Flying to San Francisco

I am on my way this evening to San Francisco for the wedding of two dear friends. I've never been and I'm thrilled to be going and that so many friends, about 35, will be there for this couple! 

Having never been to SF, I'm hoping to see a lot on the Hop-On / Hop-Off city bus tour tomorrow and then go to see Muir Woods and the famous redwood trees on Tuesday. I've heard all sorts of stuff from well-meaning friends who are "seasoned" San Francisco visitors about how that's not "the real" redwood area to visit or that I'll never have time etc. To that, I hold that since I only have a little bit of time and who the heck knows when I may be back out here again, that it's better than nothing! LOL!

This post shares some photos from my flight from NOLA to DFW to SFO. I love flying! The sunset was much more stunning than the picture below shows. 

TRIP TO MUNGELI, INDIA

I am thrilled to be going to India in July to volunteer with both the Christian Hospital Mungeli and the Rambo Memorial School! They also have a Nursing School. Right now, I am still working on the VISA application, but hopefully, everything will be fine about that. I've been on mission trips before - to Izvorsko, Bulgaria (as part of the before activities of a conducting workshop) and to Haiti (with The Red Thread Promise and St. Paul's Episcopal Church working with children from St. Vincent's Episcopal School and Orphanage). I will include some of the links to my blog posts from that trip at the bottom of this post in case anyone would like to read about that trip. I will also be blogging a LOT more about India and my activities before I go and once I am there.

One thing I love about any trip abroad is that I get to learn about a unique culture and explore a community different than my own. What I love about mission trips in particular are the opportunities to give back to the world community, the seeing the positive differences and effects you can have on those who really need it (including oneself), and breaking the barriers of language or station to do something that ultimately involves God's love, ministry, faith, work, and discovery.

How did this come about? Well, my friend Rev. Landa Simmons was my very first boss at Shiloh Christian Church in Lithonia. This was my first church job as music director instead of a singer or children's choir director. She is on the board of the Rambo School and was organizing a trip to make a fun camp for the school. She invited lots of folks and I happened to me one! I am so grateful for this connection and the opportunity! Now, if approved, I will be an official Global Ministries volunteer in addition to representing St. Paul's Episcopal! The work they do is simply AMAZING! Here is a link to their work in Mungeli: http://globalministries.org/sasia/projects/mungeli-hospital-1.html 

WHERE AM I GOING?
I will fly into Delhi and take a jet to Raipur. From there, the hospital will transport me to the village of Mungeli in the district of Chhattisgarh. I think will be there for three weeks.
Here is a great video from the hospital and school!

WHAT WILL I BE DOING?
I will be doing lot of things such as: teaching a music class, singing every day with small groups, art projects such a ZENtangle, talking about the Solar System as part of my NASA / JPL Solar System Ambassador program. I cannot wait to show them NASA's Eyes on the Solar System! I hope to help folks learn English as well. At the hospital, I hope to volunteer in any capacity needed. I just finished a CPE certificate course on Ministry to the Sick so I hope to actually be of use pastorally in some ways - even if language is a barrier, I feel that I can contribute in this ministry of presence and hopefully be of comfort to someone. It is very important to me.

HOW AM I DOING THIS?
I've been saving up my pennies and am being super frugal about things. I'm going in July because my UNO teaching is online this summer. I am hoping to raise a little money for housing this June.

AFTER THE TRIP?
I was very fortunate to be able to have several choral adjudication jobs this spring so I have saved every bit of that. I plan on going somewhere after my time in India and maybe even on a trek. I have some ideas as to where, but I'm not sure yet so I will save this portion for a surprise.

VIDEO LINKS
What We Do Here - from the Christian Hospital Mungeli
Documentary: The Story of India - a PBS series
Documentary: Welcome to India - BBC series in three parts, scroll down to see

LINKS to PREVIOUS HAITI MISSION TRIP
1. Mission to Haiti
2. St. Vincent's School for the Handicapped
3. Haiti: First Impressions
4. Day Two: Preparations
5. Day Three: Campers Arrive!
6. Day Four: Ocean Swimming and More
7. Haiti: Sunday and Monday
8. Final Days of Camp Jake

So, wish me luck in India! I will add new posts once I know more about what I will be doing and more details of my trip!

