tuscon

its me again...
so i'm in Tuscon now. have been since monday night. I'm losing track of when i've been writing. i'm not sure what i've gone over so far. but here goes anyway.
we left gallup NM monday morning. my host family sent me off with yummy sammiches and chips. we watched fight club on the bus, but other than that it was a pretty typical bus ride.

we got to tuscon earlier than expected and cast B was waiting to greet us when we got off the bus! they had signs that said "We love cast C," and they were screaming and jumping up and down outside the bus. it was so great to see them again!! we all really missed them even though we had only been apart a few days.
we had announcements a few minutes later and found out for sure that Up with People will be performing in this year's Rose Bowl!!! It was SO exciting! We also found out that Cast B will be going to Las Vegas!!! I am so incredibly happy for them. that should be such a fun experience.


after a while we were finally able to meet our new host families!!! My host parents are Barbara and Larry. They have two kids named Kylie and Alex. They are SO adorable!!! I also got to meet Leigh Ann and her husband who are Larry's sister and brother-in-law. Leigh Ann is really good friends with Rajean, so it was really really good to meet them!


we got to my host family's house, and i seriously don't want to leave! They have a gorgeous view of the entire city from their backyard. it's filled with palm trees, they have a salt-water pool, and a small putt putt golf course in their backyard. we had a delicious supper of steak, salad, and potatoes.

we all split up and did a bunch of community impact work throughout the city on thursday. I went with three other people to the el rio clinic and read books to kids in the pediatric waiting rooms. it was so much fun, but it was challenging at the same time. i had to use the spanish that i had mostly forgotten from high school to speak to some of them. it was so great to see the kids that started out really really shy break out of their shells and end up giggling and talking up a storm.


we had some guest speakers that afternoon that were pretty good. We met some of the cast from '72 that were in Munich during the olympic scare with the israeli hostages!!! we heard their stories and it was SO moving. it became apparent at that moment how much of an impact we can really make. we can really make a profound difference in this world, and it's even possible to do it through music!

that evening we all went over to the gepharts for dinner. there are a bunch of Uppies staying w/ families from this neighborhood who are really good friends. Sayuri and Suzanne from cast B, Matt from cast b and Scott from cast C, and Grant and Josh from cast B. it was super fun. and its good to get so close with all of them.

I have a feeling i'm mixing up all these days. they are jumbled around in my head after all. one night, Grant, Adam, Vania and i went driving around Tuscon. we ended up driving to Mount Lemon to see the city skyline at night, and oh my goodness was it worth it!!! the stars were breathtaking, and seeing the mountains at night is even more amazing than during the day. all you can see are these huge majestic pieces of the land jutting out from the earth. it was incredible. we were also in a convertible, so it was even more amazing. we could see everything!!!

friday was a big rehersal day. we went through our show, and practiced the new parts we were adding in. we blocked the show with both casts and ran through for a long long time.

I'm on the Admissions Team, so i had to get ready really fast after supper (45 minutes sooner than everyone else) and go down to the lobby to greet people. it was so exciting to see all these people come to watch our show. this was a huge show by the way. all the alumni at the reunion came to watch it. we performed at Centennial Hall at the U of A campus. this seats about 3,000 people!

I welcomed many many people and got to know a few of them. the energy around this place was SO intense. this was the proof to some people that up with people was back! this was their dreams being rekindled for newer generations and the joy and anticipation was incredible. as i was walking around the crowd you could just feel all these emotions and more.

by the time i got backstage i could not hold in all this excitement anymore!!! I couldn't keep still. I was jumping up and down, doing crazy dances, and i even had to go to a back hallway so i could scream as loud as i could. i felt like if i stood still and didn't shake all this feeling out i would explode. these people were expecting so much and i couldn't wait to give it to them!!!

