Lake Havasu City and Viva la Gente!!! Leon, Mexico!!

What an amazing last week i have had! It all started in the beautiful Lake Havasu City, Arizona! With a nice temp of 117degrees F! Whew....i couldnt stand outside for more than two minutes without getting sweaty!!!!! It was such an experience though, i had never been to Lake Havasu! My host parents were simply amazing!!! Dawn and Eric Larsen, i enjoyed them so much and i found that i got extremely close to them in our stay in LHC. They had an outdoor swimming pool so me and my roommate Lima spent a lot of time outside at night, it was so awesome! I loved every minute of it! One night they took us out on the lake with their boat! It was so beautful!!!! i cant wait to go back and visit them when i come home. Eric is a carpenter and i had the honor of getting to sleep in the bed that was in the wall!!! haha it was so cool!!! You just pulled it down and it made the bed, not to mention it was soooo comfy!! =) I was so sad to leave them, they treated me and Lima like their own daughters and i feel so extremely blessed to have crossed paths with them! Its a forever long friendship!!! We perfomed two shows in Lake Havasu, it was so much fun and also our last city/show of the US part of our tour so we had to make it extra special!!! I didnt feel too good on friday and saturday---the nights of our show, but i stuck it out and im all recovered now i just have a really weird congested cough. Its going away slowly!!! Anyway then we ended our time in Lake Havasu and headed for the Phoenix airport on Sunday morning at 6am!!! We arrived at the airport around 10 and boarded our plane at 3! We flew to Heramosia and from there we got off the plane and went through immigration and got Back Onto the plane and flew to Mexico City! we flew in at night and i have got to say that it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen in my entire life. My breath was literally taken away whenever i opened my window of the plane and looked down at Mexico City! It was GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the lights!!!! I think it is classified as the largest city in the world with over 25million people there! It was nuts!!! So once we got off the airplane we went through customs and saw Armando and Seli waiting for us and cameras all around taking our pictures, we were welcomed by a huge banner that read VIVA LA GENTE!!! It was awesome! Out of all the excitement i ran to my bag to grab my camera and..........it was nowhere to be found! THEN i remembered that when i was on the plane i had my bag underneath the seat and when we were getting off my bag fell and i just picked it up and got off the plane. My camera must have fallen out under the seat and i never noticed!!!!Ahhh so i started to freak out! =( I tried going to lost and found but it was already closed so Armando stayed in Mexico City and is going back to the airport to find my camera (CROSS MY FINGERS THAT ITS THERE) i will be so heart broken if its not. So then after that chaos we loaded up the buses in Mexico City and rode for 7hours with a hour break to Leon Mexico! We arrived around 6am and when we got out of the buses we all went inside to this HUGE room and layed on the ground and fell asleep for three more hours! We were So Exhausted!!! It was freezing and everyone was cuddled up with chair coveres that were laying on the ground. it was HILARIOUS! Thank god i had my own pillow and blankie So i was good to go! Emil Shared my pillow and we were out like lights! We got up around 930, got ready and i went and washed up in the bathroom. We were at a college and i walked around a mess and everyone was curious watching us! Haha. Then we had a huge welcoming from the University. There were dancers that perfomed and some people that talked. It was so much fun getting to see a whole new culture! Then for lunch we ate outside with some mexicans and then all of a sudden we heard music and it was Mariachies!!!!! Haha, so cool! we danced and sang with them forever! it was a blast! We then had a cast meeting and waited for our host families. I was extremely nervous because i was worried about getting a host family that didnt speak any english. And 80% of the cast didnt have roommates so i was quite nervous! But i found out that i was rooming with Nao from Japan! she is AWESOME! i love her so much, and then we found our host family (the code word was musician, and they were holding a violin) The lady waitng for us wasnt our host mom though, it was the sister of her. So we met all of the family! And my host family is a mom, two girls ages 12 and 6!!! They hardly speak ANY ENGLISH! So it was funny we had to laugh because i took out a piece of paper that had a ton of phrases in english and spanish... We then went to the grandmas house to have dinner. We ate Sopas with beans and cheese and chili. It was so good!!!!!!!! We talked to them as much as we could then came home. It rained so much all day so it was so wet outside!!! Like flood status! haha. but earlier today my shoulders got burned because it was so hot. So the weather was funny today. Usually its really hot. I live in a cute little casita with the girls. Im staying in the bunk beds with Nao. The little girl is adorable she speaks spanish to me and i try to figure out what shes saying. The Mom has such a huge heart and is so giving! And Jemena the oldest daughter is so smart!!!!!!!!!!! She learns some english and Japanese and french! Shes awesome! I love them all so much! I cant wait to see what the week brings! As for now, i better get some REAL sleep in an Actual BED! NightyNight!

I missed an entire week!!! Sat-Sun 8/15--8/24

Haha, my bad. I have slacked off horribly with this blog! Yikes!so much has happened this past week and it stinks that im going to just have to sum it up to what i remember!!!! Our show in Aspen/Snowmass was kinda rough. It was FREEZING so we all were cold the entire time. I started to get really sick and losing my voice because the cold wind was going down my throat and my vocal chords couldn't stay warmed up. It was so hard to sing with the wind blowing in your mouth. And it was about 45degrees when we performed. I didnt talk most of show day because i knew i needed to save my voice. Mariah and Jada came to see me and so did my cousins Charlotte and Ashley! It was an awesome surprise to see them. They froze watching the show and i was so thankful to at least get to see them!!!! Then we had to Strike down and we all were bundled up, i helped with costumes because i felt so yucky!!! =( we finally got home at 1am and then my host parents woke me and Kristine up at 6:50AM. and i was so exhausted and my body was aching from the day before. I guess i was coughing all throughout the night and i didnt get much sleep. At one point Kristine said i was coughing so bad she woke up and stayed awake for like 10 minutes while i was coughing just to make sure i was still breathing it sounded so bad. =( it was so scary. So when Barbara and Jack woke us up, i couldnt get up. I needed to stay in bed so i wouldnt get any worse. So they left and went to a monastery without me. So i was able to sleep until about 10. Then i got up feeling a lot better than i had that morning so that was a good sign even though i was still coughing really badly. Then me and Barbara made a carrot cake because that was the recipe i got from her and we made it together. We then went sightseeing with them. They drove us to Independence Pass, it was Amazingly beautiful! Then we went to Maroon Bells and that was just as beautiful! When we got home we ate a good dinner!!!! Shrimp Alfredo and i dont remember what else. but the carrot cake was for dessert and it was Delish!!!! Monday we left at 7am heading to Durango! I was soooo stoked because that meant i got to see my family!!!!! =) The drive was long and i couldnt sleep because i was so excited! We stopped in Ouray and i talked to my mommy, it was so exciting to know i was going to see my parents so soon!!!! =) When we got to durango they briefed us on the city and what we were going to be doing while we were there and then the host families were waiting for us outside! It was so funny cause everyone was holding me and quita back because they knew our families were out there waiting for us. Then finally they said we could go and i jetted out and ran to my mom and dad and sister! IT WAS AWESOME! I cried like a baby cause i was sooo happy, and so did they!!! =) we picked up rico from football and then we went home. IT was so sweet, there was a huge welcome home sign in the den of my house so i was able to walk in and see it right away! SO AWESOME! It was sooo weird walking into my house and room, i felt like i hadnt been there in forever!! I kept asking, "what did you guys change? it feels different!" haha So then we ate my favoirte Thai food and i went to bed, I already had got a little emotional because i knew that my stay was going to be super short! I woke up in the morning and went back to durango. We had a community impact day and we worked on trails in the mountains! I got a little altitude sick so i wasnt able to make it all the way to the top! I was soooo sad! It was such an intense hike though and i had made it pretty far. So instead i went back downtown and helped with promotions for the shows. Then after my mommy came and picked me up. Aude from Quebec went with us too! That night my family came over for dinner and then wednesday i had the day off so it was nice getting to just hang around my house and town for a day. I went to my little brother Rico's school and ate lunch with him and met his teacher. It was so cute!!! I miss my family so much! Doing the little things like that are what i miss the most. Thursday was our first show day and i was so excited because it was the first time my family was going to get to see what i have been doing for the past month! The day went by so slow because i was so anxious!!! Then i saw my family after i got ready for the show and there were so many people there for me! I felt soooo special. The show went amazing and my parents bought me Red Roses! It was awesome!!!!!!! Then Friday was another show day and it was the night that all my family was going to be there! every time my picture came up on the screen they would scream, even when i finished my solo they screamed! It was hilarious! Everyone in the cast was making fun of me!! Bruce Erley (the father of our Marketing Manager) even asked me if i could take all my family to all my shows! It was so funny!!! Then after our strike on Friday night i stayed in a hotel with my parents, sister and little brother because we had to leave at like 7am. I cried leaving them the next morning but they were happy tears because i was just so thankful i was able to see them and spend time with them as much as i did!!! We were on our way to Chino Valley and then we stopped at the Grand Canyon on our way there! It was sooooo cool! I had never been to the Grand Canyon so it was exciting to get to see it for the first time! The only downfall was that it rained...and rained...and rained! We were SOOOO SOAKED by the end of our two hours there! It was fun though, we took a huge cast picture when it was pouring rain! Every single tourist was looking at us like we were CRAZY! Then when we got to Chino Valley we met our host families! I am roomies with Yui our show manager and we have a cute little family! Our host dad Jim was an UwP Alum and his wife Lynn was a professional dancer in Las Vegas. They did shows together and all kinds of cool stuff! They have two little kids named Owen (5) and Jordyn (2) They are the most adorable little kids i have ever met! They are so free spirited! I am sooooo happy i finally got to be around little kids! They are such a great passion of mine!!! That night we just hung out and visited with them! It was so nice to get to relax and sleep! On Sunday morning it was our host family day so we woke up at 9am and went to church at 11. I definitely was stoked to get to go to church! It is something i have been missing so much!!! The worship was absolutely remarkable and i felt so at home! =) Then we ate lunch and just hung out with the family! We took a walk, sat outside! They have a beautiful home and neighborhood! I loved getting to know them better and im so sad that i dont have more time to spend with them. But its cool that they are so close to my home so that when i come back i can just go right next door to Arizona and hang out with them! =) We went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant for Yui and then we got ice cream and walked around the little park around downtown! It was so fun!!! Me and Owen raced a lot around the park! And Jordie was adorable eating her cotton candy ice cream that was all over her face rather than in her mouth! =) We had a little fire outside and visited with our neighbors! Shelsea and Helen were staying next door to us! So we had a bonding time!!! now today we are at Chino Valley High School doing a show tonight and then tomorrow we leave for Lake Havasu City! And next week i will be in MEXICO! =) woo hoo!! I shall write again sooooon! XoXo

