Up With People

Sahuarita, Arizona (September 22-29)

2008-10-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

After spending 5 weeks in Mexico, we headed back to the United States. Our first city back in the USA was Sahuarita, Arizona. My host family for this city actually was from Green Valley...which is only a short distance away from Sahuarita. My roommates were Joshua from Arizona and Clothilde from Belgium. Below is a picture of my family in Sahuarita.

For the next 6 weeks I am going to be a crew leader for our Community Impact Projects. My first project was CI at a local day car center. About 20 UWP students went to a day care center and split up into three teams. Group 1 painted ten bathrooms, Group 2 made and decorated bulletin boards and Group 3 organized storage closets. Everyone that participated in this CI had an amazing time..we even sang to the children before they took their naps! Below is a slideshow of pictures from the day!

I was also able to take part in the project called "Stand for Peace!" It's when we go into elementary and middle schools and do a lesson with the students promoting peace. I wasn't supposed to take part in this activity..I was signed out for dance workshops, but since so many people called in sick they asked me to fill in for someone. I was in a 6th grade classroom of all girls. Our lesson went pretty well and the students seemed to enjoy themselves. After lunch, the entire cast put on a mini show which at the schools we refer to as a "peace rally!" Below are pictures of signs that were hanging in the school!

After we were finished with the "peace rally" we were fortunate enough to meet the founder of Up With People Mr. Belk. He spoke to us for a little while and gave us some more background information on the organization. The pictures below are of him and his wife.

On regional learning day we went to a farm. We were able to go on a hay ride and through a maze. Some cast members even saw pumpkins for the first time!

Saturday was show day! This was not only our first show back in the United States, but a lot of important people were present at this show. Before every show we have something called "green room" where we all gather together play games, sing songs and get psyched for the show. Below there are a few pictures from "green room."

Me in my "Step into the World" specialty costume.

One of the other dancers from "Step into the World" and myself.

We also had the opportunity to go to an assisted living facility called La Posado and serve the residents dinner! The people sitting at my table were a joy and we had a great time.

Hermosillo, Mexico (September 15-22)

2008-10-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Our arrival day in Hermosillo was absolutely amazing. We arrived into town on the Mexican Independence Day and were invited to the governors reception. We were able to meet the governor, watch mexican dancers perform and see fireworks!

My host family code was Genio and they had a large posterboard with a Genie on it waiting for me!! After meeting my family, I found out that I had 3 host brothers and 1 sister. We had sooo much fun together...whether it was going to starbucks, bowling, out to dinner or just hanging out at home! Here are some pictures of me and my family in Hermosillo!!!

My host brother Hector and my host sister Ana spent an afternoon with the cast. They helped out us out with our CI project of fixing up a basketball court and were able to watch our BTS.

Since it's extremely hot in Hermosillo, we were told that we weren't allowed to set-up the equipment after 11am...so a group of us were on super set-up and went to set-up the stage at 5am. Below are some pictures from our bright and early morning setting up.

On regional learning day we went to a beach resort and met another governor from Mexico. We were also able to go on a tour of the town I was able to go on a kayak ride and spend some time in the pool...it was an absolutely gorgeous day! Below is a slideshow of pictures from the day!

Culiacan, Mexico (September 8-15)

2008-10-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

The next stop on our tour was Culiacan, Mexico. When we arrived in the city, we were taken to a local high school that we were going to be using as our main location for the week. When we arrived at the school we were greeted by a large banner!

At the start of our allocation meeting I found out that my roommate was going to be Marion from Switzerland. Our host family code was Soldado. Below are some pictures from our first night in Culiacan, the beautiful sunset and going out for tacos with our family!

While in Culiacan we had 4 host sister and 1 host brother. Below is a slideshow of pictures from our time in Culiacan.

We also had the amazing opportunity of going on a zip line!!! We took the zip line across the river, went through a ropes cross and than came back across the river on the zip line. There are a few pictures below from our adventures.

It's not very often that we are able to watch parts of our own show...but during our rehearsal we were able to watch our cast members do the love medley. Below are a few pictures of the "love medley" portion of our show!

Tepic, Mexico (September 1-8)

2008-10-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

The next stop on our tour was Tepic, Mexico...when I received my allocation form my first response was one of frustration because I found out that I was being hosted alone for the second week in a row! After meeting my family and only spending a couple of hours with them though...I knew that it was going to be an amazing week! My host mom Gabriella and my host dad Pablo are absolutely wonderful people! My first night in Tepic they brought me out to dinner to a cute restaurant and I had one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had. After going out to eat they brought me to their house where I had welcome balloons waiting for me in my room!!

