Day 1

Wow, my head is already spinning with thoughts and it's only Day 1. The people here are incredible- so friendly, hospitable, helpful. I am reaffirmed how much I love this continent-and I think at this point I can say continent! I feel completely safe so don't worry Mom :)
I think a daily blog will be necessary to help me process all the thoughts. Today was mostly interviews with staff and concluded with an amazing concert by a contemporary ensemble of music from around Latin America-incredibly well done! Interdisciplinary, visuals for every song, musical excellence, and fun! Despite Monday being a "bad day for cultural outings" there were 1750 people in the audience! Amazing and truly inspirational. I definitely took notes for how to improve CMC performances so stay tuned!!
I learned so much! It always happens over the "cafecito," the spontaneous interviews you didn't have planned! I ended up having two interviews in a row-both unplanned. One was with the director of the entire program and one was with the pedagogical coordinator. I won't lie, I was jealous such a position existed, but I guess with 5300 students and 27 sites that's allowed. I'll save the facts/figures for my thesis unless someone wants a specific fact, but I am super excited to have a sequential socioemotional learning process document. SO many programs talk about the social skills but this is the first program I've seen that has activities and an aspect dedicated to it. Stay tuned once it's translated and compiled!
Geoff, I think you would be pleased. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the goals of the program were to expand culturally, both in pedagogic practices and in the repertoire, so that European music wasn't the dominant type, but rather "horizontal" to other whether that be a tango orchestra or a violin piece by a Latin composer. I'll get the exact demographics at some point, but the grand majority of participants are "mixed" meaning the large African population, indigenous populations, and others, are not super well represented and they want to be a reflection of the community. They are not only saying this, but their goals reflect this desire. The new director was younger than I would have expected (mid 30s), but seems very well-intentioned and is a musician himself.
The program, note I did not say organization and I learned some of the great challenges that come with this, is incredibly sustainable because there is an agreement from the City Council that it must be guaranteed and 100% funded by the Mayor's office. However, one of the great challenges I learned is because it's a program and not an organization there are fluctuations in the budget, amount of teachers hired yearly, etc. The city gives the budget and then they plan their program instead of the opposite, like in the US. What was amazing to me was to hear Julian, the curriculum director, that it's only a 9 month program-and they are not paid the other three months so they have to save money and plan for that. He has done that for 13 years! And next year, he could not be invited back-but that hasn't happened and he continues to have faith.
Everyone has been so gracious and excited to have me. So approachable. I'm giving a presentation to all 16 of the administration on Wed morn at 8 am (no hora latina here!) and after meeting them today, I'm not concerned at all. They're all so approachable and want to help however they can. They're willing to share anything and already have so much more documented than Venezuela. I'll save their history for my thesis, but always interesting and have a good context to begin interviews tomorrow.
Well I promised myself an early bedtime. My hostal is lovely with a terrace and a covered rooftop kitchen overlooking all of Medellin. I'm LOVING the Metrobus and very thankful to have data through T-Mobile free of charge as SIM didn't work since iPhones are locked. Decided to retreat to the hostal after the concert instead of going to another concert, but there's one every night this week so I'm sure I'll say more (see a few pics on Facebook).
Te despido. Buenas noches!

Pre-Departure Thoughts

WOW! I leave tomorrow! So surreal. It won't hit me till I'm getting off the plane surrounded by the Andes Mountains and hearing Spanish and having to pay in pesos-maybe then it will hit me. It has been QUITE a whirlwind of a summer between running three summer camps and weddings every other weekend. Something I did this summer that was invaluable to me as a teacher that I haven't had time to reflect on was sitting in on some of Angie Broeker's Teaching Young Singers course. She said something that really struck me: Trusting my authentic self even if that's different. So often, I'm trying to blend in, be the adaptive chameleon, I'm really good at being. Hell, I even tried to be a brunette for the trip, thinking somehow brown hair would have me fit in-not that the 5'10" stature or blue eyes wouldn't dominate that. But then I asked myself-why? Why am I so afraid to stand out, to draw attention to myself, particularly as a musician? Why do I hate being in the limelight so much? I've finally started to be able to accept compliments, but it takes a lot of conscious effort! If anyone else struggles with this, feel free to comment!

