Paris, and a lesson in reality.

Paris was a lot better than I thought it was going to be honestly. I was mostly cynical about Paris because it is big and has lots of hype around it. I thought it would be underwhelming. But no! Paris is actually very very amazing, and a lot to take in. W dove right into the city by bus and saw a lot of different places at once. It was breath-taking and pretty darn cool.

That night I also went with a group of people to see the Eiffel Tower, which is lit up at night and literally sparkles at intervals. The next day we went to sing at Notre Dame, toured the Musėe D'orsay, and visited L'arc de Triumphe. After that was a fantastic dinner with the Kretchmanns. The next day we saw Mont Martre and the Louvre.

I could go on about all the great food I had and the great things I saw but I really don't want to. I'll just say that Paris is worth the hype. It was a great city. I'm sure you will or can see pictures of what I saw. :-) 

So I think the most of what I've learned is quite general. I learned that the world is in fact a large place. There's lots of things going on, lots of different experiences being had and stories being told. In the same way, though, the world is very small. It is full of humans, all who have a story and who are living and need food and love and all that. France is just like the USA in that way, and so is the rest of the world.

What's my conclusion? I don't really know. I guess this trip has given me more of an idea, perspective of the world. I was out of my country, far from home but experiencing events and stories. Which is not unlike what I experience in the US. I'm also very thankful that I could have this wonderful tour/vacation. That's the nice thing about vacation, that you get to experience something amazing and come back to reality.

The world is a beautiful place. Thank you God!

Of course thanks to anybody that was on the trip for an awesome experience. Getting to know all of my concert choir friends was a great joy and I am so thankful to have gotten to know you. Thanks to all those graduating for your hard work, and I can't wait for next year!!!

And so now I'm trying to stay awake on the bus. Jet lag is a rancor, and I'm currently running on more coffee than I'd like to admit. Here's to (hopefully) 2 more hours until bedtime! ...heh.

Merci!

~Sam

Nantes, comme Madison!

So our last stay was Nantes and now we're headed for Chartres to sing a concert, and then Paris. Sadly we did not stay nearly long enough in Nantes! It was absolutely beautiful there, and we had a great time.

This may be because it was our first destination after competing and we actually got a day off, and it was glorious (yes, "glorious," in the manner of Ben Godlewski). We got some serious sight-seeing and shopping done, it was good.

The reason I say "Nantes est comme Madison," Nantes is like Madison, is because it is a very environmentally-conscious city. It was actually the first in the France to take up measures to waste less energy and create more green space. The city has a lot of grass and trees, way more than Paris has. Of course, Paris is a huge metropolitan city, so of course it doesn't have much, but nevertheless Nantes was beautiful.

And of course we got to see more great cathedrals and churches (a total of 3, I think?). The château in the middle of Chartes was different from the one that we saw earlier, more built for defense and battle. It withstood lots of attacks and even a huge explosion within one of its towers. The buildings next to the tower were destroyed, and the church a couple of blocks away suffered damage, but the castle remained usable. This thing was built to last.

We also got to sing with the University of Nantes choir, which was absolutely fabulous! They sang for only a short time, but their choir was so professional and dramatic. We got to sing in the chapel of an old folks' home, beautifully built and great for singing. And of course with a very grateful audience, we all did really well. I wouldn't be surprised if that was our best performance. Afterwards we had an after party, where people had wine and we sang French drinking songs! I also got to talk with some very kind, patient men and women while I tried my best to speak French. We had some great conversations, and it was a merry time.

So yeah. The trip is almost over! Sad. But we still have Paris, and that'll be fun. I leave you with a picture of a French gas station, to contrast the freshness of Nantes.

Merci! À demain, peut-être? :-)

~Sam

FRANCE.

I'll be honest and say I had no idea why I thought that I would be able to post on this blog all that often in France. As an excuse though, our last hotel didn't have wifi, and the first few days I was trying to get used to things like jet lag and speaking French again.

France is amazing. Beautiful, the people aren't that bad, and the actual French food is delicious. So far we've visited Orléans, Tours, and we're currently headed to Nantes. Paris is after that.

