Rough Sketch of Tour

Ok, this is just a draft of something I am working on to submit to a competition themed about transportation, but it covers the basics of tour so all y'all can have some idea of what we were doing. Sorry it's so rough.


Journal of a Life on a Bus

Day One/Two: Bright and early start at 4 am. A shower, last minute packing, and walked to the school. Said good morning, gathered the choir together, and loaded the bus for the first of many times. Poor planning: one school bus for sixty-two people and all their luggage, not to mention all the instruments and stuff. Suitcases were stuffed into the aisles, onto the “extra” seats… very tight, hardly enjoyable. Nonetheless we made it to the airport and boarded our plane in Honolulu. One, two, three planes and eighteen hours of traveling later, arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Loaded onto two buses and made for the hotel. Check-in, bed.

Day Three: Up at 9 in the morning then onto the bus and off to the Kaohsiung County Seat to meet with and sing for some government officials. Pile off, sing, pile back on, happy for the AC to relieve us from the sticky heat. Enjoyed a fairly lengthy ride out to a high school where we were treated to a king’s lunch and a rock star’s reception. We sang for about 1,500 students in their gym, but things really got crazy once we got to go out and meet the kids. Countless pictures, endless cheering, and the occasional autograph, all amid a sea of peace signs, high fives, and shaka ‘hang loose’ hand signs. Talk about a self-esteem booster. Eventually managed to extricate everyone from the crowd and return to our coaches. Tour bus already starting to feel familiar with its two entrances, six steep steps, gaudy colored seats (two on each side), and just enough space to trick you into thinking comfort is possible. Long ride to the other side of the city for another mini concert at a university. Split from their with local families in order to get a real taste of the culture. Only been three days and a normal car felt delightful, despite the rush of crazy Taiwan traffic. Our ‘taste’ of the land certainly was authentic… we were served cow stomach. Oh boy. In all fairness, it actually wasn’t half bad. Better really than some of the ‘normal’ things we were served. One more fast-paced car ride through the thrilling neon night streets before a grateful return to bed.

Day Four: Back to the bus… this time, off to an elementary school. Taught English kids’ songs to first graders. Cutest thing ever, watching them do “Head, shoulders, knees, and toes.” A mini concert, lunch, and an ambush on the way back from the bathroom by a hundred screaming fourth graders who wanted autographs. Barely escaped with my life… did make it back to the bus, fear not. Got distracted while loading and followed some nearby stairs up a mountain. They kept going, so I ran faster. Two steps at a time until I arrived on top, with the city below me and a Confucian temple before me. No time for anything but a few photographs before rushing back down. Can’t miss the bus. Back at the hotel, washed my disgustingly sweaty shirt in the sink, then used the hair dryer to dry it, more or less. Put it back on and went down to, you guessed it, the bus. Off to our first real concert. So good. Bus, bed. So good.

Day Five: Up, repack, breakfast, check out, and bus. Then some more bus, followed by a lunch break at a museum, followed by more bus, a pit stop at a gas station, and then more bus. At long last we made it to Taichung, sang for the mayor, and hit up the hotel. Totally weird hotel- the bathroom is entirely glass. Kind of awkward, especially showering. Oh well, welcome to modern art I suppose… not much time to lounge around though as we got right back on the bus and made our way to Feng Chia University. Toured the campus, met some students, and then enjoyed the nearby night market. Totally awesome except for the occasional whiff of stinky tofu. Let’s just say it’s aptly named. Particularly liked the incredible “English” for sale… seriously almost bought a shirt that said: “To find a brand new form that doen ont cumently exial. URBAN STRANGER. Vieual communication is soul food for the mind.” Sheer poetry…

Day Six: Bus to the university, workshops with students. Taught and learned different cultural talents such as hula, the Maori haka, Chinese drumming, a traditional lion dance, etc. I myself helped teach a hip hop stomp. Interesting and fun enough, I hope. After lunch, back to the hotel. A little free time at a nearby park before we bused to the next concert venue, rehearsed, and ate dinner. Didn’t realize each piece of sushi was wrapped individually in plastic and almost died. Live and learn: don’t each boxed sushi. Performed… best concert of the tour. The hall was terrific, beautiful, and really a joy to sing in. At the behest of the crowd, gave two encores. Fun but exhausting. Happy to see the bus, because bus=bed!

Day Seven: Early bus to the university to perform our learned talents before we journeyed to Taipei. All day driving, driving, driving. What would we do without the bus? Celebrate? Cry? Without doubt we’d be lost forever in heat and humidity with our luggage. Well worth whatever discomfort could not be avoided. Arrived in time to go out to another night market. Total sensory overload, with sights, sounds, smells… blocks and blocks of pedestrian-only traffic where you can haggle over prices and fight for a deal whenever you’re not dodging the speeding cart of an illegal vendor running to an alleyway to hide from the police. Very happy for the bus-free time spent on my own two feet.

