Michael Alberti's Tuesday 30 July blog!!!!

Tuesday
We stopped off at Zu-Shi temple, a 200 year old temple in the centre of San-Xia. A glance here and there created a very real sense of grandeur, but only a few managed to notice the unbelievably intricate detail on every centimeter of wall and ceiling. After a short drive in the bus, we stopped off for lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Long-Tan. After happily paying a meager R40, plate after plate of beautifully presented food was served and everyone dug in, some with a little more enthusiasm than others. Some ate the duck, some the pork. Some ate the fish or lamb, while others tucked into the squid, crab and bamboo. The variety of food was astounding, and it was our first real Taiwanese meal together, void of the popularly sought McDonald’s.
Upon arriving at our concert destination, we walked straight onto the stage for a 60-minute sound check. Some of the boys were a little disappointed at the acoustics of the hall. When singing, the choir received no reverberation from the surroundings, making the success of the upcoming concert a little more difficult. After the long and tiring bus-drive, the boys were given the opportunity to curl up on a scrunched up anorak for a well-received afternoon nap. Waking up to a warm dinner and ready to perform, we put on our performance clothes and quietly sat back-stage, listening to the traditional songs of four Georgians, with whom we shared the night’s concert. We finally walked on stage to the applause of small audience, a lot of which were young children. After the tranquil and relaxing harmony of the Russian singers, we woke the audience with the beginning of our lively African programme. Next, our unrehearsed San Gloria started a little shakily, but we found confidence in the thought that only the choir and Dr. Oosthuizen would really acknowledge any mistakes made. We had some very good moments, and some of the members in the audience were truly intrigued by the strange sounds and dissonant harmonies. We performed the Italian Salad with exaggerated gestures and all, and it appealed to the younger members in the audience, who laughed excessively. Finally, with the ‘Click Song’, we finished off with a bang, and smiles spread through the boys as we heard cries of “encore” ringing through the hall. After ‘Dubula’, we left the stage happy, and satisfied with our overall energetic and well-received performance.
We got back onto the bus, and a 3-hour drive saw us walking back into the familiar, air-conditioned lobby of the Sheraton Hotel.