Day 1 - Planes, Trams and Automobiles

One could not ask for a smoother first day. The boys of the Concert Choir boarded the bus and departed Saint John's campus shortly after 9:00 am CDT. With all the boys having been on an SJBC tour by plane before, the trip to the airport was no big deal... although riding the tram seemed to be a fairly exciting affair, even if only for 90 seconds.

After a fairly turbulent but satisfactory flight, the boys landed in Detroit Airport. It was so pleasing to arrive at the Ground Transportation center and see the Saint John's bus waiting for us. It almost felt like home! The thirty minute drive to the border was uneventful up until the crossing of the Ambassador Bridge. Once we passed the sign that said "You are entering Canada", the air seemed to get a little colder and the boys unconsciously started saying "eh" a lot more frequently. The border crossing was fairly easy. The boys never had to do anything - Mr. Heywood, Ms. Weber and Mrs. T went into to Immigration center and sorted everything out in under 2 minutes. Smooth sailing!

Next was a further two hours on the bus en route to London. The boys were treated to rural scenery that looked hauntingly familiar to Stearns County. At about 8:00 pm EDT they arrived in the Forest City - London, Ontario - and were greeted enthusiastically by boys from the Amabile Boys' Choir. The boys met up with their host families and went away to spend their first night in Canada with their new friends. The staff headed to a Guest House that used to be a women's monastery. (It's gorgeous by the way!)

Tomorrow morning the boys have their first singing engagement. Yikes! It's a choral exchange with the singers from St. Mary's Choir School. It should be fun. Girls go to that school. The boys always like to do things with girl singers once in a while too. I'm sure they'll all spend some extra time doing their hair tomorrow morning. Wish us luck! Peace, and God bless.