Wednesday-Friday!!!

These past few days have been quite a big blur so i will do my best to fill you guys in on everything!! I have been mostly writing in my personal journal since i havent found the time or energy to type!! Wednesday was one of the longest days so far...i know i have said that a couple times in the other posts, but this day definitely beats out all the rest!! It all started with the entire day being devoted to the show. We had to run through a lot of it because we were having some parts videotaped for advertising reasons, so there were some songs we would do over and over again to get them recorded. They had to be perfect. It was long....but having a video camera in your face was pretty cool actually! haha. Then we did a full run through with specialty costumes and then after that we had to get ready for the show!!! We only had an hour to eat dinner and be ready full makeup and hair for the show. So i ate fast and ran and changed and did hair and makeup. Good thing i already have big hair because it wasnt too hard for me to do!! So after that we have what is called Green Room right before a show and that is where we do some fun dancing and singing things just to get our energy up! But this green room was especially Special to us because it was our first official show!!! They had us enter and there was music playing..balloons flying...streamers EVERYWHERE...and the cast was jumping and screaming for us! It was hilarious and so much fun! We danced around and sang. Then they had us all get into a huge group and close our eyes. When we did they started reading the things we had wrote on facebook before we had arrived to denver....and before we had all met. Tears were already falling down my face because they read some of our goals and challenges we wrote, they read what we said to introduce ourselves...It was sooo emotional. Then they had us all sit in front of a screen and they played Because You Loved me from Celine Dion and then pictures started going across the screen from our families they held signs saying Good luck on your first show and all kinds of stuff...so then everyone was crying again!! I didnt see mine on the screen so i just cried for everyone else haha...then afterwards they had all the pictures taped to the wall and when i went over there Quita was standing there crying and i look up and i just start bawling because i see the pictures from my family!!! They were AWESOME! I will upload pictures to photobucket when i have time and i will show you the pictures they sent me! They made me laugh so hard but cry even harder. Then in the middle of crying i hear...5 minutes everyone...Places Places!! AND I have opening song! So my eyes were bloodshot red from crying so hard and then i ran to the bathroom, grabbed tissue..wiped my face and then took a million deep breaths. I thanked God over and over for the fact that nobody would be able to see my red eyes while i was on stage because they were so far away!! haha IT was awesome but still very emotional. The show went SOOOOOOOOO GOOD! I was so happy!!! At the end i ran to change my clothes so i could go into admissions and then Michael, my vocal teacher came to find me and told me i needed to do him a favor, and that there was a little girl in the lobby that wanted to meet me the girl that sang and to get my autograph. It was so cute! She was 10 years old named Gabi. She was absolutely Stunning!!!! I felt so honored to get to meet her and talk with her for a bit. Hopefully when she gets older she will shine her light and show the world what she can do!!! =) it made my night and that little girl is someone i will never forget!!! I then went and did admissions and just hung out with everyone enjoyed peoples company and we were able to head home around midnight after striking the stage and everything. It was going to be such a long night because i had not packed yet and we left for aspen at 8am!! So me and Quita went home and stayed up ALLLLLL NIGHT packing! haha i think i layed down around 5am when Quita got into the shower and i slept for about 45minutes. i finished getting ready...got all my bags and took them upstairs for Paul to load up in the car. We left the house and when we got to the Pepsi center every ones luggage was lined up and it made me so excited but also so sad because i didnt want to leave maryjo and paul. When i said goodbye to her i cried so hard, she kept holding me and i kept on crying. I cried till we drove away and i was crying waving goodbye.... So sad. Well my first bus date was Emil and he was so awesome, he is from Sweden and we fell asleep for the first half of the trip and then we talked the rest of the time. We mostly talked about our families and told funny stories from our past experiences. It was so much fun, he tried to teach me how to rap and beatbox and we tried making a music video but it totally DIDNT work! haha I am not good at that kind of stuff! It was very fun and entertaining. When we got to Aspen finally we had a huge introduction to the city and we rode Gondolas to the top of the mountain of Snowmass Village and we hungout and did some meeting stuff. Then we got back on the bus and went to meet our host families! Me and my friend Kristine from Norway are roommates and we have an older couple for our host parents. Their names are Jack and Barbra. They are the sweetest people! They are so free spirited and we like them a lot! Kristine is such a blessing too, i know she is going to be one of my closest friends, we talk about everything together it is AWESOME! So we ate dinner with them and talked about traveling and all kinds of fun stuff! Then Friday we got up early and had our Community Impact Project day, We were split into groups and my group went to a place called woodcreek and did some trail work. Like fixing the trails and cleaning up the vegetation around them. It was fun but it had rained all night so it was very wet, and it rained on us as we were working but it wasnt too bad. after doing that from 9am till 3 we went back to rejoin the cast as a whole and we did some education activities, then came home and ate dinner and now i am ready for bed! Tomorrow is Show day and Mariah and Jada are coming to see me so i am so excited to get to see a familiar face!!! =) wooo hoo! i love family! and my niece is the most beautiful little girl so i cant wait to see her! It is actually pouring down rain right now and lightening and thundering so hopefully tomorrow there is good weather because the show is outdoors and the audience sits on a hill!!! I hope everything goes good!!!! XoXo!

Sunday-Tuesday!!!

