Achieving Greatness Together

I didn't sleep tight with a full head of curls on me last night. I woke up early this morning to blow my hair. It was a big day for me as the sole representative from District 67 to D76 Fall Conference 2010. I left the hotel at eight o'clock and arrived at the Conference venue at Parea at 8:30. An old toastmaster friend from Higo Toastmasters Club greeted me with a big hug at the entrance of the building. It felt really good to see old friends in Toastmasters.

You raise me up as I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up ... to more than I can be.

International President Pat Johnson opened her keynote speech by singing an inspiring song to acknowledge the people who helped her become who she was today. She encouraged us to take every opportunity to help others to achieve the greatness together. I heard Pat sing the song the first time at D67 Spring Conference 2010 in April. I was more touched to listen to her speech once again and to know the Toastmasters who assisted her as the first timer in Japan.

I knew the level of my Japanese language proficiency was dropping, when I listened to the six contestants (from six divisions of D76) at the Humorous Speech Contest in Japanese Saturday afternoon. Honestly speaking, I could hardly understand them all, even I knew five out of six contestants in person. One of the reason, I couldn't comprehend the speeches as much as I could before, maybe because I sat at the far end of the conference hall. But, it felt just fine to be immersed in a full house of laughter while dozing off in my daydream!

I was really happy when Toastmaster Mayumi Shimamura received the plaque of championship of Humorous Speech in Japanese from IP Pat Johnson. Mayumi joked about how conscious and sensitive women were in terms of the volume of the food intake in her hilarious speech. She gave me a bottle of Kumamoto soy sause as a souvenir to take home with me.

I changed to red chipao at Toastmaster Kawano Kyoko's room and arrived at the gala dinner party full of excitements. The banquet was full of local dishes. Among them, I liked Karashi Renkon the most. Unlike the sweet lotus root cuision in Taiwan, Karashi Renkon was stuffed with mustard. The dish was invented by Mori Heigoro to cure Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the appointed Lord of Kumamoto Castle by Tokugawa Ieyasu, after the battle of Seki-ga-hara.

Toastmasters are invincible. Two years ago, at the Joint Anniversary of Success & Kumamoto Toastmasters Club in Taoyuan Saturday evening, October 11th, three toastmasters sang Ode to Joy at the dinner party, including Oshiumi (tenor), Lydia (alto) and me (alto). To our joy, a small Toastmasters chorus of three transformed into a big Toastmasters chorus of twenty plus singers in four parts at D76 Fall Conference 2010 dinner party. It was indeed a giant leap to showcase the Toastmasters spirit to achieve greatness together. Many thanks go to Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club and Kumamoto Toastmasters Club for their full support. Special thanks go to Toastmaster Kazuo Yamaguchi of Hiroshima Toastmasters CLub for taking the conductor role at the last minute.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Toastmaster Oshiumi burst into tears of joy after the performance. He thanked all the participants in singing Ode to Joy on stage. As the toastmaster who took the initiatives to organize the Toastmasters chorus, Toastmaster Oshiumi has been advocating a Toastmasters song for toastmasters all over the world earnestly and persistently.

At the dinner party, the organizing committee members distributed the fliers of D76 Spring Conference 2011 in Tokyo. I was very impressed by the efficiencies of Japanese Toastmasters. Toastmaster Takimoto announced that D76 Spring Conference in Tokyo will take place at National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, May 13th till 15th, 2011. The conference theme is "Build up Your Confidence".

After the banquet, Toastmaster Masuo Watari from Dazaifu Toastmasters Club invited me to join the 2nd party at Kentucky Colonel Charlie Nagatani's country music club a few blocks walk from the party venue. Four of us, including Hiroshi Nishiyama from Iizuka Toastmaters Club, Jonathan Borock from Kyushu University Toastmasters Club, had a crazy and boisterous night with Charlie and his band The Cannon Balls. It was eyeopening to see many Japanese fans of country music in Kumamoto. Charlie has sung country music sine 1956 and has organized the Internatioanl Country Music Festival (Country Gold) in Kumamoto since 1989. In my hand, showed the 22nd Country Gold Festival 2010 at the Kumamoto Open Air Theater in ASPECTA, Sunday October 17th.

I was so uplifted when I saw the full house of country music lovers up on the feet dancing, including a few kindergarten kids and a bunch of salary men. As a dancing queen, I wouldn't give up the rare opportunity to dance all night to the country music in Kumamoto. It's hard to believe, wasn't it? It was after midnight when I took a taxi back to the hotel. What a fruitful and joyful Toastmasters day and night in Kumamoto!