Up With Leslie

2009-11-28T12:31:00.001-08:00

2009-11-12T13:45:00.001-08:00

Puebla, Mexico City

2009-10-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, it’s hard to wrap up the last 2 weeks; I feel like so much happened. Sorry if this is super long. Well, after Veracruz we went to Puebla. We arrived in the early afternoon, and had a welcoming at the municipal palace. We got a tour of the building (very pretty), and had a little reception. We got picked up by our host families that evening. I mentioned it before, but we get “host codes”, for being able to decipher who is our host family. The host family is given the host code, and they have to dress or bring a sign accordingly. I had the best one yet! My host code was limon (lime in Spanish), so my host family literally made little men out of the limes. They cut them so they had arms, leg, and a head, and each of 6 limes were holding a letter of the word “limon”. It was so cute! My family is adorable! They have an awesome house too. They have this amazing marble spiral stair case with a big stained glass window on the ceiling. I am sharing a room with my host sister, Karen who is 18. She loves elephants too! I also have a host brother, Axel, who is 21. We had a nice dinner of quesadillas with quesillo! That’s the Oaxacan cheese that I loved so much last summer.
Tuesday was a regional learning day. We took a tour of the chicklets factory. You know the little Mexican gum? It was pretty cool to see how gum is made and packaged! Then we went on a double decker bus tour of the city. Did you know there are enough churches in this state to go to a different church every day of the year?! Crazy. It’s a very pretty city-it reminds me a lot of Oaxaca. That afternoon we did an activity called Johari’s Window. Put simply, the principle of the activity is to learn how to give and receive constructive feedback, because that is the key to growing as a person. So we got into groups and gave each other positive and constructive notes. That night for dinner I had a sandwich popular in Puebla called a Cemita. It’s this huuuuge torta, stuffed with a layer of avocado, chicken, more avocado, quesillo, ham, grilled onions, oil and vinegar, and salt. Mmmm!!Right up your alley, Sean! That night the TV program we were on was aired! It was really such a cool thing to see myself on TV; even if I was just step-clapping .
Wednesday, a small group of us went to a “day care” for senior citizens. It was SO FUN! They were adorable and so happy that we were there. They expressed that most of them were never able to leave Puebla to visit other countries, so it meant a lot to them that we were there. We got to do exercises, play games, and sing songs with them. We sang “Viva La Gente” for them, then they sang “Cielito Lindo” for us. It ended with us all dancing together. So fun! It was an awesome day. That afternoon a small group of my cast mates did a presentation about the environment. I learned many new things about the current (and terrible) state of the world/environment, and I realized I have totally lost touch with my “earthological” side (That’s a word I made up when I was little, which means environmentally friendly ). We talked about things we can do as a cast to help; we are 90 people in each place we go, and we leave a huge trace by all the things we consume. So, we all made a pact to buy a plastic plate or Tupperware to bring for our meals. Usually when they serve us lunch or breakfast, we get either paper or Styrofoam plates and cups. What a waste!-especially with 90 people. So it’s things like that that I want to be more conscious of again. I encourage whoever reads this reduce, reuse, and recycle!!! Buy a reusable water bottle and reusable grocery bags, reuse clothing, have a compost pile, unplug things that are not in use, and recycle whatever you can!! There are so many simple things we can do!
On Thursday we had a BTS at a local school for 1,500 kids. It was awesome. It was out on their football field, and after we were done they all stormed the field! It was so crazy! It was mostly the crazy girls who were in LOVE with all our boys. Friday was our show day! That morning a few of us went to a TV station, Televisa, to do one of our pieces, “Keep the Beat” for the news. It was a tiny little stage and very slippery, but it was so fun! They interviewed us a little bit after we danced and I had to speak in Spanish! Eek! It went OK though. Remember the internship project I mentioned previously? Well, the group we taught, “Cell Block Tango” to got to perform it for the cast that afternoon. They did so so good! On Saturday we had a pretty easy-going day. We call time with just the cast, “internal time”. Marek from the Czech Republic presented on his country, we worked on the European medley, and we put fun little skits together about our experiences in Mexico. That night my host family took me to the mall to get a nice dress and walk around the town. I just LOVE them! That family has definitely been my favorite and most loving family so far. They took me to get my hair cut and paid for it without me knowing! (The guy cut it too short though and I’m so bummed because it was getting long ). They are just so sweet, and I got along really well with Kareen, my host sister. For dinner we had tacos arabes, which are a common type of taco in Puebla. Yummmy! The night ended on the couch like a big happy family watching Pirates of the Caribbean in Spanish!
Sunday morning we had a big breakfast with my host moms parents. So cute! We had yummy tamales and juevos al la Mexicana (Mexican eggs: scrambled with green peppers, onion and tomato. Red, white, and green for the Mexican flag). I had a chocolate tamale which was SO good! Nothing like Larua’s though . Later we went to where Kareen works, which is called Africam. It is a huge African safari/zoo. We didn’t have time for the whole safari (sad I didn’t get to see the elephants), but we got to do the zip line! It was awesome! I had to leave early that day because we got another opportunity to be on TV in Mexico City. So a small group of us left on Sunday instead of Monday. I was genuinely sad to leave the family. It’s so crazy how close you can get to a family in just a short week. I will miss them.
We had to get up at 4 the next morning for the TV taping. We were supposed to do 3 numbers, but some miscommunication happened and we only ended up doing “Viva La Gente”. And we got a little interview too which was fun. We met up with the rest of the cast after that for a tour of the Presidents house! It’s called “Los Pinos”. We all dressed in our nicest outfits and took a tour of the beautiful lands. We felt so special and it was such a privilege to be able to do that! That night we had a quick meeting then met our host families. My host mom in Mexico City’s name was Guillerma, and she was such a sweet lady. She is divorced and lives alone with her Chihuahua Luka. She is a professor of architecture. Her godmother, Graciela, and he family live next door, so we did everything with them. My roommate was Nao from Japan (same roommate I had in Aspen), and Kyle from South Dakota was staying at Graciela’s house. We got settled into their house and had yummy quesadillas for dinner that night.
The whole week in Mexico City was so awesome but especially exhausting. We got up before 6 everyday, and wouldn’t get home until about 9. Then we’d have dinner with our families until about 10:30 because Mexican’s eat so late! It was a great week though. Everyday we were at Xochitla, an ecological park who was our sponsor. It is a GORGEOUS place. Huge grass areas, gardens, greenhouses, ponds…amazingness! It was beautiful weather all week too. Tuesday we had a BTS at an inner city school. It was really fun and they loved us. Wednesday we had a culture fair for 1,500 students from all over the city. We had booths set up from each country we represented, which gave information about each culture, and we also had fun games for them. It was a huge success, not only because the kids enjoyed it, but it promoted our show and becoming a student in Up With People. Thursday was a regional learning day. We took a walking tour of downtown Mexico City. I wish we had more time because there is so much to see and learn! The city has so much history, and it is very beautiful. In the afternoon we went to the pyramids of Teotihuacan. They are the 3rd largest pyramids in the world! UNBELIEVABLE! We hiked to the top of the pyramid of the sun and took some amazing photos.
Friday I got to practice some nursing skills! Vattenfall (our sponsor in Europe), required us all to get a health screening before coming to Europe (they were scared of the swine flu). One of our PR staff, Antonio, is a MD and he asked me to help him run the health checks. So allll morning we took blood pressures and temperatures of all 90 cast members. I loved being useful and it was great to practice some skills. Hopefully I won’t forget everything I learned in nursing school over these 6 months! That night we had another, and probably our final BTS. . We probably won’t have any in Europe.
Saturday was show day. We rehearsed all morning on our awesome outdoor stage. We were all soaking up the last bit of sun we could get before coooollllld Scandinavia. We sold around 2,500 for this show! It was our biggest yet and such an amazing way to end our Mexican tour. Even though the fans in Mexico were quite overwhelming with the photos and the autographs, I will miss the enthusiasm. It’s going to be verrrry different in Europe. I had my last Mexican quesadilla that night, packed, and headed off to Sweden the next morning!
Now, we just arrived to Stockholm!!