Wow i got a little behind! Sorry!!! Ill start off with Sunday and the finishing touch to my eventful weekend...NOT...I was sick with food poisoning so it was nice to relax and not be so sick on sunday. I slept in, just hung out at the house and didnt do too much. Me and Quita drove to Boulder around 6 to have some dinner and see a few of her friends. I had a lot of fun, i definitely needed to get out of the house i felt like a bear in hibernation because i stay in the basement and i didnt really feel up to moving around too much at home. The night ended well though! Thank goodness my entire weekend wasnt ruined!
Monday---VERY weird day! It was up and down most of the day but i survived and that is ALL that matters!!! We had some separate vocal and dance workshops again, then just set up the stage and everything that was needed for that. I danced and did a vocal workshop so i didnt help with setting up. Then after lunch i really really didnt feel good. We had Pasta and i probably shouldnt have ate because my stomach has went through so much over the weekend that i needed to stick with Light foods and nothing heavy. So i got really sick and made a dash to the bathroom...=( It was Miserable! I called my mom because i was wondering why i was throwing up so much and i cried to her...it was really rough especially because i needed to be working on the show and focusing on that and i was over here sick to my stomach with a fever and just feeling YUCKY! My mommy made me feel so much better though. Its crazy even just how tender a mothers voice is and you feel like everything is just okay no matter what! I LOVE it! Family is awesome!!!! I am sooooo blessed to have such a great one. Anywho, back to my story...After i got off the phone with my mom i sat outside and got fresh air and i started to slowly feel so much better. Naquita came outside and prayed with me and over my body so it helped a lot. I ended up drinking lots and lots of water and eating some saltine crackers to help my stomach and it DID! I was feeling so good by around 230! So After that we did a run through of a few songs and then the day was over! But me and Quita had tickets to go to the Colorado Rockies game! They played the Chicago Cubs! And WON! woo hoo! we had an AMAZING time and it was the perfect thing i needed! Fresh Air...and Baseball!!! Good time...with good people!!!
Tuesday---So today we had a guest speaker named Caroline Lee. She was AWESOME! She has been talking to casts of Up with People since the 70s and she gave us a speech on how to not waste the time we have right now and enjoy and get the most out of this trip and to TRY everything and that these experiences will affect us for the rest of our lives! IT was an awesome speech and definitely made me so stoked for UwP and the fact that our tour is about to begin in just a couple days!!!! An Alum named Faith talked to us also she was amazing as well!!! then we did one last full run through and ate dinner and got ready for the show for all of our host families and friends. I was a bit nervous but so excited that it was finally a real audience! =) It went GREAT...a bit intense but SOOOOO MUCH FUN! i am so stoked that we get to perform this show all over the world! ahhhhhh it is amazing how it all came together in a month! It was also a sad night because all of our staging staff is not traveling with us. So we get tomorrow with them and that is it! I AM SOOOOO SAD! i cried quite a bit, it was very emotional! I had to laugh i remember at the beginning of staging my friend Drew told me...Rachel did you know that you joined the group Up with Emotions! hahaha i thought about it tonight because after i was all dressed with hair and makeup done i started CRYING! and ugh! it was so sad! But i have already made some amazing friends and they will be everlasting friends Forever!!!! MaryJo and Paul along with two of their friends went to watch our show and tomorrow night i am having quite a few people come and watch so i am so excited! I better get to bed because i have such a long day ahead of me!!! XoXo!!!

Thursday-Saturday!!!

Thursday we woke up so late!! Quita shut off the alarm and MaryJo came in and woke us up at 835! We were supposed to have left the house at 730! She had to take Jade (her daughter) to the airport so she had just got home. So we didnt get to practice until 945! We were doing Full Run through and i was the opening song so Michael kept callin me seeing where i was at because they were waiting for me! So i got there and we finished our full run through and it was the last time we are running it until Monday. After lunch i had a workshop for voice with Michael, he is such an awesome vocal coach. He taught me ways to sing With One Heart better! And after that i had a dance workshop for the Love Medley because i am learning the part of Love Girl, so that shall be interesting. I feel like my brain has had so much info its almost like i cant learn anything else! haha but i AM and it is going to be fun when everything is learned for the show and i can look back and see how hard i worked!!! It rained really hard while everyone was striking the set and they all got wet and rained on! It was hilarious there was a few of us inside the huge ballroom and we saw everyone coming in from outside and they were soaking wet!!! there were so many of them that had a water fight outside. Then all of a sudden you hear a huge loud scream and they ALL STARTED SCREAMING and running around like chickens with their heads cut off! I was freaking out and covered my ears cause the screaming was so loud...then they all fell down to the ground and were silent...and i yelled.."you guys are FREAKS" and then they all started vibrating on the ground and making noise like if they were dead fish or something. It was HILARIOUS! Then they all got up and walked out and around Silent..like nothing had happened! It was so hilarious i wish i had it recorded i was so freaked out at first! Us Up with People kids do weird things like that all the time and i need to get used to it! hahaha! Then we all said Goodbye to the Sherman center because it was our last time there!!! It was a beautiful building and i am gonna miss it! =( a lot!!!

Friday---We met at a church down the street of the Sherman center and we were split up because it was a community impact day (CI day) and some of us had to stay at the church and do dance workshops to clean up and review some of our dances and then the rest of the students were shuttled to the Foodbank of the rockies. and they helped and packaged food there all day. I was one of the students that had to stay at the church and do two dance workshops then when i wasnt dancing i was doing community service for the church we were at...in the morning me and Shelsea pulled weeds around the Church and a homeless guy was walking and he saw us pulling weeds and he offered to help us because he was waiting for someone to pick him up and they were running late. He was really really nice..his name was Jack and he helped us a lot! Then we painted some hallways and rooms in the church that needed to be repainted. we all brought sack lunches and maryjo made me and quita lunches it was so sweet. We all ate outside and it was a fun lunch time!! The entire cast came back around 330 and we did an admissions workshop learning how to give interviews at the end of shows for anyone that was interested in joining up with people. it was fun but we all were so exhausted by the end of the day and were ready to go home!!! It was such a hot day the sun definitely took it all out of me! Then when we were driving home me and quita made a bet that mary jo had made dinner and i said she Didnt and that we were going out to eat. so we bet on a free starbucks. And i ended up winning!!! we walked in the door and usualy we can smell the food and i didnt smell anything so i started jumping up and down singing I am the champion of the world! haha And When we came downstairs maryjo told us we were going out! We ate at this awesome restaurant and brewery. And me and Quita shared the sampler appetizer plate. Well after that we went for a walk around the lil pavilion thing it was awesome and BEAUTIFUL there were fountains coming out of the ground and me and quita ran through it!!! and we walked to the Hockey place and watched some teams play hockey for awhile. It was a nice lil place to walk around. We were with maryjo and pauls friends Sherry and Tony. They are their good friends and always go dancing together. They went with us to WestCoast swing competition. Then we came home and i talked to my mommy on the phone and missed her a lot! We talked about our moms at dinner a lot so i called her to tell her i loved her. Then when i got home i talked to my sister and my mom again. I had to do a presentation on New Mexico so i was looking up fun facts and stuff while i was on the phone with my mom and then i started to not feel so good. Well after i got off the phone i just figured i was tired and needed to go to bed. Well i went to the bathroom because i felt really sick to my stomach and i ended up throwing up, so i slept on the couch with a trash can next to me and i woke up every hour super sweaty and hot throwing up. It was MISERABLE! i had a bit of a fever and i was just sick as a dog! So i went into the room and told quita and i slept with the window open cause i was so hot! And quita had to get up at 7 and i couldn't even move because i still felt so sick! So i had to stay home from our other CI project today and i was sooooo sad! Maryjo took care of me and got me ginger ale and toast. So i mostly slept and stayed curled up in a ball with my pillow all day. Around 5 i got up took a shower and went to the grocery store with maryjo because i was feeling a bit better and needed to get out of the house and move around. So when we got home i sat outside for about an hour and just hung out. I ate soup for dinner and i am definitely feeling a lot better but i am still very lethargic and tired. Whew...what a long night and day! MaryJo is pretty sure i got sick from the Guacamole i ate last night because since me and quita shared food i was the only one that ate the Guacamole and mj said it is the highest thing to get food poisoning from! =( sad!!!! So im glad i get tomorrow off also so i can still recover! Then Monday we start over and we leave denver on Thursday. I am sad to leave MaryJo and Paul. I got so close to them and i am prolly gonna cry when i leave =( They are amazing people and i am so blessed i got to spend all this time with them and get to know them as well as i did!!! Well im off to bed! Nighty night! XOXO

Tuesday-Wednesday!

