Home again…finally. The past month has been practically non-existent for all of the traveling and performing that I’ve done with various groups. I’ve seen some great places, spent time on the beach, gone through huge airports, tasted new foods, heard new music, and visited relatives and old friends. But there is nothing like home to soothe the soul like balm. We arrived at 4:15 am this morning after 20 ish hours in transit from the Dominican Republic. No one was awake of course when I got home, but just the smell of the house and the feeling of my own bedsheets was more comforting than I could ever have guessed. That and the reassurance that I don’t have to use a bus, plane, or train in the foreseeable future. Hooray for solid ground!
There is tons to share about my most recent trip, but I’ll stick to the highlights as I have an insane amount of catch up to do before school starts again tomorrow. If you’re looking for full sentences you’ve come to the wrong place.
Thursday, March 16th
~4 days after coming home from Miami I began packing my suitcase again. Tons of clothes for tropical weather and concerts alike…my days of “light packing” are clearly gone.
~Spent a few hours with Matt, who dropped me off at Millikin in time to go to Faith’s recital and then load the vans.
~We drove to Chicago in 3 vans and made it in by about 11:30
~Checked into a cheap hotel for a few winks
Friday, March 17th
~Awoke at 3:30 for a shower and re-loaded the equipment (24 pieces including a drum set and amps) in a shuttle.
~Flight from Chicago to Miami.
~Storm in Miami, detour to Ft. Lauderdale, Arrived in Miami 2 hours late
~Sprinting through airport to catch flight
~Flight to DR…we made it but our luggage did not…6 hours in a foreign airport desperately trying to remember high school Spanish. We DID however discover “BON”…a chain of ice cream that got us through the rest of the trip.
~Finally recovered luggage, loaded all into a bus for a 2 hour ride to La Romana.
Saturday, March 17th
~Checked into hotel to sleep a bit
~Visit to local bakery (which we ended up frequenting every day)
~Drive back into the city…we were featured on a Saturday afternoon live TV show…quite intimidating and lots of fun. We’re famous already?? J
~Free night and fun meal at a Shishkabob place before hitting the outdoor bars for cigars.
Sunday, March 18th
~Singers taught a singing clinic at a local arts council downtown. Thanks to the translator we might have gotten a few words through…we had fun singing for them then…music knows no language barrier.
~Into the city square to watch a huge annual parade celebrating “Carnival” (similar to Mardi Gras but 3 weeks long, more violent, and more chaotic)…culture shock firmly established.
Monday, March 19th
~Sang for a catholic school assembly…great show in a semi-outdoor gym…we felt a lot like rock stars and signed a lot of autographs.
~Sang at a bar/restaurant (in that order…) in the city square for a very appreciative audience.
Tuesday, March 20th
~Beach day!! Snorkeling, volleyball, Frisbee, photography, tanning, and relaxing.
~Viewed a show at an outdoor amphitheater at a resort village called “Altos de Chavon”…great food, cheesy entertainment, and lots of very rich people.
Wednesday, March 21st
~Show at another school…very fun again
~Drive into Santo Domingo, the capital city…checked into new hotel on the colonial square…very beautiful
~Show at a ritzy bar for some people who actually spoke some broken English. Nice to hear.
Thursday, March 22nd
~Performance at a huge school which is entirely bilingual. 1200 students, most of whom know 3 languages and have a great grasp on Computer technology, the arts, and both Dominican and US history. I felt dumb.
~Show at International Cultural college for a large audience on a beautiful stage. ~Randomly ran into the mother of a girl who stayed with us in the States on an exchange 7 years ago. Crazy small world!!
Friday, March 23rd
~Free morning…I took the chance to get to see my Cousin who lives down there. I had never met her husband and her little boy, who are both as sweet as can be. I enjoyed seeing her house and catching up on her life. She also got to see a concert.
~Shopping in the Mercado in the city…Faith and Marc and I got really good at bartering and brought home some great stuff!!
~Show at an outdoor cultural stage in a huge plaza…great dinner at a refurbished old stone tavern which was far too nice for a bunch of college students.
