I have been extremely lucky
this semester when it comes to host families and roommates and everything else.
The weeks are just one good one after another and it just keeps on going that
way. Not to mention the places we have visited are extremely beautiful when it
comes to the nature that surrounds the city we are in J This week we traveled from Sheridan to Jackson
(across the state of Wyoming), Jackson is very well know for its natural beauty
and western life style. It is a very touristy town especially in the summer,
and it is well known for its downhill skiing in the winter. But it is
absolutely gorgeous and the weather was wonderful all week thus making the week
in Jackson extra fabulous!
On top
of a great place to be in I had a wonderful host family with fantastic and fun
roommates. I was hosted with a girl from my Cast A (last semester) and her family:
The Flanagan’s. We ended up being a group of 10 people in the house with their
family of four and six of us UWP girls (Erin S., Lauren B., Emelie, Helen,
Mallory K., and myself) so it was quite the party all week long. Throughout the
week we had a lot of fun. We explored Jackson in the day and the evenings, had
a movie night and a night where the whole family went to have an “Old Time
Photo” taken. We had delicious breakfasts and dinners together and host family
day was the best of all. We rode in a sky tram up the top of peak in the Teton
Mountain Range and saw gorgeous views and took a ton of fun photos. We were
joined by a few other uppies at this point and from that point on the day just
keep getting better and the group of uppies kept growing (with their host
families of course). Next we made our way to a small lake at the base of the
mountains, which was stunning and beautiful. We spent the afternoon with a ton
of other uppies paddle boarding, swimming, laughing and just enjoying the great
outdoors and all it had to offer. After that the night was still not done
because we had a grill out at another host families house and enjoyed our food
as the sunset over the mountains. We ended a wonderful week by having a late
night with hot chocolate, stories and the never-ending process of Sunday night
packing and closure.
In UWP
hours this week we were very busy. We had CI day and I went to a center that
helps out the Latino population here in Jackson and then of course on Wednesday
I had my study abroad class. Both Tuesday and Wednesday evening we had a
special events. A small group of us went and presented at the rotary club on
Tuesday night about UWP and then on Wednesday the whole entire cast got to go
to a classic western event called a “Chuck wagon” where you eat classic western
food and listen to classic western music. It was the whole cast plus host
families so quite a lot of fun. We jammed away with the guitar on the bus to
such an event and while we were there as well. Thursday we did a lot of
anti-bullying workshop preparation and we also had half of the cast do a
culture fair so we could learn more about each other. So much fun! Friday and
Saturday were show days and the venue we performed in was beautiful and air-conditioned
J. Saturday morning I was signed out with the
cast manager and the group of us signed out with her got to do a bunch of team
bonding games and just have a blast all morning.
On
Monday we travel to Montana and get to stop at “Old Faithful” in Yellowstone
National Park on the way, which should be spectacular! Today was one of those
days where at the top of the mountain I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and
tried to take in all the incredible blessings in my life. I am so lucky and I
still cannot believe how many amazing things I get to do each week or even each
day. Simply looking around at my teammates during team bonding and realizing I
was surrounded by Belgium, The Netherlands, Japan, China, Denmark, Mexico,
Sweden and the USA just about made my heart skip a beat in excitement. I am
living such an abnormal life and I am beyond grateful for the experiences I get
to receive and give to others!
So long Wyoming – its
been great!
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