Man it has already been such a long week and it is only wednesday!!! This is the week that everything is totally broke down and we get down to business with the show. Our first performance is on August 11 for our host families then for the public on Aug. 12th So it has definitely been a bit stressful the past few days. All we do everyday is go back over the things we have learned and put it together so we can have a good lookin show. =) it is going to be awesome when we all finally finish prepping for it. And i cannot tell you how happy i am that staging is almost over and we can finally get busy with our tour and Community Service projects. Tuesday we had Full run through with our specialty costumes...It went really well but it is just rough getting used to the sequence of songs and which ones come after which...Plus everyone that has to change is running around like chickens with their heads cut off! haha it is always so hectic!!! I sang With One Heart so many times that my vocal chords started to get a little bit swollen so i have to take it easy on the talking until the show and not strain my voice. It is so hard to NOT talk so we will see how i do with it. Also i am on a water binge..haha thats all i drink and i drink a lot of it, so it will help my vocal chords too! For some reason i got extremely Homesick and when i called home i heard my moms voice and just started crying. It was crazy....to be so busy and stressed and then to hear the comfort back home...i miss it so much. =( Things definitely are so much more intense this week and they warned us that it would be a long long week. So i was just exhausted and talking to my mom helped me a lot! Also i talked to Shane and he let me vent so it was nice. Other than that i slept well and woke up this morning ready to do it all again!
So Wednesday---we had to stay late tonight, Got home around 815 and i was so tired.... We have to make these 'Me' pages and i still havent made mine. i will probably make it tomorrow during lunch or something im too tired to do it tonight...and i got a text from my michelle saying i needed to keep up with my blog and i figured that if i waited till tomorrow i would forget everything that happened yesterday haha! So thanks lady...keepin me in line! So today all we did was full run through alllllll day long! then i had a workshop to watch Aulde...She is the lead role for a part of the show called the Love Medley, it is so many songs all compiled into one event...it is awesome! But i have to shadow her because i will workshop and learn the lead roll also. So it shall be interesting. I had to laugh at myself today because i totally felt like my brain was hitting MAXIMUM CAPACITY! haha like the number of people that are allowed to be in a restaurant....well my brain is full....i feel like i cant take anymore in at the moment! haha so i just recorded her doing it and i will study it sometime next week! Oooo we also did a cool little thing today where we had to dance to some fun 60's music to get our energy up. Up with People are known for energy in the show so it is sooooo important that we learn how we need to be. We watched and critiqued everyone so it was interesting and helped so much! Well i am done typing...my fingers are getting stiff i better go to sleeeeep! GOODNIGHT! =)

Sunday Funday----LONG Monday

SUNDAY-----Was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, i had the best time!!! We slept in and then we ate breakfast and started our adventure to Elitch Gardens. (amusement park) I cant even begin to tell you how stoked i was to get to ride a rollercoaster! Woo hoo!! We met up with a whole bunch of our cast mates there so we called it an Uppie Fest! =) We started out with a few rollercoasters and then did some water rides. We got SOAKED! But it was so nice, it was such a hot hot day! Glad it was also a water park! We hung out, laughed a lot....and i mean A LOT! I remember going into a hat store and trying every single funny hat on and taking pictures, Good times!!! I will have to post up some pictures of it on here...Then Me and Quita skipped out on lunch because we werent really hungry! We met up with another big crew up UwP peeps and just finished the day off with one last water ride. We all had a blast! It definitely was the day i have been longing for since all this mayhem has started!!! A nice FUN Rollercoaster day!!! I wish my family was here though, things would be a million times better if they were! So once i got home, i was exhausted! I sat on the couch and ended up passing out with my bathing suit still on! Haha, thats how wore out i was...i couldnt even make it to my bed!!! I finally woke up though and successfully made it to the room!!! Little did i know, this week was going to be SO BUSY and LONG!
MONDAY------So Monday, whew...what a long long day! It is officially our Last full week of staging and i cant believe it is week FOUR! My gosh, where does time go!? Anywho, we have a show to do in exactly ONE week so we are just busy bee's practicing and doing run through of the entire show to prep us for next week!!! We had a guest speaker Bruce Erley and he is Matthews dad (staff member and marketing manager) He talked to us about Life in a fishbowl. Meaning everything we do is visible to everyone else...It was really interesting and im sure was well needed before we started our tour so it was cool, he is also super funny!!! Then i had 2dance workshops to review my dance for Oye Boom and Jai Ho. They were fun and i was so glad we had review days so i can refresh my memory!!! After lunch we started our run through process of the show. It was a long day after lunch but i enjoyed getting the feel for how the show was going to be back in my blood for this week. I sang Power With, With One Heart and i danced to Oye Boom and Jai Ho. It was so stressful and i was so hot and sweaty because i had to change into different outfits for each of them...and in between two of my numbers i only had a min to change because there was a Poem that was being read! By the time i Ran across stage i was sweating and breathing hard! haha but i seemed to do fine....It was fun though! Everyone is so talented i have an amazing cast!!! Then i came home and ate dinner and i am so exhausted i need to go to bed! AFTER i practice my lyrics AGAIN! haha NightyNight!

Wednesday-Saturday!!!

