We are on our return trip on the Bolt Bus and I am finding myself in a predictably reflective mood. I find myself thinking about how honored I have been to be a part of this trip. Jane is such a fabulous director. She knows when her students are capable of perfection and when it's ok as it is. The singers respect and appreciate her. Ellen is amazing at keeping so many small details straight and keeping us all moving. Mea turned out to be not only a great youth development organizer, but also the best disciplinarian amongst the chaperones. John A. was so helpful in helping us juggle the needs and desires of the grads versus the rest of the chorus. Meg and Joanna were invaluable in New York. I think I would still be wandering in Central Park with eight troupers following behind me if it weren't for them. I am so glad and fortunate to now be able to count all of them as my friends.

The singers are, by far the finest group of young people I have ever met. I respect each and everyone one of them beyond words. They are kind to each other, incredibly hard working, and, of course, amazingly talented. They teased me about why I would want to come to their rehearsals. Little did they know, I'm the one who benefits from going to their practice. It's like getting my own little concert each time. I got to listen to a little piece of heaven almost every day on this trip.

I could literally see many of them maturing on the trip -- whether it was learning how to do laundry, learning how to gather all of one's belongings before moving on, learning how to travel in a safe way in the city, making new friends, or becoming closer friends with acquaintances; the singers grew and are slightly different people than we came down with. Ok, self-indulgent reflection over.

So we got to sleep in a bit this morning since brunch wasn't served until 10:30. Joanna and Mea offered (to anyone who wanted it) a brisk walk and yoga at 8AM. Amelia and Alex took them up on it. At 9:45 Jane took the MVP winners out to Jamba Juice and gave them each a $6 scratch-and-sniff gift card. They were congratulated and thanked for making the tour richer for their presence.

By now we have come to expect fabulous meals and Mary did not disappoint us for brunch... oatmeal, eggs, bacon, bagels, pancakes -- so much. The singers decided to chip in together to buy Mary and her aide Ponce some flowers, a card and they sang Agi, Agi for them. Mea organized a closing exercise and then we bade farewell to the St. Thomas Choir School. We've become more expert about traveling as a group on the subway systems now so we were a fine working machine getting to the Bolt bus. Our driver, Will, hasn't called us cuties yet, but other passengers have complimented our behavior.

We finally pulled in at about 6:35. There were many smiles, a few tears, many hugs and everyone has, by now gotten home. Singers, if you are reading this I have a few announcements: additional pictures are welcome -- especially from excursions that I missed (if you aren't sure how to get them to me, write to bcsnews at bostoncitysingers.com and I'll help you out;) drink lots of water; don't forget your music bag or phone anywhere; and I miss you already.

Greetings from Dorchester, because as you are probably already aware, today was the last day of the tour, and I'm sincerely hoping that all your children are home, safe and sound. I have to say it was really sad to say goodbye to all the seniors and people who will not be returning to BCS next year. That is, Iesha. =(

Today we had a nice brunch at 10:30, and earlier all the "MVPs" were rewarded with a trip to Jamba Juice with Jane. We all signed cards for the hardworking kitchen staff, and after brunch we sang "Agi-Agi" and presented them with flowers. That food was very tasty. =) After that we went into the Rec Room and did an exercise familiar to all members of the New Zealand/Australia tour. Everyone traced their hand onto a piece of paper and wrote their name on it. Then everyone went around to everyone else's hands and wrote down things like inside jokes, compliments, and well-wishes. After we did this we got to keep the paper, and I for one will treasure it forever. We did last minute checks in all of our rooms, then headed out to the busy subway where we all arrived safely at the Bolt Bus stop. We said goodbye to Mea, Tobias and Katie D, who took a later bus. The bus ride was quite uneventful, though some found it slightly disconcerting that the strange accents developed during the tour were beginning to replace our normal way of speaking. We arrived at South Station and spent a lot of time saying our goodbyes to the seniors that went on this trip. Sarah, Bridget, Christelle and Alex, you will be missed!!!

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who made this tour possible! We couldn't have done it without you!