2009-10-06T14:43:00.001-07:00

2009-10-06T14:40:00.001-07:00

SWEDEN!

2009-10-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Well the past two weeks have been so awesome!! I am in Europe now whoohooo!! We are in a city called Lulea, Sweden. We are something like 100 kilometers from the Arctic Circle! It’s unbelievably beautiful! I live on a street with 2 other houses, surrounded by trees and water. It’s pretty pretty pretty chilly here though. It was about 35 degrees when we got here. It’s a shock to all us Arizonans. It’s so different, and so wonderful. Our trip here was, well, pretty long and terrible. Four hour flight from Mexico City to Newark, 2 hour layover, 7 hour flight to Stockholm, Sweden, then 12 HOUR BUS RIDE to Lulea. Crazy. But we are all so happy we are finally here!! I can’t believe it! We met our host families that night. I am staying with a young couple named Andres and Mia. They are darling and they have an adorable little house that looks like it’s straight from the Ikea catalogue. They have 2 little schnauzers, Pepsi and Pious. So cute. On Tuesday we had a pretty relaxing day because half of the group was still travelling to Sweden because they left a day later. So, I feel pretty rested and not too jet lagged. I’m so excited to start this new leg of the trip!
I’ll write later about the past 2 weeks in Puebla and Mexico City, but for now enjoy my pictures! I’ll try to write soon!

Veracruz!

