Dad's Concert

Yesterday, I went to my dad's brass band concert.  There's a may be some new words in that last sentence so let's go over them.

A "band" is a group of people who make music.  It can be something like this:


Or something like this:




"Brass" means a kind of instrument.  "Brass" instruments are in a group together because you play differently from other instruments.  With "brass" instruments you have to buzz your lips to make a sound:

https://youtu.be/62t1Dhmm-2Q?t=92

A "concert" is when the people who play in a band put on a show for other people to watch.  Kind of like this:




Or this:

My dad's concert was at a church.  They always have their concerts at the same church:



You see, they made a deal with the church.  The church lets them have concerts at their church once in a while, and my dad's band has to play for the church once in a while.  It's a pretty fair trade.

This is what it looks like from the inside:





My dad is the third one from the left.  So if you count one starting from the left side, he's the third man.  Do you know which one my dad is?  Don't worry if you can't figure it out, I'll show another picture of him at the end.

For this concert, the band played with a man playing the organ.  An "organ" is like a piano, but very big.  See these metal pipes in the back?



This is what the organ uses to make sound.  When you play the piano, a hammer hits a string whenever you press the white key down.  When you play an organ, wind goes through these huge pipes to make sound.  The sound of an organ can fill up a whole room!

The concert was about two hours.  There was a break in the middle.  A break during a concert or important show is called an "intermission".  "Inter-" means "between", so it's like saying the part of the concert that is in the middle.  The band played seven songs, some slow and peaceful, some fast and exciting.  They sounded really good!



I took a picture of my dad and mom during intermission for those of you who asked to see them.



If you want to listen to the kind of music my dad's band plays, here is the website:

http://brassbandnw.org/

(move to the lower right part of the page and click on the youtube video there to listen)

Have any of you been to any concerts before?  Have you played in a concert before, or something like it?  Maybe you have played in a "recital".  "Recitals" are like concerts, but only one person plays at a time.  When that person finishes, the next person plays.  Piano and violin recitals are very popular in Taiwan, so you probably have a friend who has done one even if you haven't.

I know some of you play piano and can read music.  How about those of you who don't play instruments?  Have you ever wanted to?  Which instrument would you play if you could?  Would you want to play in front of people?  You don't need to worry about being nervous if you're in a band, because everyone plays together!  They all work hard to make the song sound great, and everybody is an important part of the band.

Plus you get to wear nice clothes and look cool.

Well, that's all for this entry guys.  Talk to you later!

Tr. Stephen

Cleaning Gutters

^What's this?

We call these "gutters" (gut/ters).  In rainy places, houses need to have gutters to catch rainwater and lead it away from the house.   Why?  Because if your house stays wet for a long time, bad things can happen...



or...



EWWW!!!!

Now, I don't remember if homes in Taiwan have gutters.  Maybe not, since many houses have flat roofs.  Roofs are the top part of a house.  In the US, many houses have roofs like triangles.



It rains a lot in Xizhi, so they must use something that lets the water run down below the street where it won't damage houses.

Anyway, why am I talking about all this?  Well...



...because I had to clean our gutters out!  You see, if just water falls in the gutters, it'll fall down a pipe and go under the ground.  That's what is supposed to happen.  But if leaves and other stuff fall in, they'll stay in the gutters.  And if too many leaves get in the gutter, it can stop the water from going down.  This will damage the gutters.



We have A LOT of trees around our backyard, mostly in our neighbor's yard, so that means we get A LOT of leaves in our gutters:



We also get branches and other things, too.

Climbing around on a ladder can be dangerous.  If it's a tall ladder, then you have to be really careful.  You have to move slowly even if you want to get the job done quickly.  If you fall off from the very top, you might get hurt badly!  I'm not a patient person, but even I know I have to pay attention and watch my step.



This is after I finished cleaning one part of the gutters.  You can still see some leaves in there, but that's fine because you don't need to make it perfectly clean.  You just need to clean it enough so water can still flow inside.

Here's a picture of me as I'm cleaning:



I sweep the branches and leaves down from the top of the roof into the gutters, and then pick up the leaves from inside the gutter.  What do I do with the leaves?



I have to throw them away, but not in the garbage can!  We have a special "garbage can" for plants called a "yard waste bin".  "Waste" means things you don't want, or things that are left over after you finish something.  When you go poo-poo, that's called "waste"!





In America, parents will pay children for doing chores.  They think it's good for children to learn how to take care of the house and keep things neat, so they give them a reason to do that by giving them money.  Students in America aren't just studying all the time, and parents are OK with that.  This can be good and bad.  It can be good because children learn that they can earn money by working hard, but it can also be bad because some kids might only want to help their parents or do a good job when they can get money for it.  Sometimes you should do a good job because it's the right thing to do, not just to help yourself.

My mom wants to give me money for helping the family, but I'm proud to be able to help and I don't need any money.  When she asked me how long I worked, I told her I couldn't remember, and she got mad at me because she knew I was just pretending to forget on purpose! :P

Are there any ways you help Mom and Dad around the house?  Would they let you help them if you asked, or would they just tell you to worry about your schoolwork?  Would you want to help them if you could?  These are things you can think about when you see your parents taking care of you and cleaning around the house.  When you're older, maybe you can do some of those things to show them some love!

Alright guys, catch you later!
Tr. Stephen

Hey guys, I'm not dead

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still doing just fine.  Mom and Dad left for Hawaii almost two weeks ago, and my brother and I are taking care of the house.  That means we need to feed Shadow, clean up her cat box (where she poop), take out the trash and recycling, do the dishes, take the mail in, and other chores.  It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.

I've gone up snowboarding two more times since my last post, and I'm going up again tomorrow.  I met up with a good friend, Kyle, who lives far away now.  He came up to visit all of us for just a few days.  I also went to a friend's 30th birthday party and we played a game that looks like this:



You drive a car while trying to throw a ball around.  You can hit people with your car but if you hit them in the back the other team will get points because it's a little dangerous.  It's very hard to pick the ball off the ground and to throw the ball with your scooper.  We played for two hours.  It was lots of fun!

I've also been studying for a test I have to take.  I'm almost done with the things I need for school, I just need to take this test.  It's going to be hard, so I bought a book and I'm reading it now.  Once I'm done reading it, I'll read it again for the most important parts and write them down.  After I do that, I think I should be ready to take it.

It's been nice to take things easy for a month.  One thing I'm still getting used to is how cold it is here.  Well, it feels cold to me, anyway!  I guess that's what happens when you live in Taiwan for three years.  Even though it's April right now, I still very cold all the time!

Anyway, hope all is well with you guys.  Take care and have fun!