Keystone State Boychoir

Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) brought down the house down with their unique energy and stage dynamics as they sang for the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania’s (ACDA-PA) Fall Conference. KSB was invited to take the stage as the headliner performance at the prestigious ACDA-PA conference in an open-to-the-public concert at Zion United Methodist Church in York on Friday, October 19, 2012.

KSB members were excited to spend the weekend in York and visit Hershey Park on Saturday.  Members were hosted by families from Zion United Methodist Church and sang at the church service there on Sunday.  Approximately 60 selected members of KSB traveled to York for the weekend.

Audiences are moved by KSB’s unique arrangements and energizing stage choreography. The official choir of the Commonwealth, KSB has garnered unprecedented success since their inception in 2001. KSB has 170 members who range in age from 8 to 18 and come from a range of backgrounds and counties in Pennsylvania including Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia.

Under the direction of Steven M. Fisher and Joseph P. Fitzmartin, KSB has sung to full houses locally and abroad, including the Kimmel Center, Mann Music Center and even made its debut on Broadway last spring.  The boys have traveled the world, including making history as the first choir to travel and perform in Antarctica in 2009. This summer, KSB sang at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway for Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and presented her with a Liberty Bell.

The ACDA-PA conference brings together singers, composers, and conductors who share their choral talents in a weekend of events. The ACDA is a non-profit that represents 18,000 choral directors and more than a million singers in the United States whose goal is to bring excellence in choral music through performance, composition, research and teaching.

The Keystone State Boychoir encourages and welcomes boys of all experience levels to audition for the choir. Boys interested in auditioning should call 215-287-3124 or visit the website  at www.keystonestateboychoir.org

What Is Your Favorite Moment From This Tour?

Andy Neale – Being part of the African drum circle in Bergen square.

Andrew Posmontier – Singing and dancing African style in a square in Bergen.

Konstantin Minch– When, on the Flåmbahn train, we went past the wall on the left, and peered over the huge cliff at a terrific view, and everyone said, “Woooow.”

David Schmidt – Steering the sled dogs down the arctic road in Longyearbyen.

Ethan Walters – When I drove the dog sled and had sugary pancakes afterwards.

John Davis – Riding the dog sleds in Svalbard.

Jaleel Bivins – Giving the Liberty Bell to Aung San Suu Kyi.

Andrew Piszek – When Ethan tried to pour water in the sauna.

Calvin Wamser – On the Flåmbahn train when we got off at a waterfall and there were dancing trolls.

Immanuel Mykyta-Chomsky – Riding the dog sleds in Svalbard.

Andrew Shaw – Riding on top of a Land Rover while driving through the outskirts of Svalbard.

Lowell Hoyt – The chicken fights at the pool in Svalbard.

David Gayle – Dancing in Bergen with the African people and having random people off the streets coming into the circle and dancing.

Zack Crenshaw – African jam session with Safia Abbdi and others in Bergen.

Peter Subramanian – Every time I make a connection with someone, like when I found out that I watch the same show as Sam Rowland.

Jake Norman – Driving a dog sled, I do need to practice a little more.

Owen Davies – When Mr. Fisher said in the middle of the song Nelson Mandela, “I’m not Nelson Mandela, I’m Aung San Suu Kyi!!”

Zach Raphael – Seeing the wildlife and scenery at the glacier in Svalbard.

Jimmy Paolini – Spontaneously deciding to take a bus to the beach at 12:30 AM with just a few kids and chaperones. And we thought Mr. Fisher was joking.

Tremayne Bundy – Standing next to a warm bonfire while talking to Norwegian girls on the seashore late at night.

Josh Bruce – Playing the role of Mrs. Linde in the northernmost production of Henrick Ibsen’s A Doll’s House aboard the Polar Girl.

Jamaar Julal – hitch hiking on a passing bus at 1:00 AM to the beach with 7 kids and 7 chaperones while it was still light out on the sunniest day in Longyearbyen.

Jack Schmieg – Having the people of Longyearbyen singing happy birthday for me.

Jack Gorman – When my homestays, my homestay buddies, and I went hiking in Aurland. We drove up to a viewpoint that over looked the town and we took a trail into the clouds of the Fjord.

