11 days later that crazy double-Skype interview from Montréal, I knew I had been offered the internship in Chiclayo, Peru (sigh of relief that I would be able to put my undergraduate degree to use combined with inner explosion of pure joy, parce que, oui, la vie est vraiment belle!). My job: to teach after school activities including art, music, sports, etc. to 6-to-12 year-olds alongside a team of Peruvian women. I received the good news the day after my Convocation, which was pretty neat.

One of the other possibilities was teaching violin in Sistema New Brunswick, a social music program (free for its participants) modeled after the successful ‘El Sistema’ Venezuelan program. The main idea: kids, in particular, have the right to be given the access to beauty and the right to create. I had volunteered a few times with Sistema New Brunswick, as I knew the team through playing in the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and it seemed to be a wonderful opportunity, but ultimately, I figured I couldn’t turn down the chance to go to Peru. A tutti rehearsal at the Sistema NB Moncton location