It's A Small World After All

It’s hard to believe that only nine days ago, the Dins were having a sleepover in my apartment back in New York. Since that time, we’ve crossed the Atlantic, had two incredible stops in Iceland and England, and given some great performances. And as we traveled those thousands of miles and hours of plane rides, the last thing I expected to discover was just how small the world really is.

But as I began running into friends everywhere – in the Tube, a restaurant, a pub, a jazz club – it became clear that the Harvard gods were watching over us, purposefully setting up small-world experiences. Even crazier was bumping into an alumnus of my high school, now a Harvard grad, at our final gig in the UK, at the Stowe School, hours outside London. And as if that weren’t enough, his friend, who was also there, studied under my high school band director when he was in (a different) high school.

Yesterday, however, some of us learned how small the world is a bit more literally. When we encountered some difficulties on our flight from London to Dusseldorf (en route to Luxembourg) on the ironically-named EasyJet, half of us ended up flying to Amsterdam. Suddenly, the world seemed to fit in the palm of our hand, and in a hop, skip, and a jump, we were in the Netherlands.

After dropping our bags at the hostel in Amsterdam, we headed into the heart of town, grabbing some dinner and walking through the Red Light District. The canals were beautiful by moonlight, and the energy on the streets was contagious.

Starkly contrasting the EasyJet attitude, the people in Amsterdam were wonderful. Two small examples: (1) the bus driver let us ride for free to the hostel since he saw we were struggling with our bags; and (2) a woman on a bicycle rung her bell as she passed, looked back, and smiled. Today we took a great walk around the city, admiring the canals, passing through an outdoor market, and ending at the Van Gogh Museum (where, by the way, we bumped into some more of our Harvard friends!).

Now, as I sit on the train to Luxembourg, the last 24 hours are a bit of a blur. The globe, as I’m sure I’ll learn first-hand over the next two months, is enormous. Yet, as the first nine days of tour (and Disneyworld) have taught me, it’s a small world after all.

p.s. A very happy Fathers Day to all our Din Dads!