As I further reflected, the only logical reason I came up with was the musician world-dog-eat-dog competition, musical excellence solely defined by how well you wave your hands as a conductor or perform, and achieving the most advanced music as the primary goal. This was most of my solo performer life-worried about how others would judge me, or perhaps how I thought others would judge me. Being transparent, there were times I was told in college to choose other career paths, that conducting particularly was not for me. But I persevered and will never regret majoring in music-it has brought me around the world! But as a solo musician, it wasn't until I started going around the world that I felt value as a solo musician again. Between the chastising of my conducting technique and battling tendonitis so I had to switch from piano to voice as my main instrument, no wonder I froze up in college.

But Tanzania was what reignited me-I played Brahms Violin Sonata-awell-advanced technique piano piece and again understood why I was playing-to share my gift with others. I want to quote Angie again saying we should redefine excellence as an organization that fulfills its mission statement. Amen to that. Perhaps that was what grabbed me and inspired me in Tanzania, in Venezuela, in Boston, and now, yes in my own program here in Minnesota. There is no objective truth in music, only in a specific paradigm, which we tend to use the Western classical one as a given, not an assumption.

My challenge to myself as I embark to Colombia tomorrow is (aside from my formal research questions) to a) not be afraid to stand out and own that-height, who I am as a musician, being an American in this time, all of it. That in itself is a challenge, though always easier for me to do when I am in a new environment. B) To explore the mission statements of these programs and if they are fulfilling them. C) To explore, observe, and listen-not to hypothesize, assume, or otherwise make pre-conceived paradigms. I am really going to strive to take these programs for what they are at face value, whether that is incredible or underwhelming. I am going with zero expectations, only an open heart, mind, a recorder to record their words and a camera/video to capture memories or illustrations that exemplify a program's mission--or don't.

I applied for the Charles C. Jackson grant last November so I have been working on this project for 10 months-tomorrow I take off. Special thanks to them and the University of MN Judd Fellowship for making this trip possible! Here's to adventure, learning, and expressing my whole self, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5"10 height and all!

Independence Day

It's been so long clearly I have quite a few blogs to catch up on! Especially before I go to Colombia and then I promise you'll receive at least a weekly blog post. But today I want to reflect on the Day of Independence and how I did that this weekend. I'm not exactly a fan of our current "leader" and I agree, America isn't the greatest place on Earth for many. However, I want to leave politics out as I do when I go to the North Shore, which is where I spent the past 4 days and there is no other word but bliss. I usually go to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that is 1 million acres of nothing but serenity, beauty, and rejuvenation. No sounds but the paddle of a canoe in the water and loons calling on the lake. No smells but maybe the smoke of the campfire. No tastes but maybe the occasional wild blueberry patch one stumbles across after a long portage. And views? Well, by day you have lake after lake with either 500 ft cliffs and deciduous trees or small ponds with lilypads and the occasional turtle. I've been around the world, but there is no place like this that I return year after year. This year I was only able to go for a day, but we did a mile of portaging including a stairway portage, 3 lakes, and a waterfall. It was just long enough to soak in and nothing felt more refreshing than diving into the water to rinse away the sweat, the bug spray (that is one con of the area), and soak my sore muscles after portaging a 75-80 lb. canoe. Some don't think this sounds relaxing, but the beauty and the conversations that arise from being with someone in a canoe for multiple hours, truly are. This was how I spent one day of my Independence Day retreat.
Each morning I slept until I needed to get up with no phone and took my journal and book down to the bubbling brook in the backyard of where I stayed. I've been here so many times (at least once/year since I was 13) and yet, I had never done that before. There's always new places, even in familiar places. To listen to the calm water as I realized self-discovery was wonderful, literally. It ignited my creativity and empowered me to be me and that was when I realized what I was doing-I was truly embracing Independence with a capital I. I've been reading a lot about the wild woman archetype, specifically Women Running with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkold and I've felt incredibly empowered by the book because it is a type of woman our society doesn't usually embrace or talk about. It's a woman who is strong, emotive, creative, sensual, and yes, independent. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the maternal, but that's just not where I'm at in life. Each day up on the North Shore, I did what I wanted to do on my time. Sometimes others joined me, like my friend Kevin, and we biked 24 miles on the Gitchi Gami by Lake Superior passing through fields of lupine, yarrow, and lilies (yes it was also beautiful) and had lunch down by the water. Other times it was just me like when I ran ~1.6 miles to Dyers Lake and jumped in the water and swam halfway across and back hearing a loon mating call which sounds like a laugh and is one my favorite sounds. Another highlight was watching fireworks on the 4th from a canoe on Superior. The reflection of the fireworks, the noise reverberating off the lake, it was impressive for a small town show. More so, it was impressive that despite being July 4th I could see my breath! Canoeing back in the dark under the light of an almost full moon was a memory I will hold dear.
So as others enjoyed their 4th by partying into the wee hours of the night I decided I was going to abstain and really get in touch with my inner Self. It worked and it couldn't have been more perfectly timed as an independent woman. It was also the perfect timing to finish a book I've been working on for awhile, the Artist's Challenge. Since January, I've been journaling daily about recovering as an artist so I can get to my true artist self and share my creativity again. The last week (it's a 12 week course technically, but life got in the way) was about a sense of autonomy. How will I continue to feed and express my artist when the book is gone? This weekend was a perfect start. There was no phone, there was continual self-reflection, there was adventure, there was community and deep conversations that challenged me, provoked me, nourished me, and taught me new perspectives. But at the end of the day, despite 10 other people being there, it was just me doing my thing. I am Zara. I challenge you to find your thing if you haven't. You, as an independent person, even if our country may not be giving everyone their deserved freedom, you deserve it. Take it.  

