My stay in Asian University for Women and an excursion

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Chichano Humtsoe (second from right) and Christine (first-left) with their teachers during a recent trip to France for summer vocal classes.

 

Chichano Humtsoe


My stay in AUW (Asian University for Women) has been amazing so far, with opportunities flocking in all year long. The AUW choir in particular has given me more opportunities, not only in learning about a new genre of music in western classical but also to venture out in the world, learning about a completely new culture. This time, I had been fortunate enough to go to France with another friend of mine, Christine who is also a talented singer (soprano) for summer vocal classes with an amazing French lady, Beatrice Gaucet. My mind was stressed out from academics alone and I had been looking for an escape this summer and I was more than happy when I heard about this project from the choir director, Dr. Selvam Thorez.The project was to take vocal classes with the teacher for a week and perform in a concert towards the end of the week.

    
Days and weeks passed by and it was August in no time. We boarded the flight to Paris on the 6th of August. The summer class was in a village called “Bruyeres” which was further away from Paris. However, we stayed in Paris for three days, with vacation vibes kicking in. We ventured out a lot in these three days, visiting monuments, museums and other touristic places. Then we headed to Bruyeres.


In Bruyeres, we were welcomed by our teacher, Beatrice, her family and the other students. All the other students were quite older than us, many in their early or late 50’s. Some of the students were beginners while the others with amazing vocals were non-professionals. The other students and I, we quickly clicked. I had this positive vibe coming from each of them and I really understood the saying “Age is just a number”. That day, we all gathered in Beatrice’s home and had dinner together. It was a completely new environment in Bruyeres, quiet and peaceful atmosphere with a pleasant and chilly weather. The people were more welcoming towards us and I felt the warmth and genuine love and compassion behind those smiling faces. We would have vocal classes everyday with Beatrice in the mornings and then in the afternoon we had rehearsals of the pieces (French and Italian) with the pianist (Laura). 


I am so thrilled to introduce another amazing soul, Laura who is an Italian pianist. She had been supporting and motivating us throughout the whole journey. We all need someone like her in our lives, someone with a positive energy. Her husband is a flutist who also performed during the concert where we sang. Another important character if I were to write a novel about would be Beatrice’s husband, Jim, who is in his early 60’s probably. He was the sweetest companion I could ever ask for. After classes during my leisure time, he would take us around to see his horses, Ringo and Rosie both 15 years old. He also took us to the cathedral to attend an organ concert, which was very new to me as I had never seen an organ before. Jim was a member of an acapella male group in his early years and also played the piano very well. 


The one thing challenging for me was the food. Bread was their best friend, they ate bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also learned a lot about wines and cheese. Ofcourse, not missing out the croissants, I must say I had the privilege to eat a real croissant in Paris in all of my 19 years.   


One week passed by in the blink of an eye and it was finally the day of the concert. I sang an Italian and a French melody (solo) and also sang a duet with Christine. We had one last dinner with the whole group that night. With tears running down our cheeks and tissues running out, we all bade farewell. 


My friend and I, assisted by our director came back to Paris and stayed there for four more days, sightseeing and I also met a lot of his musician friends in Paris. Paris was indeed a beautiful place, but I seemed to like it better in the village. In Paris, everyone went about their own business and the atmosphere was kind of cold. The streets were flocking with people who looked like updated versions of zombies swiftly walking in different directions. My experience in Bruyeres will be the most memorable one. I had this emotional bonding with all the people there and I still feel quite nostalgic thinking about Bruyeres. I was blessed to have had this opportunity and to have met the people there who I would define as “beautiful souls”.

 

The author is a Bachelor of Arts student at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong. She shares her life in AUW as well as her recent study trip to France with her peers in Nagaland.