Johanes Jefry Prasetyo from Indonesia -2013 admission
It has been almost one and half year since I began my journey as an international student in Kyoto University. My life here in Japan has been so awesome. I could experience different culture and meet people from different places. Living here as a student in Japan has also given me an opportunity to introduce Indonesian Culture to Japanese society. One of the Indonesian culture that I have been introducing until now is angklung. It is an Indonesian traditional musical instrument made of bamboo. Because one angklung only has one tone, to play a song a lot of people are needed.
Last June, me and my Indonesian friends performed angklung in an event Kyoto Sustainable Month. We performed two songs, one Indonesian traditional song and one Japanese song, Heavy Rotation from AKB48. A lot of people came and watched our performance. Some of them were interested in angklung and were asking more about agklung after the performance ended. This November, we had another angklung performance in an event called KOKOKA Open Day 2014 in Kyoto International Community House. We performed three songs; two Indonesian songs, and one Japanese song, Furusato.
Even though it is a hard for me to manage my schedule for my study, part time job and angklung practice time, I feel happy to get the opportunity to learn and also share a lot, not only about the school curriculum but also the social living, traditional culture of Japan. I hope I can continue to learn and share more in the future.