Saturday, August 3, 2013 Departure!

Saturday, August 03, 2013

The BCS tour chorus sends out big “hellos” to parents and friends, balancing out some of the tears in saying goodbye for the next 18 days. A sea of bright yellow polo shirts made us easy to spot as we moved in waves through Logan airport, with TSA security folks wishing us well and random strangers stopping to ask where we were off to. “Argentina!” we would answer, sometimes in unison, just like one of our songs. We no more than settled ourselves into our flight out of Boston than we were landing, just minutes later it seemed, in New York City at sunset. Most of us didn’t waste time marveling at the crimson sunset, though, thrilled as we were to discover the pleasures of JFK’s International Terminal 8. Long electric walkways lined by a shopper’s dream lured us in to look at People magazine, ogle Swatches, and admire the clothing, accessories, and handbags designed for New York tourists. Why didn’t we decide to come to NYC instead of Buenas Aires, asked one wishful spender.

Boarding the plane to Buenas Aires changed all that. Suddenly the lyrical, buttery Spanish of Argentina embraced us, seducing us all into a hushed moment when we realized that here, seated all around us, are the heart and soul of Argentina. A few of us voice our concerns about turbulence and flying over water, which quickly turns the conversation among the rest back to the nine-hour ride. The plane is flying out along the East Coast, mostly over the Atlantic, before turning back inland towards Buenas Aires. Most of us, though, choose sleep over worry or movies and soon the cabin falls to a hush. BCS singers are asleep with still eight hours of flying time ahead. Dreams of the beautiful colonnades of the old city, tango dancing, and caramelized bananas are swirling in their heads!