Day 9 October St. Croix

Today was our last day on St. Croix. We started the morning with breakfast and a trip to Christianstead to get on a sailboat called Wave Dancer. We all piled on one boat and within 20 minutes we realized we were just a few feet away from a pod of dolphins. We watched the dolphins play and then went on to park the boat at Buck Island where we snorkeled. We did some snorkeling around the boat and even saw a shark! Along with the shark and dolphins,we saw stingrays, squid, an abundance of coral, and many amazing fish. Then, we sailed over to the beach and ate lunch. We then had free time where we swam and did flips off the boat into the crystal clear water. We then headed back over to St. Croix and after a long day of fun in the sun; everyone was a bit tired. We headed back to Discovery Grove for our last delicious dinner. It's now time for chores and our last circle up. We will be heading home tomorrow, and have had an unforgettable experience on this beautiful island. 

- Rachel, Olivia, and Caroline 

October St. Croix day 8

Today, we started our day with a great breakfast consisting of eggs, bagels, and yogurt. We then packed our lunches and headed to the East End of the island for a hike and snorkel. We hiked on an open trail with a great view of the mountains and beaches. We then snorkeled over patch reefs, which were full of colorful fish, and have an abundance of coral. After that, we hiked back to the van and drove to a sundial and a wall, which marked the easternmost part of the US. We then ate lunch and headed to Christianstead. In Chrisitianstead, we did some souvenir shopping and headed to the Boys and Girls Club. We had an amazing time at the Boys and Girls Club where some of us left close to tears. We then headed back to Discovery Grove where Heather had an amazing taco bar set up for us.  We are now cleaning up the dishes and getting ready for circle up. We can't wait for Buck Island tomorrow and will cherish our last days on the island. 

PS - We have managed to avoid many sunburns by putting on lots and lots of sunscreen.

- Rachel and Olivia

October St. Croix Day 7

The seventh day of our trip has proven to be the brightest day yet. We had a late wake up at 9:00 a.m. and split into two groups of seven. One group made conch jewelry in the art room and had a tassel with two rats while the other group went out snorkeling in Cane Bay. After lunch, the second group went out swimming and playing on the beach in a different spot than the first due to strong currents and rip tides. When all of the groups got back to DG, we had a class tought by Ty all about bioluminescent plankton and other microscopic organisms that could be seen in the bay. We ate local pizza at the beach for dinner where we launched our kayaks. After we chose our partners, we set off on our journey to the bay riding a few waves on the way. After it got dark, and the moon hid behind a few clouds, we swam in the bay while being surrounded by glowing plankton. When we got back to the beach and put away our kayaks, we piled into the van to go home to Discovery Grove. Tomorrow is going to be another fun filled day with more snorkeling adventures and hiking. 

- Sam Stanton

October St. Croix day 6

Once again, St. Croix has proven to be a day to remember. We started with a early breakfast and after that was straight to N2 the Blue, a local scuba diving shop. For many it was their first time scuba diving and everyone took this challenge head on and had a lot of fun doing it. After training and practice, it was time to take our newfound knowledge to the water. We saw everything from scorpion fish to sea horses. It was a breathtaking experience. And it ended with more pier jumping. We came back to Discovery Grove with sun burns and found how the aloe plant can be a great remedy. Soon after Heather and Travis cooked us amazing home cooked kabobs and rice, which consisted of steak, chicken, and veggies. We are getting ready for circle up and are looking forward to everything that comes our way next.

Till next time from,

Luke Short and Scooter Haddad

October St. Croix Day 5

We started our day with an early breakfast, and quickly jumped into our day. The St. Croix crew conquered a hike to an abandoned lighthouse with a beautiful overlook. The students were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse and take in the wonderful scenery. After the hike, we traveled to a pier where we took turns jumping off into the water below. Next, after a quick stop at Discovery Grove, we went to the Boys and Girls Club. We were able to play, socialize and help the kids with their homework. We ended our day with a bonfire at the top of a hill and roasted hotdogs and s'mores. -Halle S. 