Sal (shorea robusta) - the state tree of Chhattisgarh (wiki commons image)

Paragliding in Slovenia

On my final day in Ljubljana, Slovenia, I went paragliding for the first time in my life! I definitely hope I'll get to do it again sometime! My experience seems to have come as a surprise to many....I guess for a couple of reasons. Many people don't know that I used to be rather athletic, train horses, bike 20 miles every other day, and compete on a top swim team, etc. Indeed. I haven't done anything except walking/hiking for several years! There are many things that don't necessarily come up in music conversations! :-) Almost every trip I've been on, I've done some sort of hiking. Sometimes, it's low and slow and other times, it's rather rigorous. I remember when came back from Brazil and remarked that I needed a new camera and mentioned that I had dropped it while hiking in a portion of the jungle down to the Foz do Iguacu and then it got super wet from the rainy falls. That turned some heads. LOL. People see what they want to see I suppose. Sometimes overweight people actually ARE active movers and shakers (and eat like the average person, but whatever).

My view from taxi on the way to the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (Letališče Jožeta Pučnika Ljubljana),
also known by its previous name Brnik Airport

I've always wanted to go hang gliding, but on my past two trips to Europe - while on trains between cities - I have seen a TON of paragliders over the hills and valleys. This sparked my interest and this summer, I decided to give it a try. Being a novice, I tried tandem paragliding - when you have a pilot and they really do the flying while you hold on and enjoy! I did not travel for one weekend so as to be able to afford it. When I got to Slovenia, I was also on the lookout for hot air balloon rides, but they were not available and paragliding was! A new friend of mine that I met in Slovenia, knows someone who is a paragliding pilot so I used her wonderful help and connection to meet Primož Lajevec who works for the Loop Acrocup Propilot company and team. He actually does all the extreme sports and knows Felix Baumgartner (Red Bull "space" jump). In fact, Primož helped break the balloon drop record, info here.

Paragliding in Slovenia, 2013 - I took this pic of the pilot that went just before us!

Primož picked me up at the Ljubljana airport and we drove througha small town over to the base of the Krvavec mountain. Then, we drove up to the walking point and walked a tiny bit up to the gliding site. It was steep and I quickly got out of breath. There were also a LOT of black ants all over the place on the walk up there, odd. Anyway, once up at the site of a slope on the mountain, there were several pilots waiting for the wind to be just right and to take off. We got fitted with all the gear.

Next, Primož said that when he counts down and says go, to  > R U N <
The first try, I fell after four steps and we had to start over. The second try, I slipped on some rocks and fell, bringing us both down and I scraped the HECK out of my leg. lastly, he added guys on my left and right sides to help pull up and sure enough, they did when I fell a third time. I had tried leaning more forward and that really helped, but I still fell. My legs were somewhat weak and I can only guess that it might be because I was about two months out of surgery and still occasionally feeling low on energy. Nonetheless, we got airborne and it was GLORIOUS!





I took some video for a couple of minutes and then discovered that it didn't take. GRRRR so I tried it again and was able to get about 33 seconds before I realized it was making me dizzy. We were up there for about 25 or so minutes I think and when he began to circle like a bird, I did indeed start feeling motion sick and wished I had remembered to take my medicine. Then, I remembered I'd gone through a cab ride, car ride, and now was airborne so I really should have taken it. I will never forget again. Here I am enjoying it though! So awesome! It really was like being a bird.

I saw a castle and we went toward the castle. Ljubljana looked INSANELY SMALL from up there! I was surprised at how high we were! It wasn't any cooler (it was 99 that day), but it was windy up there. I got a bit dehydrated, but it was all worth it and I really want to go again. I also want to try parasailing!

Here is the video I took. I wave my feet, haha! I also am giving a thumb's up at the very end :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1U4SjDaOhA

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ljubljana, Slovenia

I had been wondering where to go for my last free weekend while teaching for the UNO Innsbruck program this past summer 2013 and finally narrowed it down to two places: Budapest, Hungary or Ljubljana, Slovenia. I chose Slovenia because of the train timetables and cost and decided that I would definitely visit Budapest on another trip. Plus, I've heard and read about Budapest for years. Slovenia, whaaa? So....I thought it would be a little less on the proverbial "beaten path". I must say, Ljubljana was LOVELY and the PERFECT choice for me this time around. I had a fantastic time!