Epistemology: Knowing Your Community

The Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Awareness conference in Chicago left me with awe. True awe, the jaw-dropping, mind-blowing "wow," so bear with me as I struggle to articulate the experience into a blog entry. First off to hear words like "evaluation" and "holographic" in the same sentence was certainly a new experience. These are the people that care more about the stories and "soft" qualitative evidence as the statistical quantitative data. There were large representations of native Hawaiians and New Zealand Maori people along with several American Indian tribes. The conference began with three of these tribes singing their equivalent to the national anthem and then the representatives of the visiting tribes bringing gifts to the local tribes to thank them for letting them be on their land. It was incredible to see the intentionality in these tribe members of not only thanking them for hosting, but acknowledging the land that we were standing upon. That in itself made me know this conference was going to be a game-changer.
The next 2.5 days were spent listening to speakers from many different communities of color and researchers and graduate students talking about how they had implemented culturally responsive practices in their cultural contexts and/or work. A main lesson I learned during the Sistema fellowship of tailoring your program to the community was discussed in almost every presentation. After breaking down epistemology (ways of knowing), I want to take that concept one step further: value your community. Knowledge is only the beginning. Knowledge means nothing if one doesn't use it to respond in a culturally responsive way, which requires valuing the culture(s) of the people one is working with.

I'm working on a case study for my graduate school Integrative Leadership course at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management where we had to select an initiative that exhibited integrative leadership and assess the presence/absence of integrative leadership in the initiative. While there are many definitions of Integrative leadership, our group has defined integrative leadership as the ability to bring diverse voices together to achieve collective impact ensuring all voices are represented at the executive/decision-making level. The organization we selected, Gen Next, has brought together many different stakeholders (corporations, foundations, schools, city officials, neighborhood associations) to close the nation's largest achievement gap and by doing so certainly exhibited qualities of integrative leadership at a sectoral level. However, in our interviews, we learned of contradicting viewpoints as to what extent the initiative has been successful. Mainly due to the fact that the communities GenNext is serving are feeling undervalued. A lesson I heard again and again during this conference was "It's not what you do what you do, but how you do what you do." The why of everyone wanting to close the achievement gap is certainly aligned, but when corporations and foundations want higher literacy and graduation scores, without looking at the youth holistically, particularly that of their cultural values, many community members have felt they are trying to produce worker bees. Efficiency and independence are two examples of assumed values. What if these character traits aren't valued in the communities for which Gen Next is trying to serve? In order for there to be a lasting, significant impact, one must have integrative leadership at a societal level, which requires aligning values, and that is tremendous, deliberate work. Work where people must be humble and make no assumptions and actively listen to each other without judgment. This requires giving up power and authority.

This conference discussed a lot of these dynamics that are part of Critical Theory discourse and was perfectly applicable to both my work in Sistema as well as my graduate coursework in international development. It's all about building trust in relationships and respecting the values of the community, which researchers/development practioners (especially funders) don't always do. I went into this conference with believing the ultimate indicator of social change is agency, that is the power that one has the ability and power to change his/her life trajectory. However, as we've seen in a case study in Uganda, autonomy and independence aren't necessarily values they share. Rather interdependence is part of life and it's through that interdependence that people are motivated to help one another (you scratched my back so I'll scratch yours).

