Let's learn how to play harp & speak Japanese!

Recently, I have done two interesting things besides the usual stuff. One is that I went to an introductory harp exploratory lesson. Second is that I participated in an introductory Japanese class.

Let's talk about the harp experience first. It was so coooooooooooooool! I have always like the heavenly sound of harp music and it was upon browsing through the One of a Kind Arts and Craft Show that I picked up a flyer promoting a discounted harp intro class ($40 instead of $60 for 1 hour). It took place at a room inside a church and there were 7-8 other adults (all were female except for one!) who came. We briefly introduced ourselves and most of us had some sort of music background. Our instructor was a young and attractive Chinese man named Andrew Chan. He talked about his background and the history of harp, and then got us experiemented with the various sized harps. Because of the similarity between piano and harp, most of us could locate the notes pretty easily and began playing some simple chords and tunes. It took me a bit of guidance and time to adjust to the proper way to strike the strings, but once I got a hang of it it was really fun! And to finish things off he played a piece on harp that he composed... is was so pretty! If I have more time and money I'm tempted to take some more lessons... maybe in the future la ^_^

For more information about the harp instructor/lesson and his upcoming performances, go to: http://www.andrewchanharpist.com/

I also took a 3-sessions (2 hours each) FREE Japanese course offered by the Japan Foundation. The goal was to inspire people to learn Japanese. It focused on learning Katakana (one of the three Japanese writing system) through Manga. The Japanese instructor was quite patient with us beginners. I think it's great for those who have no previous knowledge of Japanese and want to learn a little, and for those who learnt before (like me) but have forgot due to the lack of practice. Although the use may not be very practical, it's a great way to get engaged in the language and a chance to practice speaking some Japanese words outloud without embarrassment. But it's not intended for more advanced speakers because it'd be too easy.

This course will be offer again in mid-February. And some more advanced courses on Japanese pronounciation will be offer in March. For more information, check out: http://www.jftor.org/whatson/20120131KatakanaClass.php