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!!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
August 17-19
Durango!! So, I’ve concluded everywhere in Colorado is just gorgeous! We arrived in Durango on Monday. I woke up pretty sick, so it was nice not to have to do anything on the bus ride there. We got picked up by our host families that evening. My roommates are Laura Lynn (the music coordinator), and Berit from Germany. My host parents here are Jessie and Tom, and they have an adorable daughter, Grace. We stopped for yummy tamales for dinner (of course not as yummy as Larua’s), then arrived at our new home. Us three get the whole basement to ourselves! It’s so nice, and they are a very giving family.
Tuesday was a full cast community impact day. We worked with a non-profit called Trails 2000 to rebuild a trail in a nearby mountain. The hike up was supposed to be about 45 minutes (and pretty steep may I add), but it took me a little longer to get to the top. We were almost to the top when some girls weren’t feeling that well. One in particular had asthma and was feeling faint. So nurse Leslie wanted to make sure they were ok so I walked them back down. On the way back up, 2 others were starting on their way up with a jug of Gatorade for the group, so I went with them. And by jug I mean those huge ones players pour on the coach after a football game. Needless to say, it was SO HARD! It took us about the whole day to get to the top, just in time to take a picture and hike back down. So maybe I wasn’t that productive of a trail builder, but I got a nice hike in!
Today we had a lot of different things going on. Some people went to a soup kitchen, some worked with the Boys and Girls Club, and some got to build wolf cages at a shelter. I was in dance workshops all day, as we have to learn new pieces for the shows in Mexico. I was sad to miss all those cool community service opportunities, but I will have lots more. In the afternoon, Paul (the dance captain) and I put on a workshop about staying healthy on the road. I’m such a nerd and taught everyone the “wash your hands” song that is more suitable for preschoolers. Hey, it works!
Tuesday was a full cast community impact day. We worked with a non-profit called Trails 2000 to rebuild a trail in a nearby mountain. The hike up was supposed to be about 45 minutes (and pretty steep may I add), but it took me a little longer to get to the top. We were almost to the top when some girls weren’t feeling that well. One in particular had asthma and was feeling faint. So nurse Leslie wanted to make sure they were ok so I walked them back down. On the way back up, 2 others were starting on their way up with a jug of Gatorade for the group, so I went with them. And by jug I mean those huge ones players pour on the coach after a football game. Needless to say, it was SO HARD! It took us about the whole day to get to the top, just in time to take a picture and hike back down. So maybe I wasn’t that productive of a trail builder, but I got a nice hike in!
Today we had a lot of different things going on. Some people went to a soup kitchen, some worked with the Boys and Girls Club, and some got to build wolf cages at a shelter. I was in dance workshops all day, as we have to learn new pieces for the shows in Mexico. I was sad to miss all those cool community service opportunities, but I will have lots more. In the afternoon, Paul (the dance captain) and I put on a workshop about staying healthy on the road. I’m such a nerd and taught everyone the “wash your hands” song that is more suitable for preschoolers. Hey, it works!
July 29-August 16
Wow, I’m sucking really bad at blogging already! That’s not good! It is so hard to find time to write all that I want to write! So, I’ll wrap up the past few weeks…
Done with staging! We finally learned all the choreography and songs, put on the costumes, learned where to go on stage, and put it all together! I think it’s a really fun show. The last 2 weeks of staging consisted mostly of run throughs of the show. Very exhausting but necessary. We had a dress rehearsal which our host families were invited to on August 11, then our first REAL show for the public On the 12th. It was SOOOO awesome to be on stage and perform my heart out. I LOVE it! My host family came, including Lilian, and their friend Arnie. Jan, my mom’s best friend from college also came, which was SO sweet!