Once I decided on Slovenia, I began to search for things to do there and info about Ljubljana. I knew nothing about the country itself, its history, or what it was known for. I learned that one of the most popular things to do there was to take a hot air balloon ride and I got super excited about the possibility of doing that. Once there, I learned from various travel agencies and a tour guide that there had been a major balloon accident a few years back where someone tried to take over 30 people up in a basket and then crashed in the outlying marshes. There was a large fire, many injuries, and some people died. So, Slovenia passed an ordinance banning ALL balloon travel because it lacked proper regulation.
I understand that very recently, they have again begun to examine regulations and opening ballooning back up for the tourist industry! Maybe next time, I will get to do that!
Here is the article on the accident: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19354150

So that idea was out......and I started looking at museums. I found that Ljubljana has a Narodni Musej Slovenje (National Museum of Slovenia) that is in two locations. One location contained exhibits that were more archeological in nature and included a find that is said to be the oldest musical instrument in the world.

That sold it for me! I told myself "they'd better be open when I get there!" :-) and so they were and I went and saw the instrument. It is a flute made from a cave bear femur and said to be 55,000 years old.
Here is a link to my blog post with info about the Divje Babe flute: http://carsonia.blogspot.com/2013/08/oldest-musical-instrument-in-world.html



The train ride from Innsbruck only contained one change so that was nice. I was able to relax, blog, and do some grading. The scenery was AMAZING going through the Alps!

Ljubljana is situated in a valley between a ring of Alps in the distance so after a ton of tunnels, the ride finally settled into a flat countryside, dotted with farms and small lakes. I arrived around 9:30 and night had fallen before I expected it so I worried a bit about walking from the train station to the hotel as I had no idea where to go except the name of its street. I would have used my phone, but it was on Airplane mode the whole summer and using wifi only, when available. Luckily, the train station was a fairly large one and lots of people were around both inside and out. I started walking down a main street and stopped at a restaurant to ask directions and lo - the street was the next one over and the Central hotel only two blocks down the street! YAY!  I checked in and bought a bottle coke (a.k.a. HEAVEN) from the bar to take upstairs. When I got in my room, I found a greeting from the hotel on my TV - nice touch!

The next morning, I had coffee with a wonderful new friend and she walked me around downtown a bit and led me to the museum. I usually travel by myself and never have the opportunity to meet friends of friends. This was so terrific! I ended up having dinner later with her and some more new friends! After the museum, I took a two hour walking tour of the city. I also usually do not do prescribed tours. I usually wander about aimlessly.....well sometimes I have a loose plan, and find the treasures the city has to offer on my own. I think because it was so damned HOT, I wanted to ensure that I would get out and do something exciting so I bought a tour ticket!

Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast and Hungary to the northeast. The architecture in Ljubljana, the capital (300,000 people), reminded me a little of what I have seen in Romania and Bulgaria. It was mostly the tops and edges of buildings that conveyed this feeling. Here is one building, the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation in Prešeren Square.

The country has a large Catholic and Lutheran population and a mix of languages. While I was there, I heard Slovene, Italian, and French. I'm sure there are plenty of other mixes when it comes to languages. This area was first part of the Roman Empire, followed by the Holy Roman Empire and then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The State of Serbs, Croats, and Serbs merged into a kingdom of the same. Then it was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ! Finally in 1991, Slovenia became an independent country, joined NATO and the European Union in 2004. Wars have dealt this little country a hand of being annexed and occupied by others. Amazingly, they have managed to preserve plenty of their history, culture and identity. The city itself has been rebuilt more than a few times.

The most famous rebuilding came after its earliest stages when it was the city of Aemona (Emona), occupied well before Roman times on the banks of the Ljubljanica river. It was destroyed by battles from time to time and was devastated by the Huns in the mid 400's.

Emona / Ljubljana was said to have been founded by Jason and his Argonauts on their quest to obtain the Golden Fleece....... Here is another link to a clearer rundown of the backstory. When Jason and his Argonauts sailed across the Black Sea, they supposedly got lost and into the river systems which eventually led them to the rivers surrounding Ljubljana. When they arrived, they ran out of river, took apart their ship to carry it across the mountains and back to the Adriatic sea. While they stopped, Jason defended the settlement and fought a mighty dragon which enabled him to get the Golden Fleece that it had guarded for many years. From this story also comes the use of the dragon as the symbol of Ljubljana!
I LOVE DRAGONS!