Noah Shipley – Going on an unplanned beach trip at 1:00 in the morning with Mr. Fisher, some chaperones, and some friends.

Dean Bloomingdale – Singing at the bonfire party on the beach of Svalbard. It may have been incredibly cold, but the entire town was there and it was fantastic.

Clay Bryan – Riding ON a Land Rover- seriously, on top of it, not in it- And enjoying a 360 degree view of the mountains and snow surrounding Longyearbyen. And eating Jimmy Paolini’s raw spaghetti. And riding on the Polar Girl. And singing the African songs in Bergen with the drum circle. And being the only group not paid by the Bergen Festival but yet kicking musical butt and being the best act ever. I mean ever. Also, riding on a boat with my homestay in Oslo around the Harbor.

Sam Rowland – Watching soccer and playing a game called Kubb with my homestay. Kubb is a game based around throwing logs at other logs and has a rich traditional aspect in Norwegian culture.

Mike Paolini- The dance circle in Bergen with the drummers from Somalia and the dancer.

Ricardo Jaramillo- Hanging out on the beach at 1:00 am after spontaneously hitchhiking a ride down with a bus driver. The sun was out for the first time since we reached Longyearbyen.

Pedro Ramos – Getting a ride from a random bus driver to the beach at 1am with Mr. Fisher, some boys, and some chaps. Also, the fine dinner that we ate Sunday night. Best food all tour.

Avery Mitchell- After our concert in Bergen we all got together in a circle, danced with random people and had a great time. It was so good to see everyone having fun and enjoying each other’s company.

Michael Adkins – Leaving at 1:00 am to go to the beach with Fisher. There were only 14 of us; 7 adults, and 7 boys. YOLO

Dom T-Bey – Including the mini concert that we had in the Bergan central square, the jam session that we had afterwards was an amazing experience. I never knew dancing with strangers could be so fun 😉

Lars Odland – As we viewed the fjords on a boat on our way to Bergen, Austin Wamser, Mike Zaharczuk, Drew Vitek, and I changed the words of the African songs to “Aung San Suu Kyi,” and it was just a great time.

Mike Zaharczuk – Just getting to hang out with Mr. Fisher.

Drew Vitek – Ditto.

Austin Wamser – When I played Nora Helmer in the northernmost production of the Henrick Ibsen classic, A Doll’s House.

DaVonne Henry – Listening to Dom’s story about how he and Tremayne got lost in Bergen.

Tom Kroszner – When Jarle, our homestay in Aurland, took Josh, Nic, Clay and I up to the mountain waterfall right across the street from his country home.

Nic Hanson – It was a cold night. The sun was hidden, suffocated by thick, threatening, bullying gray clouds in the sky. Svalbard was in rare form as we stood, trembling outside the museum, breathing hot air onto our hands in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Our stomachs were crying out for some form of nourishment. Then, what’s this?! We turn around, an eruption of orange and yellow, heat cascading off of the flames. A bonfire. It presides over the beach, allowing both Norwegian and American alike to bask in its warm glow. Everyone in Longyearbyen was down at the beach for the Summer Solstice Festival. Austin and I start to walk, then run, then sprint to the glow, to the warmth. Then, the smell of food!!! It fills our nostrils with life. Then we ate the food. It was good.

Oliver Snook – My favorite moment is when I was on the boat today and I had a great time playing an assortment of highly advanced nominated card games of various cultures,

Charles Miller – When we were on a surprise dogsledding thing and I was allowed to drive the dogs.

Noah Anninger – When I got to drive the dog sled in Svalbard.

Trey Womack – When Mr. Fisher took us too the beach at 12:30.

Jelani McFadden – When I got to dance in a concert and then I just kept doing it. It was so fun I felt the Jackson in me. It was AWESOME!!!

Jesse Kahn – Riding in the Land Rover with Mr. Fisher during the dog sledding (carting)

Ben Van Meter – When I was listening to the drumming in Bergen and watching the dancing.

Jordan Allen – When I got to control the dogs for the dog sledding on my birthday.

Jesse Lazrus – Swimming in the artic ocean, YOLO

Matthew Flynn – My favorite tour moment was when we sang at the northern most church in the world!