Day Eight: Optional bus tour of the city in the morning. Yes, I know, more bus time. So worth it though as we visited Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Almost anywhere you go in the city you can see it rising into the clouds like the tower of Baradur from Lord of the Rings. The only thing missing was the giant, flaming eye of Sauron. Highly impressive. Didn’t have time to do up it as we instead hurried off to the changing of the guard at a Naval Memorial Cemetery. Pretty neat. Lunch back at the hotel, interesting as always. One of my favorite dishes was sprouts covered in tuna, topped with frosting and complete with sprinkles. You think I’m kidding but I’m dead serious. It was strangely tasty. Back to the bus and off to a workshop with local choir directors, then to our final concert venue in Taiwan, at a train station of all places. There was an auditorium on the fifth floor, but still… odd. Did our thing and sang for two hours, complete with two more encores (honestly, is that the only English word they know?!). After the concert, we felt like ice cream. Good news: Coldstones Creamery just across the street. Bad news: that street is a six lane highway with a barrier in the middle and no crosswalk in sight. Waited for a nice break in traffic and then dashed to the middle, hopped the barrier, and sighed in relief once on the peaceful median. My happy sigh was cut off in mid-execution by the honking of an angry horn- our ‘peaceful median’ was actually just one more lane rising up from who-knows-where underground. My companion shrieked, the car accelerated, and I lunged onto a real strip of sidewalk, just of out harm’s way. The sound that cars make in movies when the go screaming by? Yeah, it’s real. By now I was more than done with trying to cross this forsaken road, but, unfortunately, we were in the middle. Seeking comfort, we fled to the ice cream side of the road. The return trip was slightly less harrowing but just as hateful. So very, very happy to be back on our giant, safe bus, gliding through psycho Taiwanese roads like a whale among the lesser fish of the sea.

Day Nine: Sunday is a day of rest, hallelujah.

Day Ten: Our last trip on the Taiwanese buses took us to the airport. With a fond farewell we bid them and their fine country goodbye as we flew south to Hong Kong. Upon arrival we were greeted with buses far less agreeable than those we had left behind. Two seats on one side, three on the other. Seat size: half the size necessary for your average person to be moderately uncomfortable. Looking to be a long week… on the plus side, the views of Hong Kong as we crossed giant suspension bridges from one island to another are incredible. Pizza at the hotel felt like a little slice of heaven and fortified us to go out to another night market. Totally crazy, lots of bargaining, loads of fun. Back onto the too-small bus and a happy collapse into a thankfully not-too-small bed.

Day Eleven: Very little bus time, considering the day was spent at Disneyland. Did, however, ride a little boat in a small world and took a rocket ship through space mountain. Four times. Good day.

Day Twelve: Time to earn our keep. The choir split into two groups and, between us, visited four different schools. Way awesome and fun, especially considering that two of the schools were for disabled children. What great places to sing, be cheerful, and build relationships. Kids are the best, no matter where you are in the world. The bus took us on a little sight seeing in the afternoon, and that evening we wound our way up Victoria Peak for an overlook of the city. Of course, it was the middle of a monsoon, so the view wasn’t exactly endless, but still. Wicked awesome to be in a lightning storm on top of a mountain above what few neon lights shine from the city through the mist. Never been so wet in my life. Sorry, bus…

Day Thirteen: More schools. Five more, to be exact. More special needs kids. More strength to smile when you want to cry. More love for children you have never met and will never meet again. More music, more held hands, more invaluable memories. Never had a bus been put to such good use as when ours carried around the city. What a day… also fun but less fulfilling, we sang at a mall. Cool but hard on the voice. Happy to be herded once more onto the bus and return to the hotel. With a little freedom, it was time to discover the taxi. Some friends and I decided to return to the Peak for a rain-free view and were delighted to experience the cheap, quick, comfortable taxi. Almost as great as the view…

Day Fourteen: Hard to get back on the bus. This, however, was a special bus equipped for climbing mountains as we made our way to the largest free-standing Buddha statue in the world, well placed in the clouds. 8 percent grade, here we come… Loooong, steep haul. Amazing view, beautiful monument. Interminable ride home. So much bus… the rest of the day passed in a blur at the concert venue rehearsing and then performing. Ironically, a gaggle of kindergartners provided a halftime show during intermission in which their teacher asked, “Children, how is the doors on the bus? How is the people on the bus?” to which they responded, “Yo! Yo! Yo!” and then provided a laudable imitation of that children’s favorite, “The Wheels on the Bus.” Only slightly more appropriately themed was the song sung to open for us, a stunning rendition of “Mamma Mia” by ABBA, complete with neon lights and marching, unsmiling Chinese seventh graders. This of course transitioned perfectly into our concert, which began with “O Magnum Mysterium,” a Latin text about the wondrous mystery that humble farm animals should be the first to behold the Christ-child. Seamless.

Day Fifteen: An exact replica of day fourteen, except with less visiting a giant Buddha, more sleeping in, and more singing at the mall again. The concert was the same, though… last one. Gave it our all and pressed through despite sickness, lost voices, and exhaustion. We had a duty to perform.

Day Sixteen: Sunday, blessed Sunday.

Day Seventeen: Onto the tiny buses for the last time. Early ride to the airport and another oh-so-pleasant three plane, eighteen hour journey. Only this time, we traveled back in time. We left our hotel at 8 in the morning on May 24th and touched down in Honolulu at 7:30 am on May 24th. Sounds cool, but let me tell you, time travel is exhausting. At last, the final bus ride back to the North Shore. Disembarked, kissed the ground, and vowed to not touch another bus for a year.