October St. Croix - Day 3

Today we had an extremely extraordinary adventure.  We started off the day with a hefty breakfast.  After that, the group went to the farmers market to acquire some new fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  Interacting with the natives at the farmers market was interesting and challenging.  They spoke with a strong Croatian dialect.  Some of the foods we tasted were goose berries, sugar cane, and golden apples.  A class on coconuts soon followed the tasting.  Tasting, learning, and defleshing the coconuts was awesome.  Later on, we went to the beach.  Half of us went snorkeling, while the other half waited on the beach.  Seeing the varieties of sea creatures was engaging. Our dinner consisted of bbq chicken sandwiches, Mac n' cheese, and a tasty green bean salad. Time for circle up where we share our day's successes! 

-Jacob Copeland & Luke Short

October St.Croix trip- Day 2

Today we woke up and had our first breakfast in St.Croix. We started off the day by doing team bonding games. We learned that we worked better as a team than indivuals by taking each other's ideas and using them. We then had lunch and headed to the beach! We also found a sea urchin whose name is Frankie! We then headed back to Discovery Grove where we went rock climbing up the 

sugar mill. We suffered a couple scrapes and bruises, but overall it was fun! Jameson then cooked a delicious Mahi and rice dinner for us after a long day of fun!

- Olivia and Barrett 

St. Croix Day 4

Today, we went kayaking in Salt River Bay, and learned about many items native to the island. One item  we learned about were mangroves, and their different types. During the kayaking trip, we stopped at the beach and had time to play around in the water. When we got back to discovery grove, we had two hour free time where we cleaned our cabins, and had time to play in the art room. We also had an African dance and drumming class with a family that lives on the island. We learned many new aspects of the African culture, and even had a boys and girls dance off! Jamison made us an amazing dinner with Mahi soup, and banana and sweet potato french fries. We are now doing our chores and circle up, and will go to bed soon. Once again, we have had an amazing day in St. Croix! 

Caroline Dixon and Byron Richards 

October St. Croix trip day one

We safely got to Miami airport, explored the stores, played cards, and ate lunch.  We waited for 3 hours in the airport and eventually took off to St. Croix.  When we landed, Ty and the rest of the staff were waiting for us and even brought some star fruit and coconut! We all got into their truck and drove to Discovery Grove where we had goat and breadfruit for dinner. Everyone has a chore that they have to complete. Some chores are scrapers, dish washers, fridge master, and sweeper. We also learned a little ryhme for water conservation. "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down." GROSS! Everyone is enjoying their time together and look forward to our activities tomorrow. Can't wait to get some sleep!-Byron and Rachel (The Bloggers)

June St. Croix Day 9

An incredible Day 9 began with an 8:00 a.m. wake up and a satisfying breakfast. After loading up our snorkel gear, lathering on sunscreen, and filling our water bottles, we headed to the Christiansted dock to board the Jolly Roger. Once aboard the sailboat, we began our journey to Buck Island. The wind carried us swiftly across the turquoise waters as we approached the island. On the trip, we saw sea turtles and floating sargassum. We set anchor near the island's surrounding reef to begin our snorkeling adventure. Upon entering the water, both groups followed the underwater trails which led them through a collection of grottos. The depths of the grottos were sprinkled with a plethora of life. Within the grottos we saw barracuda, nurse and lemon sharks, parrot fish, trumpet fish, and schools of blue tang. After completing the trail, we ventured beyond the reef to the island shore. The Jolly Roger provided us with both a vessel and a playground as students spent the afternoon diving off the bow of the boat and swam underneath the catarmaran. Once our fun filled day came to a close, we sailed peacefully to the mainland of St. Croix. After eagerly awaiting our final dinner on the island, we were served a delicious assortment of caribbean kabobs, mashed potatoes, and watermelon. Our final circle up time was bittersweet as we celebrated Ethan's birthday and the highlights of the trip. While we are sad to leave this beautiful island behind, we look forward to sharing our many stories and experiences with friends and family. 

