Thank You...two little words that have tremendous meaning.

This world is a very strange place.  At one point, all can seem well and then things radically fall apart.  We experienced a little bit of that while we were overseas.  The world seemed normal for us until word from the Marathon reached Killarney.  In the chaos being reported vie the news, and on twitter, uncertainty set it.  It wasn't until a few hours later that we started to hear about all of the people who rushed to those in need.  Good people putting their safety aside to help others.

We felt a little bit of that while in Wales.  The choir that dedicated their performance to us impacted many of us in ways we cannot communicate.  Being atop that mountain may have given you a different perspective.  Not of a world of chaos or disorder, but one of beauty.  We have to remember that the good in all of us outweighs the bad.  It is not even close.  The little things we do can have have a tremendous impact on others...even if they are total strangers.

When I checked my email on Wednesday, I was surprised to see a message from a newspaper reporter.  He had some questions for me about a package of "Thank You" notes that I had sent to Saugus High School in California.  He wanted to know who sent them, what else was in the care package, and what our motivation for sending the letters may have been.  I had nearly forgotten that at one of our trip meetings, I had asked you guys to write letters to the teachers, staff, and administrators of our sister school in California.  It's funny because I kept looking over at you all as you wrote your notes wondering if you were taking it seriously.  Your little words of caring, your jokes, and your gratitude were felt by those on the west coast.

There was, however, one problem.  This reporter was not from California.  He was from Spartanburg, South Carolina.  It seems that our care package, and your "Thank You" notes inspired the students of Saugus High School in California to pay it forward.  They chose Broome High School because their two schools shared the Centurions as a mascot.  Today, in Spartanburg, the newspaper is running a story about you...and the little bit of good you helped bring to those in California and how they spread that good to others...and how it will be spread to at least one other school.

I am always impressed with how kids respond to the chance to be good.  I thank you for your behavior on our trip.  I thank you for the respect you showed myself, the other chaperons, and Chris.  I thank you for taking in the wonders of another part of the world and for being engaged.  When I found out that someone had stolen money out of my suitcase, I was naturally upset, but I wasn't worried.  I knew that the worst that would come of it would be that I'd spend a little more money that I had expected too.  I, furthermore, knew that others would respond.  At Logan, many people shared their concern and offered to help...someone even gave me some money to send to Chris that night.  EF Tours has told me not to worry about it.  They are sending Chris the money he would have been paid and reimbursing me for the money I spent trying to help Chris out.  Good people respond to bad things with goodness.

Today, I spoke with Bill Bolde, the principal of Saugus High School in California.  He explained that your letters had a huge impact on his school.  He is thinking of making our message of thanks part of his graduation ceremonies...and he even invited me out for the celebration.

It's funny.  I only found out that he received our package on Wednesday because of a reporter from South Carolina, but on Thursday, I received a package from California.  It contained knicknacks, hats, shirts, and stickers from the Centurions.  Mr. Bolde explained to me that our stuff is on display at their school, when you walk in their main office area.  He told me their chief rival is a school from the other side of town.  Their mascot is the Indian.  Their colors are Red, White, and Black.  He didn't care that our Sachem Head and our color scheme might be confusing to some because the message of unity between our schools is more important than crosstown rivalries.  (I didn't have the heart to tell him that their colors are basically the same as the Peabody Tanners)

Shakespeare once alluded to the fact that we harp on the negative things in life when he wrote the famous monologue in Julius Caesar.  With all that we've experienced this past week, I thought this little story might be a nice way to wrap up things for our trip.  I've included some links below for those who'd like to read on.

Mr. Lavoie, currently in A09 with a box full of Blue and White Saugus things...come on by and take a peek.

