australialotta good times

just arrived in sydney. it's winter here (ie 50s) but the cool air is nice post humid asia. good times there, but happy to be off that continent. the birds here sound crazy. there is one that is like a baby getting strangled (aka that sound effect in Aaliyah's "More than a woman") and others that sound like monkey's fighting (aka the dins.)

that is all. off to make dinner with ted, our homestay.
apparently he is the grandson of this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blamey
interesting.

also, dins joke = tacky. i'm above aca-battles.

i smell. and they're cleaning my room now.

also, i should mention: shanghai is a really great city. the architecture is pretty ridiculous. here's the view of our hotel:
Our hotel is actually the small one to the left of the gold building. i dont even think this picture is accurate anymore, buildings are going up so fast!

i think i'm going to wander around "People's" (aka RED) Square today. After brunch, of course. If only Scanlan were here to regail me with stories of his many near-death experiences. though i dont think he would appreciate the mayonnaise at the buffet.

anywho...hope you are well.
in other news, if i never hear LOVE POTION #9 for the rest of my life, it will be too soon. oy veh.

~Barry

also - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TATIANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hope you are partying it up with the lions and antelope! i miss you but cant wait to hear all about yoru adventures.

Shanghai mom and dad!

I survived the typhoon and arrived successfully in Shanghai. Great hotel, amazing buffet, and the like. Shanghai has been extra great so far, tho, b/c we've had our days free to chill out or go about and the like. Yesterday we went to this immense 8-story mall that our hotel connects to. I found a Dairy Queen and emitted an audible gasp of glee (i get really excited when i get ice cream on tour).

Today we ventured to this giant market where all the "designer" goods are. it was unbelievable how much stuff they had. just shop after shop after shop...all essentially the same things but stretching on forever. at first i really wanted this belt, and decided i would not pay over $8 for it. but the guy kept giving me his sob story and he seemed so sad so i settled for $10 (all of this in RNB, the local currency, mind you so it was much more confusing). I told myself that i am just too nice of a person and that haggling for goods is not a skill i possess. cut to 10 minutes later when i'm shouting at this guy that his prices are ridiculous and storming out only to have him run after me. "you got jaded really quick" wally tells me.
but it was worth it b/c my prize purchase was: the ENTIRE series of six feet under for $28. that's less than a dollar a disk (31 disks). i was pleased AND they work on my computer (get ready for 6FEETUNDER parties in Quincy 615. Alison will be thrilled, I know.)

as if that wasnt enough, we're all on a post-spending high from the chris's tailor. this lady came to our hotel room 2 nights ago and takes our measurements and lets us describe what we want and 2 days later VOILA! custom-tailored suits. being a slim person, it is so hard to find clothes that fits so the idea that they made them for my body is amazing. in all, i got 2 suits, a new jacket, and 7 dress shirts, made FOR ME for under $360! so exciting. i'm just going to wear my suits every day next year for no other reason than i can.

tomorrow we have another free day (i think i'm going bak to haggle for more goods. anyone want anything? cheap watch? tie? purse? wallet? chinese good? sunglasses? def email me and let me know what you want and i can get it supacheap!) and then chris's mom got us tickets to the SHANGHAI CIRCUS!!! apparently like cirque d'soleil (sp) but better. so i'm excited. and then off to australia. where they speak my language, amen.

i feel this was a really dull post. but it was about me getting new things, so i'm really excited about them. and you all will be next fall when you see how good i look.

speaking of which, traveling with the same 11 guys for 3 weeks, most of whom are younger (in more ways than one) is starting to wear on me. so in an effort to preserve my sanity i have resumed my running routine from last summer. dont be surprised if i'm wildly attractive the next time you see me. i just want to prepare you.

going to watch SIX FEET UNDER!!!!

keep me updated with what you're doing!

it's windy.