Funny thing: on the first day in Orléans, we found a book in a library near our hotel room called Wisconsin, about an immigrant family living in northern Wisconsin. The book was a dramatic novel about family activity and stuff like that, including clairvoyance from the Ojibwe Indians! If only I could fluently read French. :-)

My favorite thing so far has been singing in the grand, beautiful cathedrals of France. When you sing something sacred, something that was made for a big space like that with lots of reverb and echo, it's awe-inspiring. Our conductor described it as an accompaniment. You have the four voice parts and the building, because it takes so long for the voices to stop echoing. It makes the songs much more beautiful, like angels are singing with you! We actually get to sing in Notre Dame as well near the end of the tour. The whole trip is worth it to sing in these cathedrals, they're amazing.

We just saw this château, called the Castle of Usse. This castle was the home of many different famous people, including Voltaire and Perrault, the author of "Sleeping Beauty." He actually based his setting in Sleeping Beauty on this castle. It was a very beautiful castle, and very old.

We sang in the chapel of this castle as well, and it was almost as beautiful as the other cathedrals.

Thank God, today is actually sunny! There has been a lot of rain, which is apparently usual in Europe. But we've had some wonderful days. I'll try to keep up posting on here, and I'll put up pictures when I get home.

Salut!

~Sam

All-night Flight to France!

I'm in France!

Believe it or not, I pulled my first all-nighter of the year last night! Of course, it was on a plane headed to France, and technically the night was only 5 hours, because of the 7-hour time difference. So maybe it doesn't count, but it was good fun. Don't worry, I got espresso. :-)

I didn't sleep mostly because it is hard to to sleep on a plane, but I also was sitting next to a couple with a child. The couple was very kind and the boy was cute. But. He woke up when everyone started sleeping and promptly started crying, screaming, and running around. When the lights came back on, his job was done and he fell back to sleep.

It was rough, (mothers scoff here), but I was thankful for the experience. Going from frustration at crying to great relief when he stopped was needed, and it put me in adventure mode. Lots of things are going to happen in France, and God has his hand in every experience. I'm excited for the journey!

Also, I watched Life of Pi on the plane (after giving up on sleeping). So maybe that's why I'm thinking about God's hand in life. Either way I'm excited!

So here's my introductory post, preceding all the exciting French things. Here's a picture from Evan's hotel room! (Mine is no good)

A demain!

~Sam

Comrades.

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."   (Proverbs 17:17)

What if our friends, the ones by our side, are angels sent by God?

Yesterday I was reading The Lord of the Rings. At the end of the chapter I was reading ("Flight to the Ford"), Frodo sees a bright figure summon the great rapids of the Ford of Bruinen, and then passes out. Now, having seen the movie, I thought it was Arwen who saved the day. I made the connection from Elves to Angels, as if Elves were God's messengers sent to protect his children and ward of the workings of evil.

But today, I went back to linger on that moment, because it had a profound affect on me, and I realized I was wrong. Tolkien wrote, "it seemed to him that he saw, beyond the Riders that hesitated on the shore, a shining figure of white light; and behind it ran small shadowy forms waving flames..." Arwen having not been introduced yet, this must not be her. It must be Gandalf, and Frodo's hobbit friends.

What a striking difference from the movie! In the movie Arwen is this celestial figure, saving the day just in time, before Frodo is lost. But in the book, Gandalf, Sam, Merry and Pippin are allies who have fought alongside Frodo. Friends, good and loyal.

The amazing thing is, so often friends will stick to it. They will offer their love and motivation, all the time standing alongside you. Time with a friend is time well spent. And they believe in you more than you believe in yourself.

Friends are irreplaceable.

So I want to thank God for you. Whether you are a friend or family, I am so thankful that God has put you in my life. You keep me strong and give me hope. You give me a shoulder to lean on and a partner to dance with. Thank you for pushing me and pulling me until I get it right. Because that's exactly what I need. I love you. You know, as a friend. :-)

Especially going from UW-Madison, where I have made some really amazing friends through InterVarsity and choir, to Sky Lodge, where I already have great friendships, I've been realizing how much I appreciate the people of my life, and how much I need them.

So thank you.

~Sam