Some People...

Over the past several days, I've come to a realization. Actually, I knew it long before we left, but it has really proved itself recently. The part about this trip that makes it so special, fun, and interesting is really the people. Even though the band is a conglomerate of North and South band students, there was always a comfortable and familiar feeling within the group. And the comfort level is even higher within smaller groups of students who have, perhaps, been performing together for years and known each other for longer. You simply won't find as many people that you enjoy the company of on other trips such as the foreign language trips, for instance. I spend hours every week with most of these people, and the opportunity to go on a tour around Europe with them is quite rare. The ancient Roman forum, the Coloseum, and the beautiful scenery and castles of Germany will still be there years from now, but this exact group of friends will not.

One of my favorite moments of our first concert in Germany was during Dreamland. As many of you know, the song has some very soft moments where any noise from around the room can be heard and distract from the performance. During one such quiet moment, the trumpets had to put a mute in - a motion that may detract from the visual effect of a completely still and focused band. It can also result in a clinking sound of the metal mute against the bell. So instead of using that section to put the mute in, all the trumpet players that i saw waited quietly without even talking about this beforehand (to my knowledge, at least). Once the faster, louder section started, we all reached down and got our mutes ready. This moment really stood out to me as an example of everyone's commitment to the band and the band's collective end result instead of students who are more self-centered and only consider their own part (it's funny because we're trumpet players). I am fortunate enough to be on this trip with individuals who understand that their own part is only a fraction of the bigger picture. What I'm getting at is that a group of people like this - a community of likeminded individuals - is hard to come by, and the opportunity to travel with them to an unfamiliar continent even more so.

Belated First Impressions of Germany

     Since I have not found the time to properly describe some of my first experiences in Germany, I thought it would be a good idea to elaborate.  One of the most striking features of this region of Germany (to me, at least) was how open everything felt.  This was a huge change from Rome where most things seemed so close together and the buildings and hills helped to hide the sky from sight.  That is not the case here.  The sky feels so different: it just stretches as a vast expanse above you.  This is noteable for me, at least, because I am not at all used to the open environment of any countryside.  It was an amazing feeling when a few fellow students and myself were taken up to the vineyards on top of the hills surrounding Bissingen.  From there, not only could one see the endless rows of young grape vines, but a large portion of the beautiful town as well.  I was fortunate enough to continue to see the city up close.  I was impressed by how much history there is in the buildings and features that we saw in just a short walk around.

     In addition to the amazing sights, the food that I ate with Scott P. and his hosts was delicious and extremeley filling.  We each got a large plate, and on top was a pizza of our choosing that filled the plate completely.  And why stop at a huge plate full of pizza?  We, of course, topped off the evening with a cone of ice cream for each of us which was even more savory than the pizza.  I'm fairly cetain that it was the best ice cream that I have ever had the privillege of consuming.  I suppose I should have taken a picture of some part of my culinary exploration that day, but I'm happy to tell you that the food never really lasted that long. 

     And, as usual, I am very much looking forward to continuing to see and learn about Germany as well as spend time with fun and aimiable people.  Also, as this last portion of the post was written after the Tuesday night concert, I sshould say that I thought it went very well and I had a lot of fun finally playing the trumpet again.  Can't wait to repeat our musical succes and continue to refine my impressions and conceptions of Germany.

The Last of Rome

     We have finished an amazing few days in Rome seeing even more sights and collecting even more stories (see above: Mike winning in Ostia).  There is so much in that city that I feel like I could spend a week there and not get everything done.  But I am also glad to be here in Germany.  My host family has been so kind to me, I really feel very comfortable and welcome here.  And I am glad that they have such a sense of humor.  And for a surprising proportion of the time, I understand what they are laghing about, even though I don't speak German.  I didn't expect to understand as much as I do (which isn't too much, but I didn't think I would get any of what they said when they spoke German).  I had a really nice, relaxing day today visiting an engineering museum, enjoying the extremely beautiful countryside, and finishing with a delicious barbeque outside with my host family.  They made me feel right at home, and I am very grateful for that.

After a Day in Rome

Today, we got our first real chance to experience Rome. The city is beautiful, there is no doubt about that. It has an astounding ability of incorporating the old into the new to be an ancient city in modern times. To me, the most interesting part of the city was just this. The scenery is amazing, and it is just about what you would expect to see - something I felt silly being surprised by. There are plants and flowers wherever there is room, and people flood the cobblestone streets. My friend said they felt like they were walking on a movie set and this is very much like how it felt to me as well. Except the set would have no boundaries to its illusion and no cardboard façades. Because this is the real deal no matter how unreal it all seems. Despite this fantastic environment of ancient art, arcitechture, and housing, there is something familiar in the workings of the eternal city. Shops line sections of town and commuters deal with traffic in order to get to their destination. There is a feeling of annonymity and self-responsibility. If you remove the ancient artifacts and quaint streetside dinning, there is the unmistakable feeling of a big city. I don't know why this is so strange for me to realize, but Rome really does have a lot in common with any other large city I have been to. The feel of the city (I don't know hiw else to describe it) is uncannily similar even with the camouflage of Rome's movie set appearance. So after one day in Rome, I not only have great experiences seeing amazing sites, but I am also very tired. Unecessarily complex verbiage aside, I need to go to sleep. We do have another day of Rome and then a flight to see our host families in Germany all taking place tomorrow. By the way, I honestly apologize for any typos or grammatical errors I may have made. I'm pretty tired and don't feel like rereading my posts more than a couple times. Thanks.

So I Guess We're Going to Europe

     For the past several weeks, I was repeatedly asked about my upcoming trip to Italy and Germany.  And, for most of that time, I could tell curious friends and family only a very basic outline of what was going to happen or where we were going.  The trip crept up on me as I'm sure it did for others.  It has been a very busy couple of weeks, and I have been able to postpone the task of actually comprehending the trip to Europe by focusing instead on the more immediate events.  Now, as I sit here on my computer with my bags packed beside me, I have no such pressing events with which to distract myself.  I'm forced to realize that, in just a few hours, we'll be leaving the country.

     In addition to knowing very little about the trip to tell anyone who asked, I fear that I have given them the impression that I don't consider the voyage to be of much importance or significance.  In other words, I didn't seem too excited.  But, without the tight schedule of a week of rehearsals for various bands or the daunting task of packing to leave for a completely unfamiliar continent, I can tell you how I feel with confidence and enthusiasm: I'm super excited!  Of course I can't wait to visit Rome and play the concerts, but I am surprised by how much I am looking forward to meeting my host family in Germany.  I am eagerly awaiting each part of this adventure, and I can't wait to get started with some of the best people and musicians that I know.

Team Blogger!

As we near departure, you will begin to see our tour blog gradually pivot from an 'announcements & logistics' communication tool, to a more dynamic journal of the group's travel experiences.  The goal of our faculty is to turn over primary responsibility of documenting this adventure to the wonderful and very capable students of the District 99 Honors Band.

We've assembled a terrific team of six student Bloggers: three from North - three from South - three men - three women ... who are all excited to serve as your eyes and ears while the D99 Honors Band travels through Europe.

Introducing 'Team Blogger' ...

• Marjorie Fera, DGS French Horn/Trumpet (Senior) 
• Stephanie Gillen, DGN Flute (Graduate)
• Cameron Nichols, DGN French Horn (Junior) 
• Dan Reeter, DGS Clarinet (Senior)
• John Shimanek, DGS Trumpet (Junior)
• Joe Vitti, DGN Tuba/Trombone (Senior)