Annika

What a great way to celebrate our last full day in New York! After breakfast and a fabulous rehearsal, the singers were offered three options -- play in Central Park with Mea, go to Lincoln Center with Meg, or go to Times Square with me or Joanna. My group hit all of the most important stores, M&M, Hershey, Star Bucks, Virgin Records, Planet Hollywood and a few sundry souvenier shops. We were hot, tired and ready for a fabulous lunch when we got back. Once again, our chef, Mary did not disappoint us.

Again, the students were given three choices for activities again -- the Museum of Natural History, The SummerStage, or a Flea Market. It turned out the Flea Market was only open on Sunday so it turned into the Museum of Natural History -- just as we got there, it started to rain. But the time it was time to go back the rain had stopped and left a muggy, sticky mess in its wake as we walked back thru Central Park. We got in just as another rainstorm hit.

At the museum Erika and I were wondering in the Plain Indian section and I happened to notice a small crowd gathered in one hallway. I can hear singing and suddenly recognize the song. There's Daniel with a crowd of Spanish young women hanging on every note. He roped Nancy into performing with him as the crowd began to grow. Fifteen minutes later we are walking the other direction and we hear a squeal and a mob of young women run toward Dan. He was in his glory.

At our final dinner in New York, we decided that a ride on the Staten Island Ferry probably wasn't a good idea considering the weather and instead we opted to watch "Enchanted." Jane bought everyone some snacks and all of the singers came down to the rec room in pajamas with pillows and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. As much as I would have liked to go on the ferry, I actually think this was a perfect way to spend the last night.

The final MVPs were awarded to Denis and Najah who have been so terrific the whole trip and were especially helpful to me today. Jane is taking the trips collective MVPs on a special outing in the morning before brunch.

Hello world. Erm, not so much world as BCS parents who are probably worried sick about our safety. And so, I bring good tidings - we are all safe, sound, and happy.

Today was rather loco. We started with a nice breakfast of pre-toasted bagels (those rather tickled my fancy), and then went on to our last rehearsal for this tour. Around 10 o'clock we broke up into groups of those who wanted to go chillax in Central Park, those who wished to re-visit Times Square, and those who wished to go see the Jerome Robbins exhibit at the NYPL of Performance Arts. Shockingly (for me at least :) not very many young 'uns were too keen on going to the exhibit. 'Twas a shame, really, for it was extremely interesting. The exhibit displayed a collection of photographs from Robbins's childhood and those from various points throughout his life. Luke, in particular, found our excursion to the NYPL of Performance Arts extremely exhilarating (or maybe he just asked me to put that in so his parents would think he's dipping his toes sufficiently in culture...). PLUS, we got to stop by Starbucks afterwards and whoever doesn't find that exciting to the max must see a doctor right away.

We came back for a fantastical (yes, that's actually a word, its in Macbeth!) lunch of ravioli and salad and such. I must pause here to give proper thanks to Mary who as given up her vacation to cook for us. I speak for all, I am sure, when I say that everything is delicious and that I greatly appreciate it.

Afterwards we broke up into groups once more - those who wished to attend the Flea Market, those who wished to go to the Museum of Natural History, and those who wished to go to Summer Stage to see a performance by a wonderful African group (and not so much African) of musicians. I would like to say that I made my choice based on my female sense of intuition but truly I think it was chance. I was part of the group which chose to attend the concert at Summer Stage (which is, btw, in Central Park). We got to the stage only to find out that we had to trek all around the park to actually get in. And when we finally did, it started pouring rain. I've always enjoyed the great phenomenon that is H2O falling from the sky, and on such a hot and sticky day it came as a surprise. Overall, I would say that our outing was a success, for we got quite wet, danced quite a lot to music that was quite loud, ate some quite tasty fries and overall had a wonderful time.

On the way back from Summer Stage we figured we would stop by and see the fountain from the movie Enchanted. (You know that part where she's singing "How does she know that you love her?" or something along those lines? Well, that's the fountain we went to see). The awesome (causing awe, not awesome as in "that is SO sweet, dude") water-work is right by a bridge type thing which both Emma and I recognized right away to be from the master piece that is Gossip Girl (not really) and just a few yards away from the pier thing from 27 Dresses (I'm on quite the chick-flick roll (I was trying to make that all rhyme, but am sad to say that my mind is not nearly creative enough to think of a synonym for "roll" or "flow" that rhymes with flick. Oh well.) On the way home from this remarkable landmark we got soaked once again. One might think this was London, not New York City.