Saugus High School's Parent and Community Newsletter (California)
http://www.hartdistrict.org/saugus/legend.pdf


Spartanburg Newspaper Article: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130425/ARTICLES/304251027/1083/ARTICLES?p=1&tc=pg 

WSPA - Spartanburg TV Channel - with video
http://www.wspa.com/story/22091630/broome-hs-plans-to-pass-along-kindness

Return to Reality

This morning while I started to get ready for work, I turned on the radio.  It is an everyday ritual for me, but today, the first song that was on was from the band U2.  When I first started writing this blog for Eurotrip13, I wrote about preparing a mixed tape from back in the day.  I explained that there are moments in my life that have been accompanied by song and those memories are the ones that stick out the most.  Today, the radio was playing "Where the Streets Have No Name."  I smiled fondly as I remembered my first trip to Paris and I also reflected quickly upon this past trip.

We landed safely at Logan last night around 6:45.  The kids, their parents, friends, family, and our chaperons were happy to be home.  This trip was an unbelievable experience for me...and I hope for the students as well.  There were moments that cannot be replicated by any other tour group at any other time.  These moments belong to us and throughout our lives, sometimes randomly, we will look back upon them and smile fondly.  Whether it is taking over the stage in Killarney, getting "lost" on the grounds at Blarney Castle, walking the streets of Dublin at night, Climbing a mountain in Wales, singing with Welsh Singers in a wonderful moment of unity, or seeing your first play in London's West End; this trip has changed us, for the better.

One of my favorite Disney movies is "The Lion King."  As I travel, I try to exhibit a 'Hakuna Matata' kind of attitude.  I try to roll with the flow and enjoy the moment, but I also love the movie's connection to the repetitive nature of our world.  The Circle of Life.  While #Eurotrip13 is in the books, it is time to start to looking towards the future.

#Eurotrip14 Preview

#Eurotrip14: The Holocaust in Europe Trip Website
Click here to sign up or get more information.  Any Saugus High School student is eligible for this student as long as they are in good academic standing without a significant disciplinary history.  You do not need to see Mr. Lavoie or Ms. Alongi to sign up; it can happen online.

We will be holding meetings soon...so look for signs and listen to the announcements!!!

Always look on the bright side

It can be tough to look on the bright side sometimes, especially when things keep piling up, but it is important to try...

I've thought about not telling people about this, but I decided that I've blogged about the entire trip and I should probably let folks know.  Last night, when preparing for today's departure, I noticed that I was missing roughly $1400.00 USD from my suitcase.  We are supposed to tip our Tour Director at the conclusion of a trip and this money was for that purpose.

Chris has been absolutely wonderful and I will have to explain to him that most of the money collected for him has been taken.  I am appalled by the actions of whomever stole this money and will find a way to compensate Chris in a way that he truly deserves.

I've all ready met with police officials here in London and they've taken my statement.  They will be contacting me later in the week with a bit of a report as to what happens next.  I will also be contacting EF Tours to explain to them too.  I am besides myself writing this, but my faith in humanity is not shaken at all.

This week has reaffirmed a belief that I have.  While there are bad people out there who do bad things, there are many more people who chose to do the right thing.  While two people ran away from the Marathon explosions, hundreds ran towards them to see if they could help.  While a city mourned, a group of Welsh singers tooks 37 high school students under their wings and comforted them with song.  Bad things happen, but good people always prevail.  I hope this post finds you well.

Mr. Lavoie currently in London.

One more day...

One more day until we will be home.

This trip has been very fun.  I am excited however to get back to the real world.  As is customary, I will explain how this blog will be short because I am tired and then I will type for a while.  It's only midnight here and I hope to be asleep soon.  We've got to wake relatively early to make it across town for our flight to Washington DC and then on to Boston.

Tonight, we ended our evening with a performance of the show "Wicked."  It was an interesting show. The performers did an outstanding job and a bunch of our kids were wicked impressed.  The show was entertaining and stuff and I heard more than one student explain that it was a great way to end the trip.  As I type this, I am pretty sure most of them are running around packing so we can speed things up tomorrow.