Mr. Snead and Mrs. Lyle

June St. Croix Day 7 & 8

Yesterday everyone woke up later than normal and began the day off with arts and crafts. First everyone finished up their calabash jewelry/pottery making. Then we made sea glass and seed necklaces. Once we were drenched in sweat we made our way to Cane Bay to cool off. After everyone make it back to DG Ty showed us how to make wooden rings out of red mangrove trees. We were eagerly waiting to see the end results of our rings. Then we headed to the bio bay to see the glowing bioluminescents. Before we paddled out on our kayaks we had some delicious pizza. When we made it to the bio bay we were able to jump in and see the jelly fish and dinoflagellates. Everyone splashed around for a while and when we got tired we went back to DG. -Kai and MaryGrace

Today we awoke at 7:30 to the sound of birds chirping. We quickly finished breakfast and hopped into the van for a hike and snorkel trip. We hiked a mile at East End Marine Park and learned about the dry arid ecosystem. After the hike we reached the beach. While snorkeling at Issacs Bay we were able to

discover the different reefs... algae building reefs but mainly patch reefs. Next we traveled a whopping 500 ft. to the eastern most point of the United States called, Udall. We ate our lunch at Cramer's park then later made our way to the town named Christiansted. This is where we spent our afternoon shopping and feeding tarpons. Then we drove over to the boys and girls club and played nonstop in the heat.  When we arrived back at discoverygrove we had dinner. Finally we circled up and went to bed. 

 - Konrad and Ethan 

June St. Croix Day 5 & 6

Due to a fun adventured, packed day, yesterday we were not able to blog. June 8th was a day full of adventure. We woke up to good breakfast, packed our lunch then headed out the door to go on a 5 mile hike. It was a long and exhausting hike, but we learned a lot about the islands's plantlife. In the end we were rewarded to jumping in some cool and refreshing tidal pools. This was the highlight of the hike for many. When got back, we packed up our stuff then headed to the boys and girls club. We were able to meet and connect with the kids on the island. We played games like 4 square, volleyball, basketball and more. After we had an exposed and putting us out there type of event, we came back to discovery grove and prepared for a flaming fire. We made beautiful hotdogs and delicious s'mores. We we were able to learn together how to properly cook a hotdogs on an open fire. After a relaxing, fun dinner, we ended the night with circle up, then headed to bed. 

Today we awoke to our usual breakfast and hopped into our car to learn to dive. When we got there we learned all the ways to be safe underwater. We split up into 3 groups and explored the amazing life underwater. One group was able to see a turtle, one group saw a lion fish, and some saw barracudas. When the three groups rejoined, we shared what we saw and the exaggerations began to fly. But we all concluded that the diving was an amazing and life changing experience. Then we hopped back in our mobile and had some free time to enjoy to ourselves. Afterwards we had a delicious birthday dinner in honor of Kellen. Irie 

-Grace, Landon, Stock, and Shanyn

June St. Croix Trip Day Four

This morning, we woke up early to the smell of our breakfast, which was made up of pancakes, sausages, and eggs. Then, we prepared for our kayaking trip to Salt River at 9:30 by packing our lunches and applying plenty of sunscreen. When we arrived at the kayak launch, we met up with our guide, Adrian, who helped us to set up our equipment. When we got out on the river, we saw many mangrove trees and birds such as green herons, yellow crested night herons, pelicans, and a frigate. We also learned about the river and its ecosystem, and got to surf some waves from the barrier reef. After we ate lunch and went back to Discovery Grove, we had a lesson on African drumming and dance, where we were pushed outside of our comfort zones. Then, we went to the art room to start our first art projects. Today, we worked with calabash, a unique round green fruit with a hard, shiny skin. After that, we had a traditional Cruzan dinner consisting of slow-roasted chicken, rice, and "Johnny Cakes". We complete our adventurous day with circle up and an early night.