Will Hence – When I got a performance prize after the Bergen festival concert, and also one the next day.

Rowan Goudy – The moment the dog sled started moving was amazing!

Cameron Brown – My favorite tour moment was on the plane ride to Oslo when apparently the man was handing out breakfast, and I half woke up, put the breakfast on my head, and went back to sleep!

Evan McClelland – Fine dining at the Radisson Blu, and riding on a ferry through the “fjordiest of fjords!!” 🙂

Adam Saah – Playing football (soccer) with Antone (my Oslo homestay) with Jesse L. until 11:30 pm… Looked like it was still 4 o’clock.

Tunde Sogo – Singing at the Nobel Peace Event with Sølvguttene.

Michael Deshield – Laughing at dinner with my homestay in Aurland at all the funny stuff we were doing.

Tyler Miles – My favorite tour moment was winning the performance prize for the concert on Sunday 17th.

Jelani Wheeler – When a bunch of people was riding in the back of the Land Rover and some people were hanging off the side.

Linda Deis – A favorite experience was spending time with my homestay, Sis, and her two boys, Adrian and Leo, in Oslo. With the choir?……….singing at the Nobel Peace Center.

Will Anninger – My many favorite moments have been spending time getting to know all the KSB boys, varied and wonderful kids! I have also loved watching and being with Norwegian kids; I really appreciate their independence, and love for being outside in the beautiful cold.

Peter Davis – As a rookie chap I was learning on the fly, and I’ve enjoyed everything. However, the mini concert for the children in Aurland and the concert at the elementary school in Oslo stand out due to the overwhelming positive response by the audience. In particular, both schools had children with disabilities included with the general population. I found this to be very satisfying.

Ann Schmieg – I have enjoyed every moment so it’s hard to pick just one, but I was very moved by the performance at the church in Bergen when the grads circled around the audience and sang The Awakening like I have never heard it performed before (and I have heard it lots and lots of times!). I could hear each and every voice yet at the same time they blended so very beautifully. It was a magical moment I will never forget. Aside from that, I just love being with my chap group and getting to see this amazing country through their eyes and getting to know each of these young men who are so very talented and so delightful to be with.

Anne Odland – I echo all of the comments about having so many wonderful experiences here, and it is hard to choose just one, but I suppose one that stands out to me was the moment as we were travelling on the ship through the fjord from Aurland to Gudbrandsdalen and we sang “Norge, mitt Norge” for ourselves on the bow of the ship—the words had such visceral meaning in that gorgeous setting. I have also loved the spontaneous moments of hearing the Norwegians singing their birthday song to our boys (“Hurra for deg!”) and seeing our boys learn it and sing it back to the Norwegians. Good stuff.

Laura Bryan – so many great moments! Loved being awake at 2:30 am and laughing because it was so sunny that we had to put on our sunglasses, but the bek ttlst was riding on the dogsled – AWESOME!!!!! Many memorable “situations”.

Alexis Paolini – Arriving a week late and meeting up with KSB was wonderful, and the bird attack was hilarious, but I have to say catching a bus to the beach and then being awake at 3am and laughing at the bright sunshine had to be the most amazing part.

Laurie Harbeson – Hmm.that’s a tough one. I would have to say the dog sledding in the tundra of Svalbard, experiencing the midnight sun and being attacked by nesting artic turns not once but twice.
Theresa Bertolino – hmmm, I would have to say dog sledding followed closely by our fun in the midnight sun, the bird attacks, and the Bryon bathroom exhibition!!!

Lori Flynn – Dog driving in the Arctic Circle or our free afternoon in chap groups in Bergen! Of course, all of tour is pretty amazing!

Mary Ann Case – The best moments on tour are the ones spent with the boys, especially the ones who have never traveled with KSB before. Experienced Tour Choir members know that every day on tour contains a small delight, whether it is singing in a great venue, learning a new card game with guys you don’t know well, seeing spectacular scenery, spending time with Mr. Fitz or Mr. Fisher, or a “tour moment” that will one day be tour lore to be told to brand new tour choir members.