2009-09-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

September 14-21
Veracruz is so wonderful and SO HUMID! Oh man, like you can’t breathe humid! But it has been a great week! So last Monday, the 14th, a group of 9 of us left the cast and took a bus to Mexico City to be on Televisa, a big Mexican TV station. We had no idea what we were getting into. We stayed at the place where we will have our show in Mexico City, and it’s sort of like an ecological resort of sorts. They do tours, they host families and groups, and have big gardens and greenhouses, and different ecological activities. Their purpose is to educate about the environment. So we stayed at their dormitories. We ate lunch there, then went to the TV station. We got to get our hair and make-up done! It was so fun. But, at the last minute they decided they just wanted Spanish songs for the show, so we didn’t end up doing the dance I was in. We sang 3 songs, and I came on for the last one, just kind of in the back. It was so fun! We got to watch a little of the show before us, and if anyone has seen any Mexican TV, you know how ridiculous it is! Stupid plots, bad jokes, guys in tight pants, and girls wearing barely anything. It was an adventure. We left the next day to take a flight back to Veracruz to meet up with the cast. It was fun just being with a small group for a little bit and having some time to relax.
I met my host family in Veracruz that night. My roommate was Aude from Quebec. I adore her! She is a really great dancer and we have a lot in common. She’s a pilates instructor Stevie! My host mom’s name was Annis and she was super sweet. Their house was very nice, and Aude and I shared a room. They have 3 kids, and 2 of them live in the house. That day was Mexican Independence Day, which is a HUGE deal. By the way if anyone thought Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Independence day, it is not. It was just the day the Mexicans beat the French in Puebla. Anyway, we went out with our host parents to a Rotary Club dinner. It was a nice catered dinner, with lots of tequila of course. Everyone gets really decked out in green, red, and white and crazy decorations. It was so fun and cool to be a part of their celebration. Then we went out to a club with some other UWP girls and their host sister. We danced all night!
The next day was a beach day! We went to a place called Coco Adventura, which was basically an adventure park on the beach. We played silly games on the grass in the morning, then we had the whole afternoon to beach it and swim in their pool. It was so fun! We finally had time to just chill, get a tan, and have fun with each other. It was great. The water was very warm and salty, and the sun was shining. At about 3 PM we left and went back into the city for a harbor cruise. Veracruz is a very old and colonial looking city, especially the downtown area, but the harbor…not so pretty. A lot of big ugly boats and machines and stuff. It was still a nice boat ride though! It was a great day.
Wednesday and Thursday were mostly rehearsing. We are starting to learn the dances and songs of the European medley. Our main choreographer, Ken, is with us for the next two weeks to teach us. By the way, it is my last week as a dance intern and I’m so sad! I have loved the experience. I know it sounds like I have been doing more dancing and playing than community service, and that is party true. Because I am in a lot of the dances, I have to rehearse on most week days. It is something I have been struggling with, because although I love to dance, I have not had that many community impact (CI) experiences. However, they try to remind us that the show itself is community service. So when we are rehearsing it is purposeful and meaningful. It is bringing a message to the community, and inspiring people of all ages. I do hope though that I will have more CI days soon! I want to get my hands dirty! Something I’ve also been disappointed with is the fact that we really aren’t seeing Mexico. We are living in the city, with middle to upper class families for the most part. We are taken care of. Even the community impact activities aren’t getting to the real problems in Mexico. Of course I believe all the service we do is meaningful, but maybe it is not what is most needed here in Mexico. My experience in Oaxaca really opened my eyes to how much poverty there is here. I know it’s partly a logisitics thing, and I wasn’t really expecting to be live and work in a poor poor area or anything with UWP. But, I guess I just know how much we could do and it’s frustrating how much there is to do!
Friday, the interns had a chance to do something fun with the cast by running our own workshop. We got a soul train line going, we played charades, and we did a nice relaxation activity. It was cool. We had a BTS that afternoon in downtown. I have literally never sweat so much in my life. Man was it humid and hot! I can seriously appreciate Tucson’s dry heat now! That night, our host brother, Don Pablo, who is 27 took Aude and I out. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed the view of the city from the top deck, had a bottle of wine, and ate delicious food. It was great company, and we had great conversation about how great it is to get to know people from other cultures. After dinner we went to a really authentic salsa club. Full live band, dos XX, and lots of ridiculously good salsa dancers. It was so fun! I am so motivated now to learn how to salsa!
Saturday we got up early and drove to Tajin which is a place with ancient ruins. If you ever saw my pictures from Monte Alban in Oaxaca, it was very similar. But this place was a lot bigger. They were magnificent pyramids constructed thousands of years ago by the indigenous people of Mexico. They had courts where they used to play a ball game in which the winner was beheaded as a sacrifice. Yes, the winner. It was viewed as honorable to give your life. Then they would spill the blood all over the rocks. Mmmmm….
Sunday was our show day and my last day as an intern! The dance, show, and music interns always get the opportunity to hold their own workshop at the end of their internship, so Pieter the music intern, Sarah the show manager intern, and I had been planning on putting on a little piece from the musical Chicago for the cast. We had been working on it for awhile, and we had the whole morning to work with a few people that we chose. We decided to do the song “Cell Block Tango”. We chose some girls for it that love to dance and move, but aren’t able to be in a lot of parts in the show. They were all really into it and it was so fun to be teaching! I was also watched by the show staff so I was a little nervous. The group will get to perform what we taught them in Puebla, the next city. We also introduced the new interns, which was exciting but like I said I am very sad to be done . The show went really well that night. It was at a big venue with almost 4,000 seats, but it wasn’t sold out. I still can’t get over how much the Mexican fans love us! They sing along to “Viva La Gente”, want our autographs and pictures, and some girls go CRAZY over some of the guys in our cast. It’s so funny. The next day, we left for Puebla!

