St. Joe, MO

Exactly one month after Cast A came through Lincoln, they arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri. This is a town about an hour north of Kansas City, with a population of about 75,000. It was a pretty last-minute decision to make this a tour stop, so it was a little bit of a scramble.

However, in classic Up with People style, it all worked out in the end just fine. My student intern was the lovely Britta from Sweden. The process of setting up a city is always a roller-coaster but working with Britta was wonderful. She is so thoughtful and reflective for someone her age and I so enjoyed getting to know her during the whole process! I can't wait to visit her in Sweden someday!

It was a short city stay so there was a day of community service and the show day. One of the communi ty service projects we set up was getting the students to work on a project called "Tiny Tot Town." This is a yearly event that some early education organizations put on. A mini-town is set-up for children to go through with their parents to learn how different businesses function. For example, in a mini-bank the children learn about what the need for a bank is, etc, etc. In past years the structures that represented the businesses in this mini-town were very unsturdy and made of simple materials. We had the students construct more durable structures with that would be used for many years to come by painting pieces of plywood into the type of businesses or organiztions they wanted to. They were extremely creative painting everything from a firehouse, pet store, a basilica (a big church, essentially), a cafe, flower shop, and everything in between. I was beyond impressed with their skill and creativity.

The show drew a small but enthusiastic crowd at the Missouri Theater. It was a smooth running city and it was great to see the cast again!

Cast A 2008 in Lincoln

Cast A 2008 came through Lincoln last Monday to Thursday. It was a short stay and their very first city on the road. This cast consists of 112 people from 26 countries. The students conducted the Stand For Peace project in 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms in some of the Lincoln Public Schools and performed a show at the O'Donnell Auditorium at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Instead of giving you a play-by-play of their time here, I am going to post an entry of a blog of a student in the cast. I don't feel like typing everything and it's more interesting to see the perspective of a students anyway! Enjoy!

Lincoln, NE by Daniel Rohmiller (from South Dakota)
It’s been a busy past few days. We’ve been traveling around so much that its seems like we’re trying to make up for the LACK of traveling we’ve been doing the past four weeks! We left Denver on Monday morning, bright and early, leaving our teary-eyed host families behind for the promise of a great adventure ahead on the road. We drove for about eight hours on the road to Lincoln, Nebraska, where we arrived at a local church and parish center for our city arrival meeting and orientation. Along the way, we made two stops, the last of which was in Kearney, Nebraska. I have to admit it was nice being in a town whose name I knew. The stops were about fifteen minutes – and not a minute later! If we were late to get back onto the buses, we might as well wave at the bus as it drives by because it will not stop. Some of this learn this the hard way on the trip to Maquoketa, but that’s a story for later. After some going back and forth in the Lincoln arrival building, I finally figured out that I was to be roomed with Ren-Horng Wang for Taiwan/USA, one of the guys I had been riding the bus with during our Denver orientation. Together we met our new host family, Les and Paula Schultz. We grabbed our luggage and made the short drive back to their home. There we had a great Midwestern meal of roast beef and potatoes with carrots. It. Was. Great. Ah! :)

We spent the few days in Lincoln – sadly only two full days. The first full day we spent doing the "Stand for Peace" program in some local elementary and middle schools. I spent the morning and afternoon with two different 6th grade classes. In the morning I was with a class from Lux Middle School, and in the afternoon I was with a class from Scott Middle School. It was an exciting time, though a bit challenging to do. It was the first time for me to actually do this program, so a bit of trial and error was in order. But, overall, I think it went well. I was with Eilis from Georgia/Maryland/Ireland, and Carolina from Sweden. We each took different sections of the presentation, which made it easier to do.

My note: That afternoon, after Stand For Peace, everyone went to the office of our supporting sponsor, Talent Plus They are an international executive consulting firm that helps clients find the best people for their company. The mission of their company is to find out the values of their clients and to, in turn, find the people with the right talents for their clients. Their recruitment department did an activity with them called "Focus on You" which split them up in groups and gave them a chance to know each other. This was a great activity, as it was their first city on the road, there were many of them that still needed to get to know each other. After the activity, they did a presentation about the company and what it is like to work for an international company. The students were very interested in learning more and had great questions.