"- Typhoon Fengshen, which has devastated the Philippines, is expected to enter Hong Kong's warning radar this morning to become the first typhoon to pose a threat to the city this year."


eeesh...i just stepped outside and almost blew away. we definitely don't have weather like this in wisconsin. who's excited to get into a flying pill-shaped box today???
me...?


now i'm in the airport. it's just like disneyland. we had to wait in a really long, twisty line in order to get onto a terrifying ride. hopefully it be a death-defying ride, as opposed to just a death ride.

the REAL Kong

hi team. finished in japan, i will be brief in writing about it because i'm really excited to tell you about the dinner i just had (anyone who has seen sabrina and my eating journal from our european snugglefest should realize that meals ALWAYS come first).

even though i was in japan for 9 days (so much!! i completely forgot that i even went to taiwan), i really didnt feel i got a sense of it. our time is so packed we only had one morning to just travel around, during which kevin and christian and i braved Harajuku. famed for harajuku girls and other people dressed like this, completely unironically (the newest trend is this "babydoll" thing. so creepy!)


ANYway - other things about japan. the subways are much more advanced. you pay based on how far you go, meaning it's a lot more expensive. and complicated. the map looks like this. yeah, you try and get around. we sang a lot of shows...and you soon learn that after coming to japan for 21 years we have amassed some "superfans." these people don't seem to realize that not only does an entire world of a capella exist outside of the kroks, and that a capella in general is supa lame. i will highlight our one superfan MAYUMI. she came to EVERY show in tokyo...and knew us all by name. last night was our last show, and afterwards she started to cry. this dialogue happened:
Mayumi: [weeping] i ahm so stooopid
Christian: but you're our number one fan!
Mayumi: numba wan stooopid fan.

can't argue with her there. don't know what she expected to happen, but it is pretty amazing that these people come back to see us year after year. to the point where they know every song and sing along. we're lucky to be so well supported in asia.

we also went out to dinner with our japanese sponsor, madame matsuda. for SOME reason, she has hosted and paid for the kroks for the past few decades. lady was loaded. and crazy. she had the biggest diamond on her finger i have ever seen in my life. i actually used it to cut my meat instead of a knife. that is not true, but i very well could have. i wish i could describe to you how crazy she is, but i will have to save it for in person. hilarious.

ANYWAY. now i'm in hong kong, staying at the Hotel Shangrila. and it is paradise. we sang a set in the lobby and then went up to the buffet. and what a buffet it was. i hadnt eaten since the flight and was starving but there was more food than i could have imagined. literally, i cannot describe. salad bar, oyster bar, sushi bar, pasta bar, meat meat meat, indian, japanese, chinese...EVERYTHING. and then dessert. there were 19 different desserts/tarts/cakes/puddings out to sample. PLUS ice cream. AND crepes. AND A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN.

AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO GET ICE CREAM I REALIZED THE MIXED THE TOPPINGS IN ON A LARGE SLAB...IE - A COLD STONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i almost wept for joy.

sorry to waste your time with my foods, but it was a highlight of my day. and we're going from this shangrila to another one in shanghai tomorrow. sadly this leaves little time to see the city, but we still manage to enjoy ourselves.

hope you're well. keep the updates coming!!!

~Barry

back in tokyo

back at my first homestay in tokyo, having returned from Minimoto prefecture. my family there was really nice and we had fun trying to play charades and understand each other.

while there we went to a museum about minimoto disease, sang at a hostpiatl for minimoto patients, went to a glass recycling factory (yeah. you're jealous. deal). but it was definitely a great chance to sample a TOTALLY different style of life on the other side of the planet. driving to my homestay, i found it incredible to believe that something so undeniably foreign and completely opposite to any conception i have of "home" could be home to these people.

tomorrow we leave for the HOTEL SEIYO GINZA, which i've been told is one of the nicest hotels in tokyo (judge for yourself: http://www.seiyo-ginza.com/gallery.cfm). we're all very ready to get out of homes and chill in a hotel, as nice as my families have been.

that's all i've got for now. here are nikhil's photos if you care to look: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/nbalaraman/Tour2008


here are some of the songs that are getting me through the trip, in case you're looking:

- ADELE (anything really, but here are clips of 2 songs i love). she's a new singer from england and if you dont know her you really should because she is so sick.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=77X6xa453gM
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=-jpzBEiARaE

- AMOS LEE - Sweet Pea
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=50Qo62s8QNg

- What Made Milwaukee Famous: Hellodrama (how can i not love any band named after my hometown?)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXY2_OZO4M

- JASON MRAZ: If it Kills Me, Beautiful Mess


also, in case you didnt know - a great site for downloading new music is www.skreemr.com. it compiles all music blogs and lets you search them for songs to steal for free and virus-free.

hope your summers are snazzy!