I know i haven't wrote in such a long time and i apologize in advance because this entry is going to be quite lengthy! But my daddy told me i better not get too behind so i better get my act together so i can have short everyday entries...so i will just highlight all the cool and important things that have happened the rest of my week!!! On Wednesday we just had our workshops like usual, dance and vocal. I Practiced a couple songs and then since i am in background vocals we had our own workshop for that too. It is kind of overwhelming because i am learning and filling my brain with So much every single day! But i am working my butt off so i know in the end i will look back at this time and be so proud of myself. I already AM to the point of being so proud of myself! =) Then in the afternoon we got a Specialty Costume workshop, to walk us through the specialty costumes and what to do if we had to change and stuff, Because for the songs we have certain outfits to wear (the soloists and the dancers) so they just showed us all of that stuff. It was definitely exciting to see all the costumes. Then we ate dinner and had to stay till like 730 because we had an educational workshop to do. It was interesting. We split up into groups and were given an item....we had to talk about the global issue that we thought was represented by the item then we had a discussion about it. My group got a bag of Rice. We basically had it represent World Hunger. Because there is more than enough food produced in the world to have each and every person to be well nourished...But yet we have starving people all over the world. So we discussed that. Then we had to all sit in a circle and relate what our item was to another groups item. So we related ours with another group that had a bag of dirt. Because we felt that it was related because of land and farms...And we had yarn that we held and threw the other end to them..and they did the same thing. So at the end we had a huge yarn mess that was criss-crossed in every direction. So the point of the game was that everything was connected in one way or another. We had some very good discussions! Then i went home and went to bed right away! i was soooo exhausted!
Thursday was our first official day that we had our Full Walk through of the show, Costumes, live songs and dances....It was awesome. It was definitely very time consuming but it made me feel so much better about this whole situation. I don't feel so blind anymore, getting to see people actually performing what they have been practicing was awesome! we have such amazing talent in our group! I sang three solos *With one Heart *Power With *Oye Boom then i was the back up singer for 3songs. It was so much fun to get to sing and perform. I got some amazing compliments and that made me feel super good!!! =) I am having such a blast with all these people i love how encouraging every single person is to everyone! The way they lift people up is so awesome! So thats all we did allllll day long! It was a long day but super fun! Then we had some vocal time at the end of the day and that was it! When we got home some of Pauls family was coming over for dinner, they were in from Chicago. It was fun getting to know them, but i was so tired from the day that it was a little too much for me, but i stuck it out and was able to talk to my family for awhile so that relieved me quite a bit!!! i Cant wait to seeee my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday! So i cannot even begin to tell you how happy i was that it was Friday! the week has been so long and busy busy....Time for some rest! We started our day out with picture day! We had to get our picture taken because if UwP needs to put our picture on the net or do something with all of us they can have an individual picture of each of us. So we had picture day, and got together with our home team groups and kind of just touched base. I love my home team group they are sooo awesome! there is about 12 of us with two team leaders Gabe and Anthony. We just hung out and chatted, it was nice being in a small group and getting to talk to everyone about things that have been going on in each of our lives. We went around our circle and told one Good and bad thing that has happened, and one thing we appreciate in our lives. It was a nice way to vent. Then i had vocal workshops for singing so i had to miss cast movement which made me sad because i LOVE to workout! and i need to!!! but i had to sing instead. then after lunch i had to sing again but this time for solos. I had to practice my Oye Boom song with Pieter, the guy i am singing it with. Its a fast fast Spanish song and we have to dance and look good. So we were practicing! We had so much fun! He Cracks me up soooo much. He was making us laugh so hard that my vocal teachers were crying and i almost pee'd my pants! it was so much fun!!!! Then we had to move buildings because there was going to be a wedding in the Sherman Event Center and we had to clean up all our stuff and take chairs certain places....then we had to walk down the street to a church to finish our day with a cast meeting. So we get all of our belongings and walk down the street. When we get there we jus all sit down and got into a huge circle and we each had to say ONE word about how we felt after these three weeks of staging....I said Blessed. for my word...Everyones words were so good...and i think i definitely feel a lot more than just blessed, but i think Blessed pretty much sums everything up because without God, i wouldnt be where i am or even WHO i am. So i am VERY VERY VERY Blessed and i continually feel Gods blessings on me each and everyday! He is so good!!!!!! I am here for one reason and that is to shine HIS light...Oh i am soooo stoked! =) Wooo hooo i could scream right now! haha! So back to the cast meeting....We all hungout and then the staff ran away and we were all confused then they all of a sudden open this huge door/window thing and they were all wearing chefs hats and all of a sudden Hans yells..."welcome to the Up with People, Ice cream Party!!!!!" and we all SCREAMED! there was sooooo much icecream waiting to be served to us! it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we spent an hour and a half eating ice cream and having a huge Dance party! it was such a nice way to relax and end our week! They said they wanted to reward us for all our hard work! It was awesome!!!!!!!!!
Saturday...i slept in finally!!! Till 11, went and got a manicure and a pedicure with Quita, then i drove to Littleton to see my cousins Cheryl and Alyse cause Alyse was singing in her church choir and then we went out to dinner and then i went back to their house and watched a movie with them! it was so nice getting to see them, they are sooooo amazing and sweet to me! Then i came home and got lost on the way back haha so i had a long night of getting home but i made it and now i am listening to Quita play bass, and i told her to stop because she was messing up...hahaha and she said for me to shut up and to blog about it...haha So i AM! =) Anyways, i am exhausted, better get to sleep because we are going to Elitch Gardens tomorrow! Wooo hooo! i cant wait to ride some rollercoasters!!! I shall tell you all about it tomorrow!!! XoXo

Monday-Tuesday

The start of the week has already been quite the adventure! Week 3 has begun and i cant believe it, I feel like i just left home yesterday but then at the same time i feel like this routine of things have been going on FOREVER! I cant wait to get on the road and travel!!! I am getting extremely anxious already. Yesterday we played a game of Bear, Salmon and Mosquito. Kinda like paper rock scissors except with an entire group of people. So there is like 40 people on each side of the room and then we say 1..2..3..GO and your group picks one of the three. And if your group loses then you have to turn and run to your side But someone of the Winning team chases after you and if they touch you then you are now on their side. Kind of like they captured you for their team now. So i end up getting trampled on and my middle toe got broke! It was covered in blood and so disgusting! It hurt so bad, so all day yesterday i was getting carried around and it was funny but i was very frustrated because i couldnt just get up and do what i wanted to do. My poor toe!!!! We also had our cast picture so that was really fun....I got to sit in a chair! haha. Then all i had was singing workshops so i didnt really have to do much.
Today i woke up and my toe was feeling a little better but is still pretty swollen and i learned to just hobble around and kind of walk with a limp. But i didnt mind because i will just give it a couple more days to heal then i will get over it! i have to use my foot! I am not worried about it too much because the swelling went down a lot! Me and Quita woke up at 730 and that is when we leave the house! So we were running WAYYY late! We didnt get to staging till like 845. We were supposed to be there at 830. We had table rounds today...with speakers that were actually UwP alumni! So it was so awesome! We got the chance to talk to people we didnt know that had previously traveled and their tours were actually for a year instead of 6months. So it was awesome! One guy that really made an impact on me was named Chris Margatt, he told us that we need to be ourselves and that we are the ones responsible to take what we want out of this experience. It meant so much to me because i want so much out of this next 6months because i do know that they will fly right past me within a blink of an eye and i dont want to be the one that sleeps thru this experience. I want to take every opportunity to learn and grow as an individual because talking to the alumni was so interesting to hear how UwP changed them STILL to this day! talking to them just totally made me extremely stoked and thankful that i am HERE and i get this chance to change and grow and learn learn learn! Its pretty awesome! After that we did another group activity with learning about the news around the world. IT was a fun group activity, Then i had a Dance workshop and Yes my toe did okay through it! I just kind of stayed off of it and used the ball of my foot instead of my toes. And then my Dance workshop went into my Vocal workshop so i ended up missing it but then at the end of the day we had Group Vocals so i just asked the other girls what we did in our mini workshop and i caught on quick!! It was a long couple days but over all I feel very good! i was able to talk to my parents for a long time tonight so it ended my day perfectly!!! God is sooo good! I love my life..........and every single person in it! =)

Wonderful Weekend!!!

Man, so this weekend was awesome! Saturday me and Quita slept in and watched Slumdog Millionaire. It was a good movie! We went shopping for some things and came home and got ready to go out to the Westin hotel because Paul and MaryJo bought us tickets to go to Swingtime in the Rockies, Its a dance competition with dancers from all over the country! We have been taking a few dance classes with them called West Coast Swing. We love love love it! I wish there was a dance place in my town that taught that stuff because it would be an awesome hobby! So we went there and it lasted all night long from like 7-4am, but we only stayed till 2. We got way too tired and wanted to come home. Getting to watch a live competition was so fun! Then in the middle of the competitions they would have Social Dancing, so anyone could get out on the floor and dance. It was fun! Me and Paul danced a few times, he cracks me up! But he helped me a lot! the Dancers from So you think you can dance were there...Jordan and Tatiana. They were amazing!!
Today we slept in all morning...this weekend was exhausting!!! Then we just hungout cleaned the room, i practiced my music for this week and we ate a yummy dinner, BBQ Chicken!!! Now i am getting ready to help Quita with her Bass music I need to teach her how to read music!!! Anyway, i am looking forward to a very very busy week. I miss my family back home =( i cant wait to see them in 3weeks!!! xoxo

FANTABULOUS FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhh today was such a good good day! Man, so many good things happend! First of all it is Friday!!! And i have TWO days off, so i am definitely stoked about that! TGIF! Well today it all started with a hilarious thing happening in Morning meeting. It was Jason and Matts birthday and they had brought a pinata in and they had jason swing and after matt swang when he took off his blind fold, they pie'd him in the face! It was hilarious! I guess it has been a joke for a while between him and our assistant manager Gabe. Then after that I had a Dance workshop and learned an entire dance to the song Jai Ho, it was so much fun doing it! But it was alot of work and this lady that dances 'bollywood' taught us. It was very fast but very cool! Then we had lunch and i filled out my Internship application for Marketing and Education. Internships are things you apply for and you are able to learn what they do and sort of shadow them...Im really excited to see if i get one. Then we had a garage sale thing and they were selling things from last years cast for cheap. So i got a couple stickers and a shirt!
After lunch we did Vocal class and then i had a Vocal workshop for a spanish song called Ole Boom! It is soooo much fun to sing, but it is extremely fast and a lot of memorization. So i am learning that song also. Then we finished singing with the rest of the Cast and me and Quita had a chiropractor appt at 530 so we had to leave early to go to that! Oh yeah and i forgot one other thing, Linda one of our vocal coaches asked me to sing a solo (With One Heart) at a staff mini show on wednesday! I am so excited! So today was definitely a GREAT day, i am looking forward to having a fun filled weekend also!!! xoxo

tHuRsDaY!!!!

