Sandra Tsukiyama:  

During high school I found my hangout place to be the front lawn, where all the "dissidents and hippies" sat under the Kamani tree. I found a love for Spanish in Mr. Izawa's class and Music in Mr. Wilcox's Music Theory class. I never went to any dances, sporting events, or proms but I did participate in the all-student-produced, musical theatre productions, "Oliver!" (1969) & "Sweet Charity" (1970). I protested the Vietnam war, was part of a quartet that won the sr. talent show, playing a theme & variations on the Beatles' "And I Love Her". I played the Japanese koto. The summer of '71 I went on a 6-wk homestay, organized by Mr. Izawa, to Guadalajara, Mexico. Immersion is the best way to learn a language. I majored in Ethnomusicology (like a musical version of cultural anthropology) at UH Manoa and studied Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese. I marched in commencement for my BA in spring '75 but had to retake Math 100 during the summer. During jr. yr. I was awakened to the lilting sounds of Brazilian Bossa Nova on a morning jazz radio show on KTUH-FM, "college radio" and that started me on a quest to learn about Brazilian music. I took the two semesters of Brazilian Portuguese language that UH had to offer during my sr. year there. The two courses that changed the way I looked at Hawaii were Hawaiian Geology and Hula Kahiko (3 years w/Ho'oulu Richards Cambra, student of Auntie Maiki Aiu) My first music gig was with ukulele virtuoso, Ohta-San, soon after graduation in '75. He had just come back from Brazil & formed a band. Classmate, Luis "Ching" Gonzalez was also in the band. I worked for 4 years as a Spanish-speaking Visitor Information staff at Honolulu Int'l Airport where I also picked up tour escorting for Spanish & Portuguese-speaking groups. During that time I was trying to get to Brazil to study. In 1979, I sang backup & played percussion for Nohelani Cypriano. Finally my dream came true and Rotary International awarded me a fellowship to go study music in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I lived in Rio for 3 years. I married a famous percussionist and samba dancer, had 1 son, Ted, there & in '83, moved all of us back to the family house in Manoa to help care for Grandma. Jordan was born in '85 and Gina in '88. I am fortunate to be living in the same house I grew up in above the Chinese cemetery. Tour escorting, playing music and the field of interpretation/translation in English, Spanish & Portuguese kept our heads above water. I went back to RHS to assist Mr. Izawa in the classroom in '90. Part-time teaching popped up & became my bread & butter. I occasionally put together a small band for parties, singing jazz, brazilian & latin tunes. Divorce changed a lot of things in '93. I taught Music at Stevenson, then Kalakaua, got bumped so went into Special Ed & transferred to our alma mater in '02. It was nice giving back to the school where I started the language & music study. I spent 9 years teaching Learning Disabled & Severely disabled/Medically fragile students, 4 years teaching Spanish I & II, directed a Mexican-style mariachi band, advised the National Spanish Honor Society, a LGBT club & a knit & crochet club. I also taught Brazilian Portuguese at Farrington Adult ed classes for 5 yrs. Most students were either married to Brazilians, local Portuguese descendants, planned to travel to Brazil or practiced Capoeira or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I am active in the Hawaii All-Breed Rabbit Club & travel almost annually to the American Rabbit Breeders Assn. conventions & shows. Also am a member of the Hawaii Interpreters Action Network. Had been helping w/organizing reunions for RHS '71 since the 90s gives me joy to see old friends reunited and the making of new connections. We like to include faculty also. At previous reunions we enjoyed the company of former teach...Expand for more