Sabato, il 26 Febbraio: Naples/Newark/Longmeadow

Our Alitalia Airbus 330 is over the Alps and gradually turning westward. The view out the window is spectacular and causes me to contemplate the forces that drove those ridges upward. Add this to the list of wonders this week has been. It would not be possible to identify a favorite day, or even a favorite event from one day; there have been so many each day. Yesterday Lyrics sang an emotion-filled impromptu “Harps Eternal” in the theatre ruins, sang at a Mass in which the priest gave a homily on the importance of friendship in Italian and English, performed a concert at Town Hall to a capacity audience filled with Scouts and local dignitaries, and shared Shabbat and dinner all in Pompeii. That was just one day! -Ms. Sleigh

This is an extremely long plane ride.

-Dan

This trip has just reminded me of what music can do and how it can bring people together. There is not a group I would’ve rather traveled here with. As I am sitting on the plane home, I am really thinking about what an incredible time we had and the wonderful moments that we all shared, musical or not. Even though the trip is coming to an end, I will always cherish the memories and friendships that I made while I was here. -Matt

I love getting up at 3:30 in the morning…NOT! Pretty sure no one ended up getting any sleep last night. Now I’m sitting on a 9 and a half hour plane ride watching a repeat movie putting off doing the small amount of homework that I brought. Thanks for a great trip everybody! ~Emily B.

Time is really an interesting phenomenon. When not acutely attuned to its passage, we simply brush it off as having a great longevity; yet when given a very finite and specific number to adjust our internal clocks too, we moan and groan about how even a relatively short amount will take “forever”. Perhaps attaching a foreseeable end to any span of time subconsciously reminds us of our own mortality and causes the only response to be discontent. But I like to think that most of are all just young at heart (aka whiny brats) and will always hate being dragged back into the uncomfortable position we all faced taking long family road trips to our grandparents retirement condo’s down in Boca Raton. Even now the prospect of staying cramped into this confined space for another 5 hours watching strange foreign films who’s opening scenes involves angry looking shirtless men chopping up lines of blow with razorblades on old Abba records really just makes me uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the appeal of riding the white horse as much as the next guy, yet every facet of this plane ride reminds me about how the most amazing, happy, ecstatic, and terrifying week of my life has now come to an end. I have been given the great privilege of seeing more in seven days than most people have ever seen in a lifetime. I’ve seen the rise and fall of empires, the glory of God actualized into physical immortality, views of cities that put America to shame, and what inspires men to create them all. More importantly, I have seen arguably the most rag-tag motley crew of teenagers ever assembled become a family through laughter, tears, memories and music. This has been the best week of my life. I love music, I love Italy, I love sappy endings to articles, and most of all, I love nine and a half hour plane rides with these people,

- Timothy

I’m not sure that I know exactly what to write, but I’ve only blogged once on this entire trip so honestly I felt sort of obligated. We’re about an hour away from landing in New York. It’s so weird to think that the trip is over. I journaled about it for the first 3 or so days but then gave up, but don’t worry mom I took an ungodly amount of pictures. It’s weird, I thought before that there was no point in taking pictures of famous monuments or views because I know that you can type in “St. Peter’s Basilica” on Google images and get a more than adequate picture. Funny how I probably have more than a hundred pictures of that very sort. It’s different I guess, to know that you took that picture, because just looking at it, I remember exactly what was going through my head at that exact moment. For example, when I look at the picture that I took of the view of the Amalfi coast (the most beautiful place I have EVER been), I recall how I was trying desperately not to get blown over by the greatest velocity of wind that I have ever faced. I am extremely excited to give everyone the gifts that I bought! I planned on just buying a box of pasta or a mug for everyone, but I sort of went crazy and the majority of the Euros I’ve spent on this trip have been on gifts for other people. Pallavi is sitting next to me on the plane. She slept on my shoulder. She is actually so adorable right now. And now she says she’s mad at me for writing that. Okay I have written a sufficient amount for someone that had nothing to say. –Hailey Brinnel PS. Italians laughed at my name when I told them it because it is SO ugly to say in their language! An “H” and TWO wide vowels?? Come on mom and dad…

PPS. Happy belated 21^st birthday to my brother Paul, I miss you and love you and I think about you whenever the basses sing the low notes in Elijah Rock, because I know that you did that just a short while ago.

Perhaps my writing this now is a bit superfluous, certainly by the time anyone has the opportunity to appreciate the effort that I put into telling my story I will be home and quite capable of doing that in person. However, I find myself with a few hours left until our grand excursion is over and having nothing to do. Since I’ve yet to share anything with those who have enough time to spare so as to visit this site, I will attempt to give a concise first and last blog that will accurately portray my sentiments about our trip.

