During spring break, members of the Pittsburg State University choir traveled to Spain to perform and experience the culture.
According to Mary Jo Peterson, a senior majoring in family and consumer science with a music minor, the group performed in three locations: Iglesia de San Francisco in Ecija, Iglesia de Santo Domingo in Granada, and Iglesia de Santo Tome in Toledo.
Peterson described a typical performance day as starting with hotel breakfast, then a bus ride to a guided tour that would start at about 11. After the tour was over, they would get some time to explore and grab some lunch at the local food places, then return to the hotel to get ready for the concert that night. Finally, they would rehearse then perform. Following the performance, they would go out to dinner as a group and head back to the hotel to rest for the next day.
“In addition to the performances, we also got to explore Seville, Cordoba, and Madrid,” according to Peterson. They were in Madrid on their last day of the trip when something odd happened. Peterson went with a small group to find a church to attend Catholic mass and had an interesting evening.
When the small group arrived, everyone was dressed very nicely, but they were let in anyway. Come to find out, it was a wedding that was being hosted there that night. She said that the wedding was beautiful, although unexpected.
According to Peterson, “There’s nothing like making music with your best friends, and it is one of the best feelings in the world.” Her favorite moment of the trip was the very last group dinner the choir group had with their tour guide.
The tour guide asked them to sing one last song, and as they sang together in the restaurant, she said she and several other students got emotional from it. “I think the emotion came from sadness that the trip was over and happiness that we got to be a part of such a beautiful experience,” Peterson said.
Spain is typically known for beautiful views, vibrant culture, and tasty food. There is more to the culture around food than just how good it is though, according to Peterson.
“In Spain, people enjoy meals at a lot slower pace than we do. At some places, having a meal with a group of people can take three hours… It was nice to take a step back from my day-to-day rush and enjoy talking to people and just living at a slower pace,” Peterson said.
Going to Spain is an expensive trip, and out of a lot of people’s comfort zone. However, the tour guide on the trip said that “being uncomfortable is how you learn,” and Peterson said she could attest to that statement’s truth. She said that she had been scared to go at first because she hardly knew any Spanish, but by the end of the trip, her vocabulary had increased drastically.
“It can be very intimidating going to a place you’ve never been and to a place where you don’t speak their language, but you will learn so much and have memories that you will take with you for the rest of your life,” Peterson said.