Photographer: Talal Alamri

Last night a Taiko (”drum” in Japanese) performance was hosted by the Embassy of Japan at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh, and it was an open invitation. the group performing was made up of three members; with the famous percussionist and composer  Joji Hirota being the lead, along with my sister’s classmate and friend Moriya Keisuke and Akinori Fujimoto.

The show was brilliant, the music was lovely and Joji Hirota really swept the crowd off its feet with his performance and attitude. He is a true legend, it’s worth checking his official website to learn more about his accomplishments and talent.

Furthermore, I was very much pleased with the whole set up. it was quite organized and the crowd showed much enthusiasm and support that got the performers to add new elements to the show that were not originally part of the it! Joji Hirota asked the crowd to sing along some of the songs with him, and they did a great job. Even the performers were amazed by the crowd’s excitement and by how fast they picked up the lyrics they were asked to sing along with them.

In short, it was a success. I only hope for more events of this kind in the future of Riyadh.

So, this is my first time posting in my new blog. I’ve been using LiveJournal for years now, but I wanted to start over and focus on different elements of my life…and here I am.

I have my friend Rami to thank, for helping me set up this blog. He keeps a very interesting blog that’s dedicated to Linux, definitely worth paying a visit!

Basically, I’ve recently graduated from university and it has always been my dream to study and get my degree abroad. I didn’t get that chance when I did my Bachelor’s degree, and promised myself that I’d do anything to do my Master’s abroad.

On the way I met a few a people that made a huge impact on my life (good and bad). Not all those encounters necessarily got in the way of my dream, but I allowed them to get to me and stress me out which in turn hindered my journey. I decided to look at everything that has happened in the last couple of years as a test of endurance, and that if I really am cut out for leaving my home, family and friends in order to accomplish my goals in life, I should be able to go through all obstacles in the way.

So now I’m giving it my best and will see where that takes me. Hopefully soon.