the show was phenomenal!!! people were coming offstage crying, and hugging, and jumping, and it was SOOO great!! i saw my old host sister and brother. Delaney came up onstage for Sound of Peace, and Spencer did stomp with the other teenagers. it was so good to see them again!! :D

During the last song of the show, We'll Be There, which is famous for being the most moving in the show, all of our emotions came out! people were giving it all they had and it showed. the audience was on their feet, clapping and singing along. tears were falling down our faces. we could tell all of our hard work was absolutely worth it!

we greeted people after the show and they all said they were very impressed. we were all incredibly proud of our show! it was fantastic. even now, words can't express how spectacular that feeling was. it was the most joyous, euphoric moment of my life so far!! i just wished more people i knew were there to see it!!!

Saturday was amazing as well. my roomate and i got there late, but we still got to see some incredible speakers. first we met Mr. and Mrs. Belk, the founders of Up With People. they gave us some great advice. it was so mcuh fun.... then we got to meet someone you will not believe. the grandson of GHANDI!!! his wife came along as well. it was SO unreal to actually meet a blood relative of this amazing man!!! Words can't explain how spectacular it was to meet him!!!

Right after lunch both casts got together seperately to have cast meetings. these are some of my favorite moments. we just get together to talk about how we're feeling and our different struggles and how to help each other with them. we got a lot out, and had a lot of wet faces, but we got so much closer, even through that mere hour and a half.

Saturday afternoon both casts got together again to go to a community pool to swim, play soccer, and have a BBQ. It was such a blast. we had chicken fights, people doing flips and belly-flops into the pool, and king of the raft!! haha. the food was also amazing!!!

after our relaxation time together we all went back to the Westin La Paloma to watch the Era Show by the alumni. What a great time!!! Each cast that was there performed a few songs from their show and even had the choreography to it! :D before each era performed... from 67 all the way to 97... there was a video about UWP at that time. the kids and teens of the alumni got to perform at the Era Show as well. it was so exciting!!!

Then came a really really tough part about this semester. we had to leave at intermission to say goodbye to the other cast. we were in the lobby and only had 15 minutes to officially say goodbye to our incredibly close friends who wouldn't be travelling with us. I was SO upset, but i heard many encouraging words, and eventually dryed my eyes, with much difficulties.

i know for a fact that i will never ever forget these people. they truly are family to me, and have already made a huge impact on my life. i love them all and can't wait to see them in 5 years!!! :)

that night ended up being so much fun!!! since Grant and Josh (both of cast B :( ) live right down the road from Vania and me, we went out to a hilltop again to take pictures of the skyline! then we went to the community pool, set out a blanket and looked at the stars. they are beautiful here in Tuscon by the way. we took our time together to bond and talk. it was great to have a real goodbye with them, rather than a short quick rip, like the others...

today was a calm day. i got to sleep in, do laundry, and pick up some stuff i needed at the grocery store. we picked up some groceries and headed home to make salad and marinate some chicken. the whole neighborhood was getting together again for a dinner. we got to the gepharts again and went for a swim.

our dinner was amazing!!! we had a great salad (with avocado!!! :D), pasta, fruit salad (with peaches, mangos, cantilope, and bananas), and lots of chicken. we had chocolate cake or cheesecake for a dessert. after dinner we had to say goodbye to the other families. it was really hard, but i was dubbed "Smily" by the adults here. so that's cool! hehe. Leigh Ann had a tough time saying goodbye. she said she felt like i belonged to Stu and Rajean, so it was even harder to let go.

we got back to my host families house and took a lot of pictures. it was good to get them! it's the kid's first day of school tomorrow! it is so unreal to me to imagine going back to school. its really funny, my friends are all starting college, and i'm going to thailand! hah! i win. :) just jokin'

by the way. tomorrow i leave and go to San Diego, California until Wednesday. Then we all fly out to THAILAND!!!! i'm so excited, but idk if i'll be able to write much. i'm assuming there won't be much internet!

i'm gonna get to sleep now. i love you all! :D

--callie