2009-09-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

September 7-13-Queretaro

2009-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Queretaro!!! On Monday we left for Queretaro and got to stop in San Miguel. It is a BEAUTIFUL town (right Grammie and Karen?), and we were able to stop for 2 or 3 hours. It definitely wasn’t long enough because I didn’t even get to the downtown area that’s supposedly gorgeous. But it was so nice to have time to ourselves, and a group of us had a really nice lunch at a little café. We were all very happy not to have a schedule of things to do, even if it was just for that short amount of time. I’m used to it at this point, but we really don’t have any freedom!
We arrived in Queretaro that evening, and had an awesome welcoming by two guest artists. The first was a musical group that played ancient indigenous music. They used all different kinds of instruments like turtle shells and deer antlers. The next was an all blind choir. They blew us away with how amazing they were! They sang some songs in English such as “Stand By Me”, then they sang some Mexican songs. They ended with “Viva La Gente”, which is Up With People’s theme song but in Spanish. It’s so cool that everyone here knows it! We got picked up by our host families that night and went home with them. I am staying with the most generous and loving family!! My host mom is Raquel, and my host dad is Sergio, and they have 4 kids all teenagers. My host mom has like 6 sisters, and 2 of them are also hosting Up With People students and live very close, so that is fun. Their house is unbelievable! They are in the business of making rod iron things (like the stuff you like mom and dad!), so you guys would love their house! I’m trying to see if I can get something sent to you! I actually didn’t get to spend too much time with the family this week because all the kids have school, and Raquel had just had foot surgery, so wasn’t able to leave the house much. But I love them so much, and they keep saying “mi casa es su casa”.
On Tuesday I went in the morning to a place called Adulto Mayor, which is a center for senior citizens (you know how I love the old people). It was a really nice facility for them, and we just got to interact with them all day. Haruna and I got to participate in their cooking class. We made a type of vegetarian mole, which turned out too spicy for my taste, but we had so much fun. Later, we attended their theater class. It was so cute! They put on a little skit for us, and we got to dance a little with them too. It was very fun. I think I mentioned in previously, but each week each country gets to present on their culture. So this week was France. We learned some of their history, saw pictures, and sang some French songs. So far we have learned about the US, Mexico, China, and France. It’s really cool to learn more about each other’s cultures, especially because it is coming from someone from that country. That night, our schedule said we were going to the “theater”. Well, they surprised us with a private lucha libre show! If you don’t know what that is, it’s the pretend Mexican wrestling where they wear those crazy masks. It’s huge in Mexico. So we got a free, private show in a big arena, and we had a BLAST! Each round, two wrestlers fight, and the crowd gets to pick which wrestler to cheer for. We had so much fun yelling in Spanish things like “levantate” (get up!), and “mi abuelita es mas fuerte!” (my grandma is stronger!). Hehe. What a nice surprise.
On Wednesday a small group of us went to drug rehabilitation home called Hogares San Fransisco. This place houses anywhere for 20-100 men and women, for an 8 week rahab program. What is interesting about this place is that you have to check yourself in, meaning all the people there want to be there. We worked doing manual labor in their green house in the morning, then we got to participate in one of their support groups. It was really cool. And it was interesting to note that drug problems are everywhere, and to see the similarities in rehab programs from the ones I’ve seen in the states. That afternoon we did a education workshop called “hot topics”. Basically, we break up into small groups, and they give us a certain topic to discuss and questions to answer. That day, we talked about abortion. We discussed whether it should be controlled by the government, what the laws are in your country, etc. It was cool to see the similarities and differences in views between people from different cultures. After that (like I said, the days are jam packed!), we went to meet the municipal president of Queretaro. He said a nice little speech for us, we gave him a signed cast picture, and we sang a song for him. It was pretty cool. We felt special.
On Thursday, we had a meeting for all of the interns. Next week is my last week as the dance intern, and I’m really sad. It has been a great experience, and I don’t really want it to end yet . We had rehearsal later in the day, and it’s fun because I am starting to run the rehearsals a little bit more. I’ve learned so much, as far as how to look at the show critically, how the show works behind the scenes, and how to fix certain problems. Later that day we walked to a church called Iglesia Santa Rosa where we had a host family pot luck. It was so fun to get all the families together, and you know with Mexicans there was PLENTY of food! The church was cool because it had something called El Arbol de las Cruces. The legend says that a man stopped to rest at the place where the church is now, and put his things down and went to get some water (I’m kinda making the details up because I didn’t catch all of the Spanish). Basically though, when he came back, a tree had bloomed, and this tree has thorns that look like crosses. So he thought it was a sign, yadda, yadda, and they built a church. If you take a look at my pictures, the thorns really do look like crosses! It’s really cool.
The next day we had a BTS at a local school. I forget if I explained what a BTS was, but it stands for backing track show, and it is basically a mini promotional show that we do in communities to reach more people. Let me tell you, these little elementary and middle school kids were the best audience I’d ever seen!! They screamed so loud for us, and were So enthusiastic! It was great. Later that afternoon we had a scavenger hunt, but basically my group decided to just walk around the city and explore. We stopped for Mexican hot chocolate, browsed the tiendas, and took some funny pictures. That evening we walked around downtown Queretaro with my host mom’s sister, Ana. We ended up having a nice glass of wine on a rooftop which overlooked the beautiful city. I love Queretaro!
Saturday was our first double show day!! We had a matinee show at 3, and another at 8. The first show didn’t have too great of a turn out, but the second one was awesome! It was an exhausting day, but so worth it (as always).
Today I went for a nice run with Anna (Minnesota) at the park nearby, then our host families took us to a little town called Bernal. It’s an adorable little town, which houses one of 3 magnetic mountains in the world. I’m still trying to understand exactly what it was, as I’m clearly not fluent in Spanish, but from what I understand it is a large rock formation that has magnetic properties, and no one knows exactly how it got there. People say the magnetism brings good energy, so people flock there all year round. It was gorgeous! We took a walking tour, but it started to rain so we had to cut it short. We had gorditas for lunch, which are absolutely nothing like what they have a taco bell if anyone has had those. They were made with a black corn on a big flat grill, then stuffed with different ingredients like cheese and mushrooms or meat. Soooo yummy! It was a really great day, and I just love my host parents! They are so sweet. I will be sad to leave tomorrow!
Good news! Up With People got asked to be on TV tomorrow. They could only take a few people, and I was chosen! I’m so excited! So, I’ll let you know the details of when you might be able to see it as soon as I know! I have no idea when it will be on, but I think it will play in the US. I guess it will be on a show similar to NBCs Good Morning America or something like that. Wohoo! Anyway, I guess I need to get my beauty rest for tomorrow! Peace and love