You know how in england they always say to “mind the gap?” and you think to yourself “mind WHAT gap? What kind of idiot would actually fall into that!” well the same idiot who would later blog about it to his loved ones. Oy I totally ate it today in the subway and stepped right into the hole next to the train. Luckily I only hurt my leg (and dignity), but nothing serious. Just a funny way to start my day.

A note on Japanese people. Not only are they incredibly well dressed, they are soooooooooo polite. It’s obscene. Everyone is incredibly nice. Today we left for Minimoto “prefecture” (which just means a different state in Japan), and sang for the governor, at a middle school, and an orphanage. The kids at the middle school are unbelievably well-behaved. They knelt silently for our entire 30 minute set and they have these weird commands they shout when they rise or sit in unison. They’re also just so quiet. We’re always the loudest (ie – only ones making noise) ones on the subway. I think Alison would have to wear a muzzle if she visited. ALSO (sorry I’m ranting about their culture, but hopefully you are learning things)…there is no litter. There are also NO trashcans. You do the math, I really cant figure it out. All I know is I had a pocketful of hi-chew wrappers all day b/c I could not find a SINGLE trash can. Do these people not create waste!?!?

Singing for the governor was especially hilarious. We want into this room with a huge circular table and cushy chairs (“buy! Buy! Sell!” I told the other Kroks), and suddenly like 5 news crews, a handful of photographers, and the governor and his posse enter. It was like being ambushed by a press conference. And everyone else in the room was so clearly nervous it made us suddenly nervous, especially when he demanded that we ask him questions (I wanted to offer “boxers or briefs?” but figured it was the wrong time).

We also later found out that we were featured on the local news (and in at least 2 newspapers)! i find a link i will post it.

We were all excited to learn from our guide/planner/crazy lady Lina that the prefecture we are staying at is famous for the radioactive waste found there and the decades of deformed babies that resulted from it….hooray? Turns out it was actually due to mercury poisoning, and is clean now (the province today is one of the most environmentally friendly in all Japan), but it’s like a real life Erin Brockovich story that is still in court today. (Cue the digital filming of ERIN KROKOVICH, in which Christian Denman tries to save the people of Minimoto from the dangers of ethyl mercury). A note on our guide – she is crazy. She’s been doing this for a decade (why!?!? I’ve only been with them for a year and I’m ready to get out!) and is literally out of her mind. When we first got into Tokyo we went to this really nice hotel where she was supposed to meet us, and she was nowhere to be found for 40 minutes. Chris kept calling, until finally she calls him and is like “where are you!? Oh you’re already there! Well I’m at a department store nearby so I’ll be there in ten.” She also likes to get really violent massages b/c they “move all her fat to different places.” Her tagline is “cahn you be-lieeeeeeeeeve it?” Her mom is our real host ($$$) Madame Matsuda. The lady has had so much plastic surgery the entire space around her eyes is stretched taut in every direction, making her look a lot like an owl.

finally: keep tabs on the kroks here http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinHChow
its kchow's personal photos. he is very asian and thus takes many photos. this is like 1/4 of the total he has, and that is after deleting the bad ones.

tokyo mama

finished our stay in taichung, taiwan with a show at our hotel. followed by a firework display in our honor (i cannot make this stuff up). which would have been a lot more exciting had the fireworks not been set literally directly above us. Regardless, it was very thoughtful and terror-inducing of them.