~The show was stalled in the middle of the group that went before us when the power went out…no problem…the sound guys spliced the wires in some nearby street lights to get enough power for the stage lights and the sound system. Only in the DR…
~We finally sang, and had a fun show…on the cutoff of our last song there was a torrential downpour and so we all frantically grabbed equipment and drums and microphones and threw it under the stage…then played in the rain for a good half hour. Everything was soaked and we spent a great portion of the evening drying things off with towel and hair dryers. Bonding experience for sure!!
Saturday, March 24th
~The group had arranged a pop song that just came out in the DR for One Voice to sing, and the crowds loved it. So, we ended up taping a performance of it on the same TV show before we headed for the airport. Tough to realize that we were headed back to a place where no one would know/care who we were… J
~Headed to the airport for a long day of transit
~Only lost two pieces of luggage on the way home…not bad
Dang…that was the short version?? I’ve got to work on that…
All that to say, we had a fabulous time…the group was really great, and despite the unavoidable drama and occasional squabbling, we enjoyed each other immensely. Our group is young and not too confident about our “gel” as a group for the most part. The trip showed us just how compatible we were on and off stage and that really helped to cement our shows. It wasn’t the most relaxing of spring breaks, but it was definitely a blast.
Yesterday on the plane I was listening to Andrew Peterson’s “Far Country” album. It is a thought provoking and beautiful collection of songs that talk about heaven. Heaven’s a thing we don’t think about in specific terms very often. It is so far away, so distant from reality, and so unimaginable. Peterson’s lyrics speak of the craving and the emptiness that should be apparent in our lives because we are not “home” yet. C.S. Lewis puts it another way, “If there is a unquenchable craving that nothing in this world can satisfy, I must conclude that I was created for another world.”
I loved the trip, I loved the new culture and the energy of travel and exploring new foods and art and music. I loved finding new pieces of myself in the tapestry of another “world.” But there is nothing there that would satisfy as fully as this home in little Decatur does.
Home again…and loving it. Loving the familiar, the safe, the warm, and the joyous feeling that survives in my home by the grace of our savior. And yet, I was struck that even this is a far country, which despite it’s blessings has downfalls and shortcomings and limited joy. Somewhere out there is a perfect place, which provides the ultimate balm and peace, for it will fit around my heart like a lock fits around a key. It is what I was created for. And while this weary traveler will continue to appreciate what she sees and experiences and explores, she must never forget that little longing in the back of her mind. It is the key to the perseverance of all else.
“And I long to go there, I can feel it too
And the sun that’s shining is a shadow of the truth
This is a far country, not my home…”
There is tons to share about my most recent trip, but I’ll stick to the highlights as I have an insane amount of catch up to do before school starts again tomorrow. If you’re looking for full sentences you’ve come to the wrong place.
Thursday, March 16th
~4 days after coming home from Miami I began packing my suitcase again. Tons of clothes for tropical weather and concerts alike…my days of “light packing” are clearly gone.
~Spent a few hours with Matt, who dropped me off at Millikin in time to go to Faith’s recital and then load the vans.
~We drove to Chicago in 3 vans and made it in by about 11:30
~Checked into a cheap hotel for a few winks
Friday, March 17th
~Awoke at 3:30 for a shower and re-loaded the equipment (24 pieces including a drum set and amps) in a shuttle.
~Flight from Chicago to Miami.
~Storm in Miami, detour to Ft. Lauderdale, Arrived in Miami 2 hours late
~Sprinting through airport to catch flight
~Flight to DR…we made it but our luggage did not…6 hours in a foreign airport desperately trying to remember high school Spanish. We DID however discover “BON”…a chain of ice cream that got us through the rest of the trip.
~Finally recovered luggage, loaded all into a bus for a 2 hour ride to La Romana.
Saturday, March 17th
~Checked into hotel to sleep a bit
~Visit to local bakery (which we ended up frequenting every day)
~Drive back into the city…we were featured on a Saturday afternoon live TV show…quite intimidating and lots of fun. We’re famous already?? J
~Free night and fun meal at a Shishkabob place before hitting the outdoor bars for cigars.
Sunday, March 18th
~Singers taught a singing clinic at a local arts council downtown. Thanks to the translator we might have gotten a few words through…we had fun singing for them then…music knows no language barrier.
~Into the city square to watch a huge annual parade celebrating “Carnival” (similar to Mardi Gras but 3 weeks long, more violent, and more chaotic)…culture shock firmly established.