The Dragon Bridge is a main city sight and there are tons of other monuments and sites, but the city itself does not have any world famous tourist attractions. I liked this because I could concentrate on getting to know the history of the place rather than feel obliged to go certain places. One important national monument in the main old town area is that of France Prešeren, a national poet and his muse. Once regarded as smutty because the muse was half-naked and across the square from the Catholic church, the statue now is simply an expected part of the cityscape.

This is located in the square on the Tromostovje bridge (Triple bridge) over the Ljubljanica river. It, along with tons of things in the city, was designed by a nationally famous architect Jože Plečnik. The airport is also named after him.



One site I liked is the Robba Fountain, the Vodnjak treh kranjskih rek - or - (Fountain of Three Carniolan Rivers) near the Town Hall. (The original is in the national gallery, but the replica is great). It has three men with jugs and three fish of differing sizes representing the three rivers flowing into Ljubljana - the Sava, Ljubljanica, and the Krka. The fountain was also featured on a Slovenian banknote and is a national symbol today.

Robba Fountain

The Robba fountain was right across from a house on the corner of the small square that had been where GUSTAV MAHLER lived for a year or so while he composed and taught and directed the orchestra there! He also presented 50 operas. MAHLER!!! I had to stop the tour, freak out a bit, and then we could go on! I LOVE MAHLER!!!!

One of my favorite spots is the Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja - St. Nikolaus cathedral located on Cyril & Methodius Square. It was originally a Romanesque and then a Gothic church, but was burned down by the Turks in 1469 and rebuilt as a Baroque masterpiece. We only had about 15 minutes there and there was about to be a mass so I planned on going back the following day, but I was unable to. NEXT TIME. At least I was in awe of the overdone décor and contrasting calm reverence for a few minutes though! I also decided to photograph the sanctuary from the point of view of the candles! :-)

                                                           Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja
The door of the cathedral was FASCINATING. It depicts Slovene history to commemorate the 1250th anniversary of Christianity in Slovenia. Our tour guide told is about every crevice and figure and that before the door was dedicated and cathedral blessed by the Pope John Paul II, Tone Demšar, passed away. Then, he showed us the camouflaged figure of the builder on the door! Sneaky, but effective! :-)  Sadly, I did not get a picture.
It was INSANELY HOT while I was in Ljubljana so after doing the walking tour, I took a boat tour to try and cool off.

That was great, but it didn't stop the heat! That night, I had dinner with my new friend Meta and some of her friends from Slovenia and France. So much fun! We attended a free jazz concert in one of the squares and then had some AWESOME GELATO. After that, we had dinner and hung out for a while. On my way out, I noticed a sign for Human fish.....

What is that? you ask....I will tell you!

Human fish is a beer, named after an unusual type of fish found in nearby caves. in the Dinaric Alps. This fish is rather translucent and has feet-like appendages! It is called the Olm.

The next day, I made plans to go paragliding and spent some time in the cool hotel wifi waiting for the weather and the contacts to work out. Tomorrow, I will post about my paragliding experience!

So, I REALLY hope to go back to Ljubljana! It is a gorgeous city, friendly to all ages groups, has an enjoyable city market, plenty of tourists, is clean and bright, has culture, has nightlife, and has an appreciation for the arts and history. I felt safe the entire time I was there. The train station is not far from downtown....it's a pretty short walk. There are plenty of food places, lots of surrounding activities, a castle one can go up the hill and visit, sporting activities, and everyone I spoke to seemed happy to help with questions or directions. I highly recommend a visit!!!!!!!

 

Here is the Facebook album of my pictures. You do not need to be a facebooker to see the pics :-)  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100367813954707.1073741830.2613080&type=1&l=9f04fb19aa

Ever-Evolving Bucket List

Bucket Lists
I have always had a keen sense of the brevity of life. I never think of that as morbid, rather, I have been simply, yet acutely aware that our human lives on Earth are precious and short compared to the vastness of our cosmic surroundings. I fully believe God prefers us to live our lives to the fullest rather than to hold back. I feel my own life has alternated between periods of holding back / being conservative and times of going for it, as I am sure many of us feel. In the past twenty years or so, I have mostly tried to pay attention to what fulfills me and what I would like to do with my life - rather than trying to please others to the point that my own objectives are thwarted or my soul squelched. Sure, I am still a people-pleaser in some respects and I desire "approval" from some (we all want to be liked etc.), but I am much more self-reliant and confident in my middle age. Yes, I actually think forties would count as middle aged and THAT, friends, is a wake up call if I ever heard one. Another wake up call is in my inherent belief that life is worth living, fun, full of adventures to be had, and life is not written in stone.