On Wednesday, we spent the entire day prepping the stage for the show, doing dance workshops, and also vocal prep. The first thing that I noticed about the theatre we were set to perform in was that it was significantly smaller than the Buell. Don’t get me wrong – I knew that we were being spoiled by the Buell, but it still surprised me by its size. Definitely small. In fact, for most of the numbers, we had to split the cast in half for the show, having only half the numbers come on the stage on any given song. Only on a few songs did we have the ENTIRE cast on the stage at the same time, as opposed to the Buell performance where EVERYONE was on the stage for nearly every number. We spent the afternoon rehearsing these changes and the show in general. After that run-through, we had some dinner (Runza), and did our own preparation for the show before Green Room. After Green Room, we made our way into the crowd of people swarming into the O’Donnell Auditorium, and I happened to catch a glance of my grandparents and a couple of my aunts in the lobby. I was able to talk with them throughout the pre-show, intermission, and post-show, and it was GREAT to see them. It really gave me a boost of energy for the show, especially when I could look out on the stage and see them staring back. Overall, I thought the show went well, though I do know that it wasn’t up to my performance at the Buell. I just think not having practiced those dances for so long and then picking them back up a couple hours before the show really dulled the once sharp edge I had on them. But, I’ll take that experience and learn from it.

After the show, I spent the entire evening (about two and a half hours) striking the set and restoring the auditorium to the way we found it, which included replacing the front row of seats that had been removed so the front stage lights could be set up. That was a fun task. Or not. :) We finished at about midnight, and then I spent the next couple hours packing my stuff up again for the morning’s trip to Maquoketa, Iowa.

R.I.P.

A couple nights ago I received some devastating news. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach; My heart felt like it had been shattered in a million pieces; I was essentially speechless for like a whole five minutes...and that's a lot for me. I found out that my all-time favorite band ever, The Format, had decided to not record a new album ever again.

The Format is more than just a band to me. They were almost like a friend I could aways go to if I needed anything. While I've explored other musical acts and have expanded my tastes over the years, I have always gone back to the Format at some point or another. It's like they were someone I could always depend on to be there whenever I needed them. So to hear that Sam and Nate will no longer make new music together is quite devastating.

In case you are not familiar with the greatness that is The Format, here are a just few examples of why they have meant so much to me these past 5 years. And trust me, these don't even do them justice.

Weddings galore!

This past weekend, I endured a 6 hour delay in a train station, in addition to 8 hours actually ON a train to come home and attend two weddings. The first one was Ryan Lane who is an old middle school/high school friend and the other was Matt Orr, a friend that I met in college through other friends. I was really excited to come back to see old friends and to celebrate. I actually cried during Ryan's slide show! That was completely unexpected. It was a traditional wedding with all the works. His bride, Kristin looked goregous. We had lunch, danced our hearts out and then waved them off in a horse-drawn carriage. Matt's wedding was more unconventional; His bride Molly wore a beautiful, shimmery green dress. Dinner was catered by Chipotle (SOOO good). Both weddings were fantastic.

That night a bunch of us old high school friends went out to the bars in Boulder and it was such a blast. We hit Conor's and the Sun Downer. It was the last time many of us were going to be in the same state for probably at least a year, so that alone was enough reason to be together. There's something about being with old friends because since there is such a history and a unique level of comfort...even if we've all changed. Good times! When it was all over and time for me to go back to Nebraska I actually felt pretty emotional. I think it was the combination of a really great weekend coming to an end and the obligation of having to switch back to work in a matter of a train-ride home. The little part of me that yearned for of stability in my life decided to spill over. I got off the train at 6:45am and when my host dad drove me home I showered, got ready and went to work. All is well again as I am now settled back in Nebraska. Bring on Cast A 2008!

The Velveteen Rabbit

I'm here in Lincoln, NE now and so far I have been very pleasantly surprised with what this city has to offer. To start off, I am staying with two wonderful host parents and tonight I got the chance to chat with them. They asked me about relationships and I briefly told them about my cynicism towards love. Well, my host dad starts talking and I just wanted to share. It went something like this:

"Have you ever heard of the "Velveteen Rabbit?" It's the story of how a stuffed toy rabbit gets shabbier and shabbier because of how much a boy loves him. His tail starts to fall off, his eyes get all scratched up, his fur starts to come off, but it doesn't matter because the boy still loves him anyway. And isn't it how we all are? We've all been in relationships that have left us shabbier, but when we find that person that loves us no matter what, that is when life is outstanding. And Linette (my host mom and his wife) really does love me like that, even though my own tail and fur is falling off. "



I couldn't help but smile and yes, it did give me a glimmer of hope with this weird thing called relationships...for a second, at least.