Because of the rain, our plans for seeing the Statue of Liberty and some other fountain thing (no disrespect intended... really, my mind is swimming with monumental names and I can't remember which is the right one!) were canceled. Instead, we had a wonderful night in watching Enchanted, gasping over all the familiar scenes (Time Warner Center, the fountain, Times Square, etc. If only we were to stay a few more days, I'm afraid Jane would be bringing home true New Yorkers! (I really shouldn't say that..)

Overall I would just like to throw this out there - all though telling my friends that we went to Philly and New York for tour this summer is not NEARLY as impressive as saying that I flew for 15 hours all around the globe and spent time hanging out with kangaroos and such, this tour was completely worth it. And the fact that I lost a job opportunity for it and skipped 3 birthday parties in addition to having to recycle a last minute birthday present (I had to attend a party the Friday before I had to leave and was forced to give my friend Christina something that I had gotten for some other gift-giving holiday because I was busy packing and could not go shopping. I am ashamed) is nothing because I feel quite bonded to my fellow choristers. In fact, if we bond any further, I am afraid we might become permanently fused together (as much as my mother loves children, I doubt she would enjoy housing me, my two sisters, and 34 more kids. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we truly had a ball; not just today but everyday. Thank you very much to everyone who made this possible!

And now I must really turn in because I am exhausted and my pillow is calling.

See ya'll soon.
That is all.
Good night.
-Sasha

Today was our final performance day. We had a light breakfast, a quick rehearsal and then boarded the subway and bus system for a trip to the Bronx for the Riverdale Senior Center. I've found trying to rush 35 performers through turnstyles and subway car doors to be a great way to get the heart pumping. Making sure that the iPods are off in time to recognize the next stop is ours is another thriller. We thought we were being clever by loading up 4 "Metro cards" with enough money to get our crew on by just swiping the cards as each singer goes through. Little did we know that after about four or five swipes the cards stop working -- I'm not sure I understand the logic of it, but there we were with about ten people on one side of the turnstyles and all of the others on the watching the -- holding up traffic on the other side. On our first train ride the police officer opened the emergency pass and let us go in. The bus drivers didn't even want to deal with it so they just told us to get on without even swiping our cards. On the way back the operator insisted on resetting the cards every time they stopped working so after a tedious effort we all managed to get on.

We were the guests of Arlene Schalet, Iesha's Grandmother, at the Senior Center. She treated everyone to pizza, juice and cookies. The performance space was challenging as it is not really designed as a performance space -- it was more like a hallway with a piano in it. Fitting all of the singers and chairs for the audience was a neat trick. We were told to expect between 10 and 30 people in the audience but there were significantly more -- I wouldn't be surprised if there were over 50. We were very well received and the performers did so well considering the challenging circumstances. We gave the same performance as we did on the 23rd at Cathedral Village except Jane took out Sea of Berries and substituted Miss New Orleans. I was thrilled with the change as that was a favorite of mine. The singers did a fabulous job. The crowd begged for an encore, so we did the Samoan Chant. Afterwards, some of the graduates got misty eyed when they realized it was their last concert with BCS.

When we got back "home" to the St. Thomas Choir School, we had to adjust with a new world without Ellen. Patricia had to go home a few days early so Ellen took her. (That made me misty eyed because she leaves tough shoes for me to fill,) but fortunately Joanna Horobin was waiting for us looking refreshed and ready to chaperone. We had a few hours of free time (when I got to find internet access!) and then another quick, but impressively constructive rehearsal. Mary prepared another amazing dinner -- all organic food I'm told. Mea wanted to offer her appreciation to all of the students who accepted her 7 year old son, Tobias, so warmly. The singers have been great with him -- keeping him occupied, looking out for him, and treating him like a teenager... a 7 yo boy's paradise.

The evening ended with the option to stay in the choir school and "chill" or take the quick walk back to Columbia Circle to the Time Warner Mall. The grads and Gabe opted to hang out back the the school with me, but the others went to the mall and came back with hats, bags, bargains and stories. We had to say good-bye to Shu Yi as she was taking a train to Yale very early in the morning.

