Grease in Mongolia!

 ISU produced it's first ever Broadway Musical, yesterday, with our production of Grease!  The audience seemed quite pleased and well entertained, despite the lightest rehearsal schedule I've ever seen for a high school musical! A couple of months was all we had, with only one music rehearsal and two stage rehearsals per week. Somehow, the kids pulled it off! Many students worked hard, but my Music Director hat goes off to students Namuun, Ashley, and Amy, from Mongolia, the US, and China. They were note-perfect in solos and harmonies, worked hard on stage, and took technical issues in stride like pros! With a total 35 students on stage and back stage, it was truly an international cast with students from another 15 countries.  Many of our school's students who were in the audience, came up to me at intermission and said they intended to audition next year.  So, "Mission Accomplished!"    Here are a couple pages from last night's student-produced program...

Spring Break in Japan

Despite all of the bad news, my university admissions contacts said that we were certainly invited to visit Japan, so we went ahead with our plans. Many parts of Japan are beautiful this time of year (cherry blossom time), especially Kyoto, south of  Tokyo. While we were there, we got to experience the largest after shock, yet, to hit since the big one, and a couple of smaller ones. They may have rattled us, but they didn't seem to bother anyone else! Here are a few pictures from Tokyo and Kyoto...

 

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Winter Break in Laos

A little before break (like a month and a half!) we surprised Kelly with a little birthday bash and a creative cake...

 9 countries represented in this pic!

A few weeks later we escape the bitter cold. First, a little stop in Beijing (still cold, but a lot less, so) where you can stay without a visa for up to 24 hours. Just enough time to take the subway from the airport into town, sight see, and then check-in for the next flight.

Anna buys some pearls at the Pearl Market...

A short walk to...

Mmmmmm, lunch!  And so many choices...

Now that we're full, its back to the airport, we stuff our heavy clothes deep into our bags, and we are off to Laos. We arrive to a delightful 80 F degrees, check in to our "room" and then, a little biking around Vientiane...

  

Then a short flight, north to Luang Prabang. This was our base (click to see Kelly wave) for two weeks of blissful exploration...

Our transport and breakfast patio, out front, perched on the banks of a little river...

...well, the mighty Mekong...

A full moon lights our way along the riverfront cafes...

 An interesting situation develops, here, when a motor vehicle wants to cross...

I don't know what Kelly is pointing at, I'm looking down and seeing the river through(!) the rickety roadbed...

...and back across. This pedestrian part is even more rickety than than middle part...

One of many, many, wats...

They don't take their dragons too lightly, here...

Evening falls on the lovely town of Luang Prabang...