Much Room in My Heart for Mushrooms & Europe (An Overview)

 If you happened to know me before this J-term trip, you might have known me as the mushroom gal. I suppose some may call it an "obsession," but I prefer to think of it more as a collection. 🍄 I am not quite sure of how it all began. I started collecting garden gnomes first, and became tired of seeing all these stumpy little old men with pointed hats and ended up only collecting the "toadstools" the gnomes sat on. Plus I love anything from the 1960's/70's, and mushrooms just happened to be the popular print/symbol for that era. (Just to be clear, I collect DECORATIVE mushrooms...not real ones, so no need to worry). Every mushroom I saw on the trip, I had to take a picture of.  Luckily, there were plenty of lil' shrooms in each city. This may not be as cool as a collection of graffiti art over the course of the trip or a collection of the best views in each city, but I think mushrooms are pretty dang adorable and need to be showcased in this blog.

The first mushrooms I saw in Vienna inside two different gift shops. A mushroom mirror and ornaments. 

Mushrooms on the inside and outside of our Prague hostel! Very majestic.

A Prague mushroom nutcracker

Mushroom displays inside the Leipzig University.

Handmade mushroom people in a Leipzig store.

Hanging mushroom decoration in Berlin and handmade glass mushroom earrings Mariha found for me in a Turkish market in Berlin! 

Fake mushrooms with green confetti in a Salzburg gift shop.

More mushrooms in a window flower box and a potted plant in Salzburg.

This was an incredible J-term trip, and I was happy to find things along the way that reminded me of home, whether it was mushrooms, record stores, or quirky artwork. I was nervous for this adventure at the beginning, because I have never traveled outside of the country (except for Canada), and I did not know any of the students too well. I was told by a friend who took the trip last year that it was mainly wind ensemble members who signed up for the class. This year, however, I thought it was a good mix of music majors and non-music majors of all ages. Although I loved seeing the beautiful sights, going to the concerts, and learning more about classical music, my favorite part of the trip was getting to know my fellow classmates over the course of January. Every person I talked to is so unique, caring, and sincere...each adding something special to the overall group dynamic. I am very thankful for these new friendships and for sharing these experiences with them. It was a good feeling to know that my fellow students are the kind of folks to always look after one another and always try to include everyone. Also, many thanks to Dr. Powell and Dr. Rhyne for being such personable and patient professors who always had great suggestions, making the class fun and informative.

As an anthropology/ethnomusicology student, I have looked at many different genres, but classical music is one that I barely had any knowledge on. I know most of my blogs posts are about things that I am familiar with, but I am happy this trip challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and learn more about classical music and the composers. The "Music Centers of the World" class not only exposed me to the world of classical music, but made me step out of my comfort zone when interacting with my peers and the locals. I am happy that I pushed myself every day to explore and strike up a conversation new people. This is a trip I'll never forget, and it was a real privilege to spend time with the best group in the best cities 💗