Martha Platt – As one long obsessed with the stories of the polar explorers, standing on the deck of the Fram, Fridtjof Nansen’s boat, the one that took Amundsen to Antarctica, was EPIC for me. And the rest of tour was my favorite tour ever!

Andrea Saah – All the impromptu concerts in public places that ended with everyone singing and dancing, and getting to know so many of the boys on an individual basis. They rock!

Fitz – I just love the concerts. You can see the kids just flourishing in front of your eyes. They start tour with raggedy notes and a sort of awkward confidence in their already well-rehearsed repertoire, but as the tour progresses they seem to open like flowers, and begin to embrace every note and every phrase, and to sing them with such abandon and love for the music. It seems to reflect their ever increasing respect and friendship for each other, and the tight bonds they are forming that will follow them for the rest of their lives. In the end, it’s really all about the music. That’s the thing that just wraps around all of us and makes each of us who we are. I am humbled every time I think of what this amazing choir has become – it truly is a real home for kids who love to sing, and tour helps to make it all come true.

Mr. Fisher – Returning 60 boys safe and sound into the arms of their moms and dads. Whew!

7/9/12 – All the pictures are finally up! Now they will be there forever as memories of an amazing and inspiring tour!

Portrait collection on Flickr

Visit the Norway Tour Flickr collection

Glaciers and Russians

Fine Dining

Svalbard Church Concert

Bonfire Concert

Dog Sledding

Longyearbyean, Svalbard

Svalbard, Kulturhuset Concert

Ubuntu! in Bergen

Bergen – Concert

Bergen – Bus, Rehearsal, and Market

The School in Aurland

The Way to Aurland

Aurland Concert and Homestays

This page is dedicated to posting Vlogs (video blogs), interviews with different groups of boys from the choir. Check the Flickr for when we post them.

Trebles Vlog

Seniors Vlog

Jaleel Vlog

Odland Vlog

Our last day…

We began our last day of tour by sleeping in. Nice! We arranged to have breakfast extended with a brunch menu of fresh Norwegian fish soup. Yum! Actually, it wasn’t until Mrs. O renamed it “seafood bisque” that the boys went for the fish soup.

We then headed to the park for another run around. It was just too beautiful not to enjoy it again. And there was one last bucket item left to check off – swimming in freezing Norwegian waters. Quite a few boys made the plunge. You had to go in over your head for it to count. Exhilarating! And really, really, really cold.

Then it was off to town. At the Polar Museum we enjoyed an Imax-like film on the Northern Lights (which unfortunately you can only see in winter) and Svalbard (been there done that), and then watched seals do tricks for food. Not unlike boys on tour. If you jump through the hoop boys, we’ll feed you.

From there we broke off into chap groups for last minute shopping and dinner. Some ate at the northern most Burger King in the world. Some ate at cafes. One group I heard got treated to a very nice dinner by their chaperone. Wait until that chaperone sees the credit card statement!

As for the infamous Grad Night, it came in two parts. The first involved the graduated and rising seniors and the second involved all those boys in high school. I can’t offer many more details than that, since what happens on Grad Night stays on Grad Night. But they were memorable outings.

The best part of our last day involved all the boys and all the staff and chaps. Yet another new tradition: “The Paper Plate Awards.” Any awards ceremony worth its salt has a performance or two. Ours began with the final scene from Ibsen’s masterpiece A Doll’s House. Our “Abington mob,” on their own initiative, decided to make their own history by staging the northernmost reading of the play. At any given moment during our time in Svalbard, you’d see them at it. You have to love these guys.

The challenge for the Paper Plate Awards was there was no one scene that included all the boys involved. So we did a bit of comedy sports. The final scene was selected, involving only the two main characters. The other actors could chose their favorite line of their character and interject it anywhere in the final scene. Hilarious. The curtain call went on for many minutes. The audience broken into the traditional Norwegian clap that signifies “more, more!” It was a rousing success.

