Angklung

I'm still in Bandung, along with all of the rest of the Indo ETA's. Basically, all of us with this same grant are spending 3 weeks here at Hotel Novotel in Bandung, taking Bahasa and classes in education theory and methods. Sunday is the one day we have off.
A bunch of people climbed a volcano, but I stayed in for a late morning of breakfast and a fruit party (something like Episode 1 of Guess What I Found At The Grocery Store). That afternoon, some of us non-volcano climbers went to a Sundanese cultural presentation. It took place at school for Sundanese arts where children learned and performed music, dancing and puppetry - it was incredible.

Angklung is a Sundanese instrument made of  two pitched bamboo pipes. The pipes of each Anklung are pitched an octave apart, so each Angklung plays one specific note. The Angklung is sounded by by shaking or hitting it, so the pipes resonate against another piece of bamboo. 

The Angklung orchestra played traditional Indonesian music, and also pop songs.

They gave all the audience members Anklung, and the conductor directed us using Kodaly hand signs. We played You Raise Me Up (yea, the one by Josh Groban) which seems to be a big hit all across Indonesia... 

And at the end of the performance, the kids ran out and grabbed audience members, and made us dance with them for the last song. And afterward, the girls who picked out Erin and I came back to take pictures with us! : )