Week #34 - Seattle, Washington

            This week was another wonderful week in the wet but still very green and gorgeous state of Washington – specifically the city of Seattle. J As it turned out, I was super lucky and was able to stay with the same host family and roommates for another week! I most definitely did a very crazy happy dance when I found that out! I could not believe I got to stay another week with such great friends and a family who I adored and was beyond comfortable with. I felt quite at home and I could not be more grateful for that.

            The weather was quite rainy this week and it made for perfect cozy nights at home with delicious dinners and great conversations. I learned a lot about my host family, The Greene’s, and also learned so many new things about my really close friends as well. I guess it just goes to show you really can always learn something new J On host family day we drove around the city to see some more spectacular views and sights, but we were dodging the down pouring rain much of the time. We sure got the true Seattle experience today as we drove through floods on the highway and did multiple rain dances! Saying goodbye is going to be super difficult tomorrow, but I do know this is a family I will definitely see again soon J

            On Monday we had a travel day, but for me and my roommates it felt super funny because we were not traveling. It was very interesting to experience getting out of normal routine. We get very used to the week-by-week moving and then for it to not happen makes you feel all out of place and stuff. We recalibrated by joining the cast in Seattle for Regional Learning later in the day. We were able to see the famous First Starbucks, Gum Wall, Space Needle, and Pikes Place Public Market by the Port of Puget Sound and even do some shopping. I also had my first intern meeting and it really made me extra excited for my internship as a cast manager intern! Both Tuesday and Wednesday we had school project presentations in classrooms and then also mini shows so we performed quite a bit this week. We had a business workshop this week, where I realized how much I have grown from 6 months ago when we did mock interviews in the same workshop. It is crazy what 6 months of experience can do for you. On Thursday I had study abroad day which was really good and we also had CI in the evening time where we all went to food banks all over the Seattle area and worked alongside community members to help others. It was a pretty cool thing and I hope it can happen more often. Friday was an internal day full of fun activities and workshops. We talked about and shared stories from our past 10 weeks together in the USA and we talked about things we had learned from the different cities and families that we stayed with. Then we moved into saying goodbye to the USA and preparing for the awesome and crazy country of Mexico! I think we are all ready for some beach time, but I am not so sure we are all truly comprehending the difference in temperature quite yet. We also had a cast meeting, which I helped lead a part of, and had helped Leslie (cast manager) plan in the prior days. Mostly, it pertained to getting to know each other on a deeper level, which I think was really good for everyone. The next workshop was a great one to transition into because it was all about giving each other feedback and helping each other to be the best we can be! The whole day was good for everyone and I think it was at a perfect time before we take off to Mexico. On Sunday we had a great show at one of the most amazing theatre UWP has performed in. I mean it was massive and the acoustics were wonderful and it was so big that you would forget where you were backstage and sometimes even get thoroughly lost in the building since there were 5 levels and a billion rooms! But the show was fantastic and there so many alumni at the show so that is always a good sing. Saying goodbye to my host family brought me to tears and that doesn’t happen with host families as much anymore so I really truly had a special connection. My session went great in the morning and I accomplished my goal of getting to know my cast mates better in that session. I get to do another one next week. Leslie is gone next week as well so I get to step up the plate and really kick butt as an intern J

It was a weird week, schedule wise, because we had host family day on Saturday (today) and then tomorrow we have our show in Seattle and then the first half of us leave to the airport so it is a very different travel day that we are not all used too. The show will be great I am sure and it is in a huge and super beautiful performing arts center that’s seats up to 3000 people. I am excited to see what tomorrow holds and I look forward to our long travel day to Mexico.

It is crazy for me to think about the fact that we are already half way done with this semester. It doesn’t feel real and it doesn’t seem realistic that we are getting be in Mexico in less than 24 hours. Mexico is a whole new world and I am super excited to be there, but knowing how Mexico is I am also prepared to be even more tired J So I guess here we go, ready or not, we are embarking on our first country transition as a cast and there is not much that can stop us now! Viva la Gente aqui vamos!!

Pictures from Week #33 - Auburn, Washington

A great start to an amazing week with close friends :) 

Emelie, Jordan and I decided to jump for pure joy :)

An evening of host families and uppies !

Laughter rings though the house

We like to be the educated group in UWP! Study Abroad rocks!

Naturally I'd be doing a handstand :)

Coolest Study Abroad Location ever! Museum of Flight!

Celebrating our host sister - Delaney's 18th birthday (on the the far right side) by going clubbing!

Week #33 - Auburn, Washington

          This week we took a big leap across the states having two days of travel from Montana to Washington J It was quite the journey and we actually stayed overnight half way in a Salvation Army facility. We all had cots and a shower schedule and so on and so forth. It was fun being able to stay up as late as we wanted knowing we could sleep on the bus the next day. You really get to know everyone on a deeper level when you are forced to see each other with that morning hairdo or that lovely morning glow J It  was really enjoyable and the drive to Seattle was beautiful as we drove through the mountains etc. It is going to be a fabulous two weeks on the west coast before we had to Mexico where it will be hot as can be!

