Bloomington High School North, Nikean, 2017, Page 13

Description:	dRGCNTirihStory and photos by: Anna RaphaelThis past summer, I spent two and a half weeks in Argentina ontour with my violin ensemble. We visited five different cities: San Juan,Cordoba, Olavarria, Neuquen, and Buenos Aires. We played a varietyof different concerts. Some were in grand concert halls, but we alsoplayed a lot of informal concerts in schools for small children. Thesewere by far the most rewarding. Every single audience we played forwas so appreciative of the music, but the children in the school in SanJuan expressed to us in the best English they could how much it meantto them that we were able to come and play for them by singing us asong they had spent months learning. Somehow, the way they gavemusic back to us was the best thanks we received. The community ofSan Juan embraced us from the moment we stepped off of the bus. The local news covered our concert at theschool, and people came from all over town to be able to meet us. It was the first (and Im sure it will be the last)time I ever signed an autograph!Each city we visited was an incredible experience. In Cordoba,we stayed with host families and forged a lot of new friendships.However, my favorite city tovisit was Buenos Aires. Itwas a city so unlike anyurban area in the UnitedStates I had ever been to,and all the architecture therewas so beautiful. We got togo see the tomb of EvitaPeron, about whom the songDont Cry for MeArgentina was written, wevisited several flea marketswhere I bought some really nice souvenirs to take home to my familyand friends, and we ate dinner each night at this cafe where we watched alot of Copa America.All seriousness aside, one of the best things about Argentina wasthe Netflix! They have such a great selection of movies and TV shows that arent available in the US. We didntspend very much time watching Netflix since there wasnt a lot of time to spare, but I tried to take advantage asmuch as I could. Getting to go on this tour was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I feel really lucky that I got tovisit all these new places while creating permanent bonds and memories with all the friends in my ensemble. Oneof my favorite memories was in Neuquen: my roommate and I were really tired,and we unintentionally fell asleep, and my friend William woke us up because wehad forgotten to set an alarm. We were so disoriented, and we were about to be latefor rehearsal. So as we darted around the room trying to collect our things, Icouldnt put together a real word, and all I could say was crup, crup, crup! Whilethese moments are small and seem inconsequential, its the collection Of thesemoments that made those days so unforgettable.13
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomnorth/id/8363
Collection:	Bloomington High School North

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