Monday, March 19th
~Sang for a catholic school assembly…great show in a semi-outdoor gym…we felt a lot like rock stars and signed a lot of autographs.
~Sang at a bar/restaurant (in that order…) in the city square for a very appreciative audience.
Tuesday, March 20th
~Beach day!! Snorkeling, volleyball, Frisbee, photography, tanning, and relaxing.
~Viewed a show at an outdoor amphitheater at a resort village called “Altos de Chavon”…great food, cheesy entertainment, and lots of very rich people.
Wednesday, March 21st
~Show at another school…very fun again
~Drive into Santo Domingo, the capital city…checked into new hotel on the colonial square…very beautiful
~Show at a ritzy bar for some people who actually spoke some broken English. Nice to hear.
Thursday, March 22nd
~Performance at a huge school which is entirely bilingual. 1200 students, most of whom know 3 languages and have a great grasp on Computer technology, the arts, and both Dominican and US history. I felt dumb.
~Show at International Cultural college for a large audience on a beautiful stage. ~Randomly ran into the mother of a girl who stayed with us in the States on an exchange 7 years ago. Crazy small world!!
Friday, March 23rd
~Free morning…I took the chance to get to see my Cousin who lives down there. I had never met her husband and her little boy, who are both as sweet as can be. I enjoyed seeing her house and catching up on her life. She also got to see a concert.
~Shopping in the Mercado in the city…Faith and Marc and I got really good at bartering and brought home some great stuff!!
~Show at an outdoor cultural stage in a huge plaza…great dinner at a refurbished old stone tavern which was far too nice for a bunch of college students.
~The show was stalled in the middle of the group that went before us when the power went out…no problem…the sound guys spliced the wires in some nearby street lights to get enough power for the stage lights and the sound system. Only in the DR…
~We finally sang, and had a fun show…on the cutoff of our last song there was a torrential downpour and so we all frantically grabbed equipment and drums and microphones and threw it under the stage…then played in the rain for a good half hour. Everything was soaked and we spent a great portion of the evening drying things off with towel and hair dryers. Bonding experience for sure!!
Saturday, March 24th
~The group had arranged a pop song that just came out in the DR for One Voice to sing, and the crowds loved it. So, we ended up taping a performance of it on the same TV show before we headed for the airport. Tough to realize that we were headed back to a place where no one would know/care who we were… J
~Headed to the airport for a long day of transit
~Only lost two pieces of luggage on the way home…not bad
Dang…that was the short version?? I’ve got to work on that…
All that to say, we had a fabulous time…the group was really great, and despite the unavoidable drama and occasional squabbling, we enjoyed each other immensely. Our group is young and not too confident about our “gel” as a group for the most part. The trip showed us just how compatible we were on and off stage and that really helped to cement our shows. It wasn’t the most relaxing of spring breaks, but it was definitely a blast.
Yesterday on the plane I was listening to Andrew Peterson’s “Far Country” album. It is a thought provoking and beautiful collection of songs that talk about heaven. Heaven’s a thing we don’t think about in specific terms very often. It is so far away, so distant from reality, and so unimaginable. Peterson’s lyrics speak of the craving and the emptiness that should be apparent in our lives because we are not “home” yet. C.S. Lewis puts it another way, “If there is a unquenchable craving that nothing in this world can satisfy, I must conclude that I was created for another world.”
I loved the trip, I loved the new culture and the energy of travel and exploring new foods and art and music. I loved finding new pieces of myself in the tapestry of another “world.” But there is nothing there that would satisfy as fully as this home in little Decatur does.
Home again…and loving it. Loving the familiar, the safe, the warm, and the joyous feeling that survives in my home by the grace of our savior. And yet, I was struck that even this is a far country, which despite it’s blessings has downfalls and shortcomings and limited joy. Somewhere out there is a perfect place, which provides the ultimate balm and peace, for it will fit around my heart like a lock fits around a key. It is what I was created for. And while this weary traveler will continue to appreciate what she sees and experiences and explores, she must never forget that little longing in the back of her mind. It is the key to the perseverance of all else.
“And I long to go there, I can feel it too
And the sun that’s shining is a shadow of the truth
This is a far country, not my home…”
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