Everyone takes something different away from each situation, everyone gains knowledge and insight in different manners, and yet I can declare indubitably that in this experience every member of our party has gained a greater appreciation for the value of human life. Whether this value was gained through an introverted reflection found in the ethereal tranquility of an Italian mountaintop monastery, or in the realization that in spite of our cultural differences, an Italian smile can brighten your day just as much as that of an American, we all recognize it. We all know that being human unites all people, that being a person is a wonderful thing that too often we take for granted. My ignorance of certain aspects of the human experience has been treated, though not cured. And though I hesitate to reminisce upon it, I must acknowledge that we all were unfortunately reminded of the fragility of human life as well.

Italy is but a location, and while it is a beautiful place, it is the people that define the nation. We met some individuals who reminded us a bit too much of home (particularly in Naples), but we also interacted with souls who truly seemed to care for our well-being, who took us into their towns and served us. The memories of these people are what we will take away from Italy.

The native Italians, however, were not the only people that we had the opportunity to learn about. Our group, formerly a conglomerate of distinct entities, took on a life of its own; we became not a group of singers but a group, and at certain points, this group was able to produce something that none of the individuals that comprise it could rival. I know the people in Lyrics better than when we left a week ago; I know Lyrics better than I did when we left a week ago.

I hope I have been successful in portraying my recognition of the importance of people, of the importance of life, in the world. If I have failed it is not for lack of attempting, but rather, because this lesson is reserved for those to whom the opportunity of traveling abroad is presented. I conclude, therefore, with one final attempt at impressing my newfound view upon the world, one final opinion of mine that, if adequately presented, may still enlighten those ignorant of my purpose of writing. It is but a simple promise I made as I departed from the land where I gained so much: I will remember this, I will learn from this, I will return to this.

Brian F.

We just passed the beautiful ruins of New Jersey.

Sarah B.

Bye- Jason

Im so pompeiied up to be home. Well yes and no.-Ben

Right now we are driving by the ruins of New Jersey. It seems like Italy was just a fabulous dream. This trip will be unforgettable. The only way to explain this trip is a … grace clap.

Rayna L

Maaaajor nostalgia settling in : ( missing the reckless and rule-lacking driving of Italy while sitting in New Jersey traffic. Thanks for the shout out Rayray. See you soon everyone!

Here’s my first and final attempt at publicly publishing an extensive without going into random rivets, tangents, and/or other abnormalities.

Ahem, first off. Mom, I didn’t tell you that when you first gave me the Euro cash- not the cards, not the anything else, the cash- I nearly wet the bed with tears and other bodily fluids because of the shock. (It cannot possibly be too awk awk (send my love to Becca) to write about the day before we left on the day we get back, right?). It wasn’t like I was scared or anything, but that was the first tangible amount of responsibility I ever had in my entire life. I knew I could handle it, or at least hoped really hard I could (I can now honestly say I have never been pick-pocketed during a school-sanctioned international trip.) Either way, I guess that was where the first initial shock set in, which kinda sucks since I wasn’t in Italy yet.

The amount of money I splurged on this trip- that being said- is so ridiculous that I feared there’d be nothing to pick- pocket. Don’t worry parents, half of whatever I spent was on gifts, half of the rest was on food, and half of the rest was on Nutella. But there was also the amount of money I made you spend before the trip. Believe it or not, the Italians ended up looking exactly like the folks back in Longmeadow. Not nearly as fashion- forward as Aamani predicted. But hey, it was fun to lose the sweats for a change. Though I got my first foot blisters from my heels after walking on cobblestone.

I think after we left Rome, that’s when I truly felt I was in Italy. The atmosphere completely altered into what I expected, and though it didn’t matter where I was because I was with people I love, the setting, whether we were sitting on the Spanish Steps or singing in the monastery, enlivened every experience. Not only that, but the people changed the more South we got. The concentration of tourists decreased from Rome to Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and everyone was either really friendly, asking whether we were from America, or really sketchy, asking whether we were from America. It was a true taste of the culture, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose the scent of lemons and flowers from Amalfi, or the exhaust from the bus ride to it.

Speaking of tastes, the food did not disappoint. It was hard to weed out the restaurants that appealed to tourists. But Matt was right when he said to avoid the places with pictures in front of the food. (To everyone who didn’t get to come, we love you and wish you did.) The water however, was a little bit on the terrible side. Parents, when I get back, bring a pitcher of fridge water for me to down. Oh, and dibs on the downstairs bathroom.

So whether I was nauseous in the bus, being stalked in Naples, stalking in Bracigliano, or eating cold pizza, I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m gonna shut up now; there are more eager students waiting to blog. Ciao for now!

PS: Peppe’s in my suitcase, parentals… you’ll meet him soon.

Love, Pallavi