1. Who? 37 girls, 33 boys, 3 adult males, and 4 adult females from the concert band and school choir St. Peter’s (Anglican) School in Wolverhampton, England. These teenagers are high school age.
2. What? A weeklong opportunity for THEM to come to the US, most for the first time. They will spend several days in NYC before coming here, and will be playing/singing both in NYC and here.
3. Why? For US to open our hearts and homes, and experience a different culture without having to travel!
4. When? February 12, 2016 early evening until the morning of February 18. This coincides with our February school vacation.
5. Where? In our homes and in and around the Chelmsford area.
6. What is a host’s responsibility? Sleeping them, feeding them, schlepping them, enjoying them. Most British homes are considerably smaller than ours, so we don’t have to worry about providing spacious accommodations. Anything from a bed to an air mattress is fine. Teenage girls are fine about sharing a bed. Teenage boys, not so much. We will have a list of suggested friend pairings, and those with food or pet allergies.
7. What does the schedule look like? They will be giving a concert at All Saints’ on their first full day here, Saturday eve 2/13. They will most likely need to be brought to church sometime in the afternoon for rehearsal, and then there will be a potluck dinner for host families and kids that will precede this evening concert. Sunday morning, 2/14, many of them will be playing/singing in church, so the hope is that all will attend church that morning. The rest of the day is not yet structured. Monday – Wednesday are still being fleshed out, but one will be a full day in Boston for them. The “big yellow school bus,” featured in so many American films and TV shows, carries such mystique for them until they actually ride it. The hope is that they will be playing one day at the Chelmsford Senior Center, immediately after lunch, and the other day, at the Chelmsford Center for the Arts, in a child-friendly concert. As the schedule becomes more concrete, we will refine this schedule. If there were a day that you had other commitments, you could arrange with another host family to drop your kid(s) off and let them do the drop off. There will probably be a group snow tubing event, and you and/or your other family members would be welcome to join that. Wednesday eve, 2/17, there will be a farewell potluck at church and possibly a talent show.
8. What if I don’t have my own high school aged youth? We have had host families with younger children, empty nesters, retirees. Anyone can host. These visitors will fit right into your home life.