Martin and Alex

June 2015 St. Croix Day 3

We woke up just a tad bit earlier than yesterday, around 7:00-7:15. But that didn't stop us from being excited to start our day. We started the day with cereal, bagels, toast, and some yummy fruit. After our tummies were full we ventured to the local market. We all split into groups and were assigned some special foods to search for. We also had to find a new fruit or vegetable that we had never tasted. There were papayas, sugar cane, pomegranate, and some tree of life seeds. We went to each stand, excited to learn about all the new fruits and vegetables, but first greeting everyone with a "good morning". After finding our unique fruits we headed back to discovery grove to taste them. Many priceless expressions were sought seen among the students. Then we had a coconut class where we learned all about the differnt types of coconuts. We tasted the coconuts through a straw and most were not thrilled by the tangy taste. Although a few of the boys loved them and stayed to make coconut milk while ther other split into to two groups and made island jerky and tropical fruit smoothies. After we marinated our jerky and the smoothies were blended, we went fitted for snorkeling. We tried on different types of masks and flippers till we got the perfect fit. We also were provided snorkels. Then the bell rang for us to eat lunch. We had a choice between ham and cheese grilled sandwiches, or a normal sandwich. After devouring our delicious lunch we cleaned up and headed to Shoy beach to begins snorkeling adventure. Again, we split into two groups. The first group headed out and saw lots of unique creatures, such as a stingray or lion fish. Once the first group headed back to shore the second group headed out to snorkel. We all gathered and prepared for the departure of the beach. We came back to discovery grove and cleaned up and showered. After freshening up we ate some tacos for dinner. It was a very messy process. We are now ending the night with the daily circle up.  

-Charlotte and Madisen

June 5, 2015 St. Croix Day 2

At the start of the day we did team building activities. The first game that we played was "scatter". In this game we dispersed and came back together to complete a task. The next activity was run and "scream". In this activity we tried to see who could run the farthest while screaming. While we ran, we looked like chickens with heads chopped off. Then we tried to move a rope  that was shaped to be a oval around the circle while all of us were holding hands. When this was done we tossed a duct tape ball around while saying the abc's. We failed the first couple time. Then we played "everyone's it", in this game you had to tag each other and the last one standing won. When this was over we played coconut mind field. In this game one person was blind folded and your teammates had to help maneuver the person around the field to the enemy's flag and back. The final activity was the centipede walk, in this game we were on two wooden planks and we had to make it to a certain spot. In this activity a team, red torpedoes, struggled very much. When this was all over went to Cane Bay for a while.The water was very salty, and rocky a distance away. Even with the rocks, we still had a blast at Cane Bay! When we got back from the beach we rock climbed on a sugar mill that was reconstructed into a kitchen. We ate hamburgers, fries, and phenomenal fruit salad for dinner. 

-Kellen and Taisho 

June 2015 St. Croix

Day 1-June 4

This morning we woke up at three to make a journey at six fifteen. We met in the airport looking very tired and exhausted. In the plane the group sat towards the tail of the plane. When we arrived at  the Miami airport we had a three hour lay over. During this time, we all ate brunch at different restaurants. While we were waiting for the flight we got to hear Colombian music. Once again the group sat towards the back of the plane. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by the discovery grove members. They took us to the baggage claim and Shanyn couldn't find his luggage. It turned out that his luggage was right in front of him the whole time! After this we got a tour of the discovery grove facility. Jake prepared fantastic food for all of us. When we finished eating we learned our responsibilities for the week. We ended the evening with music led our leader, Ty.

-Kellen & Taisho

Senior Reflections - Tenors Ike Brehm

Tenors:
Carson- Carson’s favorite thing about the trip was definitely the acoustics he wishes that we had more places and churches like they have in Italy.

Franklin- Franklin really loved the art that was in all the museums he learned a lot about the history and the artists of Italy.

Clark- Clark really loved everything about Italy. He loved the museums he loved the cities, he just absolutely everything.

Ike- My favorite part was being together with everyone and the thing that made all the performances worth singing was being surrounded by the friends, and these aren’t just classmates they are people who you could talk to for hours. They are true friends.

Senior Reflections: Soprano Hanna Bleznak

3/6/15

If you asked the Sopranos to describe this trip in three words, they would sum it up to "eye opening", "inspiring", and slightly "insane".

Last night the chorus split up into our four sections; alto, tenor, bass, and soprano to discuss our overall experience from the past 7 days. A senior led each discussion, and with just 2 months left of our high school choral experiences, were able to reflect on the growth of this amazing ensemble. Eye opening is a phrase we have both heard and used countless times on this trip describing attractions such as the ruins of Pompeii, the architecture overflowing Rome,  and the religion and culture that encompasses the country.  Living in a city like Virginia Beach, we don't see a lot of history or architecture that hasn't been modernized. The Pompeii ruins have been maintained to remain in their best original condition in order to tell the story of life in Pompeii. In Rome, much of the city has been renovated, but renovated to resemble its original image. The art painted on the ceilings of the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Church tell the story of ancient Italy and Catholic beliefs of creation. This trip has brought me an overwhelming sense of peace by the religion this culture worships, even though it is so different from my own. Many times throughout this journey we have questioned the reasoning for things such as different languages, different religions, different food, (even different outlets and bathroom appliances).  And while we may not have the answers to all of those, we have learned to embrace these new experiences and remain open minded regarding these differences.

