This week we experienced many “last times” so to speak. It
was our last week in Belgium, last time we would perform in Europe, last time
performing with 2 of our wonderful cast mates and best friends because they
will not be coming to Mexico with us, last time we would sing the Up with
People theme song as Cast A 2013 because it will be Viva la Gente from now on.
Needless to say there were tears and emotions flying around and a whole lot of
passion was put into it. The energy was very high and it was a memorable
evening to say the least. All week I just did my best to enjoy myself and my
last days in Europe, just soaking it all in and never just sitting around, but
instead living every moment to it’s fullest!
Monday we
had a travel day, which was only about a 3-hour drive, but we made a really
long pit stop in the gorgeous city of Brugge and had a day to explore, see the
beautiful sights and take in the wonderful European architecture one last time.
It was a bright sunny day and we enjoyed Brugge and indulged on Belgium fries
and waffles J
then we made it to Tielt and went with our host families. I was hosted with
Simone from Denmark. We are very similar so we have been waiting to get hosted
together and it finally happened so we knew the week would be good. Tielt is a
very small town and all week we traveled
via bicycles and it was wonderful. The
town basically consisted of a cute little center square with a few pubs and a
beautiful church. My host family was a very sweet couple in their 40’s with two teenagers. They
all spoke pretty good English so I was good to go. We had a good week with lots of delicious meals
for our last week in Europe. They took us out on Sunday to the North Sea and we
walked on the board walk, tried some new foods and saw a crazy awesome kite
festival J They are not wealthy
enough to travel or fly out of their country so they were very grateful to
bring the culture into their home so it was hard to say goodbye.
Tuesday we
had a CI day and I was sent to a juvenile detention center for girls. I taught African dance in a World Dance class along
with interacting with the girls. Over all I felt it was a pretty impactful day
for me. Wednesday I had Study Abroad as usual and we had an education workshop
where we talked about the price of peace in our world. Thursday I was on set up
crew and I continued to learn a lot in my internship throughout the day. We
also had a super fun thing called “Expression Session” where we all got to
share things we loved to do like sing and perform etc. There were a lot of
tears and laughter and we all left feeling very happy and joyful because we
realized the amazing people we are surrounded by.
Friday and
Saturday we had two wonderful show days. Because they were our last shows in
Europe, they were full of great energy
and many sentimental moments. Things are moving very fast and it is crazy to
realize that we only have 4 weeks left and that will fly by so fast! This
experience is so amazing and I just want to savor my time with the cast as much
as possible. We all know you cannot stop time so the ending is coming soon and so
we are making the best of every second we have together.
Sunday we
had a cast sleepover where we had a lot of fun and laughter. We also had to say some goodbyes to two of
our cast mates who will not be in Mexico with us so there were also tears. We
have a huge travel day tomorrow driving to Frankfurt at wee hours of the
morning and then a long flight to Mexico so we need to stay healthy and pace
ourselves because next week is even crazier with a ton of school presentations
and kids who want to learn all about Up with People. So off we go back over the
big pond to Mexico! Here’s to us Cast A 2013!
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