 Mountain Scenery in Westendorf, Austria |
 Self Portrait on Eiffel Tower |
 Strasburg, Germany |
Colonial Forge High School 2007
Stafford, Virginia
This summer presented me with an amazing opportunity to travel overseas and experience European cultures first hand. Through American Music Abroad, I and forty-eight other musicians toured France, Austria, and Germany. We performed concerts at many different venues along the way. It was the best trip of my life.
I am a trombone player and have been playing for over six years. I was recommended by my director to participate in the American Music Abroad Blue Tour. I promptly acted on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The tour itinerary included stops in Paris and Normandy in France, Westendorf and the Alps in Austria, and Leipzig, Strasburg, and Rothenburg in Germany. Starting in Normandy, we began a fast-paced and eventful two-week long tour through Europe on July 9, 2006. I have never been out of the country before so this was a truly unique insight into what lies beyond the borders of the U.S. Everything from the food to the cars was different in some way.
I thoroughly enjoyed being able to taste and try new cuisine everyday and interact with people who did not necessarily speak my language. For instance, my friends and I decided to sit down for lunch in Paris at this bistro, and it took us almost an hour to communicate to the waiter what we wanted. However, the language barrier was not always that much of a problem. Most of the locals knew at least enough English to give you directions and such.
The scenery was breathtaking everywhere we went. Austria was my favorite because the mountain views and the snowy Alps were unlike anything else in the world. I gained a new appreciation for nature in general and for architecture. The architecture in Paris was extremely pronounced and detailed, from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe. I also got a sense of how old most of the buildings are in Europe since people have been living in those cities for centuries. The medieval town of Rothenburg has a moat surrounding it and a 500-year-old wall that we were able to walk on. You do not find that in your backyard.
Overall, through my experiences on the tour, I was able to put a face to foreign cultures that I had only read about. The sights, food, and people were so diverse and different from the familiarities of home. I would recommend anyone who has the chance to travel overseas to take it. You will not regret it, and you will have a new appreciation for your own nationality as well.