August 31-September 6

Viva Mexico!!!! I am in Leon, Mexico right now and I am LOVING every minute! You know I wish I was Mexican . We had such a looooong travel day on August 31 getting here: 3 hour bus from Lake Havasu to Phoenix, 4 hour wait at airport, 1 hour to Hermosillo, Mexico, 1 hour layover to go through customs, 3 hours to Mexico City, 7 hour bus ride overnight to Leon. We arrived in Leon at 6 AM and slept on the floor in a big auditorium until 9:30. I have no idea how much sleep I got collectively but man was that crazy. Only in Up With People.
We had a great welcoming at the local college, with dancers, mariachis, paparazzi and everything. That night we got picked up by our host families. My roommate here is Nilo from Sweden, who was the advance team intern. That means she came here 2 weeks earlier than the cast to help the PR team set up the city. So, it was nice that she could show me around and everything. My host family was so wonderful and I felt so comfortable here. I stayed with Martha, Arturo, and their daughter Almendra. Almendra is 17 and is so fun! She wants to be in Up With People so bad next year. I hope she does. It has been so awesome practicing Spanish here. Although my grammar is terrible, I love being able to somewhat communicate and understand the language. Some people, like Almendra, speak English, but I tell them to speak in Spanish so I can practice.
The first full day we had here we took a bus tour of Leon. It is beautiful here, and it is very similar to Oaxaca. There is a wonderful zocalo in the center of town, pretty churches, and nice parks. I feel like it is a lot bigger though. The fun part of the tour was that there were people taking pictures everywhere we went. We have been in the newspapers almost every day! It’s so crazy! In Mexico, we are known as Viva La Gente instead of Up With People, and the Mexicans loooove Viva La Gente. 
We had rehearsals the next day, but Thursday was SUCH a great day for me. For CI, I got to participate with Doctor Laugh, a volunteer group that goes around to hospitals and makes patients smile and laugh. Only a small group of us got to go, so I was SO glad I signed up right away. We were given funny lab coats, hats, and red noses, and went to a pediatric hospital for a few hours. Wow…its hard to express how amazing that experience was. First of all to just observe how a hospital works in a different country, but to hear the stories of these children and to make them smile was soo impacting. Most of the patients were there due to cancer. We went from room to room, making jokes, blowing bubbles, and giving the kids stuffed animals. I was really touched and started crying when the mom of an 8 year old boy was crying and telling me how she was hoping to get the US for better treatment for her son. I wanted to tell them to come with me and I would find them care in the US so bad. When I said bye to the little boy, he was resting and would not open my eyes, but he grabbed on tightly to my hand and would not let me go. I lost it. I also met a 12 year old boy with burns all over the right side of his body. He had gasoline poured on him and was set on fire by an older boy. I’m sorry to report all these awful things, but I just want to try to express what I experienced. These are the lyrics to our closing song: “wherever you may live, whoever you might be, what’s happening to you, is happening to me. How can I turn away, pretend that I don’t see, what’s happening to you, is happening to me.” Those lyrics are speaking so clearly to me. This is why I love Up With People so much. All I want to do is help! I talked with that boy and his mom for a little bit, and I hope in some way we brightened his day.
Anyway, Friday was a full day of rehearsal, and so was Saturday. We had an amazing venue, called Foro del Lago. The stage was in a park, literally in the middle of a lake. It was so cool! So because we had to rehearse outside on the stage, it was very exhausting! Lots of sunburns. But, our show on Saturday night was awesome!! Mexicans crowds have to be the best in the world. We added a Mexican Medley part to the show, and it seemed like everyone loved it. It includes several popular new and old Mexican songs. We also have an alumni, Jessica Rojas who is a phenomenal singer, travelling with us for the Mexican tour. She is blind, and has to have the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. I almost started crying on stage during one of her songs it was so beautiful. And like I said, Mexican audiences are so awesome! They are so loud, and want lots of pictures and autographs. Yes, autographs. It’s so weird to think that someone would want our autograph or our picture.
Our last day here we had free, and our host family and some other families got together for a fiesta. Lots of food, music, a pool, and great weather! Oh, and tequila of course. I tried nopales for the first time, which is pretty much a prickly pear cactus that they grill and put lime on. It feels really slimy in your mouth, but I thought they were pretty tasty. The night ended with lots of dancing. I learned all the different kinds of Mexican dance (can’t remember all the names though). Mexicans know how to party, and I just love it. I’ve had such a great time here in Leon! Tomorrow we leave for Quereterro! Viva la Gente!