            I was hosted with Jordan, my really good friend from the cast at her house with her family. My good friend Emelie was my roommate as well so it was an incredibly fun week with friends. We enjoyed so much laughter all week long. We were only supposed to stay for one week, but then today right before we began to pack for departure Ellen and Jan (our host parents) asked if we would be ok staying another week and of course we were beyond excited. Our host sister had her 18^th birthday this week so we took her out to her first club experience, which of course was a blast. During the week we had lovely family meals and talks around the table both early in the mornings and late in the evenings. We had a potluck dinner one night with a bunch of their family friends who live near by and who were also hosting UWP students. It was a lot of fun. I got to meet extended family of Jordan’s because they came to see our shows. Our host family loves seeing all 3 of their “daughters” be stars in UWP in the shows and I loved having them in the audience smiling away. On host family day we slept in and then had a girl’s day at the mall for Delaney’s (our host sisters) birthday! We were so excited because we did not have to pack due to the fact that we were staying for another week J

            In UWP this week we were so busy. It seemed as though the week flew by and we had no time to think. We had a ton of anti-bullying workshops in middle schools all over the Auburn/Seattle area and with those workshops came mini shows that we would do for each middle school, the focus being anti-bullying. I also worked in Admissions on Tuesday, which included giving Admissions presentations at a high school to get kids aware of the UWP program. On Thursday and Friday morning I had study abroad because our professors came for a few days to meet with us before we left the country. It was super nice to have them there in person and teaching us like that instead of just via Skype. Friday and Saturday we had shows and I got to meet Steve Colwell, who is one of the four people who started UWP. It was really cool getting to speak with him about the vision he had so long ago that has now become such a well-known and highly successful program. One other super exciting thing that happened for me this week is that I received  a Cast Manager Internship for the next 5 weeks. It is a very special internship that actually didn’t exist until I created it. I am so excited to take up the challenge of being such an intern in the coming weeks. I already have a whole 3 hours this week planned out for me to lead the cast in team building exercises in order to bring us all closer.

            So with all that said I am super excited for the next chunk of this tour, which includes our transition to Mexico, my internship etc. I also cannot believe it is already half way over and still moving so fast. I have decided to attend the special trip to Italy with UWP to perform  for the Pope at the Vatican etc. in December. I  think it is going to be a really cool experience. So all in all I have much to look forward to in the coming months and  the only thing I wish for is the ability to stop time. I love what I am doing and at the moment I never want UWP to end for me J

Pictures from Week #32 - Cheyenne Indian Reservation/Lame Deer, Montana

"Here we are and now the story is changing..."

At the Cheyenne Indian Reservation

At the Little Big Horn Battlefield!

Gorgeous Regional LEarning on Travel Day :)

My Hughbert :)

Building a teepee 101!

Just enjoying the views and the sun!

My roommates for the week.

Waiting for the powwow / drum circle to begin :)

Andrew my good friend and mushu!

The lucky Prayer Lodge Clan with April our wonderful host mom!

Bonfire and native dancing ;)

Show Day on the Reservation!

My new mother Susan Baker! I cannot say thank you enough for being such a special part of my life!

Week #32 - Cheyenne Indian Reservation/Lame Deer, Montana

           What a week it has been in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation! I can easily say without a doubt that each person had a very unique experience and individually was challenged in their own way. We went into a community that needed us to come. It was not really because we were wanted, but mainly because we were needed. Though we all had challenges throughout the week and on the outside maybe it did not seem like we were making an impact we really were. We were changing lives simply by making the effort to reach out to the community in a place where most people choose not to go. The goal of the week was not only to help the individuals within the community, but also to find a way to build a bridge of understanding between the communities just off the reservation. We also wanted to help spark some inspiration in their hearts to act on their own and change what is around them simply because they can.

            On Monday we traveled into the reservation, on the way stopping at the Battle Field of Little Big Horn and learning all about the importance of that in the Cheyenne tribe native culture. When we got into Lame Deer we had a super cool welcoming session where we heard stories from some of the wise elders and were blessed as a group with sweet grass and native prayers. We also learned how to set up a teepee before having a potluck dinner with all of our new host families. I was at the prayer lodge so all of us girls instantly started speaking with our contacts. When we arrived home it was in a beautiful area, all alone on a hill surrounded by gorgeous open fields and a wonderful sunrise and sunset each day. The motto of the prayer lodge was “ A place for women to be” and it was exactly that. We had a great time getting to know one another throughout the week. My roommates were Shawna, Lauren W., Lauren B., Myself, Laura, Sanne and Abbey B. We spent many nights with our host mom April who is a native of the Cheyenne Tribe and she told us all we needed to know about anything involving the reservation and Cheyenne Tribal Culture.

            During the week we learned some native dancing, looked at her old items her grandma has beaded, had two delicious dinners (we had a busy week in UWP) and on the last night with her we had the opportunity to partake in the sweat. It was an incredible experience that I think everyone should try and I mean that full heartedly. We also did something called energy drawings for each other and it was so cool to test and then realize how powerful our intuition really is. Thus the saying goes always trust it. The whole experience at the prayer lodge was great. Whether we were meditating at sunrise or lying under the stars in the autumn breeze, we all bonded a lot and were able to have a relaxing week.

            In UWP we did many things as usual. We went into over 4 different schools to do workshops and wow did we all have some challenges! Why? Simply because education on the reservation is far from anything we have ever been acquainted with. However, we grew so much from that and I am thankful to have that experience with the classroom workshops. It triggered conversation and eventually helped you resolve whatever it was and things are much better, always J I had study abroad during the day as usual and that evening we had a drum circle and potluck gathering with all of our host families. It was super awesome, that got in the dark, which we need to get out. On Thursday a group of us arose super early to go into Billings to do a BTS for a service group of volunteers. Friday and Saturday we were busy as can be putting on show after show for all who could come. This was the place we most definitely saw some big change and also witnessed people regaining some sort of hope in their lives. We had a very busy week, but as we talked amongst each other and shared stories from ourselves and from our host families we were all able to fully understand what it is like to live on the reservation and it is not easy at all. Our minds were opened and I think we all realized how much more we could give as long as we live with open hearts and focus on things step by step. It is the little things that matter especially in this case. Although we all had moments of frustration and maybe missing our homes, we really changed lives this past week and all of the things we had to push through were all worth it. Simply knowing we bridged communities together is a really wonderful feeling.