2009-09-07T00:11:00.001-07:00

August 31-September 6

2009-09-07T00:03:00.001-07:00

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!

August 20-29

2009-08-30T02:07:00.000-07:00

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!!! 

2009-08-30T00:58:00.001-07:00

August 17-19

2009-08-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

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!

July 29-August 16

2009-08-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

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!

July 27-29

2009-07-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

What a great week so far! I am finally getting used to the schedule and am not as tired as the past two weeks. The show is really coming together. We have pretty much learned all of the dances and songs, so now we just have to put it all together on stage! We started trying on costumes this week, and tomorrow and Friday we are doing full run throughs so we know where to go on stage. It’s so exciting!
On Monday we did a very cool workshop on the topic of diversity. We did an activity called, “cross the line”. We all stood on one side of the room, and there was a line drawn down the middle of the room. One of our education leaders, JC, read statements, and if that statement applied to us we were asked to cross the line. For example he would say, “cross the line if you consider yourself religious”. The statements were personal, ranging from what ethnicity you associate with, to if you think you are attractive, to if you have ever been discriminated against, to if you are gay. The point of the activity was to emphasize how diverse a group we are, and that diversity goes much deeper than skin color. What I took from the activity is that we need to take our unique situation and learn as much from each other as possible. When will I ever get be with a group of people from 17 countries again? When will I be able to have lunch with five people from all different countries again? We have so much to learn from each other! Haruna and I watched Star Wars Episode V that night. So awesome.
On Tuesday, we had an alumni roundtable. We were able to talk in small groups with 8 or so alumni about their experiences, and what advice they had for us. All of them seemed to have been forever impacted by their Up with People experience. We also did a news activity, in which we brought in newspapers from all over the world and shared news. The staff realizes that it is easy to get in an “up with people bubble” while we are here staging, so they want us to remember that life around us is still going on! I definitely agree with that, because since we are practicing all day and working so hard, it is hard to find time to know what else is going on in the world. So send me news if you have any!
Today we went over a lot of the choreography we have learned, and learned a little bit more. A lady from our European sponsor was here, so we put on a little sample show for her to see. I hope she liked it! For those who don’t know, a huge energy company in Europe is sponsoring us to have shows for their employees for their 100th anniversary. So, most of our shows in Europe are for this company. Tonight we did a globalization workshop. I won’t bore you with all the details, but we got to discuss issues like war, poverty, water, fair trade coffee, child labor, etc. Sounds intense, but the whole point of it was to realize how interconnected all of those issues are to the whole world, not just where they happen. We will be having presentations throughout the semester on these topics and more. I think that’s pretty cool and I’m interested in learning so much more! And of course doing something about it!