So today was an awesome yet Long day! I sat here reflecting on today before i logged on and i was like 'My gosh we did A LOT today' And we DID! It all started with Blocking, and that means we went through our entire show on stage and learned when we get on stage, when we dance, where we stand, which mics to get...all that good stuff. I was actually really engaged in it today which is a surprise because when we are doing things and its not really quiet i have a hard time paying attention i get distracted way to easily. But it interested me a lot! So now i will NOT be confused next time we do it! =) Anyway, it is such a long process, we did it for 3hours. Then we ate lunch and after lunch we were put into groups 1-8 and we were supposed to go on a scavenger hunt in downtown Denver, answer some questions take pictures of us infront of places..stuff like that. So we all went off and it was pretty easy questions, mostly because i had internet on my phone, so we looked up some answers on the internet! Haha Yay for technology! =) Then after that we had to take a picture of us with a security guard or police officer, and we had to take a picture in front of the state capitol building and we all had to be jumping in the air. It was fun, except i think i was the only one actually still in the air when they snapped the picture...So then Laura Lynn (our staff memeber that was with us) Bought us all some frozen yogurt with fresh fruit on it. because we got done early! Yummm it was so good! I got Blueberry-rasberry flavored yogurt and then topped it with fresh rasberries! It was so good! And then we went to the EPA building. Which stands for Environmental Protection Agency. We went on a private tour of the building and it was so awesome! they had a green roof, which was full of plants and flowers so that in the summer the sun is taken in by them and it provides the building to stay cool and then in the winter it provides insulation. Then everything was made out of something recycled, it was so awesome! the stairs were out of bamboo, and some type of marble. They gave us pencils that were made out of recycled Money! haha! SO cool! i love to learn about the organizations that are for protecting our environment and i believe that EVERYONE should recycle. So it was right up my ally to learn about all this, my mom recycles EVERYTHING! =)

After the tour we went back to Sherman even center and we had to do some workshops, i had two singing workshops, one for back up singing and the other was for solos. So it was fun and i learned some awesome songs!! that is actually what i am doing right now, listening to my music, I have soooo many songs to learn and i am on stage next week so everything has to be momorized! I sure have my work cut out for me thats for sure! Well i better get to learning these lyrics and i am so happy tomorrow is Friday! Then i get a weekend!!!

my Wonderful Wednesday!

Wednesday! The week is officially Halfway over! Time goes by way too fast, and when you are busy things seem to fly by like a blink of an eye. Almost like i am on Fast forward and the button seems to be Held down because NOTHING is slowing down for me! Today was a great day though, We started out with having some Leadership stuff and getting to visit with some guest speakers that were asked to speak with us, they went around to each table and we were able to engage in a conversation asking them questions and things about what they have learned and studied and what advice they had for us, the UwP cast before we begin our journey! It was awesome and i learned a few good tips. Like Be REALLY good at what you do and other things seem to just follow and fall in place. Or also that leadership means so many different things but to be a LEADER, there are characteristics that are needed, like having self motivation, not only Listening but Understanding what is being said and taking other peoples perspectives into consideration. We had many good conversations so it was interesting to see how these people that had different jobs and lines of work used leadership in everything and thats how they have reached every goal they have set for themselves. It made me take a step back to see if i am fulfilling the qualities of a good leader and it was so impacting to learn steps to take and other good actions that can be taken in order to get those qualities if you are unsure of them. Then after that we had Vocal practice, and i had an smaller workshop for Background vocals it was so fun! I am learning so much! i miss choir so it is nice to be back to my comfort of things...Then i had another individual workshop for solos, the R&B songs mostly...i am so excited and next week we'll be getting to perform with the live mics on stage with the entire cast! So cross my fingers!! =) Then we had Culture Jam tonight and that's where everyone gets together and makes something to perform from they're own country and where their culture starts! There were some AMAZING performers. a few people did Tap dancing and others sang songs in their own language. Me and Quita sang the song Flor de Las Flores, with her friend Sammy playing the guitar for us. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!! We had so much fun and everyone's compliments were so sweet, i guess we sounded good together! I loved it, and it was also the first time Quita had ever been on stage and performed so i was so extremely proud of her!!!! =) So it was such a good night, then when i got home i was able to call my Daddy because is here in Denver for some Business meetings. I went to his hotel and hung out with him for awhile, Gah it was so nice to get to see him and hug him. A good big Daddy hug feels so good and comforting!!! I talked his ear off about everything that was going on so im sure he enjoyed hearing me blab on and on! =) I jus had so much to say i felt like i couldnt get everything out and that i was talking so fast, haha i guess thats why its a good thing i blog, so that everyone can just read and not have to listen to me talk so fast! Im tellin you, i am permanently on Fast forward, and that includes how fast i talk, shoot it even includes the way i type, if only you guys could see how fast my lil fingers are going! hahaha! I just laughed out loud, because i am totally NOT joking i have speed fingers! Thats why i write a book everytime i have a new post! (Sorry dad, im shooting for 30min of family time for you to read this all out loud!) LOVE IT! =) well that was about all that happened today, what a great great day! I am sad it is over but i saw some amazing things and the last person i got to hug before i went to bed was my Daddio, so im gonna sleep good tonight!!!! LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xoxo

Tuesday!!!!

Today is Tuesday! And was definitely a lot better than Monday! It was fun and for once in my life i wasn't exhausted when i got home, i actually felt a little refreshed and ready to get some things done rather than coming home and wanting to hit the sack right away!!! We did some awesome stuff today at Staging including starting our day off with some Admissions guidance. Like when we go into high schools or meet people, and pretty much like recruiting! It was so fun to talk about how we heard of Up with People and what we were doing before we came here. Also how we felt when we got our acceptance letter! It definitely made me think and remember back to those times and the feelings i felt. I even remember the exact way i felt when i was taking my interview and filling out my application. Also how i felt when i helped cast A 2007 with their Community Impact Project. The fact that each and every cast member inspired me to want to travel and impact other peoples lives in ways that they were doing was awesome. Something i will never forget. Just knowing that now I am the one apart of the cast and that people will feel the same way that i did when i saw Up with People the first time. It was just something so fun to look back on!
Then we did lots of vocal practice, we learned a new song and our cast sounds So good all together! And then after lunch everyone had cast movement (which is like fitness time) And choreography. But i had to miss it because i was called into a vocal Workshop to learn some parts to certain songs. It was fun and i felt right at home because we had to do part singing and in trio's and that is what i am used to. So it was fun! Then after that we went down to a room and none of us had a clue what we were going to be doing. So we walk in and all of a sudden all of our staff is dressed up fancy and walking around like they owned the place and we see a huge sign saying...Welcome to Las Begas...haha instead of Vegas. And there was like 13 tables set up around the room numbered and they each had a deck of cards and two pieces of paper on them. We had to sit at a table and play a card game without talking (in complete silence) and then you were trying to win so you could move up to the next table. Because table 13 was the top table, they were getting treated like kings and queens! So then we read the Rules and got started....i got so frustrated because when i would win i would get a chip and i was able to move to the next table but then at that table everyone played the game different than i did the first time...so i got super confused. Come to find out EVERY table had Different directions on them, so we all thought we were playing the 'same' game. But we weren't! It was funny, we had a huge discussion about it and it made me realize that in our everyday lives things change so fast, whether its rules or understanding and being patient with things you aren't familiar with. It was an amazing discussion and i honestly think that i will remember this activity and apply it into my future! I love how they have lessons all the time, its so interesting to see what they do next. Anyways, me and Quita are practicing our song for Culture Jam tomorrow (everyone can perform something from their culture like song, dance, poem etc.) so we are singing Flor De Las Flores and Quita is playing bass, I'm singing, and her friend Sammy is playing acoustic guitar for us. Its is gonna be AWESOME! So i will have to post up the video whenever on Thursday!!! I'm exhausted better get some sleep!!!! Adios!