As you know we have been touring two wonderful states and currently we are in New York and having fun. Today, after pizza and orange pineapple juice,we performed in a nursing home with great joy. It was mainly for Iesha's grandmother named Arlene who actually bought the pizza for us. Afterwards, we took the bus and train back to the choir school, took a two-hour break, had a calming rehearsal, and had delicious and healthy dinner. Then came the very best part of the day, the shopping. There were two groups; One group that wanted to go to the mall and one group that stayed at the school. So technically, while we were out buying hats and looking at gadgets, everyone else was still in the school playing ping-pong and watching the television. The funniest part was the "accents" everyone in the chorus kept using. All day you could hear French, British and Spanish accents. All in all, I'm pretty sure that everyone had fun today. - Najah

We've made it to New York with all of our singers. Whew!

We enjoyed a final breakfast in Philadelphia University before we gathered our luggage and bade farewell. We have learned that it is easier to do mass transportation when we divide and conquer so we broke up into the same groups that we formed when we toured Philly before hopping onto the SEPTA (Philly Public Transportation) communter train, taking the BOLT bus to New York, navigating the A train to Columbus Circle and then managed to two block walk to St Thomas Choir School.

This place is like a little oasis a block away from Central Park. It is a private school for grades 3 through 8 where the grade sizes are from three to eight boys. They learn all of the major subjects here and spend amazing amounts of time getting to sing. The building it self has many features that look historic and yet it is quite modern. There are several common spaces where the singers can relax and enjoy themselves, two elevators (the boys who go to school here are not allowed to use the elevators to conquer the 13 story + basement building.) The rooms are lovely and vary from a narrow single just large enough to hold a bed, armoir and desk, to a guest suite with a kitchenette where all 7 fellas can fit.

We took a short break in Central Park to go over some rules and to play. Many of the singers got their first taste of New York food stand fare with mixed reviews.

The cook here is named Mary. She made this amazing dinner of porkloin, salad, broccoli and the most amazing peach pie I think I have EVER had. Emily H. commented that the dinning hall reminded her of Hogwarts. It's true -- although smaller. There are long tables with many, many chairs. It is a very live room so while it made announcements easier than the dining hall in Philadelphia, it takes no time at all for light chatter to build to din level.

After dinner we broke up into our groups and walked to Times Square. My group was fortunate enough to snag Anna who joined us here in New York. Meg is an additional chaperone who joined us as well. She is not only a former New Yorker, but a former Broadway actor. The singers in my group were loving every minute. We visited several stores, noticed every theater marque, sang and pointed and took pictures of everything in sight. We made it back to the school loving New York.

Ben was the MVP for his active, conscious and consistent friendship and inclusiveness to everyone on the tour.

As you may well know by now, this section of the blog is covered by singers. So yes, I'm a singer, and yes, I am covering this report for the day.
It started on a hot and muggy morning, with birds were chirping incessantly (as always), and those fireflies which we loved so much were long gone. I even caught a couple last night! After packing up early and eating breakfast, we went to the train station, carrying our thirty-five thousand pounds of luggage (1 K per singer, that is). I think I broke my back carrying my suitcase, but the boys helped me, and a lot of other people cart things up and down stairs. The chaperones were really good about having us hydrated; they forced us to take swigs of H2O periodically. And after boarding a bus for close to three hours, we arrived in New York. Fun fun!

The MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority?) was really hectic and kind of scary. By the time we got out of the station, I could see rain droplets start to form on my clothes, and we hurried to our destination. Now that we're here, I have to confess that it's a really nice place. There are lots of rules, like no gum chewing and no tangling up the binds, no opening the windows (rumor has it that a naughty choir boy threw a beer can out a window once), and no playing in the gym, because if Jane broke a couple bones and decided to bring up a lawsuit against this school, it wouldn't be too nice. Despite these caveats, advantages are always present, such as: a foosball table, television with Disney Channel on it, really nice dorm rooms, a library, and super excellent food. Not to mention we have two ping pong tables, and people keep wanting to face me, even though I profess to stinking at it though I'm Asian.

