Week #12 - Frauenfeld/Weinfelden, Switzerland

          Well it was a mind boggle for sure to be in the French speaking part of Switzerland for one week and then just a quick 4-hour drive later be in the same country but everyone only speaks German! Europe is so crazy like that. For example this past week I lived in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. I was 25min from Germany, 1.5 hours from France and a quick 30min drive to Austria. I cannot believe how different just that one fact about Europe is from the U.S.

            I started this week fresh and full of my positive energy that got a bit lost in the jumble last week and I was ready for a good week! Manifesting works wonders! I had an amazing week!

We traveled about 4 hours on Monday from Geneva (French side of Switzerland) to Frauenfel (German side of Switzerland). When we got off the buses it was snowing. Lets just say the Mexicans who had never seen snow went a little crazy! This whole week was “split cities”, which means half of the cast is in one city and half is in the other. They are only 20min away from each other, but you don’t meet together everyday unless it is a show day. That also meant we had 2 show days and we had to set-up and strike the set two days in a row in the two separate cities. Fun, fun, fun!! My new roommates were Katy from Wyoming and Sofia from Mexico. We were hosted with a great family. Ursula and Philippe with their 4 children, Fiona (17), Yannick (10), Samira (8) and Lionel (7). They do not start to learn English until 4^th grade here so the two youngest children were tough to talk to, but we had tons of fun through non-verbal communication and universal sign language! I definitely learned a bit of German this week even though our host dad was pretty fluent in English.

Tuesday was a study abroad day for me and CI for the rest of the cast. Our meeting place in Frauenfeld was at the Turnfabrik, which is a place where they have gymnastics training! We most definitely had some fun in the foam pits and trampolines etc. I was darn sore the next day from all the worms I did and supermans into the foam pit! We all found our inner child for sure! Our host brother Yannick trains there and he is a fantastic little flipper!

Both Wednesday and Thursday were show days and I was so happy because they were the first show days in a long time that my voice did not feel tired! Yay! I got really good at certain aspects of setting up and striking and I really enjoy it. I feel so accomplished when I can help instruct others on what to do when all the lights and sound stuff is so complicated! I even used a radio  one night to communicate with the people downstairs loading the truck. I don’t even have an internship and yet I was in a complete leadership position. I just learn so much everyday! Our host family loved the show and the kids have been listening to our CD non-stop since they saw it! So adorable!

Then for the first time (and most likely the last time!), we had a 3-day weekend with our host families. That is unheard of in UWP but I think it is what we all needed to recover and rest up for the rest of the tour. It was Easter weekend so everything was closed all weekend (besides Saturday). We were able to have a little extra time to get to know our host families and catch up on rest and “me time”!

 Friday we slept in, went to Good Friday brunch and created a ton of origami cranes with the kids.  In the evening UWP got VIP passes(free of charge) to the only club around that was open on Easter weekend. It goes without saying that  it was a BLAST! Basically we took up the entire dance floor. Not everyone was there, but probably about 70 of us were dancing the night away and sharing drinks all around! I felt like a true adult because I could go out and have a drink at a nice bar before hitting the dance floor in the club.

On Saturday our host family took us to Konstanz, Germany. Yes I am being serious. We parked our car in Switzerland and then walked over the border to Germany to watch the new Disney film “Die Kroods” in German of course. It was rainy and cold and a perfect day for the movies! It was quite interesting to me how I could understand the whole movie just based off the non-verbal communication because I did not understand a lick of the German! We also explored the beautiful buildings of Germany before heading home for a night of cheesy fondue and wine (lots of wine, bread, cheese and chocolate here!) We also all got to paint Easter eggs. It brought me right back homeJ The night ended with a wrestling match between the three of us and the kids! Kids will be kids no matter what culture or language they speak! It is a given! Our host dad is very disappointed in the weather right now because usually this time of year it is gorgeous and sunny and everything is in full bloom. Usually he is swimming in his pool on the first of April. Sounds like my kind of birthday… but alas the pool is still frozen! I will just have to come back and visit!

We awoke on Easter Sunday to the kids barging in our room with a big Easter basket for the 3 of us! How sweet! Then we headed to the gymnastics place again for a multi- UWP host family brunch! We all ended up running around for hours on the equipment and having great fun with each other and our host siblings. Philippe, our host dad also brought us up on the top of a hill to try and see the view through the clouds and snow. It was a gorgeous walk outside but the view was not there due to the weather circumstances. We all spent the day packing (they leave to Spain for 10 days tomorrow) and we leave back to the French part of Switzerland as well! We had a great last dinner and I had a wonderful early birthday surprise! I connected with Ella (one of my closet friends who I have not seen since June and who is in Ecuador right now) on  email chat and was able to Skype with her and see her lovely face! Could not have asked for a better birthday present!  Now it is midnight and just as I thought my host parents had gone to bed they came running into the room  to wish me a happy birthday right on the dot! So sweet!