When we departed for Italy, my mind was set on fulfilling my childhood dream (based on the Lizzie McGuire Movie) of meeting a boy at the Trevi Fountain and becoming an Italian popstar. This was soon made more realistic to me when I lost my voice on the second day of the trip, and the Trevi Fountain was under construction. So since that was out of the question, it was time to set my sight on the true meaning of this trip, making music. While a small fraction of our time was actually spent singing, the appreciation we received from our audience members was by far the most meaningful part of this trip. The majority of our performances were spontaneous, and began with nearly no onlookers. But by the conclusion of each piece, we held the attention of those who heard us. This was such a great difference from our assembly performances as we could sense the passion those listening had for our sound. While they most likely did not understand the words we were saying, they responded to our tones, facial expressions, dynamics and overall emotions within each song. I believe our chorus benefitted greatest from witnessing the affect our music can have when we truly portray its purpose.

For seven days now we have spent nearly 20 hours a day together (23 teenagers won't sleep much at night). You can imagine it could be difficult to coexist when there is little time to ourselves (most of which is spent napping), and some disputes happen to arise. Between misplacing a passport, misplacing two kids (we found them), leaving a sleeping student on the bus (not our fault), and dealing with food allergies (and an unbelievable abundance of food), this journey has proved to be just a tad insane. And although my Lizzie McGuire dream may be lost, I feel comfortable returning to Virginia Beach knowing this ensemble has grown together over the past week, and will be even stronger because of this when we seniors depart in two months. Ciao :)

Papal Audience - Madison Levine

Madison Levine

3/4/15

This morning started off extremely early, but it was definitely worth it. At 5:30 the front desk gave us our wake up call and we had around 45 minutes before we had to be down in the lobby

and ready to go. We all boarded the bus with our boxed breakfast ready to go and headed to the Vatican for the second time this entire trip. At around 7 we got in line to enter the Vatican where Pope Francis would be entering around 2 or 3 hours later. Half an hour later, the guards opened the gates to the Vatican and we all ran as fast as we could to get seats because there were so many people. We actually got really good seats a few rows behind the first row, and we were very close to the Pope's chair. While waiting for the Papal audience to begin, we warmed up with a couple of songs and talked with each other. A few moments later, a man came out and announced all the Italian groups present, and then another came up announcing all the French groups present, and so on so forth. When they finally announced all the English-speaking groups present, we all got super excited. They finally announced the Cape Henry Collegiate Choir, and we began singing "Everytime I Feel the Spirit" instead of cheering like everyone else when their group was called. Then on the big screens around the area, a live video of Pope Francis and his cardinals saying prayers in Italian came on. Finally, the Pope came out in this fancy white car and the entire crowd started cheering. As the car he was in, drove around the area, his security guards would carry some of the babies and hand them to Pope Francis so he could kiss the baby's' heads. He even stopped to talk to an elderly women, and it was so sweet. When he sat down in his chair, he began speaking. However not everyone could speak the same language as him, so there were about 10 different translators that summarized what he said afterwards. At first I wasn't that excited to hear the same thing translated into so many different languages, but then I remembered that the Pope was literally so close to us and that this opportunity doesn't come around often. Also, being in the Vatican was amazing, because all the buildings are so intricate and jaw-dropping. It was also really cool being surrounded by so many cultures that all came together to see the Pope.
Currently, we're headed to Assisi. We stopped about 40 minutes into the trip for lunch, and now everyone is sleeping or talking with one another on the bus. I can't wait to see what the last few days have in store for us. If they're anything like the past few days, then I know they will be absolutely amazing.