spent all day getting to tokyo (even though it was only a 3 hr plane ride). i was really nervous b/c i'd heard some horror stories about tokyo homestays (no english, no food, no shower, oh my!) but i am with the SWEETEST family ever and they all speak english and there is a bathroom. and free wireless. interesting note about japan, the toilets look like this:

when you walk into the stall, they automatically open, giving you the false impression that they are arming for some anti-human battle (scary, because in a war against humans and talking toilets, i think we all know that humans wouldn't stand a chance). then they shout at you in japanese. they also have all kinds of nifty features, such as seat heating, biday (sp?), air bursts, and false flushing noises for our bashful poopers.
i was intrigued by the biday, and decided to give it a try. however, while the "on" button had a universally recognizeable symbol, the "off" seemed to be disguised by japanese nonsense. so my bum got VERY clean while I frantically tried to figure out how to turn it off (i know what you're thinking. it's not motion-sensitive. removing your body turns the toilet into a fountain, and your stall into a slip-and-slide.) but i eventually got it, no worries.

so i should be off to bed soon. we have a show tomorrow early afternoon and then all evening to explore tokyo so hopefully we'll get to go OUT, which we were always too tired for in taiwan. note - as if i we couldn't all already tell from sachi, people in this city are really pretty, and very well dressed. and the dental hygiene is quite a step up from taiwan. thank you, parents, for putting me through those torturous years of braces.

in honor of the tony's, which i will be missing for the first time in recent memory, i want to share this video: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=jMRjcdIVFYk.

and more importantly in honor of father's day, which i will also be missing (Slash am missing right now in my time. isnt the world a funny place) i would like to share THIS video: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=BHkK4K13FxM
HAPPY DAY DAY! I miss you and love you and can't wait to see you in August.

taiwan 2.0

interesting taiwan fact of the day:
in chinese, "nigga" means "this" or "that".
so they are constantly asking us to sing at "nigga school" or use "nigga chopsticks." hilarity ensues.

so remember yesterday when i had bubble tea twice? well today was way better.

we
went
to


>>>drumroll<<<


COLDSTONE CREAMERY!!!!!!!!!!!!

it was just as good as i remembered it. except the employees are much more enthusiastic when they sing in china (Thought that could have been b/c we were there with the owner of the mall). before coldstone, we watched the new NARNIA movie in the private theater on the 7th floor of the mall. there were only 30 seats (=recliners) and they brought us churros and drinks. and popcorn, of course.

you think i'm making this stuff up, but i really couldnt. we have an hour break now before our gig tonight at the hotel and then tomorrow it's off to TOKYO. we start in homestays which i've heard can be a bit dicey so wish me luck.

TAIWAN!!!

Hello world. Welcome to Barry’s first foire into blogging. Also, to referring to myself in the third person. Anyway, I am halfway through my stay in Taiwan and it has been really incredible…and overwhelming. We were off to a rocky start, missing our first flight to LA but once we got to our amazing hotel (we each shared a honeymoon suite, huge bed and a window into the bathroom. Kroks know romance). A quick gig for the Bilsky’s and Krok alums (quite a mixed crowd) and then off to Taipei. It was certainly the longest flight I have ever been on but it really didn’t feel it. Cathay is amazingly comfortable and Dan arranged it so I could have a window and a seat empty next to mine. Each seat had like 40 movies and 50 TV shows, a ton of CDs (Sweeney Todd and Adele! So good) I tried to do the in-flight trivia and break Rachel’s self-proclaimed record of having won her flight and succeeded! (though I should mention I was the only playing one on my flight. Also – I’m really smart). We had a layover in Hong Kong, where Dan snuck me into the first class lounge, where they had tons of free food, booze, and a shower.

Anywho we made it to Taipei, Taiwan where we stayed at the dorms of the catholic high school (cue chorus of spoiled bitching Kroks). Highlights include: “toilet” = porcelain hole in the ground. Squatting while pooing = not fun. Best breakfast moment = eating “Unbelievable! This Is Not Butter!”.