2009-07-26T16:22:00.001-07:00

2009-07-26T16:17:00.001-07:00

July 21-27

2009-07-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

What an amazing week! Another full week of uppie-ness. I was in dance workshops most of the time, learning the choreography for the dances. We only have a limited amount of time in each workshop to learn the entire piece, so they teach REALLY fast! I absolutely love it though.
On Tuesday afternoon, we had “Tournament” written on our schedule. No one knew what that meant. We all entered the cafeteria downstairs to music, a sign that said “Welcome to Las “B”egas”, and all of our staff dressed ridiculously as either Las Vegas show girls, Elvis, bouncers, etc (The Begas instead of Vegas is because we are Cast B 2009). There were 13 card tables set up, with cards and directions on how to play the game. It was a pretty simple game with only a few rules. The winner of each round would move up one table, and the loser would move down. The goal was to get to the winners table. Once the game started, there was no talking. The first round I won and moved up one table. When I thought I won at this table, another player reached for the winning token. I looked around the table in confusion. No one else seemed confused. I must have been wrong. After moving up and down tables a few different times, I realized I was not the only confused player. I caught on that at each table, the rules were different. But we couldn’t talk to explain the rules! Some people were getting very upset, including one guy who stood up and shouted, “You all are cheaters! I’m not playing!”. I learned to just be very observant as to how the others are playing, because I knew I couldn’t play by the rules I was originally taught anymore.
So, after a few more rounds of ridiculousness, we all sat down to discuss what happened. Basically, what I took from this activity was that in each place we go to, the rules (customs, rituals, beliefs, day-to-day life, etc) may be very different, and we may not be able to communicate how or why. Like in a home stay family for example. But, what I learned is that we may need to just sit back and observe how the game is played first to be able to participate, instead of thinking we are always right. We can’t come to a new game (home/family/city/country), and think that our way is the only right way. We need to have patients, be accepting of our differences, and learn from them. Yadda, yadda, life lessons, yadda, yadda…it was a cool activity.
Wednesday morning we had a leadership roundtable. Eight different leaders from the Denver area came to talk with us. Their backgrounds ranged from managing non-profits, to starting leadership development companies, to being actively involved in the LGBT movement. We had the chance to talk with them in small groups about how they came to be where they are, and their ideas on leadership. Rajul had great advice for a leader: “Don’t believe everything you think”. And Morris said, “Spend as much time with those that work against you as with those for you”. I liked those quotes. It was very motivating to meet these successful people.
Wednesday night was Culture Jam, which is a show we put on for our host families and friends. We were all invited to show something about our culture with everyone. The Japanese girls did a traditional dance, the French girls sang a French song, Helen from Ethiopia sang a song, Ronja and Berit read a German poem, the Mexicans sang and danced, the Chinese sang a song and did tai chi, the Canadians acted out a skit, the Scandinavians sang traditional and popular songs, some Americans did a tap dance and some others did a line dance, and Neils and Wilamen from The Netherlands did a power point presentation on the red light district. It was all so awesome!! Everyone is so talented. Oh ya, and me and a few other Americans opened the show with an American medley which ended with the audience singing “Born in the USA”. Ours was just plain silly and talentless, but the whole show was so fun!
In each city we travel to, we do “regional learning”, which is basically educational and fun things to learn about the place we are in. On Thursday, we took a tour of the Environmental Protection Agency office. Sounds boring, but it was really cool! The building is a gold standard green building, meaning its VERY environmentally friendly. Most materials are recycled and from within a 500 square mile radius of Denver. They get most of their energy from sunlight, everything is recyclable down to the carpet, the cooling comes from underneath to save energy, the concrete is made with recycled ash which keeps the building cooler, and so much more! It was so cool, and smart! We also did a scavenger hunt of the Denver area which involved trivia, taking pictures with police officers, and in front of the state capitol building. It was very fun!
That night I made latkes for my host family! They turned out really good! Haruna LOVED them! I think she had about 10! Dianne makes apple butter from scratch so we used that instead of apple sauce….amazing! That night Fred had caught a new hive, so he came home with thousands of new bees. He called me downstairs as I was just crawling into bed, but he insisted. So he led me to the kitchen where he had a big bag full of honey comb literally drenched in honey. He broke a piece off for him and myself. He just started sucking on it….so, I did too. OH MY GOODNESS I have never tasted anything so good! Hands down best honey I’ve ever tasted. I will never have store-bought honey again!
Friday I danced alllllll day! I think we have learned the majority of the choreography now. Hopefully I remember it all! They still have to pick who is in what dance, so I have to be on top of my game . Michelle from San Diego and Katrina from Denmark came home with us on Friday night to go white water rafting with us Saturday morning because they didn’t have a ride. When we all got home, Dianne and Fred had their full bee gear on and were working with the bees. Soooo, they convinced us to get in their extra bee outfits with them! It was the scariest but the coolest thing I’ve ever done. They have over 15,000 bees, which is 5 or 6 hives I think—right in their backyard! I’m learning so much about bees; it’s so interesting! They harvest all their honey once a year and sell it, just as their little side job. It’s kinda cool, and they just LOVE it. I was glad I got to experience being that close to that many bees, but I hopped out of that bee outfit and went inside pretty quickly when we were done.
Saturday morning we went white water rafting down the Arkansas River. It was a blast! It was a beautiful day, and there was a good group of Up With People students and their families that went with us. We did class 3 and 4 rapids—eek! I absolutely loved the thrill of it and getting in the cold water. About half way down the river one host dad in our raft said he had to pee. Well, we were just about to go down the “stairs”, a stretch of 7 rapids that look like steps, so the rafting guide asked him to hold it until we were through that rapid. Needless to say, he didn’t need to stop when we were done with the stairs….yes, he peed in our boat. Poor guy—and poor us. But we had a great day. On the way home we stopped at St. Elmo’s which a ghost town is now. We bought sunflower seeds and fed the chipmunks. They came right on your lap, it was so cool! We got back late that night and were exhausted so we just watched A Bee Movie (of course they have it….Next we will watch The Secret Life of Bees).
Today (Sunday), Haru and I walked down to Sloan Lake which is about a mile from our house to see the Dragon Boat Festival. It’s a huge fair they have annually with Chinese dragon boat racing, food, music, and performers from all over Asia. Haru and I had Thai boba tea and Chinese chicken taryaki skewers and just walked around for awhile. We saw Hawaiian dancers, martial arts performers, acrobats, and Japanese Taiko drum players. It was pretty cool. We walked home in the rain, me teaching her Spanish, and her teaching me Japanese. Great day. Time to rest up for another great week! Lots of love!!