After a short rest, we went out to Central Park, which was really...green. Following that little detour, we came back to have rehearsal. Now let me tell you about the gym. At the back is this room for rehearsal. It's PART of the gym. There's this literal HOLE IN THE WALL (more like rectangle) and it's a ROOM and it's separated by a NET. The sound was nice, but the benches were uncomfortable. Those choir boys probably never shoot their basketballs very high, because that room is really well preserved. We talked a lot, and Jane threatened to make us donate to the J-A-N-E fund if we did tomorrow. But I don't think should would...or would she?

Dinner was amazing. At first, people panicked because they didn't seem to have enough food (there's something about small bowls of food as opposed to giant-sized bowls at the University), but we soon realized that there was more than enough. And it was delicious. The seniors + Vanessa had this system all worked out for us to help with the dishes and everything. But today, we discovered that we had a little problem. Some people forgot to indicate on their sheets that they were vegetable-arian, as Jane likes to call it, and so we had a problem with providing food for all those special people. Did you know that there were SEVEN vegetarians on this trip? I've never seen that many in a room before. I'm no math whiz, but that's 20% of the population! But as for me, I like meat too much.

We took a walk to the tourist trap that is Times Square after dinner, and we split up in our small groups. On the way, we passed lots and lots of ads, lights, and people. Some kids bought a CD and had the seller put an iguana on their head, while I took the normal route and visited M&M world ($3 for a pack of TISSUES??!!) and Toys R Us. Lots of things went in a blur for me; bright lights gets me dizzy, and if one thing can be said about TImes Square, it's that is has really bright lights.

As my group strolled at leisure back to our living quarters, my friend Daniel got a caricature done by some Chinese street artists. It was supposed to cost $5, but they tried to add a frame for a total of $20. Enter my Chinese language. I don't know why, but they stopped bargaining with Daniel once I opened my mouth. Was it me? Were they reminded of the streets of China? No one knows. But we'll just call that Daniel's first encounter with a scam.
This tour has brought me a lot of firsts. For example, it was the first time I saw fireflies, and it was the first time I've ever been looked upon as remotely athletic. Anyone who knows me from gym class knows that I try hard, but in vain. It was also the first time that Daniel did laundry. I'm sure he's not the only one. Unfortunately, I'm actually leaving early, and I don't want to because 1) the food is great 2) who doesn't love New York (though Yankees are another story) and 3) I hate missing rehearsals just like I hate missing school, but I've got places to be, and things to do, and miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep...

This blog post had a lot of expectation for it to be good. And I hope it was.
And if you've gone to the bottom of this page, congratulations. I would really give you a reward if I could.

Yours,
Shu Yi

Our last full day in Philadelphia Univeristy was spent half working and half relaxing. After breakfast, the President of Philadelphia University, Stephen Spinelli and his wife, Carol Spinelli, graciously invited the chorus into their home to rehearse. In addition to perfecting our current performance music, the singers have begun working on their holiday music for the 2008-2009 season. I won't give anything but I will tell you that we are all in for some brilliant treats. I think I'm going to have to attend all of the rehearsals -- I just can't seem to get enough of them!

Mea spent more time with the singers afterwards working on a singing exercise that went very well. Philadelphia University invited us to a barbeque lunch. Amazingly, the weather held out for us again and it was perfect. Afterwards we split up with the middle schoolers working on some visioning of their future at BCS while the others played charades. The time that remained before another rehearsal at the Spinellis' house was dedicated to doing laundry, snoozing and, of course, hanging out.

Our last dinner here was back in the dining hall then we went for a third time in one day to our hosts home. This time it was for a party. They provided pizza, soda and a great backyard for running in. The Fellas gave a performance for our hosts and we managed to record and post this increasingly popular piece. We ended the evening with the entire chorus singing, Swingin' Sweet Chariots and everyone looked as though they were having a blast as they sang.

Megan and Shu-Yi will share the MVP for unexpected acts of kindness to their fellow singers as they brought lunch to someone who was unable to attend the barbeque.

