Monday morning was a sad goodbye leaving such a special family. The thirty 2nd semester students all got on one bus for a three-day trip together. We headed to the south part of Belgium to a summer home of one of our cast mates' grandparents. When we arrived, it was like we pulled up to a mansion. The spacious backyard had beautiful paths that took you on a walk through blooming flowers and lush trees. Before we began any activities, we all raced into the house to claim our bedrooms.
Once we were settled in, we began rehearsing for expression session that was coming up. All the second-semesters decided we would show the first semester what our Mexican medley looked like since we have a completely new medley this semester. Before we began our rehearsals, we sang through all of our old medleys from Taiwan and the Philippines. It was fun to reminisce about our experiences last semester. We also had a blast singing and dancing along to our Mexican medley.
The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying each others' company until some of us began preparing dinner and some built the fire pit for a bonfire. We had a wonderful family dinner together and then headed outside to sit around the fire. We sat around the fire and shared our favorite and most memorable moments together. Many tears where shed thinking about how far we had come and all the memories that we have been privileged to share together.
The next morning we woke up early to head out to do community service/regional learning together. Our community impact was walking along the beautiful trails through the forest and checking the signs to make sure they were clear and easy for hikers to follow. It was more of a relaxing hike with friends. We divided into groups and then hit the trails. The morning was filled with great conversation and endless beauty. We came across fields of cows and decided to take a break to play with them.
In the afternoon we visited underground caves that reminded us all of the caves we visited together in The Philippines. The caves were beautiful and so peaceful. We came to a huge opening in the caves and we decided to take a break. We all stood together and sang one of the acapella songs from our show called "Let the Music Play." We all had chills as we heard our voices ringing together throughout the caves. It was one of those moments where I had to stop myself and appreciate the moment and the experience I was having with my family.
That night, we hung out for hours laughing, playing games, and talking. It was one of those nights that I never wanted to end because it was so perfect.
Wednesday morning we packed up and headed to our final activity together before joining the rest of the cast. We went to an adrenaline park, which was full of rock walls, long and high ropes courses, and team bonding activities. We divided into two groups and spent the morning climbing across large gorges on tiny wires. After lunch, our group completed two team-building activities. Our first task was to get our entire team onto a small platform using only a swinging rope. We completed the task with ease. We then moved on to the second task, which was to have our entire team cross a tiny and very long wire that was hooked to many trees. It took our team several attempts, but once we figured out a plan, we completed the task together. Before we left, we all had the chance to zip line from the top of the cliff to the bottom. I felt free as I flew over the tree tops and listened to the sound of my family below cheering me on. It was the perfect way to close out a year of memories with such dear and treasured friends.
Thursday was an incredible Regional Learning day where we got to spend the entire day at the Belgian Special Olympics being fans and cheering on the participants. It was so amazing to see the sportsmanship of the competitors. I watched the competitors accidentally knock each other down and without missing a beat, one competitor would reach out his hand to help his competition off the ground. Our world would be a different place if we all extended our hand to whomever needed our help. It was a truly blessed day.
In the evening, we had our expression session which was full of talent and laughter. All of the second semester students had a blast performing our Mexican medley one more time. I also helped Blair, from Canada, with some lifts in her lyrical dance. It was fun to see all the creative talents of my cast mates.
Friday was a very special day because one of my closest friends from college, Desirae, came to Tielt, Belgium to see me and what I have been doing with the last year of my life. Desirae spent the day meeting all of my friends and watching our rehearsal in the afternoon. That night, she got to experience her first Up with People show. Additionally, my host family from the previous week came to see me again and I got to introduce Desirae to my Belgian family.
Saturday was also another great show.
On host family day, Desirae and I took a train to Brugge to explore the city. Brugge is one of my favorite cities in Belgium because of its beauty. The city sits within a series of canals where you can take gondola tours to see the historic city. We had a blast walking around the city visiting cathedrals, eating fries in the plaza, and enjoying Belgian beer.
That evening I had to quickly pack because we had a cast overnight since we had a 6 hour bus ride to Frankfurt, Germany for our non-stop flight to Mexico. Having Desirae with me for a few days was the best way to close out such a memorable time Europe.
