Spring Break Tour in SPAIN!

Spring Break to Madrid and Barcelona was incredibly successful, mostly due to the outstanding work of this year’s planner, Alex Rodman (insert uproarious applause here).  After an insane week of croquettes, celebrity status, and more ham than you can shake a stick at, the 'Mates returned to campus around 9:00 on Sunday evening. 

We started our journey on a red-eye Friday night.  From the Madrid airport we went directly to our gig at Colegio Montserrat on Saturday morning.  It was wonderful to be reunited with Lori, and the celebrity treatment wasn’t too bad, either.  (It’s always fun to bring a cappella to those unfortunate children that have been starved of such peculiar collegiate subcultures for their entire lives.)  We had two other gigs in Madrid, one at the British Council School and another at the International College of Spain.  Our hosts and their staff were hospitable and FUN!  It was evident to us that they really cared about enriching their students’ education through this new experience. 

But of course, we didn’t go to Madrid just to perform for screaming children that line up for autographs (although the trip may have been worth it to Jason simply because one child asked him to sign a soccer ball!); we had time to explore these beautiful cities.  In Madrid, we kicked off our exploration by meeting up with a Tufts alum at a local restaurant, tasting some authentic cuisine (so much pig!), and, of course, giving an impromptu performance for the dining room.  We also made good use of the sunny weather and spirit of relaxation by visiting El Retiro, a huge park, and the zoo in the Casa de Campo.  We kicked off our interaction with Spanish nightlife with a visit to Kapital, a club with seven different-themed floors and enough smoke to balance out the twenty years of my life in which I’ve not smoked.  Other attractions included the Prado, the Plaza Mayor, and an open-air market held every Sunday, El Rastro.

All too soon, we were boarding a train and heading across 370 miles of beautiful countryside to BARTHELONA!  Our hostel was in a fantastic location on the Passeig de Gracia in the middle of all the shopping and only a couple buildings down from Gaudí’s Casa Batlló.  This part of the trip was much more relaxed; there were no gigs to worry about, although we attracted a crowd of thirty to forty people with a spontaneous cave-sing in the Gaudí park (incredible acoustics).  Other fantastic destinations for the week were the Picasso museum, las Ramblas,  the beach (although too chilly to swim), and the Boquería Market, which was definitely a personal favorite.  They sold everything from fresh fruit smoothies to entire piglets…

            And with that, I’ll leave you with a profound quote that the clerk at a Starbucks in Barcelona said to me: “We speak all languages and no language.”  In such a strange time, it is good to be able to speak music, the universal language, and to know that syllables such as “doh,” “jen,” and “bow” can bridge this gap.   The Mates: uniting people of all languages on zhen-oh zhen-ah at a time.

--Brie Bills, Current Group, A'11

Colgate 13, Cornell Chordials

So last weekend, spent in some of the less-populated regions of New York, was crazy, exciting, and altogether life-enriching.  On Friday, we drove over to Colgate to perform with Hunter's old a cappella group, the Colgate 13.  After grabbing some pizza and wings at a local pizza place, we performed in a cozy cafe and enjoyed the laid-back humor and performance style of the 13.  Colgate was beautiful in the blizzard-like conditions that reminded me of Vermont... until I was sliding past a turn in a fifteen-passenger van... regardless, we survived, and the next day were on our way to Cornell to sing with the Chordials.

We arrived a little early and, after a trip to Wal-mart, showed up at the restaurant with two more parits of High School Musical kid's boots and four more "Trophy Husband" tee-shirts than we started with (definitely worth it).  Getting to know the Chordials over dinner was a pleasure, especially since it meant we weren't watching strangers perform during the arch sing (I always get more out of a performance when I can scream people's names out).  Awesomeness continued into the evening and next day, when we performed in the dining hall with the Chordials and jazz group from the University of Toronto, Onoscatapoeia.  We returned Sunday night, a little worse for the wear...ing of trophy husband tees... Anyhow, since Jilly says I'm bad at ending anything, I'll just say that we look forward to performing with these groups again!

--Brie Bills, Current Group, A'11