Gotta Love Mondays!!!

Oh man, today is Monday and it definitely falls into the category of one of thee longest days of my life!! My day off yesterday just doesn't seem like it was long enough!! I cant wait to sleep in again NEXT week. I got off the phone with my sister earlier and i had asked her what she did today and she said, "Oh i just stayed home and hung out" and all that was running through my mind was, 'man i really took it for granted when i was able to just hangout at home and do NOTHING alllll day long' Here....we do not get that! We work work work from the morning to every minute we have left at the end of the day! I know that when i get home i wont be waisting anymore days away. Which will be really good for me!!!
Anyways, today all started with some cool leadership workshops and some team building activities. The entire basis was just focusing on What makes up a Leader, and stuff like that. We had 3different stations and the first one i went to was where we had to pick one word that we thought defined a leader and glue it to a huge piece of paper! The word i chose was Inspiring, because i feel that all leaders are there to inspire others to be all they can be and they are good examples to everyone around them. Then we had to answer questions like Who fits this word that we know, and i said my Mom and Sister because they inspire me everyday to be a better person and to show the world what i am capable of doing and that i can truly impact someones life like they have done with me. It was cool. Then our next station was interesting and also my absolute favorite...We had a piece of paper where we split into two sides. Then our staff member Dave started asking us questions that we had to answer and write them down on the piece of paper. The questions were... Name 5 Nobel prize winners, name 3 actors/actresses that have won an academy awards, name 3most richest people in the world, Name 4 Olympic gold medal winners and name the countries that have won the world cup in the past 5years. So as you are reading those questions....Can you answer them yourself????? Read them again. All i can say is that i sat there saying...uh uh uh...to every question! haha Some of them i could answer but the others i felt dumb because i was like hmm should i know this stuff! So it was extremely hard for me. THEN on our second list he said, Name the 5teachers that have impacted your life, name 4people that have been there for you through a rough time, name 5people that you think is a leader, name 3people that you trust...and three people that care about you. I sat there and wrote down all those answers within seconds because i didn't even have to think about the answers i already knew them and knew that they were the right answers. It was definitely an activity that made me learn that the world is full of people that we are supposed to look up to and consider Leaders....but it is what the world makes of them, Its not like we know them personally. So it was super interesting and made me miss home so much because everyday my life is full of leaders and people that have impacted me in ways that aren't even spoken. It was cool to see everyones reactions. Our Last station was where we had to go through magazines and cut out things we thought represented a leader. I cut out a person with an earring on, because the picture of the ear meant that a leader has to be a good listener, and i also cut out a picture of a lady with some little children in a 3world country because i feel that a leader needs to step beyond themselves and become Selfless....to put others before them and to help like the lady was helping and giving money so the little children could have a meal. All the activities were awesome and i learned a lot.
So that was the first half of our day, and after lunch we started with blocking (staging) we went thru our entire show from act 1 all the way thru act 2. We had to put our show costumes on so that we could really get a feel for what it was going to look like with everyone in different colors. So it was very very long and my patience was tested a lot today because its very time consuming. But we went through it with flying colors then we were able to take our costumes off and go thru it again with some actual songs and choreography. It was a long long long end of the day and i was beat. So when we got home we ate dinner, went to the store so quita could get some stuff and now i am home...and it is raining so hard with a tornado warning i guess. So thats kinda nuts! Pray for me! haha! I am off to bed now, ready to start my day again tomorrow!!!! Love you all!!!!

Wednesday-Sunday!

Well I know i haven't wrote for a few days and i apologize for that! I am always so dang tired and it takes a lot to sit and write because i would way rather SLEEP!!! I will get better at this though, i promise!!! So i will start with where i left off and that was Wednesday...We did a few team building activities including the human knot. If you have never done this before it is where you get a group of people in a circle and you grab a persons hand from across the circle and then grab another hand from across the circle...after everyone does that, you are in a huge human knot. So the key is to get out! Our group never succeeded, haha but it was still fun, We definitely learned that you have to be patient and make a plan and continue to try even though it seemed frustrating and impossible to do. We all had so much fun! A girl named Rowin went around the room and named everyone's Name and Country because she had a bet with a guy named Rafa that she couldn't do it...so She ended up doing it and he owed her Coffee! It was so crazy! She rocked!!! For our first fitness day we did Zumba, and holy cow...she worked our butts off! I was sweating like a pig! haha But it was definitely fun fun and a great workout! And we started our first day of choreography so it was fun but fast...you have to be a quick learner and they don't really go over it much they just teach you a bunch all at once. So I'm sure i will have a bit of a hard time remembering some things but as time goes on i will be able to catch on to every single little detail there is to know! I have my work cut out for me that's fer sure!!!
Thursday- Today was a rough emotional day for me! I felt quite overwhelmed with so many things going on so i had a bit of a break down in the morning but i was better after i calmed down and realized that i CAN do this despite the fact that i miss home, and my family so much. I just need a Mommy or Daddy hug. I feel like after Durango comes i will be able to breath again because i will get a chance to see my family and reunite the good feelings i get from being around my loving amazing family! I have a feeling that is going to be my biggest challenge. Homesickness. But pray for me.....i can do this!!! Someone made me laugh and said..."well rachel, you thought you joined Up with People, but you really did join 'Up with Emotions' haha i couldnt stop laughing because seriously its the TRUTH! You get feelings that you never thought existed and it is so crazy, one minute i can be so happy and peppy. then the next minute im stressed, sad, and homesick! Its ridiculous! But im sure things will get better as time goes on! Everything is so new! For our fitness today we did Pilates, it was relaxing!! Then when i came home i went to bed at like 830! I was soooo tired!! But man did i feel good the next morning! =)
Friday- We learned all about Internships today and the certain ones you could apply for. It was a really interesting presentation. I want to do the Marketing or Education Internship because Marketing is something i would be really good at. Thinking of new ways to promote things and advertising for shows and having radio interviews, i am a very good people person and talking Is something i am not afraid of doing. So it was really cool to learn about each of these things. And my second choice is an Education Internship because i LOVE to teach new things and have activities that are effective to people and something they can apply to they're every day lives. So i was really interested and education sparked something in me to be so interested about it. Im excited to apply. There is also an Advanced internship but im not sure if i will apply for it because there is so much to do for it. You actually travel to a destination 2weeks prior to the cast getting there and you set up everything, from guest speakers to communicating with the marketing manager about all kinds of stuff, There is just so much to do and im not sure if i would fit under that category! I would rather do one of the others. But it is so awesome that they offer that to us. We get to learn so much and the awesome thing is it can be applied to what YOU are interested in and want to work more with! =) cool stuff! Today i also got a second call back for voice and i sang quite a few different songs. I am crossing my fingers that i get one!!! =) There are so many talented people here, it is amazing. Cast B rocks already, im sure the show is going to be amazing! i also worked out and i am sooooooooo sore! Holy moly i haven't been this sore since....shoot i dont even remember!!!
Saturday- Today was our first official day of our FIRST staging week being Over! It was quite a big deal for all of us! This week has been everything...from happy to stressful and smiles to tears!!! It was definitely a laid back day, the staff put on the show we will be traveling and performing and as they performed some things live they also had some videos of past casts that they showed us. So it was amazing to see our show that WE were learning performed in front of our eyes! We all are so excited and cant wait to get to our first show on august 12th. But there is so much to get done! Then after the day was over we hung out with some up with people peeps and it was a fun night!!! What a good day im glad tomorrow is our day off!!!!!! I NEED TO SLEEP!
Sunday- well today is my little brothers birthday and he is 9 years old. I am so sad that i am not at home with my family celebrating with them. When i called they were bowling so it definitely made me sad that i wasn't around there but i have next year! =) I slept in and it was amazing!!! Then ate out with MaryJo and Paul at a restaurant called Ted's. I had some of the best salmon EVER! IT was so good! Then we went to our dance class for West Coast Swing dance! It was awesome, i took a lesson and learned what is called "social dancing" meaning i can keep up with people and actually still have fun. Basic steps! IT IS A BLAST!!!! i cant wait till next weekend because there is a competition here and its called Swinging in the Rockies, then after our dance class we went out for Carrot Cake and it was soooo yummy! i had such a good day with MaryJo and Paul, they are awesome! I love em. But i did talk to my mommy tonight and i miss her so much too, I am so blessed to have such good people in my life! Well it is bedtime i am exhausted and ready to start the work all over again tomorrow. yay for Mondays! NOT! =)