I got to see Jenny Katzenberg one weekend. We had a very nice dinner with some much needed wine and catching up; too bad we have a curfew and I had to be home at midnight :). Coincidentally, my cousin Rachel Wool works literally 2 blocks from where I was staying so I got to say hi to her too!. So good to see her! A group of us from UWP went to 6 flags one Sunday which was a BLAST! One of the best days so far for sure. And I got to spend an afternoon and night with Debbie my old babysitter and her kids. We saw an IMAX movie, went to dinner, and played in the park. Love you Debbie!
We had our first community impact day on August 8th. They call the community service we do “community impact” or “CI”. We went to a women’s shelter and fixed it up. We painted inside and out, totally cleaned and rearranged the play room, cleaned windows, floors, and bathrooms, etc. It was GREAT! The CI days are so fun because we not only get to help out, but we get to know the community and get to know eachother while we are working. I had a little buddy, Tay Tay, a 7 year old who helped me out the entire day cleaning windows. She was sooo cute! It was a wonderful experience, and the women really seemed to appreciate our help. Now the kids actually have a playroom.
Haruna and I got through Episodes 5, 6, 1 and 2 of Star Wars throughout our stay with the Powells. So classic. We had a lot of fun with them and they gave us so many firsts! We went to a barn dance, haruna had her first roasted marshmallows in their fireplace, and Fred has cooked everything from Gumbo to German dishes I can’t even spell. They are very very sweet people and I will miss them, and Lilian too of course.
Oh good news! I am the new dance intern for the next 6 weeks. They pick several interns every 6 weeks for different positions like dance, vocals, PR, lighting, manager, etc. So I will get to lead warm ups, critique rehearsals, and maybe even teach a class. I’m very excited about it! I hope it will be a good learning experience.
On August 13th we left on 2 buses for Aspen! It was a sad goodbye and Fred was balling as we left. Aspen is GORGEOUS! We had a meeting when we got there, then were picked up by our host families. My roommate is Nao from Japan and she is the cutest thing ever!!! My host mom is Tracey, my host dad is Lee, and I have two host brothers Kidd Duhe (14) and Taggart (12). They are a wonderful family and so sweet. Kidd Duhe is definitely a future Uppie! Unique names I know. They live in the cutest neighborhood in an adorable cabin like house. Nao and I had the whole basement to ourselves. We felt like we were in a hotel! Lee is a former chef so needless to say we had great food! On Friday, a group of us were assigned to clean up a trail in Aspen. It was a really fun day even though it was raining and we were just clipping bushes for 5 hours. Beautiful view. Later that day we did a public speaking workshop. We had dinner at home then went to the neighbors for smores in their fire! Mmmm! Saturday was show day! We are starting to learn new numbers for what we are adding for the Mexico tour. It’s called the Mexican Medley. So we danced in the morning, then did a rehearsal in the afternoon. The show went really well at night, considering we were worried all day it was going to rain, and because it dropped to about 40 degrees by intermission (it was an outdoor stage). Eek! Good second show though! Sunday was a free day so we slept in a little bit then went into Aspen. I guess I forgot to mention that I ‘m actually staying in a little town outside of Aspen called Basalt. Anyway, Tracey my host mom works at a ski club at the top of the mountain so we went up there and had a great lunch listening to bluegrass music. Then we walked around downtown Aspen for the afternoon. Didn’t buy anything of course ($$$!). Later we went to the Glennwood hotsprings! Sooooo nice and relaxing! It was perfect because I wasn’t feeling that well. When we got home, Nao broke out here calligraphy brushes and wrote all our names in Japanese for us. I had a great time in Aspen!! Although it’s probably the most pampered we will be in the next 5 months, I’m excited for what’s to come!
Done with staging! We finally learned all the choreography and songs, put on the costumes, learned where to go on stage, and put it all together! I think it’s a really fun show. The last 2 weeks of staging consisted mostly of run throughs of the show. Very exhausting but necessary. We had a dress rehearsal which our host families were invited to on August 11, then our first REAL show for the public On the 12th. It was SOOOO awesome to be on stage and perform my heart out. I LOVE it! My host family came, including Lilian, and their friend Arnie. Jan, my mom’s best friend from college also came, which was SO sweet!
