The countdown to the U.S. tour begins!!!

"The time has come!" the leader said, to talk of many things. "Of shows and dance and touring the world, of helping people too. and when we leave this melting pot we'll know more then when we started."
EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!!! U.S. TOUR FOR CAST B 2007 BEGINS MONDAY!!! Thats right folks- we the people of Up With People are in our last week of staging (or preparing for the show). On Monday the 6th of August the cast leaves for Gallup, New Mexico to begin there 5month tour of the world. I will meet them in Globe, Arizona, as that is where I am doing advance work (in other words; setting up the city before the rest of the cast gets there). I leave on the First of August for Globe, so i wont be with the cast, but that is ok- i will see them soon enough. Its been a crazy month. I've never been so busy or so completely and utterly exhausted. This past Sunday, I had the immense pleasure of going to see Circ du Soleil: Corteo. IT IS AMAZING!!!!! I went with my Mom and Whitney from my cast. Its is truely unreal. I would recomend it to anyone and everyone!!! Today is Monday the 30th, and it is the day that we moved from the Sherman Center to the Teiyko Loretto Heights Theatre where we will have our show. This week is down to the nitty gritty and we have a lot of work to do. It is also my brothers birthday, so...HAPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!!!The cast continues to bond and grow stronger each week and its been awesome to see the show come together. I am so excited for the next 5months, and nervous too. If anyone has some good qoutes or words of encouragement for me and/or the whole cast I'd love to hear them!!!! See you all in December! I'll keep writting and updating this blog so keep checking back!!!

UP UP WITH PEOPLE!!!! YOU MEET THEM WHEREVER YOU GO!!

I'll start by apologizing for the delay in postings. I have been tremendously busy. On Saturday we had an intense day of blocking and rehersal. I also had some more Advance Team training. plus modules for some vocals. Then Sunday about 30 of us UWP people went to Waterworld for a day of fun in the sun! It was a blast and I only got a little sunburned -nothing too bad. It was a great chance to see the fun side of the cast, since normally we are busting our butts dancing or singing, or sitting listening to the next awesome speaker they have planned. On Monday we had Mark Gerzon come and speak to us. He was soo inpirational and I learned so much. Its hard to really put it in to words, so much of it was an internal change of mind or heart. We have a regional learning day tomorrow, which basically means we learn hands on about the community we are in - so we are doing a scavenger hunt all around Boulder, CO and then visiting the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. It should be fun.

I am so amazed at how I have grown. I've had ups and downs in the last couple of weeks, and I have struggled with having so much thrown at me at once, but i have also thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have been challenged by those around me and completely put in my place, and I am grateful. I am surround by people who care- about me, about the world, about others, and about making a difference. I can't wait to see what happens in the following months. It can only get better!!!!

Globe here I come!!!

By the title of this post it is easy to assume that I am referring to the fact that I am going to be travelling the world for the next 5months...That assumption would be wrong! Though I WILL be traveling the globe for the next 5months, I was actually referring to the news that I have been accepted on to the Advance Team, as previously mentioned, and my city is Globe, Arizona. I will leave on July 30th, and head out to Globe, where I meet up with Louise, the Community Relations Coordinator, and help her set up the city!!! I have training this week and I am super excited. In other news, we had a fantastic Leaders Round Table yesterday (Wednesday 7/18) and I learned a ton about leadership and made some great contacts. They brought in leaders from all over Colorado, and we got the chance to talk one on one with them and hear their stories and get their advice on leadership. It was very cool. We are still working hard on the music and dance of the show and continue to grow more exhausted with each passing day. It's a good exhaustion though. Today is Thursday the 19th, and it was our first community service day. It was absolutely humbling. I feel so blessed to be in a position to help people. We went to the People's Clinic of Boulder, which is an amazing health clinic that deals with every range of medical needs. There we helped with some handy work like staining the deck and the tables, and others worked with files and moving them into storage etc. Some even worked in the garden. My group catalogued books for a program called Reach out and Read, and then we went in to the waiting room and read to the kids there. It was amazing. I was soo touched by how willing these kids were to hear our stories and to listen to us and read with us. I ended up reading to some Bosnian War refugees and I was struck powerfully by what that meant. It meant their Country was no longer safe to live in - they mentioned their father had been shot but lived - and so they fled to a safer place. It made me feel very thankful for the fact that I have never been touched by war directly. Tomorrow we have blocking for the show and more dancing and vocals. YAY! It should be fun. We worked hard to day and it was so rewarding. The workers at the clinic were so grateful for our help, but I was grateful to be able to help them and learn more about what they do there. It was truly a day for thanksgiving.

CAST ANNOUNCEMENTS

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...the envelope please.....and ITS CAST B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, I am now officially on Cast B 2007. Which means my tour schedule looks like this...
August 6-12: Tucson, Arizona
August 13-15: Sierra Vista, Arizona
August 20-26: San Diego
August 27-September 3: Corcoran, California
September 4- 9: Winston, Oregon
September 10-12: Bend/Crater Lake, Oregon
September 13-16: Coos Bay/North bend, Oregon
September 17-23: Seattle, Washington
September 24-30: Portland, Oregon
October 1-7: Lecco, Italy
October 8-14:Luzern, Switzerland
October 15-28:Germany
October 29- November 4: The Netherlands
November 5-11: Leuven, Belgium
November 12-December 10: The Philippines

so there you have it!!! I am sooo excited. This is the first cast with UWP to ever go to the Philippines so it is a huge deal!!! We can make such an impact! Today was another intense day of vocals and dance. Its so rewarding though. It feels really good to be accomplishing things and to be learning so much. We were all of us very anxious to hear the cast announcements so it was hard to focus, since of course they had to make it the last thing we did!!!! It was a very austere moment. We went into the ballroom were we rehearse and there were lists posted. one said to go to one room and the other list another room. It wasn't until we were in the room we were told which cast we were. It was awesome- all the road staff had signs that said BE change, BE confident, BE FUN, so on and so on. and then they gave us all little pins that had the letter "B" on it. Then we heard our tour schedule! After that we had a big dance party, followed by closing session and then home! The girls and I had pizza tonight!! YUMM! We shall see what tomorrow brings!!!