We each got paired with 2 guides from the high school who took us around the town and porcelain museum…which is pretty much what it sounds like. Iris and Michael were incredibly sweet and their English was unbelievable (only been studying for 3 years! I started spanish in kindergarden and my skills are pretty minimal. Moral: Asian schools are crazy). Later we sang for all 1500 studetns in the school, which was also crazy. After the show we were literally mobbed as if we were the Beatles. Girls asked me to sign their shirts…as in, not the Krok shirt they just purchased but the one they came to school in. I told them I would only do it if they promised that their mother wouldn’t be mad. It was great practice for when I exit the stage door of all the Broadway shows I star in.

Afterwards we went to a dinner hosted by a Harvard grad, featuring what we realized was really the elite class of Taipei. Amazing to go from performing for hundreds of schoolchildren to a small audience of wealthy businesspeople, each equally excited to spend time with us. Most had studied in the states (one woman went to Wharton, but then got bored with business and opened a cupcake shop, the only in Taiwan!). When we went back to the dorms, the kids were still up and some insanity ensued. They literally just walked into our rooms, regardless of our state of dress or undress, and demanded photos. “so, you’ll be in the photo too, right..? No? Just of me? Ok…can you hold my toothbrush?”

Then we were off to Xinsu (sp?) to sing at Chris Lo’s high school. Afterwards we got divided into homestays. Where do I start on my homestay? Such a crazy and humbling experience. 5 of us went to dinner with these 5 girls who had graduated the day before and came back to school just to host us. And they were so excited just to be with us. They pre-planned a huge dinner at a restaurant, where they just kept bringing out food (a later quote: “we didn’t know how much to get! You are all boys and from America so we figure you eat a lot.”). They wanted us to go into town, but we explained that all we wanted was to sleep so their families came to pick us up and take us away (being separated = very scary). But then I realized how nervous my host, Candy, was. She and her sister and I were staying with her aunt because she said her house was too small to fit me, she told me. And she was terrified because her sister and aunt had never met anyone from Harvard before and Harvard is “the best school in the world.” The whole family was unbelievably nice and so accommodating. They literally had thought of everything they could possibly do to make me comfortable in advance (a full set of toiletries, tons of snacks, an English newspaper). I really just wanted to sleep but also felt responsible to entertain them because they clearly had been looking forward to my arrival so much. So we played their Wii and ate fresh lychee! (crazy looking fruit. I’d never had it not in a can or bubble tea). Then for breakfast they got every type of pastry known to man and her aunt’s friend came over to meet me as well. When I woke up they were all watching the DVD of our spring concert that she had purchased at the show the day before.

Truly, the entire experience was overwhelming. That they felt so much respect for me simply because of the school I went to is amazing. They constantly asked questions about how much work I do and how I have time to sing and what students at Harvard do for fun and what we care about and if we even know where Taiwan is (I explained that I’m from the Midwest so geography is important to me…unlike you jaded coastal bastards). They just kept buying me things and taking pictures of me doing EVERYTHING (ok, so that asian stereotype really is true). In all, I got 3 meals, a cup with my name on it in english and Chinese, a nice pen, and a set of brushes and ink for doing calligraphy, and a book of stamps featuring the new president (a Harvard grad). I felt nervous because they were all so anxious to please me and make sure I was happy. But it was really amazing meeting them and hopefully they enjoyed it as much as I did. It’s daunting feeling like you are representing something that is so much outside of yourself. Really, the whole experience just reinforced that Harvard is much bigger than I, or any of the Kroks. It’s been amazing being so supported and well-received and I look forward to our future stops.

For tonight, we’re off to Taicho to stay at the Fresh Springs Hotel Stay tuned for future updates and PLEASE email if you get a chance!!!

Sorry this was so long. It’s been a crazy few days.

~Barry

bshafrin@fas.harvard.edu

NEXT:

So I’m writing from our hotel in Taicho. S-i-c-k. It’s a hot springs hotel. And there is a bathtub with a hot springs in it. In dan and my room on the 9^th floor with beautiful views. We just had dinner and asti to celebrate chris being done with his MCATS (yay) and now I’m pirating the FREE WIRELESS (such a luxury!!!!).

also - i have bubble tea twice today. it was a good day. they call it "pearl milk tea" here.