Viva Las Vegas!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, except for the things you brag about of course =). On New Year's day and through the 4th my sister (Helen), her two friends, (Matt and Cat), my best friend (Beth) and I visited Las Vegas for a fun trip. Beth and I stayed at the Flamingo and Helen and her friends stayed at the Monte Carlo. Upon arrival we didn't have many set plans-just to visit the hotels and see Zumanity, a Cirque du Soleil show. We wanted to go clubbing but we knew a cover was around $20-$30 so we didn't have high expectations for it.

Well, we ended up getting a connection that not only got us into one club, but THREE, and with NO cover. It was more than we could've imagined. We were the people that walked in front of the long line and said to the guy with the earpiece "Um, we're on the list." It felt awesome. Okay, enough bragging. These are the clubs we attended. To keep from boring you, I kept the reviews short and sweet:

Tuesday night: Moon and Playboy- These two clubs are located in the Palms Casino. Moon has a very outer-world quality, hence the name, with silver being the dominant color. It is two stories and has outdoor patios on both floors. The crowd was They have a very big central dance floor and the music was great.



Wednesday night: LAX- This club is located in the Luxor casino and is home to Paris Hilton's favorite club in Vegas. In fact, she was even there that night and got on the microphone and said "Hey guys, let's have a great time here in LAX tonight!" This club is very posh with red velvet curtains and black leather furniture. This club also boasts two floors with a HUGE (but still not big enough) dance floor. The crowd was really awesome and friendly, not too uptight. My favorite club of the trip.

Thursday Night: Tao- This club was an experience. It is easily the most popular and talked about club in Vegas and it is not hard to see why. It has a sensual Asian theme and draws a very sophisticated crowd. The go-go dancers and models shocked me with their attire and dance moves. They even have girls that lay on beds and give each other back massages! The dance floor was very small though and I didn't care for the DJ as much.









We also saw Zumanity on Wednesday night and that was fantastic. Yes, the racy, sexually-themed one. To be honest, while it was probably more sexy than your average show, the acts are very stylized, choreographed and calculated that it doesn't arouse the feelings you might imagine. You are just more in awe of the skills and the level of athleticism it takes to do something like bend your body so that you don't hit your head when you dive into a human-sized fishbowl. The audience interaction was HILARIOUS because they would pull people on stage and embarrass the heck out of them. I haven't seen the other Cirque shows, but apparently this one has a much smaller cast and is extensively less acrobatic than the other shows in Vegas. Still, I enjoyed it very much and I highly recommend it!

Back to reality now though and I will be heading out to Nebraska in two days to resume my adventure as a Field Marketing and Operations Manager (we had a title change) for Up With People. I am going to try to blog once a week so if you read this, stay on my case to make sure I do. If anything, it's good for keeping up my writing skills that I feel like I'm rapidly losing. Feel free to comment and keep in touch. Happy 2008 to you all!

Home at last!

I am finally home and on a break after 5 months of being on the road. Since my last post I helped set up the second to last city for Cast C, Bernardsville, NJ. It was an interesting set-up because Jessica (the other CRC) and I worked directly with a sponsor contact. It was interesting to work with someone that wanted so much direct say in what happened for the cast's stay. It was a good learning experience and I hope to take it with me for next semester.

Okay, on to the stuff I've been missing SO badly being on the road: MOVIES! I've seen two that are absolutely amazing.

ONCE

Why this movie is so good is hard to describe because it is so simple. The plot follows an Irish man in his 30's, living in Dublin and keeping his dreams of making it as a musician under the surface by keeping himself as a street act. He meets a young woman from the Czech Republic while he is performing one day and they develop a friendship through their shared love of music. Their relationship becomes somewhat ambiguous as he starts to take practical steps in pursuing his musical career. The plot is really nothing complicated, but what is so great about this movie is the connection between the two main characters have. The music throughout the movie serves as a reflection of the characters' transformation and discoveries. Just watch it already!


JUNO
Fantastic film. Ellen Page plays Juno, a 16-year old girl knocked up by her guy best friend and decides to give up her baby for adoption. The movie follows the journey through her pregnancy, her relationship with Bleeker (the father of the baby, played by the adorable Michael Cera), and her own realizations about life. The dialogue is extremely smart and witty, mostly because Juno hides behind it to cover up her true feelings about everything. What I like so much about this movies is its honestesy. There isn't a single line uttered by Juno that is necessarily grammatically or politically correct but she is so genuine that she makes more sense than the best orator around. One of the best I've seen in a loooooooooong time.