1) Luggage Tags: Please be sure to fill out all the info and put the Kingsway luggage tags on your checked piece of luggage and your carry on.
2) ID Necklace: Please keep this somewhere where you can access it easily when asked to. Sometimes when we are being served in a restaurant, or being admitted to a particular sightseeing place, that ID necklace will be your ID that gets you in. Please don’t lose it, or wear it in some way other than hanging around your neck.
3) Please keep the tour booklet with you at all times. This will be invaluable should you get separated from the group.
4) Passport copies: Please be sure to have a copy of your passport tucked away somewhere in your luggage. If you lose your passport, it is very helpful in securing a temporary passport if you have a copy of the original.
5) Attire: There are only 3 things you cannot do without on this tour: your passport, your folder of music and your attire. Please check and double check that every bit of it is in your suitcase. Please be sure to pack a lightweight suitbag labeled with your name on it, for keeping your attire in on the way to concerts etc.
6) Your music: Do not leave rehearsal today unless you have every bit of the repertoire in your folder. I recommend at least 2 or 3 pencils in there too.
7) Airport: Please arrive at SFO 3 hours before your departure. You need to check in with me, not your chaperone, and get in line to check your luggage. You will need your passport to check in. The tickets are electronic, not paper tickets. You will then be given a boarding pass. DO NOT LOSE THAT! You can then head on through security and meet your chaperone at the gate, one hour before departure. At that time you will check in with your Air Chaperone. These are different than the land chaperones, since some adults are land only participants and have made their own air plans. It is extremely important when you land at Heathrow that you stick with your chaperone. It is a little complicated making the connecting flight to Prague, and your chaperone has detailed instructions on how to do this. Stay with them!
8) Passport/Money Safety: Please discuss with your parents the plan for keeping your passport and money safe. There are pouches you can buy that hang around your neck under your shirt, or money belts your can wear under your clothes, or fanny packs are not bad either since they are right in front of you at all times.
9) Make sure you have talked with your bank about your debit card working, and your cell phone carrier about functionality and rates while you are there. It can get really expensive if people start using their phones and texting etc while there. Really expensive!
10) Behavior: Please be aware of where you are at all times, and what behavior is or might not be appropriate. When you are on a plane, in a restaurant, at rehearsals, etc. please be aware that there are paying customers all around you, and you need to be aware of the volume levels of conversations, and overall appropriateness of behavior. Especially in the combined rehearsals with our guest conductors, I expect nothing but 100% of your attention on the rehearsal at all times. You should never rehearse without a pencil, and you should be marking scores every time they stop to correct you. Stopping the music is never an invitation for you to talk!
11) Check the packing list, as well as the blog entries and the Tour section on our website before you pack. There is a lot of good info there on size and weight of luggage etc.
12) Bookmarks for parents: In addition to my blog, http://GunnChoirTour.blogspot.com, there are two important sites to bookmark. Glen Rosendale does a great job of blogging during our trips. His blog is http://gunn-tour.blogspot.com and it is linked to the GunnChoir website under Choir Gallery. Don Anderson will be posting photos at http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/1C7a6tBl/5425871/3924461 which is linked to the blogs and our website as well.
13) There is a new Chaperone/Bus list. This is still subject to change. Bus 1 has become very full, and I may decide to move one group from Bus 1 over to Bus 3 just so everyone can breath a little. For now, stick with the bus assignments as they are on the paper. Please double check the difference between your Air Chaperone and your Land Chaperone too so there is no confusion.
14) I made you a little card with chaperone cell numbers, please keep that on you at all times too.
15) Please be aware that when you are out to lunch in your chaperone groups, that tips and taxes add a lot to the amount you saw on the menu. There are always people who try to just pay the amount they saw on the menu, and then others get stuck putting in way more than they should. You should always count on it being about 20% more than the amount you saw when you sit down at a table with more than a few people.
I think that’s enough for now.
See you tomorrow for the start of a fabulous adventure!
Best,
Bill Liberatore
P.S. I am linking the new Bus/Chap List here, check it out, and I am posting the Air Chaperone Assignments as well. I will have hard copies of all of this at rehearsal on Friday.
