Summer, part 1

My summer was so crazy and full of different activities! I'll cover what I did in 4 separate posts.
Part 1  - Oregon
Part 2 - Colorado
Part 3 - Germany
Part 4 - France and Germany again
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My first activity of the summer was out in Portland, Oregon, helping out with a youth orchestra there.  This was part of my work as a global leaders fellow, where one travels to various youth music programs to help out by teaching and offering suggestions for more effective operation.  Despite the fact that we were there to work, we did have enough free time to also do a bit of sight-seeing!









I was traveling for three full months, but I was only able to bring one suitcase with me, plus of course my instrument.  Here is everything I took on my trip.

In Portland, we were able to do a lot of hiking.  Here we are in a typical park.  It is such a luscious, green city!

With my colleagues on a hike.

We went to the starlight parade, where were were given lots of light-up things.  So festive!

Of course, no trip to Portland is complete without a trip to Voodoo Donuts! My doughnut was delicious, but I have to say, it wasn't anything THAT special or different from what you can get at another specialty doughnut shop.

This is a picture from another hike.  We climbed up a huge rock that had been there since the ice age, and the views from the top were incredible!

We had to climb so many switchbacks to get up there!

My colleague on this hike.  The trees were so huge!

On another day, we went to this waterfall.  You can hike up to the top.  It was gorgeous, but we were having a lot of trouble capturing it on "film".  Finally I got this perfect shot!

At the top of the waterfall.

On our last day, we had some free time downtown before the concert.  We took a long walk along the waterfront and relaxed with some sangria!

Of course these photos only show a small part of my activities there, but I can't include photos with the students for privacy reasons.  We played in three concerts with the kids, gave some lessons and master classes, and helped out on two days of auditions.  We also offered suggestions for the directors of the program.

I really loved Portland, and I'm really thankful for the opportunity to visit and work there, even though it was for such a short time.  I hope someday I can go back and have more time to explore the city!

Next: Summer, part 2: Colorado!