The West Coast Adventure

I went to the West Coast for the first and only (at least for now) time in the summer of 2012. I woke up at around 4 a.m. with my sister and parents and we drove to the Connecticut Bradley International Airport. That day was the first time I would fly without adult supervision. It would just be my sister and I. I was in charge of getting her and myself all the way to San Francisco, California. I went thinking that an adult would assist us along the way, but because I was 15, I was too old to attain assistance even if my sister was only 13. So we set off for the beginning of an adventure. We flew to the Chicago airport where we changed planes to arrive in the San Francisco airport where we would be picked up by strangers who were our host family for our week in California.

The whole reason we were flying to California was for an international choir competition called the Golden Gate International Children’s Choral Festival. We were the first Latin American country asked to this competition, the first time a Honduran choir was asked to an international competition, and the first time our Discovery Choir was asked to something this big. It was a huge deal for us as a choir; it was also an amazing opportunity. It would be a week-long competition where our choir would compete against several other countries’ choirs and where our soloists would also compete against other countries’ soloists. After the competitions, all the choirs would sing a couple songs as one whole choir, all 300 kids or so, at the Zellerbach Hall. The three best choirs would then perform that night along with the three best soloists. It was an extraordinary experience.

My sister and I arrive in San Francisco and are picked up by a couple who will be our host family. They were really nice; they took us on a little tour of San Francisco, showing us several amazing spots in the city, we then went to Berkeley where the competition would actually be taking place and where the couple lived. In Berkeley, they also gave a mini tour of the town; it was a nice entry into California. We spent the night there and the next day we went to meet the rest of our choir (since they flew directly from Honduras) and then went to the buildings where we would spend most of time preparing and competing. That night we had one of our choir members join us at our host house, he stayed for the night and then went to stay with his mom. That day we asked if we could also leave because we felt uncomfortable at out host’s house, they were really nice it was just odd. We were then moved to be with one of my closest friends and her mom and sisters. We remained with them for the rest of the time we spent in San Francisco. My sister and I had a blast with them, we went shopping in San Francisco, we stayed up until 10 spitting milk and getting ice cream wasted, laughing until our sides hurt, we drove packed into a small car to and from the place we stayed to the buildings where we competed. I had a blast that week!

Our choir sang and competed using typical Honduran songs, dresses, and even a dance. It was a lot of fun. We ended up with a bronze placing in two categories at the festival. For our first international competition it was an amazing accomplishment. I happened to represent Discovery as a soloist along with two other close friends. I sang Ave Maria by Franz Schubert in Latin and Luna Llena by Guillermo Anderson in Spanish and bit in Garifuna. I won a bronze placing which was absolutely incredible; one of the judges came to me afterwards telling me how much she liked Luna Llena, which happened to be my favorite song to sing. I was very happy and proud. I was the only one from Discovery to place in the soloists. I was shocked since I thought my friends were really good and even better than I was. They did great and I’m proud of them, they didn't have to place to prove how well they sang. The ending concert was amazing, we sang 4 or 5 songs with all of the choirs together and it was so much fun.

Besides singing we also went on a cruise in the San Francisco Bay with all the choirs, we got to meet a lot of people from around the world, which was so cool. It was freezing on that boat! I was with my friends on the deck where the cold wind was blowing hard on us. We went around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a really cool experience. We also were able to bond closer together as a choir and I was able to get closer to my close friend who we were staying with. We were able to talk with the other choirs on breaks and were able to meet some pretty amazing musicians. After the final concert, there was a dance, where we spent a fair amount of time dancing all together and talking and just having a great time. That night though, my friend was flying out to Los Angeles and so my sister and I stayed with another choir family until the next day where we flew back to Connecticut, the same way we came, stopping in Chicago. I was happy to be somewhat home with the rest of my family. We finished the rest of our vacation in the USA and then flew back to Honduras, this time all together.

I will never forget San Francisco, it was an amazing trip. I liked experiencing how it was to fly alone and to be so far from family, maybe it will help when I go off to college. I liked spending a week in California without my parents but I was relieved when I was safe under my parents’ wings. I had an amazing

experience, which I've probably said a thousand times, but it’s true, I truly did have an awesome experience and I’ll never forget it. I’m proud of myself and my friends. I’m proud of the choir and my school. I’m proud of Honduras and who we represented. I am very lucky to have had this opportunity. I thank God for allowing little me to place among 100 other contestants, and for allowing me to even fly to San Francisco in the first place. I thank God for keeping my sister and me safe along with the rest of our choir. I thank God for such a wonderful competition that he allowed us to participate in. It was awesome!

Goodbye, until next time!