Many people have been asking me about the impromptu IU alumni reunion we went the other night, so I thought I would write something about it in the blog. Among our musician friends here in Barcelona, there are a lot of people who have gone to IU at one time or another. Someone told someone, who told someone, and they told N that there was going to be a reunion for international alumni (which obviously, I wasn't one, but whatever), so we decided to go and invite everyone we knew here who also went to IU.
As it turns out, very few people showed. The reason for this could be that we were still calling people to come as we were sitting down at the bar in the middle of the reunion. There were about 7 people all together, 3 musicians and 4 business people. I never thought I would have anything in common with a bunch of business people whom I never met before, but after 6 years of living abroad, I felt clever, charming and funny again in a language which somehow transforms me. Some people are funny and clever regardless which language they happen to speak at the moment, me? no, I become lame and awkward in any language other than English. In fact, I become mute...
Throughout dinner, we talked about living abroad, having children, satellite channels for English programs and Bobby Night (I have no idea how to spell his last name). All in all, it was actually great fun and very refreshing. I miss non-musicians, I miss talking about anything and everything that's not music related. Left on my own, I probably would have never befriended these particular individuals, but on a serendipity night such as that night, it was really great fun. We took silly and geeky alumni pictures, we passed around IU stickers, pencils and t-shirts. I expected them to ask for money, but the organizer never did (I still wait for a contributition letter to arrive!).
At the end of the night, the difference between business people and musicians was painfully clear. All the business people took out their cards and exchanged them, the musicians received the cards and thanked the business people, then we muttered something about forgetting the cards at home, or the cards being outdated...
We didn't pay for the dinner, the organizer paid for a very large dinner bill. If all reunions are like this one, I say: bring it on! Go, IU! Go, Hoosiers!
