Waking up was hard this morning, after a great but long night of heartfelt speeches, hilarious songs, European standing ovations, and most of all, dancing. Waking up was even harder because today was the day that we headed home. Our time together as an orchestra was coming to a close.
We boarded the ferry (more lines), this time armed with Dramamine. Over half the orchestra spent their time on the ferry knocked out by Dramamine . . . Â or just exhaustion. The view was beautiful in the daylight, and the water was calm.
We had another buffet lunch; they truly never get old. As always, there was plenty of salad, sushi, and meat. Today, the desserts were especially outstanding. A row of sweets ranging from strawberry pudding, to passion fruit parfait, to chocolate cake, to ice cream was available for the taking. I regret to inform all of the parents reading this that your child probably had too much sugar today.
After we finished eating, we said goodbye to and snapped selfies with  a our tour guides. We were finally starting our
goodbyes. Our last bus ride was a quiet one– everyone was subdued. Our spirits were dampened upon our arrival at the airport by the departure of Julian Rhee, concertmaster and leader of the “MYSO!” cheer, departed for Maine.
If we were expecting a smooth boarding experience, (at this point, very few were), we were disappointed. The United group’s boarding went smoothly. The American group’s boarding almost didn’t.
As I am part of the United group, I’m not entirely sure what happened. All I know is that the computers had crashed, and by the time a system for check-in was worked out, the American Airlines group had less than a half hour to board. They made it through the check-in line, the security line, and the immigration line as fast as was humanly possible at an airport, and to the best of my knowledge, caught their flight.
I’m going to miss traveling with this orchestra. As Mr. Simmons pointed out in his speech last night, this orchestra will never be together again. We overcame a lot together. Through delayed flights and dysfunctional equipment, through seasickness and sleep deprivation, the chaperones, staff, and students of MYSO supported each other and stayed focused on giving our audiences (and each other) great performances.
And even though we may not all be together again, we will keep our traditions. We may still yell “Mitchell!” whenever something goes wrong. We may still find the phrase “Bueno. Howdy,” hilarious. (Don’t ask.)
And even though the battle cry of “MYSO!” has vanished from Argentina and Uruguay, we’ll be bringing it back with us to the United States.
So you can’t say I didn’t warn you. We’ll be as loud as ever.