Before the show, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant.  The kids were great about trying some new foods.  We had Curry Chicken, white rice, flan, a Mango Chutney sauce, and some spinach concoction.  I enjoyed it all.  Chris, our tour guide, explained why Indian food is so popular in Britain.  The true test of a good restaurant is when kids say they'll try the same food back at home and I heard a few kids saying they would.

Dinner was a great time for the whole group, but before that we had split into several groups to enjoy our free day in London.  Ms. Larsen had lived in London for a few months while studying and she led a large group of students out to the Camden Market.  After that some of the kids stayed with her and visited the Tate Modern Art museum.  The other students went with Ms. Topham, Ms. Dinan, Ms. Alongi, and Ms. Mottola to visit some key shopping areas like Soho and Picadilly Circus.  From what I understand, they all had a blast.

My group, along with Mr. Bemis and Ms. Payne, also had a great day.  We finished it off with a quick visit to the National Art Museum.  Some of the work was inspirational, but the sleeping David Beckham video was not a favorite.  Before the art museum, we had gone to the British Museum.  As had been explained to us, this is the place where the Brits saved everything they stole from other people and wouldn't give back.  It was really neat to the ancient artifacts and mummified corpses.

Speaking of relics, my group also took in a musical heritage sight on our excursion.  We embarked on a journey that took us to the world's most famous crosswalk (statement not verified by any facts) at Abbey Road.  We tried and tried to reproduce the iconic steps of the Beatles, but the road traffic was very thick.

Before our groups split, we took in the changing of the guard at Horse Guard Palace.  It was impressive and a few of the soldiers actually broke character to speak with us...even if it was just to ask how many people we had there to pose for photos with him.

We barely made it to the changing of the guard because we had to walk from the London Eye to the Horse Guard.  Standing in our way, were Ms. Morando and Ms. Golan finishing up their eurotrip.  We saw them as we were disembarking the Ferris Wheel and exchanged a few quick hugs and hellos.  It was so great to see them, even if only briefly, while we were all across the pond.  The eye was a highlight of the day, even though I don't like heights, because of how cool it was to see all of London.  We could also see half of our group in the other car.  There is nothing quite like floating across a major city, but we did it in stride.  I only freaked out a little bit.

Well, it is bed time.  I hope you enjoyed this blog. I'll probably write a summation at some point and there may be some quick travel updates posted here as we come home. I thought I'd leave you all with a little song and hope you have a great day.  For our parents, please note that pick-up time is around 6:35pm Boston time.  Our flight number is 1136 on United and we are arriving from Dulles International Airport.  We should be landing at Gate C.

See you tomorrow.

Mr. Lavoie currently packing up his laptop and his suitcase.  Eurotrip13 is nearly in the books.

Bonus Blog: A musical journey through Ireland and Wales...

This trip has been an emotional roller coaster.  There have been tremendous highs and terrible lows.  Through it all, we've stuck together and sometimes even sung together.  Tomorrow night, we will head to Wicked and end our trip with a final musical experiences, but over the past eight days, it is fair to say that music has helped define this trip.  I am sharing with you now some video of the experiences our kids had.  Mr. Bemis did an excellent job of capturing these moments and although you may never know how they impacted us...I think his cinematography made every attempt of telling our story whenever possible.  We've got a few more videos to figure out, but I wanted some to be sent out tonight.


The Hand Hotel Llongallen, Wales

At this very peculiar little hotel, on every Friday night, the Cor Meibion Llongallen rehearses their upcoming performances.  While it is a men's choir, during our visit many of the men had brought their wives.  As the night began to wind down, their conductor asked our kids to come in for a song or two.

He had found out we were from Boston and wanted to dedicate a song for us.  He said he was appalled by the attacks on our city and reassured us that things would be okay and that our government would find the cowards who attacked the marathon.  I never got the man's name, but he began what was one of the most inspiration moments of my life and I think the kids as well.

Here the choir, and our kids, begin singing Take me out to the Ball Game.

The song immediately switched into a medley of common American songs and Welsh music:

The evening kind of turned into a free for all with both sides singing songs that might make the other group smile.  Here, our kids try to remember the lyrics and notes to Sweet Caroline.