As most good discussions and conferences go, I left the conference with more questions than answers, but also with a framework of knowing what types of questions one needs to ask and to make no assumptions. Aloha in Hawaiian is not just a mere greeting; it means love AND understanding. Now that's a beautiful thing. 

A Metamorphosis of Privilege and Situational Awareness

As I'm reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert about successes and failures and how your art, your thing that you love more than your self, it is challenging me to not censor my blog and just write. Not as candidly as a journal, mind you, but more so than I have in the past. Allowing me to be vulnerable, wrong, and perhaps not necessarily politically correct. But also hopefully provide a new perspective, or freshness into a usually familiar territory, and vulnerability in that way. As Brennan Brown says in her Power of Vulnerability TED Talk, there is power in that vulnerability. My intent is to articulate my thoughts and how I have noticed myself metamorphosize, not insult or offend, though I may make some judgment calls. After all, this is my blog and I'm allowed to do that.

It all started during the Sistema fellowship. Each fellow took a turn to teach something. I had just led a session on choral warm-ups. Our fellow class..well there were some tumultuous times..to say it nicely. Let's just say I know what happens when you put 10 alpha dogs in one room and it's not pretty. I also learned SOS for group dynamics and the toxic 4 horsemen of stonewalling, contempt, ignoring, and resignation. It was in this toxic context that I asked a fellow fellow we'll call Susie when she was going to do lead her session. She opened up to me and said something to the following effect, though now that it's been 3 years some of this may be paraphrased/reinterpreted, "Honestly, Sara? You've seen our group dynamic. Why should I [in a truthfully posing a question, non-contemptuous way, tone is impossible to communicate by text!)? And as enthusiastic as you are about underwater basketweaving (changed for identity protection), what do I owe Sara Zanussi, a privileged, white woman [about this topic]? I gathered this knowledge and am a master teacher and it's really special. Why should I pass it onto you?" This was one of those conversations that stung, but was truthful and brutally honest; she had no duty or obligation to teach me. It made me incredibly uncomfortable and full of guilt as many white privilege conversations then did, but I truthfully had no response. I'm sure at the time I said something like, "I'd just like to learn more about it, but if you're not comfortable doing so I guess I understand and I'm sorry," and shuffled away.

I can count the amount of brutally honest conversations I've had like this on one hand. But they're also the kind of conversations that stay with you and bring about what Stanford Business Review claims to be the most important characteristic of leadership: self-awareness. Despite being discriminated against in Tanzania for a full year, I was situationally unaware of the privilege I held during this fellowship purely because of my racial background. European Americans as I like to call "white" people like myself, were the minority in our fellowship. But despite being the minority, this was the first time I realized even being the minority I held the institutionalized privilege and thus my situational awareness began. I wanted to do something. I wanted to tell Susie, "Because I value your knowledge. Because I truly want to learn about underwater basketweaving. Because as you said you're a master teacher and I trust you." But I didn't. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Working in a community of color, there are meetings where I am the one and only "white girl" in the room. Where I really can't empathize with some of the situations some of the participants in the room have been in, overcome, or identify with. I thought I couldn't possibly be a teacher of cultural resiliency, helping youth maintain/develop their cultural identity. Because I thought of it purely in racial/ethnic terms. How could I represent youth-of-color's culture not being of-color or from the community myself? How can that be my job?!

But a wise colleague helped me realize, cultural resiliency is cultivating and maintaining any part of one's culture- that of youth, that of music, that of being a community leader, that of one's ancestry, and with that I could certainly be on board. That wise colleague helped me realize that sure it was evident, I was the minority, the "little white girl" in the room. But I wouldn't have been invited to that meeting if I weren't trusted. If I weren't valued. If my opinions were ignored or my questions unanswered. And since then when that discomfort arises as being the clear outsider, I think of it no different than a physical-a necessary, important thing to do even if it involves exposing yourself in order to understand what's going on and live a healthy life. It keeps my mind open and I've seen community members feel safe to become vulnerable and talk about their challenges. And my job as an outsider in those moments? To just listen and let that person be heard. To not offer a suggestion or provide a solution or try to empathize with something I can't. To learn his/her story so I can develop an authentic relationship. So often, "acting out" (basically most of the evil doings in the world) happens when one doesn't feel heard.  If we all felt we were heard, the world would be a VERY different place.

