Hello from Germany!

We have completed our second full day of tour and all is well.  It takes a few days to “get the wheels on the bus.”  Jet leg to get over.  Extreme heat to deal with.  Lots of protocols and tour rules to follow. Grace period is now over and fines will begin tomorrow.  We’ll start at 1 Euro.  Fines amounts for infractions will increase as the tour goes on.  The reality is, hitting their spending money is the fastest way to get their attention.  And following the rules of tour is not just about order.  It is vital to keeping the boys safe and sound.  And of course, the boys always have the opportunity to earn their money back.  With stand out performance faces, offering a kind word or performing a random act of tour kindness…

Our itinerary has been quite full with singing and cultural opportunities. A full schedule is crucial for happy boys free from homesickeness.  They need to stay busy and to fall into bed tired.

And of course the homestay experience is a great gift.  The chance to live as other cultures live is invaluable and will shape the boys, giving them a global, open, tolerant perspective as they move through their lives.  Look for photos of your boys and their homestays soon.

Tomorrow, Friday, is our first full concert – joint with our hosts, the Heidelberg Youth  Choir.  Up until now it’s been schools concerts (very well received) and mayoral meet and greets.  Germany loves its mayors!  #rathouse.

And can I tell you how INCREDIBLE it is travelling with Inge.  She is AWESOME. She is always POSITIVE and HAPPY. A great lesson for all of us, considering what she’s been through.  What a great gift to me.  When the boys are complaining that “it sucks” that they didn’t get to have ice cream, I simply invite them to sit with Inge and have her tell them how much “it sucked” to go to Terezin.   Inge also has an amazing sense of humor and remarkable perspective about her journey – and a great capacity to forgive and see the good in people.

The boys are able to sit with Inge during bus rides – we always keep her seat empty for visitors.   They can ask her questions that come up as they’re reading her very famous book “I Am A Star.”  Once they finish the book, she rewards them with a book signing.  And then they get the privilege of holding the Star of David she wore in Terezin.  I have told the boys that THIS is their college essay.  To travel with a Survivor, literally following her journey from Germany to Terezin.  Wow.

Most lovely of all, Inge trades in hugs.  That’s all she asks in return for sharing her story.  And the boys freely give them.

#sweet

#powerful

#IngeHugs

More later…