People-You Meet Them Wherever You Go

Our travel day began at 4 am where we took a bus to the train station.  Our day would be spent exploring the Copper Canyon, which is a system of six canyons that is larger and portions are deeper than the Grand Canyon.  We spent six hours on the train as we traveled from the desert to the canyons. The views were breathtaking as we passed the massive earthy red cliffs and the clear streams flowing alongside the track.

When we arrived to the canyon, I climbed up the stairs and was greeted with the most stunning view.  The canyons never seemed to end until they drifted off into the distant mist.  We walked along side the canyon until we came to the visitors' center where we then took a five-minute gondola ride across the gorge.  Once we got to the other side of the canyon, I went exploring.  I climbed boulders and hopped from rock to rock until I came to what felt like the edge of the world.  Then, I just sat down and looked out at grandeur before my eyes and reflected on all of the opportunities I have been given the past six months.

As the scarlet sun set behind the canyon, we began our four-hour journey to our final city, Cuauhtemoc.  We arrived and had our last allocation meeting.  As we ended our meeting, Dave and Leslie, our Cast Manager and Assistant Cast Manager, said they had something for us.  When we turned around to look, it was our cast mate who had lost his father the previous week.  He had come to be with us for the final week.  We all stood up and cheered and all 100 of us ran to hug him.  It was very special to have him back with us because he had been missed so much.

My final host family was Abraham, Isabel, and their sons Gonzalo and Roberto.  They own a cheese factory as well as a ranch with 60 horses.  Their son Gonzalo is a champion equestrian horse jumper.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn about horse jumping throughout the week.  My roommate for the week was Joris, our Education Coordinator.

Tuesday was a culture fair for all the students in the city.  We decorated our booths, set up our international flags, and put on our international costumes.  Each hour 150 children arrived to learn about our countries.

 The following day, we continued our culture fair.  At the booths students had the opportunity to play games and make crafts.  The Norway booth made paper snowflakes with the students.  At the Finland booth, the students played a trivia board game.  Our Japanese students wrote the names of each student in characters. By the end of the day, 1600 students visited our booths.

That afternoon, we had internal time where we met with our home teams for the last time.  We spent our time laughing and reminiscing about all the fun memories we had together.  We laughed about the very first time we met on the rooftop of a parking garage in Denver and thought about how far we had come since then.  It was a nice way to begin our long week of lasts with the cast.

Thursday was the first of our two double show days.  We had our rehearsal, ate a quick lunch, and then began to get ready for our first show.  The first show was a VIP show for children and their families who would not have been able to see an Up with People show.  After the first show, we immediately ate dinner and began to get ready for the second show.  When I had finished with the second show, I was a little worried how I would be able to perform two more shows the following day, but since it was our last show, I had to give it my all.

Friday began our final show day as a cast.  We had our final rehearsal in the morning, which was quick.  When we finished rehearsal we were told to gather on stage.  As we all stood on stage, we suddenly heard a familiar song play.  Our Taiwanese songs that we learned started playing through the speakers.  We were all thrilled to perform our Taiwanese and Philippino songs one final time.  By the end of the songs, we all had our arms around each other singing at the top of our lungs.  It was a special way to end our last rehearsal.

After we had finished our rehearsal we went over our last show notes.  When we had finished our show notes, we stood on stage in a circle.  Our staff thanked us for all that we have done this semester.  They talked to us about how far we had come this semester and all the things we have gotten to do together.  They then talked about how each of us has a unique voice and our voices together make our cast.  As we stood there together holding one another, our closing song of the show "Voices" played through the speakers.  Tears welled in our eyes as we all began to sing the song together.

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

Can we hear, beyond the words they are saying.

Maybe, when all sides can rise above the noises,

We'll listen to the voices of the world."

As I sang with tears in my eyes, I looked at each one of my cast mates's faces and thought about all the memories I had with each one of them.  Standing in that circle made it all real-it finally hit me that this was the last time I would be sharing the stage with this family.  When the song ended, it was time to get ready for the first show.

Knowing that this show was one of our lasts, I put my heart into all that I did on that stage.  When we finished our first show, we immediately reported to the stage for our final greenroom for our final show.    Our greenroom was in the balcony of the theater.  When we walked into the balcony, we were greeted by all our staff waving balloons and blowing horns-it was a celebration.  After we danced and sang, we sat down.  Nicole sat down in front of all of us to read the final pages of "Oh the Places You'll Go."  When she finished, just as our very first greenroom, the staff walked around us holding signs that focused on "right now"
"Right now your families at home are waiting for you."
"Right now your host families are missing you."
"Right now you are probably sitting next to your best friend."
"Right now, you are ready for your final show."
"We love you."
And just as Dave had done during our first greenroom, he spoke at our last.  Dave spoke to us about the family and the home that we created together.  We may all be returning to our home, but our Up with People home we carry with us in our hearts.  It was a memorable way to end our last greenroom, and a memory that I will always cherish.

