Djembe - Concordia College

and photos were taken to document the momentous occasion. However, this achievement came
with a bit of an ugly tinge: we had to be back at the central plaza in thirty minutes.
We hustled our way through the walkways, over the bridges, and past the people, all the
while breaking out in a nervous sweat, fearing that our tour group would leave us stranded. Just as
the bell tower of St. Mark’s Campanile was signaling our group’s time of departure, we stumbled
into the open plaza. Fortunately, we found our amoeba of picture takers and t-shirts and quickly
assimilated back into it before boats were boarded.
A relaxing feeling sunk into our fluttery stomachs once we knew we were safe and
part of the tour group again. We watched as the bell tower vanished from view, along with the
rest of Venice, but knew we had left a lasting impression. We had submersed ourselves headfirst
into a foreign culture and learned much from our experiences throughout the floating city. The
events that took place during that day were the results
of straying from stereotypical norms and attempting to
truly connect with people in another culture.
***
Our nine-day excursion through Europe
ended. It was insignificant with respect to time, but not
meaning. Back in a foreign airport full of unfamiliar
people and objects, I already began to reminisce while
waiting for a flight toward home. Soon my plane took
off, disconnecting from the ground, the country that I
had been a part of for a brief moment. I watched as the
Italian cars and buildings became smaller and smaller
until they were indistinguishable. Unable to make
out the thousands of objects passing below, my eyes
drooped, and my head filled with thoughts pertaining
to how the deviation from the typical tourist role would
leave a lasting impression on me.
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