Oh my goodness....I'm in Europe and I haven't blogged yet. So sorry everyone! I have been very busy with my new European lifestyle.
I'll start with Atlanta...the last city in the US tour. I stayed with my cast mate Amy and some of her family friends that week. In short, we had a blast! It was a great week. On Sunday of that week we got to go to the World of Coca Cola with her parents which was really fun :) Then comes Monday...probably the longest day of my life. Our cast was supposed to fly out of Atlanta at 9:45pm but our flight was delayed due to bad weather so after spending nearly 10 hours in the Atlanta airport, we took off at around 2am. It was a long, hard two days but I didn't mind at all because I was with some of my favorite people in the whole world; we found things to keep ourselves occupied. Which included a nice dinner out with some girls using our meal vouchers given to us by the airport, many games of "never have I ever" to get to know each other even better, exercising in the hallway, and of course, sleeping sleeping sleeping.
My week in Geneva was a very tiring one. We arrived on Tuesday and had a show the next two days! I have never been so tired in my life. Between simply not getting enough sleep and the jet lag, I was truly exhausted. We all were. Many of us fell asleep several times during the day, often at very inopportune times like during a workshop or a meeting...But we made it through. Our two shows went smoothly and we all had a very successful week. On Friday I went with a small group to Foyer Handicap, a home for disabled adults. We brought with us two guitars and used the piano there to have a little jam session with the residents. Then we put on an international fashion show using some of the international costumes from the show. For the remainder of then day we were able to just hang out with the residents. It was a truly amazing day; probably my favorite volunteer project so far.
Now Weinfelden/Frauenfeld! We are in a split city this week, meaning half the cast is staying in one city and the other half is in the other. We had separate service projects and then we came together to perform a show in each city, one of Wednesday and another on Thursday. I think the last two shows were the best shows we have performed yet. Our energy was extremely high, the audiences were amazing, and it all just worked. Our audience in Weinfelden gave us a standing ovation that lasted about 5 minutes (that's a bit of an exaggeration but it seemed that long). They wanted an encore, so one thing we did during rehearsal yesterday was put together an encore. And good thing we did because we needed it last night. In fact, I had people tell me they wished we had done two or three encores!
This was my first week as the Vocal Intern so I was able to get a little start on my internship. I will start getting more involved with the cast and the development of the show next week. But I am really enjoying it so far!
After a long night of strike, I came home, had a snack, and slept for about 10 hours! It felt so good! We have a three day weekend because it's Easter weekend. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself....
Friday, March 29, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
A little behind...
Oh boy...getting behind again. Well it's been a little crazy in my UWP world. Last week in vero beach was amazing! I had such a great time 😊 I stayed with a lovely couple and they're little dog, rascal :) I had three roommates which was a blast! Two girls from Mexico and another from Virginia. The last two weeks have been quite eventful...I was able to do a lot of work in the schools in Vero Beach which was pretty enjoyable, although not all high school students are very pleasant. I didn't get to do any community service because when I wasn't in classrooms I was working with two other girl in my cast putting together our Anti-Bullying workshop. On Wednesday of last week we had our European/Asian Culture Fair. It was all so great! I really enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about all the countries represented in our cast. Both of our shows in Vero went really well :) Then we had a nice relaxing day at the beach on Sunday.
Having three roommates does not make for a very restful week. I think because of the lack of sleep I got in Vero Beach my body finally gave in to the cold that was raging through my cast. The illness finally hit be about half way through my week here in Statesboro.
I'm staying here with another great couple and their dog, along with one roommate, a girl from Belgium. We both have been a little under the weather all week which hasn't been great...
This week was jam-packed. The day after we got here we had a show day. We put on a private show for the Georgia Southern students so we started our week off with a long day and a late night. It was a lot of fun though and it was great for admissions. Wednesday I had my Anti-Bullying workshop with the cast. It went really well I think. Everyone got very involved and it seemed to be well received by all. It was such a relief to be done with it because it did add a little extra stress to my life. That night we had a Culture Fair for the Georgia Southern students which was pretty fun. I ended up interviewing people for most of the night instead of presenting with my fellow North-easterners. Thursday I got the chance to be a Crew Leader for one of our community impact projects. A group of us worked with the Downtown Statesboro Authority. We spent the day hauling out an old tile and flooring store and warehouse. It was A LOT of work but it was so much fun! The weird part was that the warehouse we cleaned out had been turned into a haunted house by a group of college students for Halloween.... It was probably the creepiest thing I have ever seen. I wasn't feeling too well by this point in the week. I have quite the cough.