    Hello Boston Families I am Daniel and today we did many things. We had a rehearsal for our upcoming songs in the winter. After that the 7th and 8th graders had a meeting with Jeanne and we talked about how we can be mentors to other kids and how we are the future of BCS. We then did an exercises were we had to put all our favorite songs in on a piece of paper and then one by one people had to sing the song that they were assigned to. If they did not know the song they had to make up the words and the tune. We also had a [unofficial] water fight that made some of us happy and others sad but showed us how we need to listen more. After that we went to the Spinellis' house and the BCS fellas got to sing "Joshua" for them to hear. They thought we did really great and that made us happy. After that we ate pizza and hung out in their huge garden and later on we sang "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and they also loved it. After that we went back to the dorm and got ready for our last night in Philadelphia. -Daniel

Today was the big day to tour downtown Philly. The dining hall staff made us a fabulous box lunch to take on the journey so we took a short walk over to the #32 bus that took us right to City Hall. We met up with Ivy Glass, a friend of Mea's who knew the local sites and agreed to join us as a chaperone. We took a long, fascinating walk down to Independence Mall where we passed Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, as we got in line to see the Liberty Bell. On to a quick lunch and then we divided into groups to conquer Philadelphia. My group went to the Quaker Meeting house, the National Mint, and the Christ Church Cemetery where Benjamin Franklin is buried. We asked the kids if they'd like to see the Betsy Ross House, or Independence Hall and they said they had had enough history and were ready for shopping. So our group walked up to the Reading Terminal Market. If you've never been -- it's an experience. A large space just stuffed with little shops. Fish stores, food stalls, souveniers -- all sorts of things. We had done a great deal of walking by now so we were actually a bit glad that it was time to go back to campus (well, at least the old folks were!) I could see the look of fear on the other passenger's faces as we started filling into the bus, but I really must say, our kids were respectful and polite to the other passengers -- offering their seats and trying to make room.

We had time for a brief nap before an early dinner, dress and off to another concert. Cathedral Village is a Continuing Care Retirement Community only a short ride from the Philadelphia University Campus. Their peformance space has a wonderful sound. Since the kids had been so active all day we weren't holding out much hope that they were going to sound very good -- boy were we wrong! The performance was well attended and we were warned that we had several musicians in the audience. The concert pieces were Akai Hana, Siúil a rúin, Simple Gifts, Sourwood Mountain, Joshua, Angel Invitation, Sea of Berries, Swingin' Sweet Chariot and and encore of Un an Cala. At one point, the seniors in the chorus came up and each spoke about how long they have been in the chorus, where they are going after here. I found I had to choke back tears when they spoke about what they would be leaving behind. We bowled them over. Heck, they bowled me over! In fact, one of the women in the audience approached me after the performance to say that they have had many musical performances at that theater over the years and our group ranks amongst the top!

Iesha was named MVP for unexpected acts of kindness on the bus.

Greetings from another singer here in Philadelphia!

Although we had a slightly busy day, it was full of excitement and laughter. After eating breakfast we took a hike up to the nearest bus station where we waited for a bus to take us to downtown Philadelphia. The bus ride was somewhat lengthy but we were able to see everything leading up to downtown Philadelphia. As we were being taken to downtown Philadelphia, one of our chaperones pointed out Logan Square. In the middle of the Square we were able to see a beautiful water fountain. it was like a picture you would find in a tourist map of Philadelphia. Once we made our way off the bus, we were placed in groups with our chaperones. As we were about to heads towards the Liberty Bell which was a couple blocks away, a young woman from Starbucks and gave us small cups to get any drink of our choice. All singers and chaperons were excited about this. We made out way towards the Liberty Bell and it was enjoyable to learn about the history of Philadelphia. Once we finished our mini-tour, we all gathered together and ate lunch in the shade. Some singers fed the pigeons and those birds came rather close for the likings of some in our group. We then broke into groups with our chaperons. The BCS Fellas as well as some young ladies joined with Jane and Mrs. Goodman. Our first stop was the U.S Mint, which is where all money is made. But as we were on our way we stopped by a Quaker meeting house, some of us were quite interested in the landmark. It was nice to hear their story. Then we were off to the U.S Mint and it is a must see if you plan to visit Philadelphia. It was amazing to see just how everything was made. Just think, the spare change that you have in your pockets or floating around your house could possibly be made here in Philadelphia at the U.S Mint. Right across the street there was a historic graveyard. Ben Franklin is currently buried with his wife. Also, three signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in the graveyard. We then took a small hike up to the market. It was a rather large marketplace and it was enjoyable just to be able to walk around, viewing all the different shops. Just being able to look around downtown Philadelphia and take in the sights was amazing. It is much different than Boston, it seems as if Boston is bigger, people wise. Our day did not end at downtown Philadelphia. We arrived back to campus around 4.

