Time off and then to California!

After setting up Globe, I traveled out with the cast to their next city in Sierra Vista, AZ from August 16-20. During this time I had time off to just relax and spend time with the cast. It was very fun because I got to know a lot of the cast members, which I didn't have a chance to do when I was running around like a madwoman in Globe. I got to go on their Community Impact projects with them and everything! Everyone in the cast and staff is absolutely wonderful and I tried so hard not to get attached to them because I knew I'd have to leave again soon. It was also great to get to hang out with Emily, the Community Relations Coordinator there that been coordinating everything because I absolutely understood every ounce of emotion she was feeling.

I also traveled out with them to their next city in San Diego. I celebrated my 22nd birthday with some staff members. We hit the historic district of San Diego and had a good night out.






I am now in Eureka, CA a small town in northern California, setting up everything for the cast to arrive on September 10...not a lot of time, but we are somehow going to make it work! I'm here with Jen, one of the administrative assistants at the Denver office, who is from Eureka to help me get things started. She is a blast and I love getting to work with her! Things are going to be tough here and I'm pretty nervous about having to set up another city, but it'll work out! It's gorgeous here and we even hit the beach one evening!
















So that's the update. I miss everyone in Colorado a ton, especially when things get tough here on the road. I hope those of you that are about to start school again are excited and geared up. Everyone else that has started new jobs, congrats and I want to hear about how they are! Do not ever hesitate to contact me, because I absolutely want to hear about how things are for you. Talk to you all soon.

Question of the blog: What are you most nervous about for this upcoming semester?

I Survived!

I can hardly believe that my first city set-up has come and gone. On August 13-16, Cast B 2007 arrived and stayed in Globe. It was 3 of the most stressful but rewarding days of my life-how to explain that is almost as big of a challenge. I won't bore you with the details, but here's the basic things of what I coordinated and how it played out:

August 13
The cast arrived in their big charter bus (all to the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park, where they watched a video and gave themselves a self-guided tour around the park.






After that, we headed out to the San Carlos Apache Cultural Center, where we received a presentation from the director, as well as a shaman, basket-weaver, the Tribal Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Even though, I coordinated the presentation, it was still very different than what I thought, so if you want to ask me about it, please do! I would love to chat about it. We then drove back into Globe where everyone met their host families. That was really fun for me because I had been getting to know these families for 3 weeks and to see the students and them coming together was very satisfying.

Tuesday, August 14

This was the big community impact day. We had cast members strewn all over the area and it looked like this-
Morning:
-2o cast members went to San Carlos and worked with tribal members to clean up the business district. They worked on picking up trash, cleaning up graffiti, painting and other tasks.





-18 cast members worked with the Gila Employment and Special Training program, a vocational training program for adults with disabilities. They sang songs with them and worked on an art project






-I went on an radio interview with two cast members from China and Sweden. They were wonderful and so excited to have their first radio interview.
-Some other students went to Globe High School and did a presentation for Student Council members.

Afternoon:
-Most of the cast members went to San Carlos High School and performed a back-tracking show for the entire student body (about 360 students). This was very interesting for the cast because the performing arts are not emphasized in the Apache community, making for a very non-responsive and low-energy crowd. The cast members definitely found it frustrating to be performing with all their hearts to only have an expressionless audience.
-The rest of the cast went to City Park in downtown Globe to paint an old historic train. This train is one of seven of a certain steam engine that the city is very proud to have. They did a great job!






-After their projects and their debrief, they all came to the City Park, where I had arranged a Teen Get-Together where the cast could hang out with local youth, eat some food and listen to some musicians from the community.


Wednesday. August 15.
SHOW DAY! The cast spent the whole day at the Apache Gold Casino Resort, where our show was being held at their Pavilion. During the day, they did workshops, set up the stage, rehearsed and got ready for the show.





It was a very challenging space to perform because it is an outdoor Pavilion with a dirt floor. We had a rather responsive crowd of about 400, but the sheer amount of space in the Pavilion made it feel like they were performing to a much smaller audience. Nevertheless, no one fell off the stage and broke their leg, so I was happy =).

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, that is the breakdown of the three days. There were definitely unexpected glitches that happened in all that, as you can imagine, but somehow they got worked out. Overall, I was really happy with my first city set-up. It was one of the biggest learning experiences I have EVER had. I learned so much about myself, working with other people, staying organized, and so much more. I definitely couldn't have done any of this without the help of my lovely intern, Laurel and the community in Globe and San Carlos. What a ride this job has been already!