So now three years later working in a community of color, I think of Susie's words often. How am I representing myself because I am a privileged European American and there is nothing i can do to change that fact? I realized the biggest thing I can do is create that awareness for others and not let it be a blind spot or ignored. Tonight was my first action towards awareness. My professor, a Scandinavian, older male, was telling us about the guest speakers that were coming in and I couldn't help but notice, all of them were white, older males. "We were going to have [a woman CEO] next week, but she couldn't make it." After my Integrative Leadership seminar course, I gutsily went up to him and said, "I was just curious. Are we going to have any diverse speakers? I couldn't help but notice all the people in our syllabus are white males." He sheepishly looked at me and said, "I know, but in these fields it's really hard to find someone and with our connections.." I understood this to mean, no. But then he thanked me and told me it was on his mind and he really was hoping for at least this woman CEO to come, but she cancelled. I told him I couldn't help but notice the diverse make-up of the class and how one of the biggest things I had learned in my cross-sector work were different perspectives from different backgrounds. I also admitted after some of the comments tonight in our debate it would be really good for our class to hear a different perspective. (During the debate, we were talking about if Hubert Humphrey's passage of the Civil Rights Act was an example of integrative leadership. The pro side argued it was cross-sector because of the constituent diversity (there were women, whites, blacks) as if that were the same as cross-sector. I was pretty taken aback and offended by the comment. "Diversity" does not mean cross-sector!)

Anyway, the professor told me last year they had a person-of-color come in to speak, but it's really hard with the topics and their networks and if I had any suggestions to write them down. He said, "There was a girl last year who asked the same thing. We really should...and it's one of my biggest struggles. But thank you. I'm really glad you brought it up." And after that, I realized I was representing the community I serve. I was uncovering a blindspot and not letting it be ignored. I was giving my youthMy Me a voice in a majorly predominantly "white" field. And while I by no means mean for this to be a self-congratulatory post, I do recognize the metamorphosis and awareness that all began with Susie's comment 3 years ago.

Travels to Thailand

What a failed blogger I've been! ComMUSICation has kept me quite busy with our new partnership at the Mt. Airy Boys & Girls' Club and starting a new less-intensive program, getting our own office space, hiring new staff, board expansion, and fundraising. IN addition, I also started graduate school this fall in Comparative International Development Education, which has been so refreshing to be around development-minded colleagues and others who have lived abroad. It has been so refreshing to hear individuals that share similar viewpoints on development and has been wonderful to be in classes that I can directly apply to my work (like writing CMC's parent and student program evaluation!).

After this busy semester, a vacation was in order. Here are my top 10 memories from my Travels in Thailand (w/ layovers in Hong Kong and Japan!).

1) Mountains in Hong Kong
Most talk about city life in Hong Kong, but under two hours away is BEAUTIFUL hiking paradise!

Landau Mountain 

2) Koh Phi Phi

This non-motorized small island is known for its party scene, but if you climb some stairs, the viewpoints are absolutely breathtaking!

3) Koh Lanta

Not nearly as well-known, you have the beaches and the jungle, and wonderful homegrown organic food @EasyLife Lanta Bungalows in jungle cabanas

4)Railay
If you like rock climbing, this is your paradise! But even if you don't, there are limestone caves, beautiful beaches, and truly awesome sunsets!

 Phranang Cave

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5) Pai

Land of veg food, scooters and hippies. Also by a canyon, waterfalls you can slide down, and hot springs you can bathe in or boil eggs (bring your student ID and you can save on admission)!

                                         Mor Paeng Waterfall, the waterfall you can slide down

 Pai Canyon, be ready for some climbing and hoisting yourself up rocks, but well worth it!

6) Night markets

Are a must! Food, souvenirs, open mic/buskers, clothing, they have it all!

 Noodle choices for Pad Thai at Khao San Road, Bangkok

 They LOVED their waffles and crepes

7) Buatong Waterfall-Sticky Waterfalls

A bit of a drive outside Chiang Mai, but well worth it-you can climb up them (this pic is misleading, no rope required)

 8) Elephant trekking
If you're going to ride an elephant, make sure you go with an ethical company! Many elephants are treated poorly! I HIGHLY recommend Save&Rescue Ran-Tong elephant camp where they provide mahout (trainer) clothes, and you feed, bathe, and ride the elephants

 Feeding her favorite snack (look at that tongue!)

 Bath time

9) Chiang Mai

The land of temples, amazing yoga classes (Check out Wild Rose Yoga Studio!), and tigers 

                                          Tiger Kingdom

                                                      Doi Suthep Temple

Inmate Massage & Cafe

They train female inmates how to be masseuses and work in a cafe (and make delicious banana shakes!)