We had two show days this week. On Friday we gave a short performance to the high school then had a show that night. Both of shows went really well. We had GREAT audiences! I personally wasn't feeling my best but I tried to put that aside during the show. It's amazing what adrenaline will do for your energy. This week has been great for admissions! We broke our record for number of interviews in a week with about 50 I believe :)
This morning we woke up for church. Gwendoline and I were so exhausted that we came home and slept for two and a half hours! Then just relaxed for the rest of the day :) Tomorrow we leave for Atlanta! One more week until Europe!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!! :D
Having three roommates does not make for a very restful week. I think because of the lack of sleep I got in Vero Beach my body finally gave in to the cold that was raging through my cast. The illness finally hit be about half way through my week here in Statesboro.
I'm staying here with another great couple and their dog, along with one roommate, a girl from Belgium. We both have been a little under the weather all week which hasn't been great...
This week was jam-packed. The day after we got here we had a show day. We put on a private show for the Georgia Southern students so we started our week off with a long day and a late night. It was a lot of fun though and it was great for admissions. Wednesday I had my Anti-Bullying workshop with the cast. It went really well I think. Everyone got very involved and it seemed to be well received by all. It was such a relief to be done with it because it did add a little extra stress to my life. That night we had a Culture Fair for the Georgia Southern students which was pretty fun. I ended up interviewing people for most of the night instead of presenting with my fellow North-easterners. Thursday I got the chance to be a Crew Leader for one of our community impact projects. A group of us worked with the Downtown Statesboro Authority. We spent the day hauling out an old tile and flooring store and warehouse. It was A LOT of work but it was so much fun! The weird part was that the warehouse we cleaned out had been turned into a haunted house by a group of college students for Halloween.... It was probably the creepiest thing I have ever seen. I wasn't feeling too well by this point in the week. I have quite the cough.
We had two show days this week. On Friday we gave a short performance to the high school then had a show that night. Both of shows went really well. We had GREAT audiences! I personally wasn't feeling my best but I tried to put that aside during the show. It's amazing what adrenaline will do for your energy. This week has been great for admissions! We broke our record for number of interviews in a week with about 50 I believe :)
This morning we woke up for church. Gwendoline and I were so exhausted that we came home and slept for two and a half hours! Then just relaxed for the rest of the day :) Tomorrow we leave for Atlanta! One more week until Europe!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!! :D
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Lovely Orlando :)
Hi everyone!
I just had a wonderful week in Orlando :) My roommates and I are taking the day to catch up on some much needed rest! We have had a very busy but fun week. Let's see....what did we do...Well I got to meet the Mayor of Orlando! My parents were in town so I stayed with them for a couple of nights and took Tuesday off to spend time with them. It was a nice break from the busy Up with People lifestyle.
On Wednesday, I was thrown right back into the thick of things. A group of us went to Quest Camp Thunderbird, a summer camp for children and adults with either physical or mental disabilities. There, we did mostly grounds keeping. I did a lot of raking :) That evening we held our Culture Fair and I was able to share with my cast mates a little of the North Eastern culture. The fair was really great! I learned so much! I was foolish enough to trust my Mexican friends when they said "close your eyes and open your mouth"...let's just say my throat was on fire and my eyes watered uncontrollably for a good ten minutes.
On Thursday we got a taste of "real" American culture...we went to a NASCAR race in Daytona. That was quite the experience...( I actually really enjoyed myself).
We had two shows here in Orlando. Both went really well! We had a small but great audience both nights. I had quite a few family members in the audience which was so great! The most amazing feeling is getting a standing ovation during the flag processional in our finale. It will never get old.
Oh! I was selected to put together a workshop on Anti-Bullying with two other girls from my cast! There will be four of these student-run presentations throughout the semester. The three of us will hold a two hour long workshop with our cast in two weeks so I have a lot of work ahead of me but it will be so much fun! I am really excited! And next week we get to go into classrooms in Vero Beach to do Anti-Bullying stuff with students there.
