Phil Lewis
Guest Columnist

April 9, 2009: I carefully tucked the sheets under the corner of the mattress of the spare bed that would take up most of my room for the next ten days. My brother would be sleeping in my room, while our guests enjoyed his room. This was no problem for me; I only hoped that my family would be able to show the same level of hospitality that I was shown when I spent a week in Wales two years ago with the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra.

The room I shared back in 2007 with my fellow jazz pianist, John Hoffman, had bright pink walls and a mirror that had the words “I’m daddy’s little princess” inscribed on the frame, but we didn’t care. We spent the majority of our week touring Cardiff (the capital city of Wales) and other parts of the United Kingdom. We saw so many things: from the top of the London Eye 440 feet above the ground to the bottom of the Big Pit coal mine 300 feet underground. There was so much to do. I was amazed that we were able to fit so much into one spring break.

Even though I had the amazing opportunity to visit all these exciting places, my favorite part of the trip was getting to know the family with which I stayed. John and I followed our host through a day in his school, learned some traditional Welsh dance moves, and were generously treated to a genuine “Fish ‘n’ Chips” dinner by our host family. When the week finally drew to a close, we were all sad to leave. In one week, we had developed some close new friendships.

We were nowhere near ready to fly an ocean away from these new friends. Unfortunately, we had to. The beginning of fourth quarter was a few short days away, and our families were wishing we could be home long enough to adjust to the six-hour time difference before jumping back into our studies. Hugs and promises to keep in touch were readily exchanged as we boarded our plane for the flight home. As we pulled away from the terminal, we waved goodbye to our newly-discovered European families.

Almost exactly two years later, I found myself preparing to host two students from Wales in my own home. I was eager to see my friends again and to form new friendships. I wanted the students I would host to have as good an experience as I had had when I was the student being hosted.

Just as we had two years earlier, the CAVMS (Cardiff And Vale Music Service) Jazz Orchestra arrived from Wales with an incredibly busy schedule and very little time to rest. The first few days of their stay were marked by several trips to the city of Chicago. The Welsh saw the White Sox win, watched the Bulls lose, heard the Four Seasons croon ballads in Jersey Boys, and got to talk with jazz great Branford Marsalis after one of his concerts. By the time they got home each night, our homestays Aled and Rhys (pronounced “Reese”) had barely enough energy to say “good night” before heading to bed.

Thankfully, the end of the week was less hectic for the Welsh students. A day had been set aside to spend with the families. A day of being shadowed at GBS brought learning for both of us. While Rhys learned about magnetism and built a speaker out of a Coke can in my AP Physics class, I learned several new uses of the English language. For example, I had no idea that a hot shower after a long day of touring could be called “lush,” and I was happy to learn that the GBS Symphonic Wind Ensemble sounded “brill”(iant) to Welsh ears.

I am certain that the Welsh jazz orchestra students met as many new friends as our orchestra students had two years earlier – many of them even met a local Glenview policewoman when an international pickup rugby game apparently became too loud for the neighbors on a Thursday night.

Unfortunately, the fun had to end. The CAVMS Jazz Orchestra returned home that Saturday surely feeling that they had experienced something as amazing and rewarding as the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra had two years earlier. GBS plans to continue this wonderful tradition and send a group of students back to Cardiff two years from now in 2011.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to participate in both sides of this exchange. I have learned so much and have created some hopefully lasting friendships. I hope that the connection between GBS and CAVMS remains strong for years and that many more students can experience what I have experienced in my time at GBS.­