We had about thirty minutes of downtime to relax before our concert at Cathedral Villiage. During rehearsal, people of the residence came in and introduced themselves to us and they were beyond thrilled to see such young singers ready to perform for them. Once the concert begin, we knew that these people enjoyed are presence. They clapped and there was this older woman who was sitting about three rows from the stage. Each song we sang, she clapped endlessly and said "Bravo" and "Brava." As a singer in such a large chorus, it is overwhelming to witness how much our voices impacted them. Another outstanding piece of today was a specific part of the concert. Jane recognized the four seniors who plan to leave BCS this year and their small speech was heartwarming to know that they have made such close bonds throughout their time in the chorus. Once the concert was over, we socialized with our audience.

That pretty much wraps our up our day here in Philadelphia. Check back for more updates from other singers. -Erica

After such a busy day yesterday, today was much more relaxed. We slept in (relatively) and had a leisurely breakfast at 8:00 AM.

We were introduced to the amazing Kanbar Hall -- the student center of the campus. The staff set us up in a room they call the performance center that has high ceilings, an enormous window and glorious air conditioning! The singers rehearsed while I learned my lesson that the hardest part about being a chaperone is trying to track down all of the misplaced items along the way. Although it was cloudy on the way over to Kanbar, I believe our performers missed the brief sprinkles that happened while they were singing -- otherwise it was another beautiful day.

After rehearsal and before lunch, Mea let the group work off some energy in an exhausting looking game that involved a frisbee. Later, Ellen took some of the group exciting excursion to Rite Aid Pharmacy to get restocked in toothpaste, batteries and other necessities; some of the graduates went into Central Philly; and many of us returned to Kanbar to discover that our practice room had been converted to the ultimate WII room. For those of you who haven't heard -- the WII is a video game where the controller can sense your movements so you can play games such as tennis, golf, bowling and GUITAR HERO from the comfort of your living room. I was there long enough to see the guitar hero competition. We were like kids in a candy store, we jumped from WII to table pool to ping pong to basketball all before the campus tour.

The group that I was with was shown around by Tanya. She showed us part of the campus and got a chance to visit the school of Architecture and Design where they learn about building everything from houses to commercial buildings to museum exhibit spaces. And they learn how to design everything from roller coster rides to car parts. We also got to visit a building where they learn about textiles, fashion design, cartooning, mental health, occupational therapy and medical education (they are one of a few schools that have a cadaver lab.) We were surprised to discover that the participants in the television reality show "Project Runway" are students from this school. The winner of the first season, Jay McCarroll, had been a student here and is now teaching here. I know the participants in my group were full of questions about the school and about how college worked. It certainly piqued their curiosity.

After the tour we split back into groups based on interests. I went with a team back to the gymnasium where we discovered that their enormous basketball court is also surrounded by a raised indoor track. I was so impressed by how many times some of our young ladies raced around that course! Again, they will sleep WELL tonight.

After dinner we celebrated Allison's sixteenth birthday. The kitchen staff made her a gorgeous, enormous cake which were were barely able to make a dent in, just before the water battle that ended in liquid carnage and serious laughter. Those who managed to stay dry were given big hugs by those who weren't so there were very few dry shirts by days ended. (Fortunately almost everyone had changed into bathing suits first.) The volleyball game and hanging out were so much fun that we ended up canceling the movie that was scheduled for the evening and it was left as an evening of free time. Some kids had a party to celebrate Allison's birthday some more, some just took advantage of the down time to relax, hang out or go to bed early. (Some kids got a chance to learn how to do some laundry, too.)

Luke was named MVP for acting on his own to protect his fellow singers from traffic while crossing the streets.He made sure every one was back from the curb while waiting for the light to change and paying attention.