and just fling it on the rock on repeat. I’d never seen that as a laundry technique so that was different. (In a fun way!) The train terminus was beautiful and very cool to look at, but it was under construction so we couldn’t see it’s full beauty. We also only saw it from a viewing point, since in order to get in you have to have a ticket.
Day 3, 4 & 5 were mostly rehearsal days, with a few specklings of interest along the way.
a) the Opening Ceremony. This started with a very long drum performance with 2 people playing their drums for up to around 10 minutes. Yep, 1-0. 10 minutes of just drum playing. It was loud!! But, it was a good wake up for everyone around haha. Afterward, there was a dance to a Hindu god and another dance to the same god. The second dance was actually performed by my homestay’s daughter, who was very kind to me during my stay.
b) Holi! Holi is where you can throw colorful powders at your friends and family, and they are WILLING! This was so fun and really crazy, and I loved the experience. I got a lot of powder on me, but it washes off the skin quite easily. I especially liked dumping powder all over the boys in my group, definitely worth the powder thrown at me.
c) Bollywood Dance classes. On Day 5, we learned Bollywood dances. An instructor came in and taught us how to do basic popular dances during a break in rehearsals. We danced to this really catchy song, (that’s been in my head for a few days), and learned about Bollywood culture.
The concert went very well (in my standards), and we managed to memorize all of the songs. I’m excited for what comes next since I’m traveling in India right now, and I’ll make sure to keep you posted. Stay tuned!
Uniquely Me 