Then, to the Awards. Every boy got at least one one. Some of the awards were silly. “Best PJs.” “Most intense card playing” Some were serous. “Best Tour Journal” “Most Improved Performance Focus” Those came with cash prizes. The big prize of the evening was the “KSB Tour Award” for the boy who personifies everything KSB stands for. His prize was the coveted polar bear drawing given to us on the Svalbard boat trip. Post-Award ceremony, we gave a second KSB Tour Award to a boy who has been a quiet but ever-present, steady, reliable, and most importantly, kind member of KSB. Going forward, this will be called the Ubuntu Award. Ubuntu, if you recall, is the South African word that means “a person is a person through other people.” It is a philosophy South Africans live by. It is not a coincidence that choral music is so important to South Africans. It is the perfect manifestation of ubuntu. Connectedness. Whole greater than the sum of the parts. Community. That’s what KSB strives to be. That’s the gift. More than the music, but only attainable through the power of music-making.

Of course, ubuntu went out the window when it came time for each big brother – little brother chap group to compete for the best performance of the Norwegian birthday song. The inventiveness of some was impressive. Others were impressive in how bad they were. The great part was seeing trebles and Grads working and singing together. And so in that way, ubuntu was at play. Each group, after their performance, received their official Norway pin, signifying the successful completion of tour. The pin will live on their Jacket, for all to see that they were part of the KSB 2012 Concert Tour to Norway and the Arctic Circle.

We finished the evening with important thank yous. To our chaperones who gave of their time and resources to care for the boys. It’s often a thankless job, but an essential one, without which we could not tour. (BTW: they all won the “Best Chaperone Award.”) To Martha, our fearless choir manager and author of our fantastic tour journal. To Mary Ann Case, our beloved membership coordinator and everyone’s choir mom – especially on tour. Fitz said lots of nice things about me and I said lots of nice things about him, and almost most of them are true. J

We closed out the tour with a final thought for the boys. Stephen Sondheim wrote a lyric I live by: “if life were only moments, you’d never know you had one.” Being a member of KSB takes commitment and dedication. We try to have fun all the time when making music, as Leonard Bernstein advocated, even when rehearsing music. But the reality is, sometimes its just plain hard work to meet the high choral standard of the Keystone State Boychoir. And that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be easy. Endeavors that are easy are usually fun, but are rarely special. What the Boychoir does is very special indeed. The “moments” are our reward, but they’re special because of the hard work, the sweat, and sometimes even tears, required. They’re also special because they don’t come every day. And many young people never experience such moments of achievement at such an early age. This taste of success will foster a desire for more successes, more achievement, more moments.

Our promise to the boys is, as long as they are willing to make the commitment to KSB, we the staff are committed to offering them unique life-changing musical, social, and cultural opportunities he cannot find anywhere else.

So job well done to the boys on representing their families, their choir, their city, state and country so well. Thank you to the parents who, with their leap of faith and trust, made all of these wonderful moments for their sons possible. I look forward to many more moments with them.

Peace.

Tromso – The Punta Arenas of Norway

Sorry for the hiatus on blogging. Internet access proved difficult at the end of the trip and the last couple of days were jam-packed. Now that I’m home, I’ll write two more blog entries recapping our last two days of tour.

Tromso was a wonderful little town. Felt very much like Punta Arenas, Chile. Our hostel was more like a hotel, which was a treat for the last stop. The nicest thing was all the rooms had bathrooms. No more squeegeeing!

After checking in and a delicious dinner, we headed to Tromso’s famous park, which conveniently was in walking distance to our hostel. I’m not sure if the pictures will do it justice, but take it from me, it has to be the most beautiful park on the planet. The boys had a ball running around playing football frisbee, volleyball (with the Princess ball!!! – ask your son!), collecting shells (tidal water) and swinging on swings. (yes, they are all still little boys). I’m sure this was the first time your sons played in a park until 10pm in broad day light. Weird and cool.

Wednesday morning we headed to the Den Norske Kirke and did a logistical rehearsal. Great old wooden church. Great acoustic. We then went off to the one and only shopping mall in Tromso, had some lunch, busked for audience members, and then decided to do an impromptu concert in the middle of the mall. At the last minute, Martha went to get permission, and as the security walked her to the spot where they suggested we assemble, we were already assembled and ready to sing. Funny. We were a huge hit.