We also asked if he knew the Star Spangled Banner...and he did.  This rendition left many a folk with tears in their eyes and a warm feeling of friendship in their hearts.

Finally, to end the evening, the choir began to sing a song for us.  We believe the name of the song was Invitation.  From what we understand, the song was a joint effort between an American and a Welshman.  This was the perfect way to end the night.  It also solidified to our students that Americans are still loved in many places across this world.  The outpouring of support these folks showed the city of Boston and our kids was tremendous.  While I do not know their names, I extend to them the same invitation they extended to my students...one into my heart forever. 

I thank you all for reading along and watching these videos.  We've come to terms with the fact that we don't really take vacations on these trips, instead, we change lives.  I know mine has changed.

Mr. Lavoie currently typing quietly as to not awake a sleeping Mr. Bemis and over looking the 2012 Olympic Village.

Jack the Ripper and other tales from London

I've got a feeling that this blog may be relatively short.

It's not that we didn't do much today, in fact, it is the opposite.  We had another packed day.  This entry may be short because the long days, late nights, and early mornings are starting to catch up with me.  I may not be as young as I think I am, but in all honesty, the exhaustion is worth it.  We've seen so much in such a short amount of time and I really think that it has been the trip of a lifetime for many of the students.  Everytime I hear one say that they are having a blast, or that they'd move here, or that they can't wait to come back...it makes the sleepless nights worth it.

Today, we had a bus tour of London.  Our guide Justin took us all over and we got an extra special tour because the marathon route blocked off some typical sights.  We visited a few sights related to Harry Potter.  I am in the middle of the first book, but I don't know the things as well as the kids...sorry.  I have some pictures, but they'll probably go up sometime tomorrow (See second paragraph).

We also visited St. Paul's Cathedral today.  It was very beautiful.  London has so much to offer.  There are tours to the city that last seven days total and we are trying to get it all done in two days.  By midday, we had made our way over to Harrads.  This store has everything.  I personally decided that I'd start saving for the autographed Jaws poster they had in their millionaires collection.  It was just under 2000 British Pounds.  If I save too much, I might buy the autographs of the every single American president...even William Henry Harrison who only served for a month and a few days.  This collection would only cost me about 200,000 pounds.  The real gem at Harrads was an alarm clock that wakes you up with a personalized song.  I bet it is still waking Evan up.

After exploring Harrads, we descended upon one of three museums.  One museum was an art museum that focused on things that beautified their surroundings.  This includes tapestries, fashion, and other pieces.  I didn't go to that one so it is tough to comment.  Another museum the kids visited was the Science museum.  Mr. Bemis tells me that this one was very hands on and they kids only got through about 1/2 of it because they were so busy.  I ended up at the Natural History museum.  I'm a sucker for dinosaurs. This museum also included exhibits on rocks, primates, and aquatic mammals. It was stuffed full of taxidermy master pieces.

The three groups met back up and after a quick trip to the hotel, we went to dinner at Mr. Fish and Chips.  Earlier, I vented about an oily fish and chips that I sampled in Wales, but Mr. Fish and Chips is the real deal.  His fish was crispy and tasted really good...note that I don't like fish and I am admitting that I liked it....my family will be so excited they will want to take me out for seafood.  At the restaurant, we celebrated our second birthday of the trip.  Melissa seemed more than a little embarrassed when the group broke out into song on her behalf.

The meal ended with a trip to King's Cross station for another Harry Potter stop.  Ms. Payne led the kids as they tried to push their shopping cart in to Platform 9 and 3/4s.  No one made it to Hogwarts.

We then met a very interesting character who led us through the streets of London and explained the horrific murders committed by Jack the Ripper.  Our macabre tour guide expertly mixed humor and history into an exciting and engaging tale that took us to the actual sights of the Ripper's blade.  Our students were more than a little scared at times, but they also laughed and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I hope they impressed them when I beat Ben, our guide, in a staring contest...but more than likely I just freaked them out a bit.