10) Tiger Cave Temple, Krabi
It's 1227 STEEP steps but it's a temple at the top of a mountain with a 360˚ view.

Sightings in Scotland

What a whirlwind this fall has been. Some of the most beautiful foliage I can recall and amazing 60˚ days. We did it! We created a composed opera with MN Opera and performed it in three spaces across the Twin Cities and all but one student showed up for a Saturday performance!
The final week the opera was being prepared, I was a delegate at Big Noise in Raploch, Scotland meeting others from 28 countries and hearing about their programs. A lot I learned just by experiencing and seeing a full continuum from baby-adulthood. Really quite incredible. And to see their community efforts: adult orchestra, bringing teachers to family houses to perform, and my favorite from our friends in Sweden, a venstay, where the community comes together and sings and dances and shares together. It was a pity the positive motivation session didn't happen, but we did talk about discipline, music, etc. It was the first teaching conference and very duly noted that the frame and tone was completely distinct from that of a conference of managers/directors. It was incredibly inspiring to see the scope of to whom they offer programming and to hear that they didn't have a second site til six years in, working on solidifying and growing their first site. The other thing I wanted to applaud was not only the age range they served, but also the ability level; they had a program at every school including the special needs school and learning about the technological instruments that adapt music to be friendly toward their needs was also a highlight.
Watching orchestra classes also made me understand that there is just something about instruments that cannot be accomplished with choir; not good nor bad, just is. Though watching the National Youth Choir of Scotland rehearse reminded me how rehearsal can be musically productive with kid-friendly language like "trampoline tummies" and have silly exercises like a round of "One Bottle of Pop" that still have musical value.
 One of the largest differences I couldn't help but notice was the lack of behavioral problems and the homogeneity of the students. This is a huge advantage Venezuela also has of only having to address one cultural background. It's one of the reasons why ComMUSICation is so powerful, but makes it one of the most challenging. How do I coming from my background address the backgrounds of seven different cultures? The other large difference I noticed was the difference of school dynamic and structure. In Scotland, they don't have music during the day so something like Sistema is not competing with the current music education programs because there isn't such a thing. Here, there are music programs, albeit of a lower intensity and dare I say often times quality, but when the public schools are sustaining public music education the last thing I want to do is provide a scapegoat to providing this education. It is rare for cities to have public music magnet schools, but St. Paul has that and I do not want to supplant this excellent school. Perhaps we can be an addition to this, but as principal it would be no contest to have an organization offer a minimal charge for music class or have to pay a teacher with benefits, even at half-time.
The country of Scotland had some of the most welcoming, friendly people who were all thanking us for being there instead of us thanking them for making everything possible and working 14 hour days to ensure the conference was running smoothly. So humble. Their Chief Executive was so approachable and really seemed to try to know the delegates on a personal level, staying up far later than I did at the hotel bar to get to know people. I even succeeded in my vegetarian diet! The ceilh was an event I will never forget. Think contradancing with men in kilts and bagpipes and a Scottish lilt caller.
Sistema Europe is also worth mentioning. Most of their programs started before the US boom took place and many were chorally-based! They've gotten together for summer camps, seminarios, and don't have the competitive edge that exists in the US. Nothing but welcoming towards others and inviting everyone to work together.  It was also great to speak Italian and Spanish again :) Swedes were the majority of the conference and I surprisingly was of average height! There's an organization called Superar that is a multi-country Sistema choral based program! Sharing the songs from other delegates is something I hope to incorporate into the parent/community aspect of ComMUSICation, gathering parents monthly. What I heard again and again is persistence and using existing relationships to build new relationships.
Edinburgh as a city was the perfect city for Halloween with its underground vaults, alleys, and old charm, complete with a castle. It was originally built on a volcanic rock and when they wanted to expand the city they built up rather than out. I did have a couple days to do some hiking which was far worth it (See Facebook!). Dublin had a live music scene unlike any I'd ever seen, in fact Temple Bar even set the record for longest consecutive music session, but after 10 PM you had to be ready for ruckus.
Will the US ever get to that level of public transportation? I suppose time will tell, but was really incredible how cars were never an option, even going to tiny towns. To think a little town like Afton would have a train station, is really quite astounding.
I hope to return to Scotland to do the Highlands and Isle of Skye. With some of the most laid-back, friendly, genuine people, I highly recommend their country.