One of my favorite parts of the week was the mini promotional show that we did at the Nissan Dealership. We were able to promote for the mini show as well as our main show my standing in the streets singing and handing out flyers to cars as they were driving by. We must have sung the song "Up With People" about 25 times but it was still a lot of fun!!! Below are some pictures from the day...

One of our CI (community impact) projects for the week was helping out baby sea turtles and their habitats. So we went to the beach and some members of the cast worked with the sea turtles while the rest cleaned up trash on the beach!! After we were finished with the sea turtles and picking up trash, we were joined by some local university students who had set up some games for us to play. One of the games was a three legged race. I teamed up with one of the students from the local University and little did I know, there were going to be some new rules. We were told that in order to win you had to be the first team to run to the other end of the area, up the stairs, back and jump into the pool. My teammate and I worked extremely well together and were the first ones to arrive at the pool..I didn't think that he was going to jump in we were both fully clothed. Well, he jumped in and I tried to keep myself out of the pool even though our legs were still attached, an UWP staff member came up behind me and pushed me in clothes and all. After all of the excitement we ended up winning the race!!

On our host family day in Tepic, we went to the beach. My host brother and I went on an ATV ride and I even had the opportunity to drive it!! Even though as some points during the day it was down pouring, it was still a lot of fun...and it doesn't matter if you get wet if you are already in the water!! There are a few pictures below from the adventure!!

One of the most amazing parts of the week was my "Mexican Experience!" My host brother Pablo and his friend, took Milou and I on our own "Mexican Experience!" We were able to hear a Mexican band play and dance in the street as well as go to an overlook looking over the entire city! The pictures below are from our "Mexican Experience!"

Cabo, Mexico (August 25-September 1)

2008-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Cabo was the first city of the tour that I was in a host family by myself. My host parents spoke absolutely no English at all and I speak barely any Spanish so it was definitely hard communicating with one another. The first night in Cabo they brought me to a restaurant and I had an amazing potato...

One of the places that we visited on our regional learning day was a ranch. We were able to take a walk to a beautiful waterfall as well as eat the most amazing mangos!!!!

We also had the opportunity to go on a dinner cruise. It was absolutely amazing. Below is a slideshow of pictures from the evening...

I happened to have my birthday while we were in Cabo and my family prepared a special meal. We ate tamalles, they sang to me Happy Birthday in English and Spanish and we ate chocolate cake (my favorite)!!!

In Cabo we also painted the baseball stadium that we performed at. We repainted the inside and outside green with the help of some teenagers from the community. We were also able to interact with them by playing some games.

On host family day we went to the beach. The waves were a lot of fun to play in and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous!

La Paz, Mexico (August 16 - 25)

2008-10-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

After only being able to spend 4 days in Breckinridge, Colorado...we spent the night at a local resort and departed at 3:30 am for the Denver International Airport. From Denver we flew to Cabo, Mexico where we loaded onto 2 buses and drove to La Paz, Mexico. We were brought to an absolutely beautiful resort where we had our allocation meeting and were able to meet our new host families. My roommate was Anika from Germany and our host parents were Humberto and Tere and we had a host brother Julian. Our host dad Humberto spoke a small amount of English so we were able to get by.

The slide show below is pictures of us meeting our host families...

We were fortunate to have two host family days in La Paz, as well as a decent amount of time to spend with our families. The slide show below is all pictures of Anika and myself with our host family.

The CI (community impact) project that I was able to take part in while we were in La Paz, was painting the outside of the Baseball Stadium that we performed at. The entire outside of the stadium was covered in grafitti and we painted it white!

Anike and I prepared dinner for the family one night...she made pasta and I made cookies!!!

One of the Mini Shows (BTS) that we did in La Paz was on a stage right in front of the water....we were performing as the sun was setting, it was absolutely amazing! Below is a slideshow of pictures from the show!

1st week on the road....Breckinridge Colorado!! (August 11 - 15)

2008-10-08T21:53:00.001-07:00

After spending four weeks in Denver, Colorado it was now time to say goodbye to our host families and officially start our tour. Bright and early Monday morning we left for Breckinridge, Colorado. On our way we were able to do some regional learning and stopped at a mine. Below is a slideshow of our travel day!

My host parents in Breckinridge were Ernie and Barbara and my roommate, Ilka from Germany. Below is a picture of my family in Breckinridge.

The CI (community impact) project that I was able to take part in was at the local high school. We were asked to repaint all of the green trim in the Cafeteria brown. The cafeteria went through a complete transformation in only 2 days.