Well, today is a day off so I will be taking advantage of that and relaxing as much as possible. I'm thinking hot tub maybe? Tomorrow we are going to Epcot as a cast!!
I just had a wonderful week in Orlando :) My roommates and I are taking the day to catch up on some much needed rest! We have had a very busy but fun week. Let's see....what did we do...Well I got to meet the Mayor of Orlando! My parents were in town so I stayed with them for a couple of nights and took Tuesday off to spend time with them. It was a nice break from the busy Up with People lifestyle.
On Wednesday, I was thrown right back into the thick of things. A group of us went to Quest Camp Thunderbird, a summer camp for children and adults with either physical or mental disabilities. There, we did mostly grounds keeping. I did a lot of raking :) That evening we held our Culture Fair and I was able to share with my cast mates a little of the North Eastern culture. The fair was really great! I learned so much! I was foolish enough to trust my Mexican friends when they said "close your eyes and open your mouth"...let's just say my throat was on fire and my eyes watered uncontrollably for a good ten minutes.
On Thursday we got a taste of "real" American culture...we went to a NASCAR race in Daytona. That was quite the experience...( I actually really enjoyed myself).
We had two shows here in Orlando. Both went really well! We had a small but great audience both nights. I had quite a few family members in the audience which was so great! The most amazing feeling is getting a standing ovation during the flag processional in our finale. It will never get old.
Oh! I was selected to put together a workshop on Anti-Bullying with two other girls from my cast! There will be four of these student-run presentations throughout the semester. The three of us will hold a two hour long workshop with our cast in two weeks so I have a lot of work ahead of me but it will be so much fun! I am really excited! And next week we get to go into classrooms in Vero Beach to do Anti-Bullying stuff with students there.
Well, today is a day off so I will be taking advantage of that and relaxing as much as possible. I'm thinking hot tub maybe? Tomorrow we are going to Epcot as a cast!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
It's about time...
Hello all! I'm sorry it took me so long to start doing this. Things have been a bit crazy in the last month. Anyway, I am having an amazing time with Up with People! I have finished the staging process in Lakeland, FL and have started touring. Last week I was in Fort Myers and I'm now in Orlando.
I absolutely loved my stay in Lakeland. I made some great friends and have already developed some really strong relationships. There was a lot of rehearsing to be done the first month but we also did quite a bit of educational stuff to prepare us for our tour. I've already learned so much! While in Lakeland, I got to do some service work at a local children's home which I really enjoyed. We're truly becoming a family. It's great! I could not be happier :)
Now that we're on the road, things are flying by! Last week in Fort Myers went by soooo quickly! I did some promotional work with our Marketing Team one day and was recording backup vocals in a hotel room the next. Never are two days alike. My cast was lucky enough to be a part of the Fort Myers Edison Festival of Light Parade on Saturday night which was a blast! A bit chilly though... Our two shows on Sunday went extremely well :) Our matinee was completely sold out!
I'm now in Orlando staying with my parents for a couple of nights which has been really nice. I took the day off today to spend some time with them. Back to work tomorrow though! (If you can call it work).
Well, I apologize for taking so long with this. I'm going to try and write at least once a week from now on to keep you all updated on my travels! If you ever want to know more feel free to email me :)
I absolutely loved my stay in Lakeland. I made some great friends and have already developed some really strong relationships. There was a lot of rehearsing to be done the first month but we also did quite a bit of educational stuff to prepare us for our tour. I've already learned so much! While in Lakeland, I got to do some service work at a local children's home which I really enjoyed. We're truly becoming a family. It's great! I could not be happier :)
Now that we're on the road, things are flying by! Last week in Fort Myers went by soooo quickly! I did some promotional work with our Marketing Team one day and was recording backup vocals in a hotel room the next. Never are two days alike. My cast was lucky enough to be a part of the Fort Myers Edison Festival of Light Parade on Saturday night which was a blast! A bit chilly though... Our two shows on Sunday went extremely well :) Our matinee was completely sold out!
I'm now in Orlando staying with my parents for a couple of nights which has been really nice. I took the day off today to spend some time with them. Back to work tomorrow though! (If you can call it work).
Well, I apologize for taking so long with this. I'm going to try and write at least once a week from now on to keep you all updated on my travels! If you ever want to know more feel free to email me :)
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