August 20-29

So, we just had our LAST show in the US! I am currently in Lake Havasu, Arizona. And we leave for Mexico tomorrow!! I’ll back up though…
We had 2 great shows in Durango! We were at a fantastic auditorium at the local college and had a pretty decent turn out. During rehearsals, we sometimes have prospective students come watch and get a backstage tour. As part of my dance internship, I got to teach them a little part of one of our dances, so that was fun! On Friday after the show, a girl hit her head pretty bad by one of the big metal lighting towers. I was in a meeting and everyone came in screaming my name for me to come. Tim, a guy who is in medical school, was already at the scene, and I jumped in with him. It was a pretty bloody and scary situation, but the girl ended up being ok. We took care of her until the paramedics came, and she went to the ER for the night. I’m so glad she is ok, and Tim and I were glad we could be helpful! I told one of the cast directors that they need to hire on a nurse like they used to (hint hint, wink, wink).
The next day we left for Chino Valley, and we got to stop at THE GRAND CANYON!! I have never been there before, so it was AMAZING! Surprisingly, it was a rainy day, and there was some cloud coverage which blocked the view a little bit. But we still had so much fun! We just walked around for a few hours, took lots of pics, and made a scene with the 80 of us. I can’t wait to go back and hike it!
Chino Valley! Wheeeereee are we?! Haha. Chino Valley is so small, but so cute and southwestern. I stayed with a very nice host family Saturday night, Wendy and Mike. We had a nice dinner and played Balderdash. My roommates were Jimena (Mexico), Laura Lynn (Nebraska), Neils (the Netherlands), and Tim (Michigan). The three of us girls slept outside that night in their tent trailer. It was almost identical to the one we had when I was growing up. It was fun to feel like we were camping!
The next day my mom and dad, and Meagan came!! I couldn’t have been happier! We got some lunch at a pub (with a big pint of beer ), and hung out in Prescott for the afternoon. It was so great! Then Karen, Kathleen, and Amanda came!! I guess I could have been happier . We all were staying at the cutest little bed and breakfast called the Teapot Inn. We went out for an awesome dinner, walked around a haunted hotel, and just had a relaxing night. I love you all!! I got the next morning off, so we had a wonderful breakfast at the B&B, then went to the mall to find me a jacket for Europe. Meagan, Amanda and I also got our nails done. Amazing to be with all the ones I love .
The show that night was in a high school gym, so it wasn’t the best of settings, but I hope everyone still enjoyed it! Sarah, Allie, and Leslie from Shlomos drove up from Tucson, and Amy and Nicole (my old roommates) came too! It was SO fun to perform in front of my friends and family! (Thanks guys for sitting right in the front row, you made me so nervous!). It was a blast. Thank you all for coming; it meant the world to me!
Had to say goodbye the next morning . I miss you so much already, Mom and Dad! We drove that morning to Lake Havasu City. SO HOT! We have a song in our show called “Keep the Beat”, so the theme for our stay was “keep the beat, let’s beat the heat!”. Hehe. Anyway, we had a fun presentation about Mexico when we got there, then one on leadership. Then we met our host families! My host parents are Pat and Rich, and they are SO WONDERFUL! We went to a really nice seafood restaurant for dinner. Mmmm shrimp. I was in dance workshops the next 2 days. We had a lot of work to do to get ready for the Mexican part in our show. Other people did CI at the Food Bank, The Humane Society, and a few other organizations around town. Throughout our tour, we will have presentations about different global issues that we can volunteer to put together and present for our cast. I had wanted so bad to get over my fear of public speaking, so I signed up. I was in a group with 4 others, and we have been preparing for a few weeks for a 2 hour presentation on human rights. So, on Wednesday we presented. And if I do say so myself, we did awesome. I did a little part about human trafficking, and we also covered the caste system in India, and child labor. It was very informational, and we also tried to make it as interactive. I was proud of myself for pushing myself and overcoming my fear.
We had 2 performances in Lake Havasu and they went really well!! They were both at a local high school, so we had pretty good crowds! I even signed some autographs haha. We have a loooong travel day tomorrow, so I hope all goes well! Hope all is well with you and write comments!!! Peace and love!!! 