What a Week!!!

Well this week has been phenomenal! Tuesday we had Cast Movement and learned the dance to "Keep the Beat!" It was soooo hard! It was an exhilirating and empowering experience. 3 HOURS STRAIGHT of dancing. talk about intense. Mia (one of the dance Captains) is going to have us all whipped in to shape with the intense workouts. After the dancing it was three hours straight of singing. It was a Looooong day. Wednesday and Thursday we had more lectures and more singing and dancing. In the evening we had Culture Jam, which is where anyone who wanted could share something from their culture; be it a song, a dance, a poem, etc. It was amazing to see all the different cultures represented. The number of countries represented here at Up With People is phenominal. I was really inspired by the poem written by Faith from America. It was all about how WE (representing the UWP family) have so much power to change the world. WE are a catalyst. WE are strong! It was really moving.
During the week we were split into groups (Red and Green). Some of the boys from the Red group (which is the group I am in) decided to form a boy band. They came up with a dance to a song, bought matching shirts and everything. There name??? Out of Sync!!! I am their manager, and two other girls quickly joined the team as choreographers. I cant tell you how much fun it was to announce them and see them perform at the Culture Jam. I have only been here a little more the a week, but already I have grown soo much. I have stepped into a world where i am just one piece of a huge whole. The family feeling is extraordinary. I have been touched by others in ways I didn't know possible, and been introduced to cultures i scarcely knew existed. I've felt a bit overwhelemd at times, inadequate even but i continue to be energized by the contagious energy of my castmates.
Today is Friday, and we had a speaker who spoke about how to document the semester. I got some great ideas! like postcards, and host family books, etc. it was great to hear how everyone plans to document the semester. We also heard about the different internships available once we head out on the road. There are a ton of oppurtunities - from lighting and sound, to marketing and advancement. The Advance Team is something i think i would really like to do. I would go about two weeks ahead of the cast to one of the cities and help set the city up. Meaning I would be helping to get the host familes, arranging the meals, etc. It would really be fun and such a great opputunity to learn. I have to apply, so we'll see what happens. Well tomorrow is Saturday, and my host sisters and I are going to go up to Estes Park, CO and explore. We are also going to go see Harry Potter 5!!! I cant wait to sleep in!!!! I seriously need the sleep after this week.

What a day!!!

well today it all began. We arrived at 8:30 at the Sherman Center and had the opening ceremonies which were so moving- Truely awe inspiring. with flags from each country represented in nthe cast being flown. it was a LOT of flags. then we spent the day listening to speakers. we learned about what wee will be doing, all about American culture (we do this for each country we visit) and played ice breaker games. Tomorrow starts the work. rehersals, figuring out who does what, etc. Should be fun!!!! We wrote letters to ourselves about our goals for the next semester and how we plan to accomplish those goals. we get the letter back at a later date to see if we accomplished the goals or not. It was an exhausting day and tomorrow will be even more so. its going to be great though. the rehersal center is really pretty with old gotchic styling. I'll post pictures later. for now i need to sleep. Hugs to all and know that i miss you!!!

MORE HELLO"S

well today was a day for us to just relax and get to know each other! Emerald, Jessica and I went to the Airport to pick up Emily who is also going to be hosted by the Simmons. She is from Holland and very sweet. Earlier today the girls and I went to see Ratatuille -it was great! sooo funny. We had a fantastic breakfeast made by our host mom, complete with egg soufle and caramel rolls. YUMM!! Tomorrow the adventure REALLy begins. It entails an opening ceremony and lots of information sharing. and probably even more paperwork.lol. I am super glad to be meeting these girls. Tonight we had a block party with some of the other people on the blog who are involved with up with people in some way or another - what fun!!!! tons of names to learn and tons of faces to remember, but i think i'm getting the hang of it. it was soo great to just be able to talk and meet these people. I am thinking tomorrow is going to be even MORE names and faces....We'll see if i can remember the ones from today...lol

NIGHT ONE

well tonight is my first night in Denver for training. My host family (the Simmons') are sooo great!! They picked me and my roomate Jessica up and took us to TGI Fridays. There daughter, Emerald, is also in the cast and so i met her before her family. Tomorrow is a free day and then Monday the fun begins!!! I am soo excited to start and really dive into the program. I played air hockey today and totally dominated...until i got my butt kicked by someone way better.lol. It has been so interesting to meet these people from all around the world. Brazil, Belgium, Japan. We are a diverse group nto say the least. already the group dynamic is wonderful. we are already becoming a family. It will be interesting to see which cast I end up in - either one is fantastic. I just can not believe the experiences we are going to have! well I am writing this at 11:43, so I should go to bed! Ta ta for now!!!

LESS THEN A WEEK AWAY

Well welcome to my first ever blog!!!! I am less then a week away from leaving on my global adventure with Up With People. I cant even begin to describe the emotions running through me. I am excited, nervous, happy, anxious all at once. I will update this blog fairly regulary so keep checking back : ) I have so much to do this week before I leave. I can't wait to meet the people I am going to be spending the next six months of my life with. I know that they are just as excited as I am about this. I dont know which cast I will be in yet, but I'll let everyone know just as soon as I find out. well thats all for now - tons more to come!!!!