Found in the Marigny neighborhood, New Orleans.
An example of the idea that we all want to
make a lasting impression.

So the bucket list? I was recently talking with someone about wanting to ride horses again and that I had always wanted to go hang-gliding......that I sort of wanted to try skydiving and that I definitely wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. They remarked "where did you get such a spirit of recklessness?" In my opinion, these were all things that were risky, yet people do them every day and they're not as unusual as true daredevils or perhaps as risky as skyscraper window-washers...simply by the fact that these things would probably be done once or twice and not all the time.

Then, I began wondering what it was that gives some of us these wild tendencies and desires to push the edges of our own comfort zones. Amazing how each individual has a world of comforts and ideas so different from his neighbor! Some people have a more physical need for adventure. Naturally, this took me to thoughts of my own ever-evolving bucket list. Then, I realized that the adventures I named were on my bucket list - along with several other things!

My list has changed over the years
and my ideas of what would be fun to do or lasting or important or life-changing have also changed over time. I've done many things that were formerly on my bucket list and I feel lucky to have had the opportunities that allowed me to accomplish certain goals, the strength to complete certain challenges, and the humor and grace to see when NOT to pursue some things! LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY!!!

In kindergarten, my list of things I wanted to be when I grew up numbered 25. I wanted to do everything! A few of the things I had always wanted to do from my childhood included:

- be a racehorse jockey
- be a singer (solo, as in opera)
- be a mother
- be a scientist
- a gardener

I ended up riding horses and did some shows when I was young. Then, in my teens in trained horses for a short while. I never had the body that was necessary to become a jockey and my life didn't follow that path, but it still included horses so all is well :-)

I did not ever become a shining example of solo singing, but I have done some solos and I do try out from time to time. I do lots of choral singing so I feel very fulfilled by that and by singing under genuinely FANTASTIC directors - all is well :-)

I didn't become a mother and went through a period where it was difficult for me to even hold a baby. I'd tear up and then feel mopey for a day or so. Then, it occurred to me that if I truly wanted a child, I could indeed adopt and have that part of my life. The idea made me analyze what I truly wanted. It also occurred to me that I truly didn't want to have a child without a husband and life partner and when I found someone like that - I wanted to spend time with them first before having a child. The desire began to subside when I realized I had the option to adopt and I didn't do it. It also began to be clear that in spite of the fact that most married folks socialize with other married folks, in the big picture of life, there will always be a place for the single. All is well :-)

I am so NOT a scientist, though I began as a biology pre-med major. I have managed to become a #spacetweep and allow my inner geeky side to emerge in the past few years.
I enjoy reading and learning about science, but not having the pressure to retain it all or teach it fulltime. I am lucky to be a JPL Solar System Ambassador and that was a dream come true! It allows me to share my enthusiasm for space and science with others and to meet so many people that are actually involved in areas and projects that I admire!

Gardening....well, let's just say that at least I like plants ;-)

Purple cone flower, pic taken in Chiusa, Italy 2013

Other items
- be a conductor - YES! I did it! I continue to strive for being better at it!
- be respected for what I do  - So far, I feel pretty good about this, continuing to strive to be better and do a good job with my jobs!







What is on my bucket list NOW?
- Travel (I'd love to see Machu Picchu, Soviet Georgia, spend more time in Northern Scotland, see Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, etc.). I have been SOOOOO LUCKY throughout my life to be able to travel, save up for more travel, and travel on paid trips to sing or to teach! Advice to young people about travel - JOIN A CHOIR.

- Write a couple of books (small or large, fiction or nonfiction....they are IN ME and it doesn't matter how or what, they will one day come out). My Mom's a writer (novels and prolific amounts of poetry) and my brother has written poetry. I enjoy blogging, but one day will bust out a book. Heck, I also like those silly tiny books one finds at check out counters in Barnes & Noble stores. Maybe I'll have some terrific inspiration one day for those!

- Learn more languages (Oh, let's see: Portuguese, Bulgarian, Italian). I may be too lazy. I'd like to learn many languages by osmosis. That would be sweet!

- Fly a plane - My father was a WWII pilot and I have always wanted to fly. In high school, I was too afraid my motion sickness would prevent me from doing this, but later I learned that it would not. The only factor that continues to prohibit me from taking pilot lessons is COST. At some point, I WILL DO IT!

