Host Family Weekend!

This weekend was so much fun! On saturday our wonderful host parents let us sleep in to catch up on our sleep. Man did that feel good. After we woke up we got ready and we went shopping, I don't really like to shop but I loved going to the mall and seeing what it was like. It was very nice I might add! That night Marguerite and I went to the movies, we went and saw Ted. For those of you that know what it is about, I did not think it was as good as they said it was. A grown man with a talking teddy bear I probably should have thought more about it before I went. But it was a fun night and we had a blast just hanging out by ourselves.

That night when we got home and sat on the couch we watched movies and just talked. We then got on the computers and talked to our friends on Facebook. This was very fun, because we got a chance to learn more about one another's friends. The next day "today" we left at 10 to go to Vail here in Colorado. Wow...

On the road to vail

Through the car window!

Colorado is a truly amazing place. These mountains are awe inspiring. When I look at them I know there has to be something more in this world. I cannot believe there are creations like these in the world. Most of my mountain pictures were taken through the car window on our way there. I thought they turned out pretty well! The trip there took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was pretty easy but when we first started out I started feeling the elevation and my body took it pretty hard. I felt really dizzy and had a headache, after awhile it adjusted and I felt a lot better. When we got to Vail it was amazing, there was a whole town just stuck into the mountains. 

Chris and I 

We had a nice walk around the village for a long time, we took so many pictures and joked around a lot. Chris, my host mom always knows how and when to crack a joke, we never get bored with her. We ate at a little German restaurant on the side of one of the streets. I had something called Chicken in a Pot it was pretty much broth with chicken, vegetables, and matzo balls in it. It was pretty good it had a nice flavor! We brought their dog Maddie with us so we had to sit outside while eating! The weather was amazing though so it was a perfect day to visit Vail!

Chris and Marguerite acting weird!

Vail is very beautiful, I can understand why people love going there. I have always wanted to go to be able to say I have been to Vail and now I finally have! This is going to be a trip of a lot of firsts for me! I cannot wait! Chris and Marguerite are hilarious. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate we keep each other entertained all the time! You can see that in the picture here where she looks like she is in pain. We love to make faces, we get along very well. She has taught me how to say one through ten in French. I am not good at all though haha! :) oh well I tried!

Mountainside 

On our way home we ran into some traffic. By traffic I mean our trip that was supposed to take 1 hour and 45 minutes took 4 hours and 15 minutes! I feel so bad for my host dad Chad who had to do all the driving while the girls slept! We lasted about one hour and then we all crashed, even though we didn't have a long day we were all tired. It was an amazing day and I saw some of the most beautiful sights of my life. What an amazing way to end my weekend! We even had homemade lasagna for dinner! Week number two here you come. I am ready for it! another long week but it will be another great one! Have a great week everyone!! :) 

First Week!

The first week was a success! It definitely had its ups and downs but overall it was a wonderful experience! I cannot wait to get on the actual road and begin to start helping out in other communities! I do love it here in Colorado though. This year is going to be a blast for sure! I have already met so many people that I know will be my friends for the rest of my life. I am truly blessed that I get the opportunity to do something like this! The whole week was pretty much the same, everyday we had a dancing segment, a singing segment, and educational segments. We have learned a lot of the songs for our show already, they are truly beautiful, and I cannot wait to share them with the world. I know this show will be one of the best yet!

Modules!

Today was module day... We went through a series of modules to see where we excelled and where we struggled. There were 5 different ones we went through: tech, dance, costumes, speaking, and vocals. the whole cast was split into groups of smaller groups of people. My group was all girls and there were ten of us! :) In each of these modules we did various things.

