There are few things like a trip that can expose the kind of person you are. Our time in São Paulo has definitely succeeded in doing this. Not only was today full of fun activities, but these activities revealed just how much camaraderie there is between all of us in our group. Today we went to the school ETAPA and participated in a lab, had a samba lesson, and then a tour of the school. The lab was so interesting and not only did we get to look at different plants under a microscope, but we also got to try the fruit jabuticaba, which reminded me of Concord grapes back home. I’m very thankful for my Global Water Use and Sustainability professor because of things I learned in class that I could apply to what we went over during the lab. When it came time for samba class, anyone would definitely be able to tell how connected we are as a group.
During the samba lesson we had a chance to compare samba to music and songs that we think represent the U.S. best. When we were split into our two teams you could tell how well we worked together through how engaged we were with the activity. Each of us had a say in regard to the song we chose and we actively participated. I think our collective desire to have fun and participate in everything has extreme significance in the overall experience we’ve had so far in Brazil. This can also be seen in how committed we were to playing the different instruments, fully participating in the dancing portion, and actively engaging with the teacher as well as each other. Through our experience I think it has revealed a significant aspect of the kind of people that we are. We are the kind of people who give ourselves fully to new experiences and anything we are part of.
To engage with music in a meaningful way requires you to be invested in it in some way. Whether it is listening, playing, or composing, music is meant to be created and experienced on a deeper level than mere surface. I find it so beautiful how as we played the different percussion parts together to form one complete beautiful piece of music we also were drawn together fully invested in one purpose that has formed a beautiful memory we all now share. I find that this reveals how God created us to be experiential beings who were never meant to function or coast on surface level with each other. I could go on and on about how music reveals God’s creation glory to us and more about who we are, but that would take too long for a blog. Even though we were so tired afterward, we created a memory that will forever be connected to who we are and how we experience music both in the U.S. and in Brazil.
“Every song you love, every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to holy tears has been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you from your first breath in order to win your heart.”
– John Eldredge
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