junior program summer site : conversations : second session



	Reilly from Massachusetts (7/28) Though she's never tried it before, Reilly has started learning hip-hop dance in her class "Bend, Flex, Move, Dance" and has taken a quick liking to it! To Reilly, Explo means fun -- everything from her classes to the trips. What does your average day look like? First I go to activities, and I usually pick something that lots of people like to do. We usually go swimming or we do something that sounds weird -- like something you could only do at Explo. Like on Harry Potter theme day, we were mixing drinks in an activity called “Potions.” Everyone mixed all these crazy drinks to see who could come up with the nastiest one. Fun stuff like that. Then in the afternoon we have classes. What classes are you taking? I'm taking “Which Way to Broadway?” and “Bend, Flex, Move, Dance,” which is a hip-hop dancing class. They're both really fun. I'm into acting a lot, and I tried hip-hop because it was something new. In hip-hop, we have this great song that no one's ever really heard of before, but we all like it. The dance moves are fun. They're a little hard, but then you get them after a little while. And what about the acting class? In “Which Way to Broadway,” we're working on forming characters. We're doing a skit that's like one they did last session, but we're trying to mix it up a little bit and maybe changing the characters or the music. What's the skit about? It's called “Celebricide.” It's kind of a spoof of all of the Disney characters. So there's a murder -- the Jonas Brothers are murdered -- and they're all trying to figure out who did it. Very cool. So you had never tried hip-hop dance before this class? No. It's a little bit hard. But it's been a really fun experience, and I might consider doing classes once I get back home for the year. That's great! What are the Explo teachers like? The teachers are absolutely awesome. I think it's actually a qualification that you have to be one of the nicest people on earth to work here. Like, everybody here is so nice. On the first day here, I wasn't feeling well and my DA went all the way to my hip-hop class to bring me my things. Sharada and Alyssa [the instructors for "Which Way to Broadway?"] are both really good actresses. They really know what they're talking about. They're also just really enthusiastic and they make every class fun. And then Jenna [the instructor for hip-hop dance] is just really good at explaining the dances, so that it makes everything so much easier to understand, even if you haven't done it before. What does the word “Explo” mean to you? A lot of things. First of all, it means fun. Every year I count down the days, starting with the first day that Explo is over. During the year, I look at the website almost every week and pick out all my classes. And then change my mind 20 times. . . I tell all of my friends that they should come here. It's just really fun. Then also, it's like school, but better, for a couple of reasons. First of all, the classes are things that you really want to do. Instead of math, you can take dancing or acting. And second of all, the people are just nicer. There's no “cool” or “uncool” at Explo. Everyone is just friends. So I take it you think it's been easy to make friends here? Yeah, it's really easy to make friends here. Like, I have one friend that I've known all three years that I've been here and we've always gone the same sessions and taken the same classes. She brought two friends from her school this year, and I clicked with both of them immediately. We have classes together and they're really nice. What's your day group like? My day group is awesome. We have lots of day group pride. Any time one of our DA's -- Maggie or Kielynne -- go up on the stage, we always cheer “Yeah, Group R!” We all like each other a lot. If you had a friend who was thinking about coming to Explo, what would you tell them? I would tell them that it's the best place ever. I actually do have a friend who's thinking about going next year to the Intermediate Program with me, and I just tell her that it's so much fun and that it makes your summer. You're about halfway through with this session. Is there anything you're really looking forward to the rest of the way? I'm really looking forward to going to the Blue Man Group, because I've been looking forward to that for three years and I always used to get so jealous when the seventh graders would go. I'm also looking forward to seventh grade graduation, because it's my last year here, and I think it'll be a lot of fun to remember things and hang out with friends. If Explo were a type of dessert, what would it be and why? It would probably be a bag of M&M's, because everyone is different but they all get along well. Like, everyone here is a different personality, and that might make you think that people wouldn't get along and it would be chaos, but everyone gets along so well, because it doesn't matter if someone goes to a different school or lives super far away, or is tall or short or whatever. Everyone is just your friend. more conversations > first session \| second session