This was a very special week because I got to live with a very dear family. When my family lived in Tucson, AZ, my brother and I had a nanny-Conchita, who lived with us and who became our second mother. Once we moved to Nebraska, when I was four, Conchita moved back to Mexico. I have not seen Conchita for 18 years, but I was blessed with the special opportunity to live with Conchita in her house in Obregon with her husband Alfonso. I had been waiting for this week for several months because Conchita is such a special part of our family.
Once we arrived and had finished our meeting, I immediately ran outside to find Conchita. I walked around looking for her, but I could not find her in the crowd. Then, as if I was in a movie, I turned around and several host families parted and there she was, just as beautiful as she was when she held me in her arms and rocked me to sleep 18 years ago. I ran to her and hugged her for the longest time. I could not believe that I was with Conchita once more. She then introduced me to her husband Alfonso and he hugged me as if he had known me my whole life and as if I was his own son. I was roomed with Georgie, my first roommate in Lowell, and I explained to him how special this week was for me and my family.
When we got to their house, there were pictures of our family on her living room table. All around the house Conchita kept every picture she had of us and I felt like I was home. It had been 18 years since I had seen her so I asked about her family and if she had any children. She responded, "I only had two children-you and your brother." I was so overwhelmed with emotions that it was hard to believe I was really with Conchita, but I knew every second with her would be a treasured moment.
On Tuesday morning, we had a full-cast Community Impact day where we worked at a school for children with special needs. We arrived and they welcomed us with a performance from some of the children dancing and singing for us all. We divided into groups to tackle four different projects in less than two hours. Within the two hours, our cast planted trees, repainted the lines on the basketball court, laid stones to outline the track, and leveled ground around the school. It's amazing how much we can accomplish together when we are motivated and can serve the community together as a cast.
That evening our cast was part of a parade in town. We put on international costumes and some of the cast carried flags from around the world. We walked down the street cheering and handing out fliers for our show during the week.
Wednesday was our show day for the community. When I arrived to our show facility, I immediately sensed panic in the air and I did not see the staff anywhere. We all sat down for our morning meeting with worried looks on our faces. Our Mexican Tour Manager, Armando, started off the meeting by telling us how important it would be for us to work hard during the day because our Vocal Instructor, John, our Production Manager, Paul, and our Show Manager, Leslie were all sick. All of a sudden, all our staff came out on stage and surprised us by celebrating our cast with a cast appreciation day. The entire day was devoted to appreciating all that we had done together as a cast. It was a very memorable day and certainly a wonderful surprise for all of us. To top off such a great day, we ended up performing for about 5000 screaming fans.
Thursday was an internal day for the cast where we had several workshops. In the afternoon, we talked about the stages of loss in regards to transitioning to our final weeks together as a cast. When we were told we only had 27 days left, it was crazy to think about all that we had done in 5 months, but the reality set in that our time was quickly coming to an end. We talked for several hours about how we are feeling about the semester coming to an end. Some people were angry, some were in denial, some were bargaining by saying things like, "I' still have 3 weeks left," while others had accepted the idea that soon, some of us may never see each other again. It was a nice time for all of us to think about what stage we were at and give us time to come to terms with our semester ending. For me, I was at the acceptance stage because I knew that when I got home, I would start going through denial, anger, depression, and bargaining. The tough stages had not hit me yet, but I knew that they would once I was away from what I found comfortable and safe.
Friday was another full-cast Community Impact day where all 100 of us repainted an entire church. Half of the cast worked on painting the outside of the church, while some painted the windows and others painted the inside. In just four hours, the whole church had a new coat of paint and looked like it had just been built. We later found out that after we had painted the church, the pastor told us that the following Sunday, the church was full for the first time in years. Hearing comments like that reminded all of us just how much of an impact we can have in a community and how something as little as painting can make a difference in someone's life.
Conchita and Alfonso run several rehabilitation centers for men and women wishing to end their addiction to drugs. Alfonso had gotten involved with drugs when he was just eight years old. Once someone helped him with his addiction, he decided to devote his life to helping other people and Conchita, being the kind and caring woman that she is, joined Alfonso. Saturday, Conchita took me and Georgie to the office to meet the women and men that they help. It was so incredible to see how Conchita and Alfonso have dedicated their life to serving others and helping them make a new life for themselves. After visiting the offices, Conchita and Alfonso took Georgie and I shopping at the mall. They insisted on buying us shoes, so I now have a special pair of shoes that will always remind me of Conchita and Alfonso when I wear them.
After the mall, we enjoyed one last meal together at a Chinese buffet and then headed home to start packing. Before going to bed, Conchita called me over to the computer and sat me down next to her. She wanted to tell me something, but she wanted to use google translate so she could express herself in a way that would be easier for me to understand. She began typing a very long message explaining how special this week has been for her and how thankful she is that she had the chance to see me once again. I was almost in tears at the end of her message, but then I wrote her back. I told her how much I enjoyed the week with her and how blessed I am that God brought me back to her. I also explained to her how inspirational she is for the way the she truly cares for others and how much I admire for the love that she gives. We both hugged each other with tears running down our faces. It was a moment that I will forever treasure.
On Sunday, Conchita dropped us off and we said our goodbyes, but I promised her it would not be the last time. It was very difficult to say goodbye after such an incredible week, but I took comfort in knowing that I would see her again.
After four games, we had only won two of them, so it was time to step it up for our final game, which was a 12-legged race. Surprisingly, we were tied for first place with another team, which meant we got to start closer to the finish line. As we tied our shoes together, we came up with a game plan as to how we would work together to get to the end of the huge field. The race began and we began to pace ourselves. We continued our pace and we in the lead. We were about ten feet from the finish line when all of a sudden, I saw Mie, from Japan go down. The next thing I know, I was laying face down on the ground along with my five teammates-we had fallen five feet from the finish line. However, even though fell, we could not help but laugh. We ended up brushing the dirt off our faces, linking, and walking together across the line to finish the race.
After such an eventful day, we packed up and loaded the busses to head to our next city-Hermosillo