Time for our last weekend in beautiful, expensive Switzerland! My favorite word that my host dad taught me this week is “sloplicha” which means “goodnight” in Dutch!

Pictures from Week #11 -Geneva, Switzerland

Atlanta Airport! Ready to take off over the "big pond"!

Using our food vouchers after the delay and passing the time by playing "Never have I ever..."

Hello Europe....

More specifically Hello Switzerland! 

Lots of Chocolate, Bread and Beer!

(they love their Nutella here :)

Utter Beauty! Geneva, Switzerland!

View from my bedroom window :)

The morning sunrise!

Yay- public transportation!

Scavenger hunt turned into a day exploring in Geneva!

My Mexican roommate for the week- Jessica Pena!

Host family!

Above : Brother, Louis (age 15), Mom, Edwige

Below: Brother, Cyprien (age 8)

Below, below: Louis again...

Delicious homemade quiche for our last dinner in Geneva - it made great lunch on the bus the next day!

Saturday night out in Geneva at Mr. Pickwick's! There were like 36 UWP who took over the small pub/dance club! It was a great way to end our first week in Europe!

Week #11 - Geneva, Switzerland

       This week has been quite the transition week with the feelings flying like fireworks! We made the big leap and flew overseas to Europe where we will be for 2 months! The week has gone by very fast and the routine was very different, which I think we will see many times on the European leg of the tour. Things are just different, not drastically, but noticeably. For example, here in Switzerland everything is very expensive and they greet each other by giving 3 kisses on the cheek. First left cheek, then right, then left again. We are in the French speaking part of Switzerland right now so the language is a big change of course. You can drink water from anywhere, even the bathroom sinks and it all tastes so fresh and good! Also public transportation is very timely. Like when it says the train will arrive at 9:52pm that is exactly when it arrives on the dot (different from my experience in Mexico for sure.) Lots of other things as well, but those are just quick things.

            The week began as usual with Monday as our travel day. We had some internal time before we left for Europe where we practiced our music for Europe. We also had a little dance party to say goodbye to the U.S. and to conclude our U.S. tour of VOICES with Cast A 2013. Then we loaded the buses and headed off to the airport. We arrived at 4pm for a 9:45pm flight departure, only to discover that our flight was delayed until 1:15 am. It turned out to be a very fun evening with our food vouchers and games of “Never have I ever…”. We also witnessed a huge hailstorm while we waited to check our bags. It sure takes a long time for 115 people to go through the check in line and security.  We finally took off to London and most of us slept the entire 6-hour flight over the ocean. In London we were rushed from terminal to terminal to get to our departing flight for Geneva Switzerland on time. Thankfully everyone made it and just two hours later we landed in Switzerland. After the buses were loaded we headed to the place where we would meet our host families. We met our first French speaking host family and thankfully they spoke some English. Bedtime came quickly because we had two show days starting the following day.

            The rest of the week was so odd for me. I hit a sort of plateau and I was under the weather all week with a cough and runny nose but in UWP you just keep pushing. We had a show day on Wednesday, which included lots of rehearsal, and around 1pm everyone was hit with crazy jet lag! Yikes! FYI- our show was still good of course. We found the energy and performed well despite the circumstances. Thursday was also a show day, but in the morning we had a really intense workshop, which was very emotionally draining for me. Wow… I think I cried and processed things for about 2 hours straight. We went deep and explored some tender areas. Some how our show was extremely good probably due to the emotional charge from our workshop earlier in the day that radiated in the room!

            On Friday and Saturday we had days full of CI’s all around Geneva Switzerland and a Scavenger Hunt (a fun way for us to see the beautiful city of Geneva) and I also had some study abroad time in there as well. We used public transportation (which was exciting) and learned how to get around in a place where everything is in French and where stuff just does not make sense and is all so very different.  Geneva is beautiful and the lake and view from my bedroom window is gorgeous. It was rainy the last couple of days, but we did get some days with sun. It is funny how you do not really believe all the pictures you see of different countries until you get there and realize Wow! Those were real pictures. Also, the stereotypes about European drivers really are true.  They are insane and the roads are so small and curvy, how will I stay alive! On Saturday evening a bunch of us went out to a small pub called Mr. Pickwick’s. It was so much fun! There was live music in one room and in another room there was a dance club. The 36 of us who were there had a blast, but we are very excited to go out somewhere (not in Switzerland) when a beer is not $9! On Sunday I ended up catching up on well-needed sleep. I slept for 15 hours straight until 5pm. Our host family was gone for the weekend so it was fine, but I never knew I could sleep that long! Our house we live in is beautiful and so very big! The doors seem to lead to endless rooms with beautiful art and furniture and everything is just so nice. Our family actually goes to Africa to hunt a lot and they have a house in France where they go and hunt as well. I had 3 brothers in my host family and parents of course. Also living in their house was a girl from Romania (the maid) and we got to meet their cousin as well.