- Own land - I recently decided....WHY NOT? I have plans in January to look into buying some land (empty lot for future probably)

- Work in the church - I already do this and I LOVE what I do. There is another calling, however and I'm not sure if it's to the deaconate or perhaps to be certified as a chaplain for places such as a university chapel or hospital. The desire has always been there. I've recently begin to get spiritual advising from a wonderful person and I have written my spiritual autobiography which I'll share as a post later on. I'm not quite ready to share it just yet. I used to talk with Fr. Keith Burns, chaplain at Porter-Gaud School when I was in HS there and my numerous ponderings have come and gone over the years. In the past three years, they've come and not left me so......time will tell if it is something I want to pursue futher.

- Skydiving or hang-gliding - these are so exciting! I hope to do one of them at some point in time. Maybe parasailing would be safer and yet still be thrilling! Perhaps it will be enough to fly a plane.....:-)

- Make a positive difference in someone's life - I think I've done this, I think MANY have, but it is something we continuously strive to do throughout our lives. I think it's important and hope to be able to accomplish it.

I AM SURE THERE WILL BE MORE THINGS!!!!!

What is on YOUR Bucket List?

Lovely sunflower, pic taken at Venice train station, July 2013. All hail to Leonardo of Pisa (known as Fibonacci)!

Places I've Been!

After my first "retro-post" covering my trip to South Korea in 2010, I began to wonder exactly how many times I have traveled outside of the United States. While I have always had an acute philosophical sense of time passing, Life still sort of slips up on me at times. Perhaps it does to us all. I was filing and organizing things in the music office at St. Paul's over the weekend with some lovely choir ladies and chatting with them at lunch about travels we'd had and that we wanted to make. I have been a great many places, but there are tons more I would love to explore! A partial list of those will probably be my next post. Here, there are a few details and some memorable stories, but the rest is just a list! :-)
Most of my trips have been choral performance tours, choral and orchestral workshops, and dissertation-related studies. Many of these have been reduced, partially-funded, and in the case of the England cathedral residencies: fully-funded. Sometimes, I've stayed with families and sometimes solo. I am very lucky indeed. I have also planned and penny-pinched for the rest :-) I always think of travel as part of the School of Life and as I like school..........and work in a university...........I need to continue to travel.........always..........wouldn't you say?  :-)

1990 Germany & Austria This was a fabulous two-week, packed performance tour with the Charleston Symphony Singers Guild (Emily Remington, conductor). It was my very first trip out of the country and it completely changed my life! I had gotten my first job in high school to be able to help raise money for myself to go and my parents funded the rest as a graduation present. Some of the cities we visited and sang in included: Mannheim, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Kempten, Vienna, Salzburg (as part of the Salzburg Music Festival w/ Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy), Innsbruck, Hall im Tirol, Ulm, Friedrichshafen, Lindau, Augsburg, the amazing Wieskirche, and Munich. Some of my favorite memories are from Kempten and Ulm.

When we arrived in Kempten, I remember we were exhausted and it was late in the afternoon. I think everybody took showers and naps. When I awoke, it was evening twilight and chilly. I leaned out of our window onto the small town square below and just took a deep breath of the fresh air. As I looked out into the quiet and calm scene, a noise came from a small door on the side of the church. A little old man walked slowly across the square and took out a giant set of keys. He opened a box on the side of the stone wall and made a turn with his hand. Then, one by one, tiny hanging bulbs began to light.....slowly, until they lit up a string of lights around the square. The little man watched them, one by one, as I was watching, and when everything was lit, he closed the box and walked away. It was a beautiful, peaceful moment.

In Ulm, we were visiting the Ulm Minster, which has the tallest spire in all of Europe. It was about closing time and our choir began to sing. We performed "Holy, Holy, Holy" by Maxcine Woodbridge Posegate. It wasn't a very difficult piece, or a known pinnacle of choral literature, but the stacked chords and continuous dynamic intensity made for a moment of glory and it is one of my very favorite sacred pieces. Everyone stopped to hear us. I had never been in a place like this before and never imagined music could feel that alive in the very air we breathed. It was astounding and I was forever struck with a fever for sacred choral music written for such spaces!

