So much to do! So much to learn!
My desk is cluttered with tasks to do for the facility and for my classes. Although it feels a little intimidating to have so much on my plate, I must say, I have never felt more motivated! Being a full-time taiko student at LATI is incredible. It is overwhelming at times, especially since I'm diving into these six courses halfway through but I cannot express how happy and grateful I am to be doing it all.
Kris and I came up with goals that I would like to achieve by the end of my 2 month internship. I am proud to say that I have accomplished one of them successfully. I never played shime a lot in the past so I had a very difficult time playing one beat with my left hand while my right played another. After seeing how important the skill was for learning some of the Rocksolids, I decided to strive towards making it one of my strengths. After much practice with a useful drill, I can now play two different beats at the same time! I still have a ways to go till it comes easily to me but I have significantly improved. (Tip: My drill was playing the 134 ji with my left hand while playing M1 with my right.)
I hope that there will be other full-time students at LATI soon! Both Yuta and Kris are amazing teachers and I feel extra fortunate to be learning different aspects of taiko from them.