Week #25 - Denver, Colorado (Summer Staging 2013)

           This week has seemed to go a little better.  Things are starting to be in more of a groove. I am getting closer with all the new students and continuing to strengthen the old friendships as well.  We of course have had continued the craziness of staging this week so things are still at a high stress level as solo spots begin to get chosen and the dance workshops slowly eliminate people.

But as a cast we are bonding more and more by the day. We are all getting so comfortable and we had our first Cast B community impact (CI) day this week. We helped to rebuild the destroyed area from the forest fires that surrounded and burned Colorado Springs last year. We had lots of bus time to talk and get to know each other and CI is always a great way to get closer as a cast. This week also included Leadership Round Tables, which is a time where leaders from around the community come in and we get a chance to ask questions and learn from them and all their knowledge. We continued to have more singing and dance practice and I actually got to be apart of the 80’s medley dance workshop which was extremely hard but so much fun and I now have a goal to perform in it by the end of the semester!

On Monday our second semester group was lucky enough to go to the Denver Aquarium for regional learning.  A cast mate from last semester, Tara, works at the aquarium as a mermaid and we got to see her do a show as a mermaid. It was so darn cool. She has such an awesome job. Also on Friday we (second semesters) got to do a CI at a domestic adoption camp. I got to help teach a world dance class all day and spend time with super cute children.

Outside of the UWP schedule this week I spent more wonderful dinners with my host family and continued to have great moments with my roommates. After a great host family day last weekend at the local water park we have been able to watch the sunset over the mountains and go to another Rockies baseball game with all of the other host families and Cast B students. It was so much fun! It rained but we managed to have a blast and dance to keep warm. It really brought us together as a cast and I am so excited to see what else we do in the coming months. Sunday was not such nice weather so I caught up on rest, went to the movies with my host siblings and did errands that had to be done. My host dad also recorded me singing a few of my favorite songs. Lastly I had the chance to Skype with one of best friends from my last semester from Sweden and we had so much to catch up on that we talked for 2.5 hours.  Having friends from around the world is so incredible!