Renaissance Rome #CHCItaly15

Anna Xystros

Later that day, we walked around Renaissance Rome. We visited the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Panthoen. Sadly, the Trevi fountain was under restoration, so we were not able to see it when it was actually running. Oh well, I guess that just means we have to come back. After our walking tour we checked in to our hotel, the Nova Domus. The hotel was very nice and had a long balcony that was connected to every room on that floor. The balcony was a great way for all of us to come together each day to talk and spend time with each other. For dinner, we walked down the street to a delicious pizza restaurant. It was quite strange to us because the streets of Rome were empty due to the fact that there was a major soccer match that night between Rome, ranked at 2nd in Italy and Juventus, the number one team in Italy. After dinner we returned to our hotel and went to bed and prepared for the next day.


3/3/15

Today was more relaxed. We started the day off with a tour of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was incredible; it was mind blowing how a building built in the year 80 AD, could be in such great condition and be so beautiful. It was the experience of a lifetime! Later in the day we toured the roman forum and the academia Santa Cecilia, an academy of music, which were very interesting. After we completed our tours we had leisure time to relax. While many students and chaperones took their first true Italian "siesta" or nap, nine students, myself included, and Mr Cunningham decided to go on a walk. We walked from the hotel around the Vatican and into St. Peter's square. We walked around a country, wow! On the way back we stopped for a quick snack and then returned to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We had a fantastic 5 course dinner at Alle due Fontanelle. When we returned to our hotel, we went straight to bed and braced ourselves for the dreaded 5:30 wake up call the next morning.



This trip has been an unforgettable opportunity. I can't wait for what the rest of the trip has in store for us. Ciao!

The Vatican, The Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica, Oh my!

By Hazel Tankard

On the dawn of March 2nd, we left our hotel in Sperlonga to head to the beautiful Vatican museum in Vatican City, located in Rome. Our tour guide shared several interesting facts with us. The Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo took him a total of nine years to complete, and in fact he never wanted to paint it anyway since he was a sculptor. Following the tour of the Sistine Chapel we went to Saint Peter's Basilica which is known to be the most holy Catholic Church in all the world. To us the experience was eye opening. The church also contains a door known as the holy door that is only opened every twenty-five years by the pope. In between that time, the door is plastered over so that it could not be opened even accidentally.

Reflections Alex Mancoll Italy

Alex Mancoll:

I'm very excited to be on this trip. I've always wanted to travel to Italy, and now I finally am getting the chance. Today is my 17th birthday, and I can't think of a better way to spend it. We are going to tour the Vatican museum today, and I am really excited.

Yesterday we went somewhere that I have wanted to go to since I learned about it in our sixth grade language roots class. I never dreamed that I would ever have the opportunity to do so, but yesterday we toured Pompeii. It was an amazing experience, and it was much nicer than I ever dreamed it would be. I was expecting just the remains of a few stones giving the general outline of buildings, but there was much more than that. There was full walls, and at times almost completely intact buildings. I could really picture what the city used to look like before it fell. There was even intact art on some of the walls. It was a beautiful place, and I am very grateful to have been given this experience.

Later that day we sang at a church in a city called Lenola. It was an amazing experience, and since the town was so small, they made us feel so special, as our appearance was a huge event for them. We then went to a very nice restaurant, where we ate a very nice meal, and sang songs for them. A group of Italians in the restaurant knew some of our songs, and they sang with us. It was an amazing experience. We met these people who can't understand our language, and we can't understand theirs. We then stood shoulder to shoulder, and just started to sing. Music was a unifying force, and it was so amazing to just spontaneously start singing, practically flawlessly, with a group of kind foreigners we had never met before. It was an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Lenola, Italy

On Sunday evening we visited the small village of Lenola. The chorus performed at a mass and later at dinner.

Drew Marscheider:
The city of Lenola was a small town crowded with the kind culture of the Italians. We were greeted at first by many stares, but as the night went on, we found that the Italians were very friendly people who seemed to have enjoyed our company. Last night we performed at the Saint Mary Major church in Lenola. We had the chance to experience Mass in the Italian language which was a very interesting experience. The church seemed to have treated us as we were the choir of their church.

