Wrapping Up

We began our final long travel day at 4 am to drive 14 hours East to Delicias in the state of Chihuahua. When we arrived at our drop off facility, we were greeted with heartbreaking news.  One of our cast-mates had unexpectedly lost his father earlier that night.  It was a very somber morning filled with tears and hugs.  We all gathered around to hug our cast-mate who had lost his father and to say goodbye to him since he would be returning to his home in Mexico City.  It was heartbreaking to see one of our family members hurting and it affected all of us.  It certainly made me realize just how close our family was and how closely we are all connected.

We said our goodbyes and started our long day of travel.  We were headed into the state of Chihuahua, which is where some of the horrific things are happening with the drug cartels.  All cities in Mexico are assigned a color (green, yellow, and red) based on their safety and the influence and activity of the cartels.  Our final two cities were yellow cities, which meant we had to take extra safety precautions.  It was the first time for Up with People to visit yellow cities in many many years, but these cities so desperately needed to hear our message.  As we crossed the boarder into Chihuahua, we were greeted by multiple police escorts.  Additionally, we traveled down the highway with helicopter escorts protecting us all along the way.

When we finally arrived in the evening, we had our allocation meeting and were given our host family assignments.  I was roomed with Isaiah from Colorado and we lived with a very sweet family with two sons.

On Tuesday, I spent all day being trained to be a Promotional Representative Intern for next semester.  Promotional Representatives (PR) are part of our staff on the road.  They travel to a city six weeks before we arrive to set up the city for us.  They arrange all of the food that is donated for our lunches and dinners throughout the week, set up all of the facilities that we will use during our week in the city, arrange all of the community service projects, promote the show throughout the city, and many other tasks to ensure that we have a fantastic week.  Sometime the opportunity arises when they give a student the chance to become a PR intern to help set up a city.  I was given the opportunity, along with 10 other students, to learn more about being a PR and possibly becoming an intern if there is a need next semester.

Wednesday we had a large culture fair at a high school and had our final mini show of the semester.  The students at the high school set up our booths for us and we helped them teach others about our countries.  We spent all morning and afternoon playing cultural games and sharing our experiences with the students.

That evening we had our final cast meeting together.  During our meeting we talked about what we have learned about ourselves and how we think we have changed.  We also openly talked about what makes us scared when we return home and how we will handle the transition.  We ended the meeting by creating a poem together.  We all wrote statements like, "When I look at a plate of food and a full glass of water, I remember how blessed I am to have meal to eat.  I am grateful."  "When I hold a child in my arms and look into their eyes, I am overcome with thankfulness.  I do what I love."  "When I am approached by only one person who says thank you, I smile.  I value quality over quantity."  All of our statements were put together to create a poem about who we are as individuals and what we stand for as well as who we are together as a family.    

Thursday we had our first of three shows in Delicias.  Our first show was a private show for families who might not otherwise have been able to afford seeing an Up with People show. 

Friday we had an internal day full of education workshops.  We spent all day talking about life after Up with People.  We discussed admissions and how to promote Up with People once we return home as well as how to talk about the program on a resume and in job interviews.  

That evening we headed to another facility for a special gallery and semester debrief.  We divided up into our home teams and rotated to seven different rooms that helped remind us of special moments during our semester.  The stations we visited used our senses of sight, touch, smell, and sound to bring back the memories.  My favorite station was when we sat in front of computers to listen to a 12-minute sound clip.  The first thing I heard was Dave's voice, our cast manager, from our first greenroom telling us how this is our time-our time to change the world, our time to make a difference, our time.  I was immediately overwhelmed with emotions and we all had tears in our eyes thinking back to all the special memories we shared together.  

After we visited all the stations, we walked into the large room that was covered in photos, quotes, and notes from throughout the entire semester.  We all walked around reminiscing about the people we have gotten to meet, the people we have gotten to serve, and the people who have changed our lives.  It was very emotional to look back at all that we have gotten to do together and to realize it is almost over.  We then sat down to watch several videos that helped remind us of all the fun that we have had together.  Before we ended, we had our final allocation meeting and went to go pick up our last allocation card.  I was very excited to see who my last family would be and wondering if I would get to have one last roommate.  As I picked up my final allocation card, I immediately began to cry when I looked at the names on the card.  The card read:

Collin Shepherd

Stu and Rajean Shepherd

806 Dillon Court 

North Platte, NE 69101

Pets: Bird (Michael)

Siblings: Breton Shepherd

Host Code: Nebraska-The Good Life

I can not even describe the emotions that I felt as I looked at the card with my family on it.  It made everything real and it finally hit me that I would soon be home leaving my family behind to be with my family back home.  It was a very special evening, and it made me realize how important it was for me to cherish my last days with my Up with People family.  

  

Saturday was a double show day.  In the morning we had rehearsal, which was a chance for us to have a fun rehearsal dancing and singing parts that we have never done before.  Singers were put in dance lines and dancers were given solos.  It was a chance for us to just let loose and have fun.  I ended up getting to sing a solo that I had not sang since I learned the song in staging.  

Double show days are extremely exhausting.  I rarely get a chance to breathe between my dances and quick changes that I have, but I certainly gave us a good look at what our final week would be like with four shows in two days.  

On host family day our host brother took me and Isaiah shopping downtown.  We stopped in some Dulcerías, which are full of candies and piñatas and also went to a market where they sold everything from birds to shot glasses and rosaries.  That evening we had a relaxing dinner and got to spend time hanging out with our wonderful and loving family.