Day One: It was a Good Day to be a Sachem

It is 10:45 back in Boston.

I have no idea what time it currently is, because we are flying over the Atlantic.  The screen on my seat doesn't include date-lines.  It does inform me that we have 6 hours until we touch down in Rome.  Most of the kids have eaten, and are getting ready for some sleep.  This is our first real blog post, so, it will include a little bit of everything that I love best.

My Dad dropped Ms. Payne and I off at Logan at 11:15am.  We quickly checked-in and presented our luggage to the baggage counter.  It was not long afterwards that the kids started showing up.  It was also not long afterwards that I realized how far the Sachem family truly extended.  I had received an email from Joann Giuffrida the other day.  She is the mother of a former Eurotripper and she works for Delta Airlines.  She had said if we needed any assistance to call her, but I didn't really want to be a burden.  Well...we hit a little snag trying to check in some of the kids.  But, before I could grab my cell phone and dig out the number, Joann was there.  She told me how to fix out issue and then told me that she would be helping us out with putting the bags through security.  She didn't have to help.  She had told me that she begins her day at 2am...and yet, she was there.  I am so appreciative of her help.  It made the whole process even better knowing that we had someone watching over us.

Through security we went.  Slowly, but surely, one by one, we took off our shoes and raised our hands above our heads.  We put our personal belongings in a tray and our backpacks on a conveyor belt...and then we had made it.  Our gate was A11, but we had some time.  The kids went off and got some last minute snacks, or a coffee, before our departure.  All was well.  I was chatting with a couple of kids when I noticed a Delta representative standing over us.  This man was looking at me and I was about to ask if I could help him with anything when I realized it was another former Eurotripper.  He had traveled with me 10 years ago.  He has been working for Delta and traveling the world for a long time since that trip, but he told me it was because of his high school adventures in Europe that he continues to work for the airline.  It was fortuitous that Alex stopped by when he did, because Liv came up to me with a little worry in her voice.  She had just realized that she had left her wallet in the backseat of her car.  Her mom, she said, was on the way back to Logan.  I told her not to worry and that I would go back through security to get it, but Alex stepped in to offer some assistance.  He didn't have to help, but he did.  He walked with me to the ticket counter area where we met Liv's mom, and then he took me to the front of the line at security.  The process took only a couple of minutes and our first (and hopefully last) crisis was averted.

We all congregated near gate A11 when my name was called over the PA.  The agent at our gate explained that we had a small plane and that students with large carry-ons would need to have a "bag check."  It was most of us, lol.  She also told me that she was a friend of Joann and that she would have us board first.  I've never flown first-class in a traditional sense, so boarding first, was pretty cool.  Making it cooler, however, was that our group was announced...and all the kids seemed to cheer.  On board the plane, we quickly settled into our seats for our short flight to JFK.  The pilot expertly flew and landed the plane and we were safely on ground before many of us could even dream of a nap.

At JFK, we had a long lay-over.  There are many different restaurants and snack places.  I think most of the kids went to the Shake Shack.  I went with my buddy Praanav to McDonalds.  We saw a couple of our friends there too.  Pranaav and I eventually made our way to our new gate and we met all of the other kids and chaperons.  The hours seemed to fly by as the kids took advantage of this unique experience by "face timing" with their friends back home and discussing how they could change their seats to be with a friend on the long-haul.  Our flight number was called and we let the real first class passengers board the flight first.  We were the last ones, for the most part, to board the plane.  The kids settled down and buckled their belts.  We had a slight delay, but eventually departed.  In the air, I played trivia with Joe and Lexie.  I won't tell you who won the first game, but I will tell you that he was a two-time SBEC team trivia champion.  Lexie won the second game in an epic comeback.  We would have played another game, but dinner was about to be served.

I love food.  I love food too much.  I actually enjoy airplane food.  I was so pleasantly surprised to see three different options tonight.  There was a pasta option, a hot chicken option, and a cold chicken and kale salad option.  I am not sure I've ever tried Kale before...and so, I thought, why not be adventurous.  Kale is basically lettuce.  I am not saying that in a disparaging way.  I love lettuce.  The salad was really pretty good.  It was a grilled chicken breast, served sliced over a bed of Kale.  There was a light dressing, cranberries, apples, and nuts accompanying the Kale.  I devoured it.  From what I heard the pasta, was pretty good too. The dinner also came with some cheese (Monteray Jack), bread, and a brownie.  I saved my brownie for a reward for finishing this blog.

I entitled today's blog, It was a Good Day to be a Sachem.  It's a wicked bad title.  It's a wicked bad title because there are so many good days to be a Sachem.  I remember one day, last year, while exploring a D-Day invasion museum, there was a section of the museum dedicated to the Holocaust.  A couple of kids started asking questions about it.  Before I could answer, Tayla, Joann's daughter, began to answer their questions.  Tayla had been to Dachau and Auschwitz the year before and it was clear she had been touched by those memories.  I have thought of that exchange often over the past few months and the past few days.  I can remember, too, about 10 years ago, walking across the Charles Bridge in Prague with Alex, and his fellow travelers, and sharing stories from the road.  I didn't blog back then, but the memories are still present.  It is a good day to be a Sachem, because we rarely forget the community that molds us, that shapes us into who we will become.  Tayla, and Alex, and these kids with me now...are the true models a school should be measured by.  I love my job because of who these kids are and what they are able to accomplish.  In our short time together, I have seen so many kids helping each other out, even if they aren't the closest of friends while walking the halls of SHS.  These trips bring out something special in them and I think that is why I get so many parents and former students who reach out to whenever we begin a new journey.

It is not lost on me that the other half of our groups is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.  We are taking two paths, but they will converge. We will be one again.  In a few short hours, we will meet up and have another great day.  My t-shirt says "We Believe" on the front.  On the back, it reminds us that "We are all Sachems."  I am anxious to meet up with the other group.  There are a lot of Seniors in that group and I don't really know many of them.  I wasn't teaching when they entered our school and I missed out on meeting some great kids.  Pranaav has promised to introduce me to some of his favorites.

Well, there are normally more pictures on this blog, but I didn't have a chance to upload those that I took.  There are some on the Facebook page (Link available on the previous post), Twitter, and Instagram.  I downloaded one to the computer while we were delayed.  It was of a few of us boarding this flight.  Our adventure about to begin with memories yet filled.

Who knows, in 10 years, one of those kids could find me in an airport about to depart to another destination.  They might reach out and lend a helping hand even when it is not necessary.  Maybe it will be one of their parents, going above and beyond for kids who are not their own.  Regardless, when I look at this photo, and think of the here and now...or of the future, I know one thing for sure.

It is a good day to be a Sachem.

Good Night America.

Mr. Lavoie, about to turn off his laptop and try his luck at sleeping...like the rest of the plane.