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Friendship Salon Concert for International Students and Hiroshima Citizens
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The 2nd Friendship Salon Concert for International Students and Hiroshima Citizens was held from 2pm, December 7 last year in the Exchange Lounge on the 1st floor of International House.
Approximately 140 international students, non-Japanese visitors and Hiroshima citizens attended.
At the concert this year yuzu tea, coffee and other drinks were provided for the visitors.
It was a cold day, and participants were pleased to receive hot drinks to warm them up.
In the first half of the concert Pei Yinyin, a Chinese student who is enrolled at Elizabeth University of Music Graduate School, sang to the piano accompaniment of Srisawat Nuttakarn, a Thai student who is also studying at the same school.
They performed six pieces, including opera pieces and songs in Chinese.
In the second half of the concert, Cha Kyoungsil (soprano), a Korean and former international
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Beautiful soprano voice
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student who graduated from Elizabeth University of Music and used to live at International House, gave a performance showcasing her beautiful singing voice.
Ms. Cha became a resident of International House as an international student when it first opened in April 2001, and for her, this was a sentimental homecoming concert.
She performed seven pieces, between which she reminisced about her time in Hiroshima, including her loneliness during her first winter here, Japan becoming like a second home to her as she got used to living here, and then her desire to come back to Japan as soon as possible even after she had returned to Korea.
As she sang "A Thousand Winds", "Time To
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Say Goodbye" and other pieces, Ms. Cha's carefree voice resounded throughout the venue, and a hush fell over the normally bustling Exchange Lounge as the audience listened, entranced, to her singing.
The international student residents who came back after being out or working their
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part-time jobs were drawn to the beauty of her singing voice and stopped in the lounge to listen.
After the concert, an Ikebana (flower arrangement) Lesson was held in the lounge, with support from Ikebana International.
International students from five countries participated together with sixteen Japanese participants.
Flowers such as carnations, which were used in the large-scale ikebana work decorating the venue, were divided up among the participants, who then arranged them in containers that they could take home with them.
These experiences with beautiful songs and flowers led to many enjoyable encounters.
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All enjoying the ikebana experience
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| (Hiroshima City International House) |
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