After a little nap in the church, we got dressed and had our concert. As usual, the audience was enthralled by the boys’ performance. I had an attire malfunction of sorts! My formal attire got left on the bus earlier in the day and we couldn’t reach the bus driver. We collected some extra formal attire in grad garment bags in attempt to piece together something I could wear, but no go. (Depressing! I’ll be hitting the gym this week.) I ended up sitting in the audience and letting Fitz conduct from the piano. Nice to sit back and enjoy the boys, although I had to sit on my hands. I was proud at how well they did without a conductor. At this point on tour, the boys are a well-oiled musical machine.

Following a pizza dinner (we ate in the pews!) we headed to our second concert of the day and our final venue of the concert tour – the Arctic Cathedral! Very cool space. We began a new tradition by letting the graduated seniors pick pieces they wanted to sing for the last concert of their KSB career. A handful of them were no longer in our repertoire, so we dusted things off earlier that day. My favorite choice was “Old Dan Tucker.” All the grads sang it with all the current trebles in their treble voices. Great fun for everyone. Incredibly nostalgic for the grads. And for Fitz and me and all the adults who have watched these guys grow up. For three minutes these young men were little boys again, singing and clapping away. A wonderful gift. Some of the other pieces the Grads requested were “Hold Me Rock Me” (an all-time KSB favorite) “Make them Hear You,” and “I Need You To Survive,” which we dedicated to the young Norwegians who lost their lives last July.

Oh, and perhaps another new tradition has been born. At the start of the concert, each senior lit a candle. At the end of the concert, after we sang “Here We Stand,” the seniors blew the candles out to signify the end of their KSB career. Very moving. Not only were most of the seniors crying, but most of the trebles were too. The tears continued well after the concert had ended, where a big hug fest commenced. When one of our youngest trebles was asked why he couldn’t stop crying, he said “I’m just thinking about how much everyone will cry when I graduate.” Another trebled wouldn’t let Dean Bloomingdale go and said as he hugged him tightly, “you can’t leave, who will sing the ‘We Are The Boys’ solo.” Too funny.

We ended the very emotional evening with a cable car ride up to the vista over Tromso. Ridiculously beautiful but to tell you the truth, the boys spent more time in line for ice cream. I think they had finally fallen victims to BSSO. (Beautiful Scenery Sensory Overload.)

More later…

Today was a travel day. We arrived in Tromso, and checked into our hostel. Five star hostel! For one, showers in each room. No squeegee-ing! Ask your sons about the squeegeeing in Svalbard.

Dinner at the hostel was delicious: baked chicken and rice, salad, and ice cream for dessert. Never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to make boys happy. FOOD. In large quantities. Quality is a bonus. We had both tonight.

We then decided to take a hike to the park adjacent to the hostel. Beats rehearsing, the original plan. WOW! The backdrop for this park is indescribable. I won’t even try – see pictures. Hopefully they’ll do it justice. Of course they will! Because we have Laurie Harbeson. Thank you Laurie for the amazing pictures. Your photography is awesome and we love you for it!)

It was so fantastic to see the boys running around and being boys from a by-gone era. Some were collecting shells on the beach, some skipping rocks along the surface of the lake-like tidal waters of the bay. Some were playing on swings. Others engrossed in serious games of volleyball (ask your sons about the Princess ball) and frisbee football. Everyone together and happy and CONNECTED and DISCONNECTED from video games and cell phones and computers. My, I sound old!

Our aim was an early night, and we succeeded with the trebles. The grads…not so much. They stayed up planning the repertoire for the final tour concert at the Arctic Cathedral tomorrow night. I think a new tradition has been born. So gratifying to witness a bunch of high school boys so impassioned about choral music. Their work then morphed into a wonderful open forum with the staff about life, bullying, challenges of growing up, being an arts-minded young person, and more life. It was the kind of tour moment that reminds us educators how much we impact the lives of the young people we teach and how much they enrich our lives. Also, a reminder of how bright and thoughtful and insightful our boys are. Only on tour is there time to have these dialogues with them. Yea for tour!

More later…

Lasagna and Swimming II

We had a scrumptious lasagna dinner with hot bread and salad at Huset. Over the course of the last several decades, Huset has been many things: hostel for miners, gathering place for the community, church, library, move theatre. Now it is a recently-renovated restaurant, smart and contemporary like one you would find in New York. But the spirit of this frontier town is still in the air. Very cool space.

