We are Amisadai and Louisa Monger (aged 15 and 13). In 2010, we moved to Tanzania in Africa - look at the map below to see if you can find it! We hope you will enjoy reading about our adventures and looking at our photos! Please don't forget to send us a message too!
About a
month ago I (Louisa) went on an amazing trip to Austria as a member of Isamilo International
School Choir. We went to compete at the Anton Bruckner International Choir
Competition in Linz! We were the first choir from Tanzania to ever compete! Here I will tell you a bit about it ...
Postlingberg Church in Linz
There were
nineteen of us in the choir from years 3 – 9. We flew with Emirates to Vienna
(through Dar es Salaam and Dubai) and stayed there for 2 days. In Vienna, we
were able to do and see a lot! We toured all the best sights of Vienna on a
ring tram. We visited Schonbrunn Palace and enjoyed watching the Peter Pan
ballet at the Vienna Volkspoer … accompanied by an amazing orchestra! We also visited
the government healthcare building as one of the choir was diagnosed with mumps
so we went for many to get vaccinations!. As a reward we then all went to the
ice cream parlour. We had fun shopping and loved having subway for dinner! (A
treat we don’t have here in Tanzania).
At Schonbrunn Palace
After two
days enjoying Vienna, we travelled to Linz by train, which was good fun because
we don’t travel by train here in Mwanza. It was a beautiful ride, crossing
fields of green grass and wheat and we saw an old castle which we visited later
on in the week. The next morning, we went to register at the Choir Competition
venue, ‘The Bruckner House’ and we met other choirs and made some new friends. Then
we went to explore Linz! We rode on the oldest tram in Linz up to a castle. There
we found a fairyland grotto (Grottenbuhn) and we went on the Dragon Express
through an imaginary world.
On the train from Vienna to Linz
On the Dragon Express
After lunch
we went for our first rehearsals testing out the building's acoustics. In the
evening we attended the Opening Ceremony in Linz Cathedral. It was amazing to
listen to songs from some of the other choirs, coming from all over the world, for
example, Sweden, Russia, South Africa and Turkey.
After a good
night’s sleep we woke up early in our hostel to leave for Bruckner House. After
rehearsing for a few hours, it was time to compete!We performed on stage for four judges. We
sang very well! We sang about eight songs for the competition and I fully
enjoyed it! For one of them I had a solo, and I was very nervous! I was
actually shaking!
Our morning rehearsal
Competition Singing
Afterwards
we went into Linz for lunch and after our yummy pizza, we sang for the restaurant
staff and customers in return for free ice creams for all! That made us all
very happy! (It was quite fun singing in random places during our trip, like
restaurants, clinics and airports… and we did get more free ice cream!)
Later that
day, we took the bus to St Florian Monastery with three of the other choirs to
perform there. It was awesome to sing in such a beautiful building with amazing
acoustics in the large space. My voice came out so loud when I started my solo in the quiet space! After the concert, we went and watched fireworks on the Danube
River, something some of my classmates had never seen in their lives before. It was a wonderful day and evening!
Performing at St Florians Monastery
The next day we got the wonderful news that that we were in
the top four out of the eleven countries represented! So we had to practice more
because for the closing ceremony the finalists have to perform again! The
closing ceremony started at 6:00pm and five other choirs performed (Sweden,
Russia, South Africa and Copenhagen girls’ choir) and then we were last to go
on stage. I sang my solo again! Then we had a short intermission for the judges
to decide. And then the results were announced! We got a
gold certificate for winning the “traditional music” category! Also the judges
created an award just for us for showing the joy of singing! Overall, Sweden
won the prize of 2000 euros and at the end all the choirs got on stage and we
all danced and celebrated!
When we returned back to Vienna we went shopping again and went
to theme park. We rode on the Prater which is a Ferris wheel and had great fun
on bumper cars and go-karts. It was my first time to go on a roller coaster
which was really scary for me and we also went on a water roller coaster. On our last day in Austria we went to the Vienna Chocolate Museum.
I learned how chocolate is made and sadly that white chocolate is not healthy
but dark is! While we were there we also decorated our own chocolate …on mine I used
coconut, white chips, dark chips and mini marshmallows.
It was such
a wonderful trip! I loved hearing all the choral music which is very different
to the traditional African music we were singing! I particularly liked the
Copenhagen Girls Choir! They had amazing voices and were also really friendly! It
was interesting having Austrian breakfasts, which are more like a lunch with
ham and cheese and different types of bread (which were really good). We tried
some Linzer tart on our last morning in Linz which was yummy. I also found all
the very historic buildings in Vienna very interesting (especially the clinic
buildling). And finally, I loved the opportunity to sing on stage, especially
in the Monastery! Although it was scary, I was very glad I was able to sing a
solo and I have learned to project my voice! I am very thankful that it was
possible for me to have this amazing experience!
On Friday evening our school put on a Fashion Show. Each year group had designers whose role was to design the costumes and then a girl and a boy to model their costumes. Amisadai and I both entered as models.
Amisadai striking her pose
My designer was my friend, Jamila. Together with my model partner, we decided to base our costumes on a Robin Hood theme. After Jamila had designed the outfits, we all went to town to choose the fabric and take it to a tailor to have them sewn up. We left it a bit late and only had one week to get the outfits made! The rehearsals were on Wednesday and Thursday and I had to learn how to catwalk and how to pose and get all the timings right!
With my Robin Hood Partner
The fashion show started at 7:00 pm but all the models and designers had to be the at 6:00 to get ready with costumes and make up. I was extremely nervous about walking in front of 200 people but as soon as I stood on stage, I was really enjoying it and didn't want to leave! We were all competing in our categories; I was with years 8 and 9. After my partner and I were finished, it was fun to watch all the other models walk.
At the end of the evening, the judges announced the winners of each category. My partner and I were really nervous. I was listening very closely because I wanted to win. Then I heard my name and I was thrilled and went with my partner to collect my prize, a beautiful rose. We did a final walk on stage. What a fun evening!