In tech we were taught about our stage and saw how much work goes into making the show come to life. We learned about the lights and sound, both of which I don't understand at all... guess I won't be a tech girl. In dance we learned different steps and had to repeat them. We learned a little bit of choreography and also had to show them that we were capable of the moves. I really enjoyed it, but this Colorado elevation is killer, I definitely struggled with stamina for awhile. Costumes was basically where we put on our full show costume and they told us if they approved of them or not, or if they wanted us to add something to our costumes. I was lucky enough to have had my entire outfit accepted! THANK YOU MOM!!! (she did all the shopping, I couldn't do it without her!) In speaking we pretty much got to talk for a whole 50 minutes! I LOVE to talk just so you know, but I was a little nervous for this. I think it was mainly because we had to go to vocals after. But we had to project our voices and read some different stuff. Sooo... what can I say about the vocal module... scariest moment of my life.. haha. Kidding but I was really scared. We had to first sing as a group then we each had to sing individually. If you don't know me very well you need to know that I REALLY can rock it out in my car with the radio. But I'm not a technically trained singer. Once I finally got through the hardest part my day flew by!

I loved every part of the day, the good and the bad, the easy and hard, the exciting and boring. Even though it was tough it was Up With People at it's best, preparing for the future and making everyone feel good about themselves no matter what. I AM SO EXCITED FOR STAGING!!!

GET READY FOR THE NEW SHOW EVERYONE! Cast B 2012 is going to SHINE!

VOICES!

First Host Family Day!

Today we had a host family day where we got to spend it with our new host families. It was very relaxing, we got to sleep in and relax during the morning. Then we drove to the airport where we picked up the iPad. After that Chad and I met Chris and Marguerite at the grocery store, where they let us pick out tons of snacks and our favorite foods! I was in heaven! :) We went out to lunch with their daughter Jessica, and it was fabulous! Later we came back to the house and just hung out all day! I read and we watched TV and right now we are watching a 7th Heaven marathon! I love that I can just relax and hang out with them. It's going to be a fun ride I can tell you that now!

I can't wait to get this adventure started!! :)

First Day!

Up With People Cast B 2012

Today I arrived in Denver, Colorado at about 12:00 in the afternoon. I was met by a staff member holding up an Up With People sign. They told me where to meet everyone so I went and got my luggage and found the group. I was so nervous to talk to everyone because they had all been there for awhile before me. But as usual 'Up With People' style I was brought into the group very quickly and made friends easily. After chatting for awhile at the airport we had to take a bus to our daily meeting spot where we will be staging everyday.

When we arrived we all got to sit around and chat with each other. Making friends and talking to people was easy. We played different (sometimes awkward) games and got to know one another. I was on the first bus that arrived at the school, so we had the whole day to hang out and wait for the others to come. By the end of the day about 3 buses made drop offs. Around 8 o'clock that night we all moved into a music room while our host families started arriving. We were told about expectations for us and what to expect for the next few days.

Then we finally got to meet our host families. I have a roommate Marguerite from Belgium who is very sweet. We live with two host parents Chad and Chris. They are so sweet and take great care of us. They made us feel comfortable immediately. They have 3 dogs and 4 cats, so I'm in heaven right now! I couldn't have asked for a better family and better pets! :) It helps me so that I am not so homesick. Although I do miss my family tons!!

The only bad thing about yesterday is that I found out I left my iPad on the plane. I was so sad and embarrassed that I lost it. But good news my WONDERFUL father tracked it down for me and my awesome host dad brought me 35 minutes to the airport to get it back. I just love my family!

Everything is going right, and I am so excited to really get into this!

Packing Day!

Skip and Scooter in my luggage...

Today was packing day! It was super exciting but sad at the same time. I was trying to pack Skip and Scooter with my stuff but it didn't work out so well... I hate having only one suitcase for a whole year, it's kind of hard to think of everything but also limit yourself to just one bag. I'm still very excited to go though, even with my luggage issues. :) I haven't checked the weight yet so we will see if it is light enough, and maybe I will have room for the puppies after all. Tomorrow is my last day to get everything in order! Here we go! :) Denver I'll see you soon!