July 19th

2009-07-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday was our one free day! Wohoo! And you know I slept in. Fred took Haru and I up to Georgetown in the Rocky Mountains. What a cute little town! It looked just like a picture. We ate lunch at this old saloon, The Red Ram. I had a taco salad (?...). Then we just walked around and went in all the cute little shops. Haru and I got Native American good luck bracelets. :). Then we headed back down the mountain and stopped at Red Rocks. It's this big outdoor amphitheater made, literally, into big red rocks. It's awesome. After Haru and I ran down the stairs, did part of our Up With People dance on the stage, we headed home (and beat the rain). We had cookie and milk for dinner that night, and slept well :).
Today we did leadership activities in the morning. We went around silly stations, and were asked to define a leader, who has been an influential leader in your life, what it means to be a global leader, etc. it was interesting to see the varying definitions between countries. Then we did more staging stuff for the afternoon. Tomorrow will be more dancing so I'm excited!

Tour Schedule

2009-07-20T20:28:00.001-07:00

Here is my tour schedule! Let me know if you can come to any of the shows! I can try to get you tickets

U.S.A. TOUR
Denver, CO

August 12th – 7:30pm

Pinnacle Events Center
Aspen/Snowmass, CO

August 13-17, 2009
Durango, CO

August 21-23, 2009
Chino Valley, AZ

August 22-25
Lake Havasu City, AZ

August 24-30

MEXICO TOUR
Leon

August 31-September 6
Queretaro

September 7- 13
Veracruz

September 14-20
Puebla

September 21-27
Mexico City

September 28- October 4

EUROPEAN TOUR*

Lulea, Sweden* October 6-8

Sundsvall, Sweden* October 9-13

Stockholm, Sweden* October 14-22

Vanersborg, Sweden* October 23-27

The Netherlands* October 28-31

Warsaw, Poland* November 1-3

Zabrze, Poland* November 4-6

Hamburg, Germany* November 4-12

Berlin, Germany* November 13-19

Cottbus, Germany* November 20-24

Odense, Denmark* November 25-27

Varberg, Sweden* November 28-December 2

Uppsala, Sweden* December 3-7

Tampere, Finland* December 8-11

2009-07-19T21:47:00.001-07:00

2009-07-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Week 1 con't

2009-07-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have to be honest, but this first week felt like a month or even more. But I mean that in a good way. Everyday has been so full of fun activities, education, rehearsals, and more. I’ll try to recap as best I can (shoot its only been a week and I’m already forgetting things!).

