Learning Journey

When I was working as a teacher, I would, from time to time, bring my class on educational trips which we call Learning Journeys.  I do enjoy those trips since it's an opportunity to get out from the confines of the classroom and to learn something new - even for me.  I hope my students would have learnt something as well too.

Now that I am a student again, I do find it boring to sit inside the classroom for hours and study.  But I never would have thought that I would have a chance to be on such a trip here.  The lessons are free, after all, so I didn't think we would be taken on such educational journeys.  So imagine my surprise when the teacher announced that we would be going on a trip to the Concert Hall.  

Yesterday morning, the clouds were dark and heavy.  It looked like it was going to rain anytime but we all still made our way to the Concert Hall.  We met outside the school and then walked to the bus stop nearby. The teacher paid for all of us with the school's bus pass and then in 15 mins, we reached our destination.  It started to drizzle but we still had some more walking to do.  So we walked on.  Luckily the rain here is usually light so we didn't get too wet.

Once there, we were met by one of the guys that work for the Concert Hall.  He gave a short intro about the place and the kinds of performances that were held there.  He also told us about the theatre that we were about to enter.  The members of the orchestra were already in there doing their individual or group practices but we were allowed to go on stage to have a closer look.  Understandably, he reminded us not to touch anything.  Simply keep our eyes and ears open and our mouths shut.

Inside the theatre, the musicians were all busy practicing their pieces.  Since they weren't playing together, it sounded like a mess.  But that's how it's like, I suppose.  After a short walkabout on the stage, we went outside again where we were taught the names of the various instruments and their families, in Swedish, of course.  The names are basically the same as in English but the spelling and pronunciations are slightly different.  

Then, we were given a pleasant treat.  We were allowed back into the theatre again.  This time, the orchestra was rehearsing their pieces, led by the conductor and the show's producers and directors.  The show was called Joystick 5.0.  The orchestra was basically playing music and theme songs from popular computer games such as Assassin's Creed, Halo and so on.  

I don't play those games so I wasn't familiar with the songs but I enjoyed them nonetheless.  And the orchestra was good.  Now that they were all playing in sync, it was beautiful.  There was even a singer who provided the vocals and made the songs even more haunting.  We were there for half an hour and in that time, we got to listen to two whole songs.  

In between, the conductor would every so often, stop the music to give some instructions to certain musicians or the singer.  He would even jump down  from the stage and run to certain corners of the hall to check on the sound.  What a treat to see an actual professional concert rehearsal!  And they were all very professional.  I see them writing notes on their score sheets whenever some changes or instructions were given.  

Once time was up, I was loathe to leave my seat but I guess I would have to just buy a ticket next time and watch a proper concert.  The orchestra will be playing for free in one of the parks this summer so I might just drop by with Pete.  

Making our way back to school was a bit eventful. My teacher lived very near the Concert Hall so she didn't want to have to bring us all back there and then she has to make the trip back home again.  Plus it was her birthday so I guess she wanted the day off since we weren't having any lesson after that.  Anyway, we were all adults so we could make our way back ourselves. 

The only thing was the school's bus pass.  She gave me the card and told me to pay for the class and to ask for the receipt. She also told me that the card contained a lot of money so I had to be careful not to lose it.  It wasn't a big deal since I've been leading countless of classes on such trips before. 

We decided to take two buses instead.  That meant that we would cut down on our walking.  So I led my classmates up the bus, spoke to the bus driver in Swedish and got the receipt.  Then, changing buses, I also talked to the bus driver in Swedish.  I got my classmates safely back and I returned the card to my teacher today.  The best things about the day was not only the beautiful music by the orchestra, it was that the teacher trusted me enough and that the bus drivers understood me.  Now that was awesome!

You can see the conductor giving instructions to the singer in the red dress in the front of the stage.