Much delayed Interlochen Report Pt. 1

Hi Readers,

Here it is, sorry it was late. November will be update month for me. This is still a rough draft, but we don't want to keep you waiting any longer.

Piano Girl

In this report I will tell how I went to Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. First I recorded some of my pieces and sent them in as my audition tape. I registered online and chose my classes. After a few months I got a letter saying that I had been accepted to Interlochen and had qualified for financial help. Reading this I wondered how I would get the rest of the money to pay tuition. Mom said we could sell eggs and I said I would teach piano. One time we were at the church and the wonderful coordinator suggested that we hold some kind of fundraiser and we asked her if we could use the church for a benefit recital. She said yes and we held the recital in the sanctuary. I played some pieces and the people came and most donated. Luckily I raised enough money to go to Interlochen. I started to pack and shop ASAP and found out even more why I didn’t like the mall. The cool thing that happened was that Dad said that he was going to just go and do some grocery shopping at Fred Meyers, going home and picking us up when he was done. Instead about half way through shopping at JC Penney (you wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find 2 modest swimsuits there!), he called us and asked us where we were. We told him and he said he would meet us there. He carried all of our bags and then when we were done, he drove us home. After a few days Mom helped me pack and wash all things that were going with me. It took us about three days to finish! Once we were ready, I got a haircut and was ready to go!

On June 23^rd I woke up at 6:00 am and got dressed. Then mom helped me get ready to go. When I was ready to go I went in to Boy’s room and said goodbye. Dad started up the car and helped me get my stuff in. We rode to SeaTac and went to the ticket booth to check my baggage and get my boarding pass. Once we had done that we went to the gate and said goodbye to each other. Soon after that I got on the plane and got in my seat. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, Mom and Dad stayed until my plane took off. During take off, we saw Mount Rainier on a cloudbank. Awhile after that I looked down and saw how flat the land was. It looked like a quilt. After about 4 more hours, we landed in O’Hare. When everyone else was off, a flight attendant took all the unattended minors to a room in the airport.

The room had a desk where you check in; to the left of the door that you come in through there was a bathroom. Past the bathroom there was a room that I think was a rest room for the little kids who were tired. After that there was a place with vending machines, and there was a small office tucked away next to the desk. The main room was filled with chairs occupied by kids. There was also a TV and some blocks for the little kids. After an hour and a half, we all went to the food court and got lunch (or in my case, brunch). The cheapest food was a Mc Donald’s. Yuk. I just got a chicken fingers and fries. The healthiest choice, I thought. Wrong! I had a stomach ache for the next half hour from it! Then we went back to the UM room. In a half hour we went to the next flight.

This flight was very short: 45 minutes! When we landed, an Interlochen staff member met us at the jet bridge and escorted us to the baggage claim to pick up our bags to find that my duffel bag was missing. There was a table where all of the staff people were so I let know what it looked like. There was a truck outside for baggage and a bus for the kids so put my suit case on the truck and got on the bus. After waiting for 45 minutes for everyone to get on that we could fit, we left for the ten minute drive it took to get to Interlochen. When we did, all the Intermediate and Junior girls got off and went to their divisions’ headquarters to sign in. I waited in line to get the sign in sheet, and when it was my turn to get my name tag, they said it wasn’t printed out yet. Then I went to the infirmary to get signed in there. When I was done at the infirmary I went back to HQ and finished by finding out which cabin I was in. I went to go find my cabin and when I did, the counselors in charge of the cabin met me at the door. I will just put first initials for anonymity. They were E and A. When I found out that my luggage wasn’t there, I started to panic. All that I had was the church dress that I was wearing, and the stuff that I had in my backpack. When my cabin mates got back from the campus tour, they loaned me some things so I could make my bed and have pajamas to sleep in.