Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

As I packed the final items into my suitcase I found it hard to zip close; not because it was too full but because I didn’t want to believe our trip was coming to an end.

In our short time here, our group has managed to accomplish more than I ever thought possible. Pete and Kristi Korpi examined hundreds of sets of eyes; Mike Hartman provided health checks to just as many, and the various art, computer, English and photography classes led by Doreen Borde, Neva Baker, Jon Fasanelli-Calwalti, Karen Morgan, Anne Olson, and Cynthia Smith brought joy to young and old alike. Janet Barry, Deb Porter, and others kept us well fed and Keith Porter recorded nearly every minute of our experiences on tape.

More importantly, our youth were able to reunite with old friends and meet new ones. And under the leadership of Ric and Cynthia Smith, Lori Carroll and Liz Shropshire our youth and the Kosovar choir sang and performed more beautifully than ever.

“How do kids laugh and sing who’ve survived the atrocities of one of the dirtiest wars in modern history? How do our very protected kids connect with these young heroes and sing with the same glee? I don’t know, but laughing and singing with them has just become a central miracle in my life,” said Ric Smith on our final full day in Gjakove. He added, “Which kids are which? They’re all laughing and singing; building bridges instead of burning them.”

I knew this trip would be a great adventure, but I never could have predicted how life changing this would be for ALL of us.

We, the 32 Muscatine participants, have many people to thank: our families and friends; our Kosovar hosts; Liz Shropshire and the Shropshire Music Foundation; Jeff Tecklenburg and the Muscatine Journal for graciously allowing us to provide these updates; and most importantly the Muscatine residents and businesses that have so generously contributed financially.

We’ve created something very, very special. Our goal is to keep this program going. Hopefully two of the Kosovar teens who visited Muscatine in 2004 will return this fall as Rotary Scholars. And although I can’t speak for everyone, I know many of us on this trip would love to return (and do so with even more people from Muscatine).

Although these updates represent only a small slice of our entire trip, I hope you’ve gained new insight into the Muscatine-Kosovo Project over the past few weeks.

You can’t keep these kids from making music. Whether we’re driving down the road, at a picnic, or waiting for our next appointment someone is always singing, playing a pennywhistle or banging on a drum. And it was no different when both groups gathered at Liz’s house for the final time. Michaella Calzaretta, Emma Smith, and Lori Carroll performed selections from the musical Wicked, and one line in particular seemed to sum up the entire experience:

“I do believe I have changed for the better. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

I could not have said it better myself.