Well, my roommate, Haruna, and I take a 30 minute bus downtown every morning to the Sherman Center which is where we practice. We are there every day from 8:30 to 5:30. Everyday has been a little bit different so far. On Monday, we did a lot of get-to-know-you activities. There are about 70 people in my cast (not including 20-ish staff members), and we represent 17 different countries! How awesome is that?! We have Japan, China, France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Mexico, Brazil, Bermuda, Taiwan, Ethiopia, and of course the U.S.. It’s so amazing to be able to get to know people from all over the world!

On Tuesday we did “modules”. Basically, we were split into groups of 7-8 and rotated between 5 different stations: singing, dancing, speaking, technical (sound and lighting), and costume. The first three were kind of like auditions. I had to sing by myself and it was SO scary and very weird! If you’ve never sang in front of a group of people before, it’s the strangest feeling to hear yourself! They basically just wanted to see where everyone’s strengths were so we could be placed in the show.

We have started vocal and dance lessons everyday to learn the pieces in the show. For those who don’t know, Up With People puts on a show at every city we travel to. The show is comprised of songs that have a message of hope, peace, and love, as well as numbers that are just simply entertaining. For the most part, the proceeds of each show are donated to a selected organization to benefit the community in which we are in. For a little bit of background info that I have learned, Up With People began in 1965, by a group of young kids from all around the world who were sick of all the hatred and negativism (“down with…”) that was going on at the time (Hence the name, UP With People). Since then, the group has travelled around the world with a message of, well, their message is exemplified in one of their songs: “one to one, we change the world, by giving to another”.

Whoa anyway, we have four weeks to put this big show together, so each day is full of rehearsals. Learning the songs, learning the dances, putting them together, figuring out where to go on stage, etc, etc. It is a lot of work, but I am having such a great time so far. Just being around people who have the same interests as you is so fun. We don’t just rehearse all day either; we do some educational activities as well. For example, we explored “People’s Barcodes”-as in, what stereotypes do we have about other countries? what is true? And what is not? It was so interesting and enlightening to learn about the assumptions we make about other people/countries/cultures and to find out how those people actually feel about those assumptions. Sounds cheesy, but it was very impacting. We also learned about internships that are available throughout the semester. I am planning on applying for a dance internship.

Each day different people are called back for certain dances, songs, or acting parts. On Thursday, I got called for 2 dances. They were both partner dances, which I don’t have much experience doing, but I had a blast! One was a swing dance-so fun! I still can’t figure out why I didn’t get called back for the rapping part of the show…or the solo ballad for that matter….

Whew! That’s pretty much the first week. I didn’t mention though how loving my home-stay family is and my roomie Haru! Oh, and how much I’m obsessed with Denver! Love it. And love you all! Write me back!

First Week!

2009-07-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welllll, I've made it to Denver; FINALLY! My Up With People adventure has begun!
I arrived in Denver Friday afternoon, after an ejoyable flight meeting 4 other Up With People cast members from Tucson. We were greeted at the airport by UWP staff members, waited for a few more people to arrive, then took a bus to a little ballroom type place. We arrived at about 3 PM, so from then until 8 we just met people as they arrived and got to know one another. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much!!! It seems like there are really wonderful people, and I can't wait to spend more time with everyone.
At 8:30 our host families came to get each of us. Each student was given the name of something to do with the circus, and each family dressed up in some way like the theme so that the student would know it was their family. My theme was Strong Man..hmmm. What ended up happening was that my host father got an emergency call for work, so it was my host mom, Diane, and their cute as a button old neighbor Lillian. He had been working on a strong man costume all day i guess, but since they had to come they were just holding up a sign that said "strong man". Haha. Also, my roommate from Japan had missed her connecting flight so we had to wait another hour after everyone had left for her to arrive. Meanwhile, it starts POURING. I mean, a huge storm. Everyone said it was kind of strange for Denver. Anyway, poor Haruna (my Japanese roommate) finally made it, and we went to their house. They live in such a cute little neighborhood, and their house has a lot of history and personality. They have travelled a lot, and there is interesting stuff from all over the world everywhere. They are bee keepers, which I'll admit scared me a little at first, but I'm learning so much! There are literally thousands of bees a few yards from my room. I tried their homemade honey and it was SOO delicious! I'll never have regular honey again. They are a darling couple, and they looove to talk and share stories. They are very giving and loving, and already call us their daughters. They like to expose us to as much as they can. On Sunday night, they took us line dancing which was a blast. Tonight, we went to a locally owned native american restaurant. And the other night, they made sushi for Haruna, and matzo ball soup for me! How sweet!
Each day we practice downtown from 8:30 to 5:30. Haruna and I take a 30 minute bus ride there and back. It's very easy to do. The days are jam packed, but I am loving it! Every one is so great! Well, I actually need to share the computer, but I have so much more to tell! I will write again shortly.
Please write comments or write me!!

Lots of love,
Les