When our tour concluded we journeyed back to the hotel.  It's been a long night and an exhausting one.  I am about to go to bed, but if I can muster the energy, you may have another quick post with an exciting surprise.

Mr. Lavoie, currently in the hotel lobby because I thought the internet might be better down here...and because I am a little scared by the Jack the Ripper guide.

Wow!!! We all got into Oxford, aren't you proud?

Another incredible day in the British Isles for our group!

We awoke from the Hand Hotel safe and relatively unscathed from the different spirits that reportedly haunt its hallways and bedrooms.  Some of the students truly believe that they experienced some paranormal activity, but I can say with all honesty that I don't think I did.

The drive from Wales to London is a pretty long one, so we decided to break it up with a few important stops along the way.  Our first destination is a little town of about 100,000 people.  The name of this town is Stratford apon Avon.  This is the land of William Shakespeare.  Wouldn't you know...today was the day they were celebrating Shakespeare's Birthday.  We were so fortunate.  The whole town was celebrating.  We not only toured Billy's house, but we also saw a parade in his honor.  Some of us may have even signed his birthday card and had some cake.  There were tons of people dressed in fancy clothing and costume.  Even a few of us recited some important lines from Shakespearean plays.  The weather was also great.

After touring Shakespeare's house, Mr. Bemis and I found ourselves in a little market and bought some rope candy.  We sat for a coffee and to people watch when I happened to notice that the cafe had muffin sandwiches.  I thought to myself, "Self, because that's what I call myself, you must have an English Muffin while in England."  So, I ordered an English Muffin sandwich.  It was great.  I'm not the type of person who typically photographs my meals, but I had to share this sandwich with the world.

It was scrummy...which I found out today was a good thing.

We gathered on our coach and took off a mile down the road to tour Anne Hathaway's house.  She is not the famous actress.  She was the wife of William Shakespeare.  The house was nice.  It also reminded me a little bit of some of the structures at the Iron Works.  Actually, it dawned on me that the whole Shakespearean era was about the same time as colonial settlement of Salem, and subsequently Saugus.  This made it all the more interesting.

After Anne's house, we had a bit of lunch and then began our trek to Oxford.  Along the way, Chris gave a wonderful summary of the life and history of the English Kings and Queens.  Our kids were very interested and some of them even passed his quiz when put to the test.  It is a good thing they did too, because we ended up at Oxford University and we all were accepted!!!  The photo at the top of this day's post was near the end of the tour.  I'm not particularly happy with the photo, but I had to run into the middle of a busy intersection to take it...so I'll get over it.

Oxford was really cool.  Because of the weather, and the fact that we visited on Saturday, the university was a buzz.  There were all sorts of costumed dancers performing strange dances with clubs.  There were also fire jugglers and knife throwers.  We visited the covered market and I scampered off for a quick bit to find the history faculty building.  It felt like home.

The tour of this city and university was great, but we were only there for about two hours before heading to London.

Because of everything in Boston, we've decided to change up our itinerary a bit.  The London Marathon is tomorrow, and while we are confident that the incident back home was isolated, we thought it best not to tour the sights along the marathon route.  We couldn't, however, visit London without seeing the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and everything in between.  So, after dinner at the biggest mall I've ever been too, we took off in the Tube to see these great sights.  Chris was great in explaining the Tube and which spots we needed to remember.  On this tour, my camera battery died, but I did get some great shots.  You can see all of my pictures from this tour here: https://sites.google.com/a/saugus.k12.ma.us/lavoietravel/photo-gallery

Tomorrow, we will be taking a bus tour, but we will be avoiding all of the sights along the marathon route.  We will be visiting some museums and a shopping district near Harrod's department store.

 Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben...my camera died after this shot, so I had not chance to take another one :(

This is me, 385 yards away from the London Marathon finish line.  You can take the kid out of Boston, but you can't take the Boston out of the Kid.  B-Strong Boston!!!  I'll see ya soon.