After an incredibly busy week, numerous concerts, services, workshops, and other ways of engaging and connecting with fellow choirs and one another, and plenty of incredible sights to see, Garnet Singers began the long journey back to the States early on May 22. Our return trip gave an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of the trip. Hannah describes the experience below:
In addition to exploring my singing capabilities, this trip allowed me to explore parts of the world that I have never been to. I thought that the trip was a nice mix of musical performances, workshops, and concerts, as well as relaxation time to make sure that we could get some rest between performances. I had been to London twice before, but being able to wander around the city independently was a much needed experience. At the start of the trip, my agenda did not include speedwalking across almost the entirety of Hyde Park, but I’m so glad that I was able to do it. London has so much history, nature, and busy life all clustered together. As someone who loves to sight see, I was so happy to be able to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and the Paddington gift shop all in one day! My true greatest find in England was the M&S grocery store that I went to at least 5 or 6 times.
I was also very excited to go to Cambridge since I had never been there before. I had such a fun time walking around, shopping, and going punting. The university has such a great amount of history that it makes Swarthmore feel like such a new college. Walking around Cambridge was one of my favorite pastimes. I originally felt that the walk from our hotel to the university was far – especially when Chung Sze and I half-ran the walk in order to race the group that took the bus – but it ended up becoming a great pleasure of mine. The walk to Cambridge was filled with lots of different shops and restaurants as well as some beautiful buildings, so I’m pretty glad that things ended up the way that they did.
I also really loved the unique characteristics that the U.K. has. One big difference from the U.S. is that they drive on the left side of the road. I also really enjoyed seeing their small cars. For some of them, it seemed nearly impossible for someone to get in the backseat, but the cars were very adorable. Another thing that I liked was that everyone had slightly different accents. To me, they sounded pretty similar, but when talking to someone from the Reading Bach Choir, they told me that they could distinguish the region that someone was from just by their accent. Another thing that I found to be very intriguing was how connected everybody was, at least in the musical realm. One of the women from The Bach Choir approached us to say that her husband was in the Reading Bach Choir and not only that, that she actually attended the ORA Singers concert and saw us there as well!
Another really great part of this trip was that I was able to connect with so many members of Garnet Singers that I hadn’t really talked to before, as well as the chaperones. Our group dinners and outings allowed me to find natural ways to get to know the members of our choir that I wasn’t able to do during rehearsal or outside rehearsal. This trip was a great bonding experience for us all and I hope that it may allow us to connect in our singing too. Everyone on this trip really looked out for each other.
I feel like this trip allowed me to have a glimpse into what it would be like to study abroad. I’ve spent almost all of my life in Pennsylvania, and I chose not to study abroad due to a fear of living so far from home. However, on this trip I feel like I’ve been able to take leadership and understand more about my own limits. I’m glad that we had a lot of free time on our trip because it gave me a chance to explore my independence.
On the way home! (photo by Pat) [Garnet Singers on a bus on the way home to the U.S.]
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