The start of Cast B 09

Soooo I know I am a little late starting this blogging business and I apologize for that, but things have been so nuts and I am new to this so I will have to update the past few days in this post to catch up with myself!!!
Day 1 was amazing and a bit overwhelming...It all started with me and Quita (my cousin who is here with me) waking up and catching the bus to Sherman Center, we thought we were so cool because we were going to be arriving a little before noon and we would be right on time to see people. Well, little did we know that nobody was meeting at the Sherman center...They were all meeting at Montbello Center by the airport...haha So we walk into the Sherman Center and ask for Up with People and the guy at the front looks at us and says "uh they aren't here" So me and Quita are like Oh gosh we went to the wrong place. And luckily a guy named Matt walked out from the back wearing an Up with People name tag and told the guy in the front he would take care of us. So he ended up taking us to the Montbello center and it was like 20miles away from where we were at! So THANK GOD that he was there otherwise we would have been a mess!!! Once we got to the place we were supposed to be at me and Quita were both a lil nervous...and it was crazy. We met most of our cast and anytime a bus came from the airport with new Up with People students we would run out and make a bridge for them to run under as they got off the bus. We were jumping and yelling and screaming. It was Awesome! The first thing I thought was "Wow this bunch is Full of energy!!!!" we all got along amazing right away. People weren't shy and would walk up and introduce themselves. It was so cool to see all the countries represented. Also to hear the accents when they would introduce themselves and talk to you...I remember talking to a girl from Belgium and I couldn't understand her for the life of me and I felt sooo bad! But she laughed at me and said Oh never mind! =) It definitely was different and made me so excited for the semester learning and growing with all the new people I just met. We played games and laughed, laughed...and did I mention we Laughed? Well we DID! and when I say laugh, I'm talking about the laughing so hard that your eyes water and stomach aches so bad you have to clench it!!! I remember a girl asking me if I was from Mexico i said No and then she said well do you speak Spanish and I said No again and she told me I was a Fake Mexican!!! haha! oh what a good laugh! =) We then were picked up by our host families at 8:30pm...so we stayed in a room from like noon until 8:30. It was a bit much but we all had fun with musical chairs and the cup game....Our host families had code names so we could find them and my host families code was "monkey" so when we finally were able to see them I see MaryJo and Paul jumping up and down acting like they are scratching their arm pits and making a monkey sound... We laughed so hard at them and gave them huge hugs right away!!! MaryJo and Paul are my second cousins so it is nice to be able to be with family up here for my first month of UwP. And that's bout all for the first day in the Up with People adventure!!!
Day 2 was very relaxing, we were able to have a day off and I slept in till 10 and just hung out with Quita. We then went to Boulder and ate Sushi and saw some of her friends. MaryJo and Paul take dance classes so they taught us a new dance style called West Coast Swing and they took us to an actual class on Saturday night with some of their friends. It was soooo much fun! We had a blast and learned some cool moves!!! There is a competition in two weeks and they made us go to this class so that when they take us to the competition we can know a few of the basics just in case we get asked to dance! We mostly danced with old people but it was still such an experience. I love my host mom and dad!!! After the dancing they took us to a Mexican restaurant to have sopapillas covered in cinnamon sugar!! Mmm they were so good!
Day 3 was a half-off day so we just ran some errands for the first part of the day and relaxed, then at 4 we had to go to the Sherman Center to have an intro program provided by the staff. Our host families were supposed to go with us and we would have a reception and have time to mingle with everyone in the cast and they're families also. So MaryJo made AWESOME YUMMY cupcakes for us to take and oh man they were so good! I wanted to eat them ALL! Then when we got to the place we met the main people involved in Up with People and all the ones who make it happen! The staff performed for us and it made me so excited! They performed a couple new songs and it was so cool to watch the energy they had and to know that we all would be in that position in 4weeks!!! It definitely made me feel like this all was really happening!! After the show we ate dessert and talked to some people from the cast and some staff members, then everyone went home. It didn't last that long. When we got home Me Quita and MaryJo all watched So you Think You Can Dance, MaryJo loves it!! I ended up falling asleep because i was so exhausted and then i realized that I was going to be feeling exhausted for 6months!! haha!
Day 4 was the first official day of staging and this was where the fun really began, well actually Not yet...all we did on day 4 was listen to people talk about the rules and go over everything that was in our student handbook. Kind of like the first day of school where you have to go over every single thing you need to know even if it is common sense stuff! So it was very very tiring and i couldn't wait for it to be over! I get too restless when stuff like that goes on for too long. We had played games in the morning and they were so fun! I love how everyone is very outgoing and not shy about dancing or screaming...being goofy! it is so fun to play games and run around acting like dorks with everyone just laughing at you but also joining in!! The most fun i have ever had with people i have known for 4days!!! I cant imagine how close we all are going to be after 6months of this. The day ended with vocals so we all were able to sing together and learn a few parts of a couple songs! I was super stoked for this part because I couldn't wait to sing and hear everyone else as a group! and let me tell you...our group was BOMB!!!!! we sounded so good and i was so surprised how many international people that had never sang before. They all did amazing!!! Then after staging was over me and Quita rushed home because MaryJo wanted to take us to a buffet all you can eat Italian Restaurant. So i made SURE we weren't late! All you can eat!?? Rachel wouldn't miss that!!! =) Yummy Yummy! We had so much fun with her but we were so exhausted from the day that at one point i thought my head was going to fall in my plate and i was going to fall asleep right there on the table!! haha luckily i didn't because that would not have been a pretty sight...My face in some delicious lasagna!! =) I was so tired though that that honestly didn't sound too bad!!! I hit the bed hard when we got home and i was so happy to finally get some sleep!!!
Day5 which was today for me was absolutely Amazing!!! it was a laid back day but we had what is called Modules where we go through audition type things. We were split into 10different groups and my group number was 7 and there were 8 of us girls! So first we did Costume, and i took my show costume in to them to see if it would be good for the shows. And of coarse it was PERFECT! So i will be dressed in Hot Pink and Black for every single show! Good thing those are my favorite colors!!! Then we went to Tech, where the tech people show you the stage stuff and lights and backstage so we can get familiar with what it will be like when we are back there for a show. It was really interesting. A lot of cords! Seriously i respect Tech people so much now, you never know how much goes into a dance set until you go backstage and see EVERYTHING they have to have set up and plugged in for everything to run smoothly! Pretty impressive! After that we had a break and went to lunch. Then my next module was Speech and because there are speaking parts in the show we had to read off a paper in front of a couple staff members. I did good because I already feel comfortable with public speaking but when i heard the girls from other counties and when they read with the accent they had, it totally blew me away! I was in awe! They sounded soooooo unique and cool! I wish I had an accent! After that was Dance and it was a lil overwhelming because they went through things so incredibly fast but it was still fun. And my last module of the day was Singing. We all sang in a group and then individually! All our girls sounded so good!!! They had us sing individually so that we could be placed in parts! and of coarse i am a Soprano! Like always! ;) I'm soooo excited for tomorrow but extremely tired so i better get to sleep!!!!!