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!!!!!