Globe Culture

My intern, Laurel and I have been hitting Globe to do promotion and get an idea of what the town of Globe is like. Recently, we visited two very different places and they gave us a fabulous idea of what Globe culture is like.

The first place was a Rock 'N Roll Sock Hop that the Entertainment Committee of Globe put on. Laurel and I got to judge the "Twist" dance contest. It was SO much fun and very entertaining to say the least. Our winner is the woman in the beginning of the video in the white shorts. She got 2 free tickets to our show!








It's been interesting trying to interact with the youth in the town because in a town of 8,000 people, you expect everyone, including the youth to be very sheltered. Actually, all the young people that I've met is very in tune with out culture; they're all stylish, love music and present themselves just like anyone from a major city. After the Sock Hop, we headed to the local coffee shop, where a lot of youth hang out. They were having an open mike and we did an announcement about the show. Here's a video of two guys, Eli and Aaron performing a song that night. As you can see, they definitely don't seem like sheltered little small-towners.





Other than that, we've been busy busy getting ready for the cast to arrive on Monday! I'm excited, but anxious. We also saw their show last night in Tucson. It was so fun and I'll be posting videos from that soon.

Blog question: What is the most amusing/intriguing YouTube video that YOU'VE seen recently? Send them my way! Hope you're all well and happy.

Rattlesnake, Ratatouille, Radio!

Some fun things to report. Last night, I encountered my first rattlesnake. I was just sitting in my room, reading when my host mom Shirley yells, "Louise, do you wanna see a rattlesnake!?" I hurry to the backyard where the whole family is surrounding a little rattlesnake on the back of the house. There is a sound going through the air that sounds like a sprinkler system, when in reality it is the angry rattle of this snake. I try to remain calm but am freaking out because I've never seen a rattlesnake before.







I ask, "What do we do now?"
Shirley says, "Well, that's what we're trying to figure out."
I ask, "What are the our options?"
She says, "One is to cut off its head."
I go, "WHAT?"
And with that, her brother-in-law takes a metal shovel and jams it over the snake's head. I scream and run away and when I come back around he is carrying the snake to lay down on the lawn.






































And with that, it was all over. Since it was my first rattlesnake, they cut the rattle off for me. We need to let it dry out and maybe I'll make it into a necklace or something...And Helen, don't tell mom and dad cause they'll freak out and get all worried again.





In other random news, I went a drive-in movie this past weekend! How often do you get to do that? Really, only in small towns, like Globe. They played Ratatouille. Here are some pictures.



























I was sneaky and took a short video of the movie too...the reason you can hear it so well is because it is played through a radio station!













And lastly to report in this random blog...I am going to be on the radio! I recorded two ads with a local radio station. It's going to be played at some other random places too. P.S. Why does the sound of your own voice always sound so weird???





Ok, that is all. Except for my blog question: Since I am in a town of 8,000 people, I do not have the biggest exposure to culture here. The question is, what is the best song or artist that you've heard lately? I am thirsting for some new music, so TELL ME!! Ok, take care everyone.

It's Starting...

It's finally happening! My adventure as a Community Relations Coordinator with Up With People is starting in Globe, Arizona. For those of you that have no stinkin' idea what I'm talking about here is the 411:

Up With People (www.upwithpeople.org) is a global education program for international participants 18-29 years old. For a semester, the participants experience world travel, community service and performance in a musical/dance show for the communities they visit.

My job is to travel to a city in advance of the cast's (that's what we call them) arrival. This particular cast consists of 55 people, representing 18 countries. I will be setting up host families, meals, community service projects and details regarding their show, presentations, etc. I will be working to make sure the community, our sponsor,the cast and road staff's experience will be absolutely wonderful.

So far everything is going great. I have LOTS to do, but there are a lot of people willing to help. I am missing my friends, family, and all the cast members and road staff back in Colorado, but I am also excited for this adventure. Here are only some of the beautiful people that I am missing already (thanks to some of the friends who I stole these from!).

Here are my fellow CRC's who will be busily working around the country with me. How we managed to not kill each other after training together 8 hours everyday for 3 weeks straight is quite a miracle. Haha, you guys are great.



So that's it for now. Since I'd rather make this blog about you or whoever is reading this, I am hoping to keep you connected by posing a question everytime. If you are worried that I won't be interested, please don't because I absolutely will be. So here is the question:

Tell me something that has happened that made your summer extraordinary/unique/interesting, or tell me something that is still to come that could result in your summer being kick-butt.

Email, facebook, calling or replying to this blog are all welcome forms of communication. I hope to hear from many of you.

Next blog: What is living in Globe, AZ really like and what is it like living with the County Supervisor as your host mom??