Traveling with Teenage Boys

It's not the first time and I am sure it won't be the last, but traveling with students presents a special challenge. It's a challenge to get them to meet you at 3:30 am so you can make your early flight. It's a challenge to get them to remember that their passports need to be in their carry-on bags and not left in the seat pocket of the plane you just exited. It's a challenge to get them to stop asking you ridiculous questions. It's a challenge to convince them to sleep on the late night return flight. It's a challenge to get them to walk from one place to the next without complaints. And it's a challenge not to adore them all by the end of the trip!

What's this all about, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago I traveled with my boys volleyball team from Ankara to London to participate in a volleyball tournament. It was the first tournament for this team and they ranged in age from 14 to 17. They were nervous and a little scared to be in a big gym with some very established teams, but they sucked it up, went in there and did their best. We didn't win a lot of games but we pushed some of the best teams to perform better and we made a lot of friends along the way. And, they stole my heart. Everyone of those boys did me proud with their play and their teamwork and with the way that they found love for a sport that many started to play just to travel to the tournament.

Here are some pics of our trip and my boys:

Playing their new "brothers" at the German School of London.

Getting ready to let the world know that we are BLIS! A timeout...

Warming up for a game.