1990 England  Salisbury Cathedral residency w/ Trinity Episcopal Cathedral choir in Columbia, SC, directed by John Haney. A small group took a van to Cardiff, Wales afterward, 1990 This trip was less than a week after my return from the above Austria/Germany trip! We sang evensong every day and stayed in the boychoir house. I remember that they had what I would call "straw ticks" for beds and there were a few pencil drawings behind a few of them. One of my favorite memories is of us sitting on the grass outside Salisbury cathedral and looking up at the enormous stone facades, lit by starlight and spotlghts around the side. It was a special and rare experience. Another memory is walking alongside the Avon river (Hampshire). The cathedral staff had provided bag lunches for us and inside were boiled hotdog sandwiches with butter. The ducks were very excited that day at their unexpected feast. Below is a famous painting of Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable (1776-1837).

1992 England  St. Paul’s Cathedral residency with Trinity Episcopal in Columbia, SC  1992 St. Paul's was amazing!! Getting to spend extra time in the building and below it was a treasured experience as was singing evensongs during the week and mass on Sunday. It was on this trip that I began to enjoy organ concerts and repertoire. We got to see partsof the cathedral gthat ordinary tourists do not see. During this trip, I finally saw The Phantom of the Opera and Cats. I also discovered English cider and that I liked it.....a lot!

1995 Poland & the Czech Republic with the Emory University Choir, where I had just finished my Masters degree in conducting. We began our tour in Prague for about four days. I loved the pedestrian places in Praha and the bridges. The Industrial Revolution had not been good to the face of the city and its environs, but it was still georgeous. I also loved Wenceslaus Square and the street musicians. Our group took a train from Prague to the beautiful Liberec where we observed a choir rehearsal and performed. Then, on to Czestochowa to see The Black Madonna at the Jasna Gora Monastery. through the Tatra Mountains (they were SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!) to Krakow, Poland. We visited Auschwitz the next day and I was completely overwhelmed. It was raining, cold, and dreary. Being in such a dreaded place of death and seeing what took place there was chilling. We took an overnight train back to Prague.

1996 France, Austria, Germany (stayed at a dear friend's apartment and had a blast while they were there and then took care of their place while they were away). We visited Freiburg and the Schwartzwald. After my visit, I took trains back through Switzerland & Germany to Austria to meet the USC choir for their Austria/Germany tour.

England  Yorkminster cathedral residency with Trinity Episcopal in Columbia, SC. This trip was a blast because several different Trinity choir generations mixed for the trip and I had friends from two different degree programs! We stayed in the stable house, where the jockeys stayed, about a mile and a half outside the walled city of York. LOTS of Viking history here and archeological interests. I saw a hedgehog in the grass for the first time! Each night, we would go to the horse pasture after dinner and give the horses sugar cubes

:-) We took over the local pub and made a lot of friends. We also were given special seats at a service at Yorkminster and the Queen herself attended. The music was GLORIOUS! I'm going to have to dig up my picture of the Queen mother in her green hat in her car. The picture below is of the tremendous minster.

1997 Austria & Italy: USC Concert Choir (as an alum) trip, over New Year’s. It was FOUR degrees on New Year's Eve and we were on the streets of Vienna drinking champagne. At the stroke of midnight, radios and TVs on large screens broadcast the pummerin - the gigantic bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral - you can hear it at this link www.stephansdom.at  Then, everyone began to dance Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz. Check out this YouTube of Ricardo Muti conducting it...interesting facial expressions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woWJqKznCSc The streets were packed with people dancing, exchanging small toy pigs (it's a Viennese tradition as well to exchange Glucksbringer, or lucky charms such as these) and then toasting. Some people began to toss bottles and champagne glasses on the ground. It echoed all around and sounded as loud as fireworks.

1999 England & France: USC Jazz band and Jazz choir to London and Paris to perform Duke Ellington’s Sacred Service. We sang in Notre Dame! One funny thing (well, NOW, it's funny), was that our group went to a restaurant underground for lunch one afternoon before leaving Paris for the village of Honfleurs in Normandy. The floor had tree roots all over it and the trees were growing right up through the top floor and out above it. I ordered French onion soup because I thought "we're in France.....so I should try French onion soup..." As one of the waitresses brought our foods, she tripped. CUE slow motion - a flying, swirling, disc of hot melted cheese and onion and bread flew across the way and landed directly upon my kneecap and molded itself onto my jeans. O U C H !! I have to say that I did sort of scream because it hurt so much and was so dang HOT. The worst part was having to get back on a hot bus for hours and smelling like stank onion.