I was also able to take part in a BTS(backing track show) which is a mini show that we put on in the community usually for promotion. We performed in the town square and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Here are a couple of pictures that were taken after the BTS.

Last week of Staging in Denver, Colorado

2008-10-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Our last week of staging in Denver was spent at our show facility...Teikyo Heights University. We had a lot to do in order to get ready for our show!

A slideshow of pictures from the Dress Rehearsal!

Our last host family day in Denver our host parents Bob and Judy took us to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a phenomenial experience...I couldn't believe that even though it was August, there was still snow on top of the mountains.

A slideshow of pictures from Rocky Mountain National Park!

Third week of Staging in Denver, Colorado

2008-08-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

This past week has been absolutely AMAZING!! My Up With People experience thus far has been even better than I had imagined. Last Saturday my Host Father Bob took us White Water Rafting. He plans a trip every year for the Up With People Cast and their host families…this year, about 100 people signed up to go. Birgit and I were in charge of informing the cast about the event and collecting all of the money. So bright and early Saturday morning around 6am we headed off. White water rafting is on my list of things to do at least once in my life…it’s amazing that three weeks into my Up With People journey I had the opportunity to do it! I had an absolute blast white water rafting and I would most definitely go again if I had the chance! We were even allowed to get out of the raft on the last rapid called “last chance” and float down on our backs. The following pictures are from the rafting trip.

This is where we went white water rafting:

Posing with Up With People friends before and after rafting…

My host dad was in the back right of my boat and I am on the left 2nd from the back!

After rafting, Bob took Birgit, Kirk and I on a scenic journey home. He used to teach Colorado history at Colorado University and he knows soo much about its history. Below are a few interesting facts and pictures from our journey!!!

We stopped at turquoise lake…

The water that comes out of this spout is carbonated…it was awful L Bob told us that some people in the area will only drink this water!!

We stopped to see some rapids and the scenery at several locations.

This week we had the opportunity to take part in our first CI (community impact) day. We were helping to restore an area in Colorado that was destroyed by the Great Colorado Fire. The cast and staff were split up into three different groups. My group was in charge of moving fallen trees and branches into ditches to help with the erosion. It was amazing how my group had such great teamwork and could work together to move large grown trees. Below are some pictures from the day.

This is a picture of the damage caused by the fire.

Teamwork…

Other pictures...

Up With People “boot camp” has been going really well. At this point in the game we know most of the show and are now working on putting everything together. We have been having a lot of “run throughs” and “blocking” to help us do this! This week we were also introduced to specialty costumes. The dance lines and soloists have special costumes to wear during the show and have many quick changes. It’s definitely a lot of fun learning the show! We have also been busy preparing ourselves to travel on the road. This past week we have had educational sessions that have prepared us to work with students in classrooms, learned about the cities that we will be visiting and have been given other important information that we will need to know!
Tomorrow my host father is bringing a few of us cliff jumping. I am looking forward to it!!! After we go cliff jumping we are going to a place in Denver called the Grizzly Rose. They have line dancing!!! I miss line dancing and I haven’t been since the week I left home.

This is a picture of my "me page!" Each cast member made one and they are being placed into a book that is put on display at our shows.

I can’t believe that we only have one more week in Denver, Colorado before our tour officially begins!!! Our first show that we are putting on for our host families and friends is next Saturday!!!!

2008-07-13T18:05:00.002-07:00

This past week has been absolutely amazing. Everyday Birgit and I have come home completely exhausted…but it’s all part of the fun!!! It’s great coming home from a long day with the cast, eating dinner and sitting around talking with our host parents for a while! One day my host parents took Birgit and I up to a lookout point in the mountains for us to take pictures. The picture below is my host mom Judy, me, Birgit (my roommate from Switzerland) and my host dad Bob.

Our host families house is extremely cozy and makes both of us feel right at home. Here are some pictures of where we are staying!!

Our bedroom...

The dining, room, kitchen and living room...

At the opening session Sunday and the Monday morning kick-off the staff performed a few dances for us to get us pumped for staging. It was a phenomenal performance…one that made me extremely excited. I can’t believe that in a few weeks it will be us up on the stage!! Below is the staff performing a few Up With People dance numbers!!

The mountains here are so beautiful. Where we live in Boulder there is a formation that is known as the “Sleeping Indian.” The picture below is of the “Sleeping Indian.” Look towards the right of the mountains and you can see the head and than moving towards the left is the stomach and directly to the left of the telephone pole is the toes!!