I got to see Jenny Katzenberg one weekend. We had a very nice dinner with some much needed wine and catching up; too bad we have a curfew and I had to be home at midnight :). Coincidentally, my cousin Rachel Wool works literally 2 blocks from where I was staying so I got to say hi to her too!. So good to see her! A group of us from UWP went to 6 flags one Sunday which was a BLAST! One of the best days so far for sure. And I got to spend an afternoon and night with Debbie my old babysitter and her kids. We saw an IMAX movie, went to dinner, and played in the park. Love you Debbie!
We had our first community impact day on August 8th. They call the community service we do “community impact” or “CI”. We went to a women’s shelter and fixed it up. We painted inside and out, totally cleaned and rearranged the play room, cleaned windows, floors, and bathrooms, etc. It was GREAT! The CI days are so fun because we not only get to help out, but we get to know the community and get to know eachother while we are working. I had a little buddy, Tay Tay, a 7 year old who helped me out the entire day cleaning windows. She was sooo cute! It was a wonderful experience, and the women really seemed to appreciate our help. Now the kids actually have a playroom.
Haruna and I got through Episodes 5, 6, 1 and 2 of Star Wars throughout our stay with the Powells. So classic. We had a lot of fun with them and they gave us so many firsts! We went to a barn dance, haruna had her first roasted marshmallows in their fireplace, and Fred has cooked everything from Gumbo to German dishes I can’t even spell. They are very very sweet people and I will miss them, and Lilian too of course.
Oh good news! I am the new dance intern for the next 6 weeks. They pick several interns every 6 weeks for different positions like dance, vocals, PR, lighting, manager, etc. So I will get to lead warm ups, critique rehearsals, and maybe even teach a class. I’m very excited about it! I hope it will be a good learning experience.
On August 13th we left on 2 buses for Aspen! It was a sad goodbye and Fred was balling as we left. Aspen is GORGEOUS! We had a meeting when we got there, then were picked up by our host families. My roommate is Nao from Japan and she is the cutest thing ever!!! My host mom is Tracey, my host dad is Lee, and I have two host brothers Kidd Duhe (14) and Taggart (12). They are a wonderful family and so sweet. Kidd Duhe is definitely a future Uppie! Unique names I know. They live in the cutest neighborhood in an adorable cabin like house. Nao and I had the whole basement to ourselves. We felt like we were in a hotel! Lee is a former chef so needless to say we had great food! On Friday, a group of us were assigned to clean up a trail in Aspen. It was a really fun day even though it was raining and we were just clipping bushes for 5 hours. Beautiful view. Later that day we did a public speaking workshop. We had dinner at home then went to the neighbors for smores in their fire! Mmmm! Saturday was show day! We are starting to learn new numbers for what we are adding for the Mexico tour. It’s called the Mexican Medley. So we danced in the morning, then did a rehearsal in the afternoon. The show went really well at night, considering we were worried all day it was going to rain, and because it dropped to about 40 degrees by intermission (it was an outdoor stage). Eek! Good second show though! Sunday was a free day so we slept in a little bit then went into Aspen. I guess I forgot to mention that I ‘m actually staying in a little town outside of Aspen called Basalt. Anyway, Tracey my host mom works at a ski club at the top of the mountain so we went up there and had a great lunch listening to bluegrass music. Then we walked around downtown Aspen for the afternoon. Didn’t buy anything of course ($$$!). Later we went to the Glennwood hotsprings! Sooooo nice and relaxing! It was perfect because I wasn’t feeling that well. When we got home, Nao broke out here calligraphy brushes and wrote all our names in Japanese for us. I had a great time in Aspen!! Although it’s probably the most pampered we will be in the next 5 months, I’m excited for what’s to come!
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