All These Places Feel Like Home

As good as it is to be home, I can't help but look back on the last two weeks and feel more than a little sorry that it's all over. Though the second week of touring was a lot of fun, I know that the first week spent in Bietigheim is what will really stay with me forever.
Saying goodbye to my host family was more difficult than I could have imagined. What could I say? "Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with me?" "Thank you for making sure I saw and experienced the things that make your lives special?" "Thank you for keeping me so well-fed and being so understanding about my preference of water (no bubbles!)?" "Thank you for talking to me, for asking me questions, for caring about what I had to say, for making me feel appreciated and loved?" I tried to sort through these endless sentiments, trying to find one that would really express my gratitude for each and every thing my host family had done to make me feel at home. I finally decided on a simple but heartfelt, "Thank you for... everything."
I have no idea how or why or when it happened, but every last one of us connected with the people of Bietigheim in a way that can't really be explained in words. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we were all aware that we were a part of something greater than a music exchange. We all fell in love with Bietigheim, with the people, the music, the city. It's an emotion that I think we're all a little afraid to feel, because we know it will never be exactly the same as it was at this point in time. At the same time, though, it's worth it. Because we will forever look back on this time as a time when we were part of something that brought together strangers and made us into lifelong friends. We have all learned lessons in musicianship, friendship, and acceptance. We have all changed for the better.