            They week has been exhausting and funky but I think the transition has been made for me and I am ready for the rest of Europe! Tomorrow we leave to another part of Switzerland where they speak German so maybe I will have language culture shock all over again after hearing French all week.

           Fun fact: In Europe the women are expected to buy the first drink in a date like situation and then the men respond by buying a drink as a thank you. So different then Northern America!!!!

Pictures from Week #10 - Atlanta, GA

 My bus date from Statesboro to Atlanta. Dany from Mexico!

A quick stop at a mall to pee and stretch our legs. Yes Larissa and I ended up "shopping" with Adel!

We were celebrating after arriving in our last U.S. city before flying over the "big pond" to Europe!

Just enjoying ourselves in the downtown of Roswell :) Just to get caught in the rain!

Host parents (Nikki & Mike) and my roommate, Lena from Norway!

Home team 6 photo opp!

We will lead the world someday1

Regional Learning - The Capital in Atlanta!

Fancy lunch from our sponsor!

Study Abroad - a great way to release!

Finally understanding the chain reaction laughing exercise!

Reese came to check out this crazy thing called Up with People! He even braved a road trip with insane Grenier's! I guess he liked it, because he interviewed:) hehe

Love and support came to see me! Betsy, Aidan, Justys, Me, Perla, Paul, Paula, Aunt Jennifer & Reese!

Aunt Jennifer - so good to see you again!

By lucky chance we were able to spend time with some Alaskan relatives! Yay!

Love those cute boys - Charlie and Everett!

Week #10 - Atlanta, Georgia

    This week has been so full of many different emotions and feelings - physical, mental and emotional! On Monday we left Statesboro and made our way to Atlanta, which was our last city in the USA. The travel day went pretty fast and when we arrived in Roswell GA (North Atlanta) we had some free time and we all explored a very cute downtown and got caught in the rain. I had a small cold and cough and was a little worried about getting to run down before Switzerland. My new roommate for the week (or until I went with my parents) was Lena from Norway and my host family was great as well - Mike and Nikki with their sweet little baby boy Grayson. Tuesday morning I decided I needed to take my first sick day and so I stayed home and took a day to recover, the best that I could. It was nice to sleep in and drink a lot of tea. It was weird not talking to anyone and being silent for such a long period of time. It made me realize just how much energy we all use each day just being together and talking. It was crazy to think about. Wednesday I was still not up to par, but went anyway to my study abroad  class and we actually got to see our professors! YAY! It was great to spend time with both Theresa and Pete and my class (SA FSC students) got to lead the cast in a small workshop as well. Wednesday night I said goodbye to my host family and packed up my stuff because Thursday I was seeing my family and good friend, Reese! I was excited all day in anticipation of their arrival. They pulled an “all nighter “ and drove16 hours from Wisconsin on Wed eve to come and see our show. After a day of regional learning, seeing the capitol in Atlanta and   doing a “meet and greet” with the mayor, they finally pulled up and I got those hugs I had been waiting for. It was wonderful to spend the night and the next few days with Reese and my family! It was full of laughter and fun and everyone I introduced them to at UWP loved them. They visited the UWP group on Friday and my parents (chiropractors) adjusted most of cast/crew. We had an awesome show on Friday night and the cast really felt their “life force flowing!” My little sister Perla (12 yrs.) said she cannot wait to join UWP and my brother Justys (15 yrs) attended the Open Door Day and  was also really interested. Reese was a guest student for the Friday and Saturday show days. We had 3 shows over the two days and I had my highs and lows on learning how it is to deal with a professional show and so on. I think I was also just emotional because I realized how crazy it is that we are leaving to Europe so soon! I also got the wonderful pleasure of getting to see Betsy and Aidan Farrell because they drove down from North Carolina to see the show and spend some time with us! On top of that my aunt Jennifer from Alaska was at her mother in laws in the area and made the 2-hour drive over to see the show as well. I felt so much love and support this weekend from family, friends and Up with People people! I am so very grateful for everyone in my life. After the show on Saturday Reese and I drove to meet my extended family. We spent Sunday hanging with my immediate family and the Alaskan family that  we rarely get to see! I spent the day shedding pounds from my suitcase as I packed my stuff getting ready to cross over the big pond for the first time ever in my life!

            It has been a wonderful 2 months in the USA with Cast A 2013. It is sad to see this chapter of our journey ending, but I am so excited to conquer the great lands of Europe and Mexico with Cast A - my lifelong friends! So tomorrow we are off to Geneva, Switzerland and I am nervous and excited to see what all Europe has to offer!

                                     “We are leaving on a jet plane!”