After a quick dinner, we started our final Cast B 2012 Up with People show.  I poured my heart and soul into every song and dance and took in every moment on that stage.  I had never been so exhausted from performing, but I could not stop until after our final song.  The show seemed to end in the blink of an eye.  It was as if I barely had time to enjoy the last show.

And then it came time for our final song "Voices," which was the most special and memorable moment of my life.  As the song builds, ten of us walk to the front of the stage in international costumes.  I was fortunate to be in an international costume for our final show.  I walked on stage fighting the tears that were building.  I stood there singing ready to leave everything I had on that stage.  The song builds to a key change where part of our cast walks on stage in a processional of our international flags.  Just as the flags were about to walk on, I noticed three people in the front row of the audience holding white tissues.  All of a sudden, as the music changed keys, every single person in the audience held up a white tissue and began waving it.  They all stood up and I became overwhelmed with emotions.  Knowing that this was our last moment on stage and the support we received from the audience is a feeling that I cannot explain in words.  Then, I noticed our entire staff walking down both aisles waving tissues and they stopped in front of us.  As I looked at the staff, I could see the pride in their eyes and I could no longer hold back my tears.  The staff and audience was standing there cheering us on knowing how difficult these last moments were for all of us.  As I looked around at my cast mates, none of us could withhold our feelings.  Sharing those moment with my family will remain my most treasured memory.

Saturday was our last internal day together.  We began with a Community Impact debrief of the semester where we talked about all the opportunities we had to serve the communities.  We shared stories of our most memorable sites and shared laughs at some of our most challenging sites.  We then had time to walk around to one another and share memories that we had of each other from our Community Impact days.

After we talked about our community service, we had a two-hour laughing session where we looked at pictures from our travels and told funny stories.  It was so nice to reminisce on our semester and just laugh together for two hours.

Sunday was our host family day, which we spent at the ranch.  My host mother had a twin sister who was hosting Vera, from the Netherlands, and Leslie our Assistant Cast Manager and they joined us at the ranch along with Paul, our Production Manager.  We drove an hour outside of town to their massive ranch with 60 horses, cows, deer, ponies, chickens, and two ostriches.  We started off the morning with Gonzalo and his cousin giving us a presentation of their jumping.  We then had the chance to ride the horses out in the fields around the ranch.  I had not ridden in years and it was so nice to ride again and feel the wind blow in my face as I was running with the horse.  We returned to the barn for an incredibly delicious carne asada lunch and then it was time to take out the ATVs.  We rode all over the ranch and through the fields like we were all kids again and we ended our afternoon by hitting piñatas in celebration of Leslie and Vera's birthdays.

Monday was our final day as a cast and we spent it together at our Final Banquet.  Our banquet was at a nice restaurant that was decorated by a small committee of students and staff.  The first few hours of the banquet allowed us to walk around and talk with each other and take pictures at the photo booth.  We then all sat down for dinner where we received awards and our completion certificate.  I was honored to have been voted as most genuine.  When we finished dinner, we headed to the dance floor to dance to the live band playing for us.  We danced and laughed all night until the moment came that we had all been dreading.  Our host families were coming and it was time for us to say goodbye.  We were all in tears as we went around saying our final goodbyes to one another.  It was difficult to say goodbyes so quickly, but, in a way, it was for the best because I would not have left if I had the choice.  With tears in our eyes, we all headed home to pack one final time for our bus ride to the airport at 4 am.

We left for the airport early the next morning and once we arrived, we all began to go our separate ways.  From Cauahtemoc a small group flew to Dallas and an even smaller group flew with me on to Denver.  I still felt like it was a normal travel day until I boarded my last flight by myself.  Then it hit me that I was actually heading home and was leaving behind the experience of a lifetime.  But as I looked out the window on my final flight, I realized something-my home is with Up with People.  My home is with my Up with People family-the 100 people who changed my life.  And while some of us may never see each other again, this home that we have together is in the cherished memories of my heart.  

People-you meet them wherever you go.  Little did I know that the people I would meet wherever I went would end up changing me.  I have been changed not by my experiences, but by the people with whom my experiences were shared.  And what I have discovered is that there are incredible people in this world.  I was in awe at the generosity, love, support, kindness, compassion, and genuineness that is still out there in a world that I thought had forgotten about caring for others.  You meet people wherever you go and I am forever grateful, humbled, and blessed for the people I was so privileged to meet. 

If I could pass on a lesson that I have taken away from these past six months it would be to challenge yourself to listen to the stories of the people you meet in a grocery store aisle, the gym, or just walking down the street because the stories that I have listened to have allowed me to look at the world through the eyes of others.Those stories have humbled me, opened my heart, changed my beliefs, strengthened my values, made me grateful, and reminded me of how blessed I am.  

Thank you to those who shared their stories with me, to those who welcomed me into their family, to my family of 100 international friends, and thank you to those who have allowed me to share my adventures with them through my blog.  

Because I have gained so much from my Up with People experience, I will be traveling for a second semester beginning in January.  I welcome you to follow my new adventures and challenges throughout my second semester.