This morning we had another chance to swim. More takers this time, after word spread of how much fun it was the first time. About 17 boys stayed back, and we had a lovely, quiet time lounging around, playing cards, transcribing South African folks songs, and just taking it easy.

So it’s goodbye to northernmost town on the planet. A place most Norwegians never get to, let alone the rest of the world. It was a once in a lifetime experience that we’ll all always remember.

We’re now at the airport waiting for our flight to Tromso. Everyone seems happy and well. We have had some mild illness here and there, including adults. Mostly colds, a few stomach issues. And of course the longer tour goes on, the more likelihood of fatigue-based sickness. It’s a delicate balance. If the boys are not busy enough, they fall prey to homesickness, boredom, and bad behavior choices. Too busy, and they get run down. We pretty much have it down to a science, the balance, but there will always be some challenges.

Regarding homesickness, there has been very little. When it has surfaced, it has not been lasting or dehabilitating. Everyone on tour experiences it at some point – it’s healthy. Once the boys know that it’s okay to miss home, but not dwell on it, it makes it easier on anyone grappling with it. And we are always on the look out for it, and manage it. Again, there’s not much time to think too much of home because we are always on the go. On that note, time to board!

More later…

Glaciers and Russians!

Today we took a most excellent, all day boat ride to a glacier and the Russian settlement of Barentsburg. We chartered the MS Polar Girl, so we had her all to ourselves. Fairly big boat with lots of rooms for the boys to hang out, play cards, listen to music, talk , catch up on journal entries. All without cell phones. Bliss!!!! The scenery was positively captivating. Exactly as you might imagine for the top of the world. Out at sea, we were far, far, far from the madding crowd. After about an hour and a half on the sea, we pulled very close to the glacier. Blue! Nearby, we saw a seal bobbing around. We got very quiet and listened to the glacier crack and calf. We did not see a polar bear, but it was fun to watch out for them, and scary to know we were in their home and that they were somewhere nearby.

Around noon, we were treated to a BBQ on board (yum!), after which we landed in Barentsburg. Talk about other worldly. It was like entering a time warp and landing in Mother Russia. A small mining community resides there, very few of whom speak any English. It was like being on a movie set – a scary one at that. But there was some beauty.

Glaciers and Russians

There was a small, wooden Russian Orthodox Church built in the memory of Russians who perished in a plane crash on the way to Barentsburg some years ago. It was identical to the one in Antarctica. And so we took a picture with those of us who are bi-polar. Then all of us crowded into the church and sang our Russian repertoire. Sort of. We don’t have any Russian songs, but we sang songs that sound Russian from seasons past – the Bulgarian National Anthem, Baba Mishkava, and Niska Banja. We sang through the Appalachian Suite for good measure. Funny to hear all the Grads recall their treble parts and sing them perfectly all these years later. Muscle memory of youth!

Barentsburg – a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

Tonight we eat lasagna at a local restaurant, and then it’s home to pack for our travel day tomorrow. Last stop…Tromso.

More later…

There’s a reindeer at my window!

I tried to get to bed early, but the 24 hour daylight does not make it easy. Shortly after finally falling asleep sometime past midnight, I was awakened by the voices of boys on the floor above me. Unhappy, I arose to investigate what was going on and was startled to find outside my window a reindeer grazing away. Grads were hanging out of the windows to snap photos. Very fun in a Rudolph sort of way. I went outside to get a closer look and before long, a group of us – boys and adults – were gathered in the midnight sun watching Comet, or Cupid, or Donner, or Blitzen. So strange! Suddenly, we were in an independent film when a phantom bus pulled up out of nowhere and asked us where we were going. To the beach! The fourteen of us piled in and took a road trip to the beach – in the middle of the night. It was so very beautiful. A midsummer night’s dream. It was the first time really that the sun shone brightly in a blue sky since our time in Svalbard. Another tour moment. Too bad all of the boys couldn’t be there. But on any given tour, these sorts of unique opportunities arise for small groups of boys that give them something extra special to remember. Ask your son if he was one of the boys on this adventure. If he was, ask him to tell you about the authentic performance of “Rainbow Round My Shoulder.”