My roommate Birgit took part in the Culture Jam on Wednesday night. She sang a Swiss-German song with another girl from Switzerland. They performed first in the show and did an absolutely amazing job. This is a picture of Birgit and Gwen performing!

Thursday night after staging we went to the Rockies game. Kirk who is a cast member from Denver was our "tour guide!!" He showed us how to get to the stadium, helped us get our rock pile tickets, explained to everyone the American food at baseball games and helped us get to he bus station! Ten cast members went to the game and out of the group, 6 of the cast members weren’t from the United States. They had never seen a baseball game before! They were all very excited. Not only did they enjoy the baseball game, but they also enjoyed eating Rockies dogs and snow cones. As you can see from the pictures below we all had a great time!!! A few of us even went to the batting cages that they have in the stadium.

Some will call staging (the four weeks that we spend in Colorado learning the show) “Up With People” boot camp and that’s exactly what it is! The cast has been going through intense dancing and musical training, as well as sitting in on education sessions to prepare us for our upcoming tour. We are currently working hard to prepare the numbers in the show for our dress rehearsal that we will be having at the end of staging in only a couple of weeks!!! The first dance that we learned as a cast is called “Keep the Beat.” It’s an extremely upbeat and fun song and dance. Two staff members performed the dance so that everyone could record it to practice at home. Below is a recording of the “Keep the Beat” dance being performed by Kaleigh and Cody who are two past cast members.

This weekend our host dad Bob is out of town. He is with a high school group white water rafting and doing a lot of outdoor adventure sports with them. Our host mom Judy is home with us and today we are having a day of relaxation resting up for the busy week ahead! This afternoon we are going out for Pizza and we are going to have a game night. A great way to begin the week ahead :)

Events from my first weekend in Denver, Colorado

2008-07-13T18:05:00.001-07:00

My first weekend in Denver, Colorado was great! After being introduced to my host dad Bob and roommate on Friday night, we headed to my host families house and were greeted with brownies and ice cream from my host mom Judy. We sat outside in the backyard next to their garden and water fountain chatting and getting to know one another until late into the evening!

Little did I know when I met my host parents Bob and Judy...that they have hosted 78 Up With People Students as well as many others from various service organizations and over 90 foster students. They have done all of this as well as raise their own 4 children!! How absolutely amazing!! They are phenomenial host parents and even though we have only been here for an extremely short amount of time..I already feel right at home :)

Saturday morning Bob and Judy brought us to the Railroad Museum that he volunteers at for a volunteer appreciation luncheon. He gave us our own private tour of the museum...it was very interesting! On our way home from the museum Bob wanted us to see a few trains pass...on our way we were stopped in the road by a large group of cattle. There were guys on horses with lasos stopping the traffic allowing them to cross. Once we got to the area to watch the trains, we found out that the cattle would be crossing by us again. Little did we know that they would be only inches away! We were able to see 4 trains as well as the cattle! It was an absolutely amazing experience! I have included a picture of the cattle with this post!!!

Saturday evening we went to the Boulder mall. It's an outdoor shopping facility and many street performers were there. We were able to see the zip code man...if you give him your zip code he will tell you where you are from. As well as a girl who juggled and did handstands while standing on a base surrounded by knives and fire!

Sunday morning we went to church with Bob and Judy and 0ut for lunch with a bunch of their friends from church before attending the opening Up With People Ceremonies. Many of the staff members participated and put on a mini version of the show for us! It was great :) Made us extremely excited for our upcoming tour!!!

First weekend in Colorado

2008-07-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

I have only been in Colorado for 3 days and I have already been having the time of my life! Between meeting many other students, the staff, my host family and exploring the area it has been phenomenial!

My host parents for the month that I am in Colorado are Bob and Judy Rothe, and they are absolutely amazing! My roommate and I are their 77th and 78th host kids from Up With People! They have an area set-up down stairs for us. Their is a room with two twin beds, a closet, dressers and across the hall we have our own private bathroom, it's absolutely perfect. My roommates name is Birgit and she is from Switzerland! She is 25 and is an elementary school teacher as well.

Leaving for Denver, Colorado

2008-07-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

The past few months have flown by. The fundraising, packing and goodbyes are almost all done and in less than 6 hours I will be on a plane heading to Denver, Colorado. I am full of emotions. Sad that I am leaving my family and friends, excited to meet new people and start an amazing journey and completely scared, not knowing what to expect. Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to meet the other members of Cast B as well as meet my first host family. It's going to be a day that I will never forget. The first day of my Up With People experience...