We performed multiple songs that the Italians definitely appreciated. At the end of Mass we made our way up to the front of the church and sang countless songs which turned out very nice. Afterwards, we were greeted by the Mayor of Lenola who spoke to us in Italian saying "we enjoyed your company, we hope to see you again and that he would like to bring his choir to our school in the future." He then gave us a plaque with our picture for the church's appreciation. It read "Comune di Lenola al Coro Cape Henry Collegiate Upper School Chorus con stigma a gratitudine per la presenza."

Later that night we met many of the people we saw at the church, at a restaurant named "Ai Piozzi." As people started to arrive we performed even more songs. In some of the songs, the Italians sang with us making our chorus sound even stronger. All of the Lenola community made us feel welcome and a part of their community.

Pompeii CHC Italy

On Sunday morning, our group traveled further south to Pompeii. The students spent the morning touring the remains of a thriving trading city at the height of the Roman Empire.

Rachel Keenan:

The city of Pompeii was absolutely beautiful. We toured around and saw structures like houses, sanctuaries, and theaters that were incredibly preserved. The architecture and the roads were almost exactly how they were before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Even the stepping stones to cross the road were still in place. The structures were very large and intact and although archeologists have found the majority of the city, there is about a fifth of the city still waiting to be discovered.

We learned that Pompeii was a city that was once on the coast and held many sailors who built large homes to house a good amount of these sailors. We got to go into a home which belonged to a wealthy family, and the estate was huge. Even the bedrooms were two floors! Our tour guide told us that this was common in ancient cities because they were surrounded by walls and the only way to expand their cities was to build on top of the existing structures. We saw a sanctuary where the citizens of Pompeii would worship their emperor and make sacrifices during their ceremonies.
While in the theaters that held plays and musical performances, we even got to sing "All Ye Who Music" and "Earth Song" which others touring the ancient city also seemed to enjoy. Ever since I was about six years old I have wanted to visit the city of Pompeii and see this amazing city, and it was better than I ever imagined." 

Sperlonga, Italy

From a bus to Dulles, to the flight to Amsterdam, to the final flight to Rome Italy Nexus 2015 Participants were smoothly Transferred to Europe. As, with any trip, little dramas always occur along the way, the who is diverted for an extended search in the security line, to the always enjoyable, "Where's My Passport?", the group sailed through travel on day one without a hitch.

Upon arrival, the group went from Rome to Sperlonga, Italy about two hours south. We are staying at the Gannimede, a true four star hotel, with a very modern style in the former fishing village turned major summer tourist attraction.

Clark Berlin: Following check, we visited Emperor Tiberius' Villa and Grotto. We saw Roman sculptures depicting the great sea monster, Scylla, to scenes of the one eyed giant, Polyphemus, being blinded by the hero Ulysses, etc. All of These sculptures were originally situated inside the grotto Because That was where Tiberius His guests entertained. They were conversation pieces, like today's movies.

We Walked down to the archaeological site of Emperor Tiberius' Villa. The walls were crumbling but you could imagine what it could have Looked like Thousands of years in August Then we went into the grotto, Which is like a shallow cave. There were pools of That held water fish; Romans enjoyed fresh fish, so they created Specifically These pools to breed and hold fish. While inside, we sang "Total Praise" as a choir. The acoustics were beautiful.

I personally enjoyed being Involved in the demonstration of the Roman toilets. I volunteered to act as Emperor Tiberius for a demonstration. The tour guides Told us about how the Emperor wore a diaper. He wrapped me in a loincloth and tied it into a diaper!

Then, we went to Gaeta in Southern Italy. The town was very quaint and historically important in Italian history. We visited The Golden Chapel, Which in the past also served as a pharmacy, hospital, and orphanage. Many servants Had to abandon Their newly born children, Which was very common in Italy During medieval times. The Majority of the orphans were females, and they were well taken care of and raised with a good education. We went into the sanctuary, dedicated to Holy Mary. In this sanctuary, Pope Pius the IX had a vision of the Holy Mary's Immaculate conception, and this is why the Italians have celebrations on the 8th of December. This sanctuary Had large beautiful paintings of the New Testament stories circling the room, one of Which Was a rare depiction of the Holy Mary's birth. The ceiling Had designs painted with real gold and the royal blue That Represented the Mycean? Dynasty. "