1999 Bulgaria – My first trip to this magnificent country! It was at the end of a very hard spring semester and much was going on in my life as a whole. I was actually quite down about it all, but signed up for the choral workshop through what is now the Varna International company. It was a workshop to study the choral music and historical styles of American, Bulgarian, French, and Russian music. Larry Wyatt (The USC in SC), Helene Guy (Paris Conservatoire), Boris Tevlin (Moscow Conservatory), and Marin Tchonev (Bulgaria, the choir of Morski Zvutsi) were the clinicians. I loved my experience so much that I created a proposal to teach a course the following year! In another post this summer, I will expound on my beloved Bulgaria!

2000 - Bulgaria – choral workshop, stayed to teach a week afterwards

2001 - Bulgaria – choral workshop, orchestral workshop, taught, then Rome afterwards

2002 - Bulgaria – orchestral workshop, taught, then Greece afterwards. After exploring Athens for two days straight, I walked to the pier and hopped on a boat to Paros for a week. I stayed in a small B&B, walked all over the island, and spent a whole day horseback riding from one end of the island to the uninhabited area on the other side and along the beach. I got BAD sunburn, but had a BLAST! :-)

2003 - Bulgaria & Scotland – I will write more on Scotland later this summer as well. I had quite an adventure. It began with my arriving in Aberdeen and staying six miles outside of the city. The next day, I walked into town, all over town, and walked back! WHEW! There was a giant cow munching grass outside my hotel (The Water Wheel) window. There were TONS of people with my EXACT same hair color in Scotland! I rented a car and spent a week driving all over northern Scotland via single track roads, crossing the Cairgnorms, and including the Isle of Skye. I got lost a few times, didn't make reservations, and almost ran out of gas. It was so much fun!!!

2004 - Bulgaria – orchestral workshop. This time, I stayed for a month, visited schools (including a folk high school in Varna), interviewed some conductors for my dissertation, and I got food poisoning about five days before I came back. I watched Ronald Reagan's funeral service from my apartment bed and ate ice chips I made from apple juice.

Bulgaria & Romania – took my students to participate in Brahms Requiem workshop. About seven of us took a van to Bucharest for a day and a half. Then, we took a train through the gorgeous Transylvanian Alps to the Medieval town of Sighishoara where Vlad Dracul was born. 2007 I will do a separate blog post on this over the summer. So....that makes THREE that I hope to remember to do!

South Korea  & the DMZ - “Fam” tour, January 2010  See previous blog post! :-)

Austria & Italy - In 2010 I taught music for the UNO Innsbruck program. For three weekends, I took train trips to Italy (weekend #1 - Bressanone/Bolzano, weekend # 2 – Rovereto, weekend # 3 - Padua/Venice), and for the final weekend my friend Kavita and I went to Salzburg and had a BLAST! I hope to teach for the Innsbruck program again. I will probably blog about a little of this trip and my weekend adventures! This picture is from my glacier hike!

Brasil & Argentina – July 2011 Spent three weeks working on a book with my colleague. In Brasil, I visited Curitiba, Blumenau, Jaragua do Sul, and Iguaçu. I visited the Argentine side of Igazu and the surrounding small town. Separate post, but that one might be about photography. I had a blast! I drank espresso and red wine and LOVED them for the very first time. I also learned to make pear risotto, understand some Portuguese, and ate pine nuts as giant as Brazil nuts. I was collaborating on a book project - which will be finished THIS SUMMER with my colleague maestro Daniel Bortholossi. The "88" butterfly below is from the Argentine side of the Iguazu falls natural reserve. The falls on both side were magnificent!!!

Mexico – 6 cruises (1 self, 1 w/ friend,  1 summer, 1 Nov., 1 w/ Mom, 1 w/ Jefferson Chorale) I’ve been able to see historically significant Mayan ruins at Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Tuluum. I've been ablt to do so many because I had the great fortune to work with a wonderful company that helps plan choir trips and festivals. They sometimes need a judge for a group, based on national standards and sometimes they needed an escort for a group and called me. I am indebted to my friend Dawn N. for these opportunities! :-)

There! So, that's all I can think of a yap about for now. Wow, now I have tons more to blog about. I think I like blogging  :-) I will probably do a separate post on each one of these trips!!!!! So many terrific experiences!

Cheers!