Alex at the Grand Canyon

My eyes are still a bit swollen from crying yesterday as me and my brown beat-up leather book bag boarded the plane waving good bye to the ones I now call family. I will never forget these people, the trials we endured, and challenges we overcame together. Some of them I will see in a month, others that may be the last time our paths cross. But I am so thankful I met and got to know each and every one of those 90 students from all around the world. Without Josimar from the Caribbean I would not know how to salsa dance. Without Yui from Japan I would never have had the courage to get on stage and speak in front of thousands. Without Yan from China I would have never learned to speak a totally different language. And without all 90 I would not be the person I am today, a person I can be proud to be, with experiences I couldn’t trade for the world.

Although I now close the Up With People chapter in my life, the lessons I’ve learned will live on and echo through out everything I do from here on out. This program didn’t turn me into someone different, it just helped mold me into who I truly am and prepared me for all the amazing things I have left to do with my life.

-by Alex Lippert, USA

Viva la Gente Banner in Reynosa, Mexico

After all the sadness of not going to Mexico and the excitement about the tour we had instead, cast A 2009 finally got a taste of Mexico. Well, it was only one day, but to point this out: Better only one day than never!

So, on this sunny Sunday we crossed the border to see Reynosa, which is right next to the border. We were invited by the city to spend the whole day, and everything was perfectly organized. Our schedule that day was very tight because they wanted us to experience as much as possible of Mexico.

Cast A in Reynosa

The first stop was a baseball stadium where the commissioner of tourism of the city of Reynosa welcomed us. Before we left we made a group picture. After that, we spent the rest of the morning at a mexican rodeo, which most of us haven’t seen before (expect the Mexicans in our cast, I guess). It was interesting to see this kind of sport, though I felt sorry for the young bulls. But nevertheless it was an unique experience to see this.

At one o’clock we departed for a restaurant in the city. It was owned by the mayor of the city Reynosa, and we were very thankful for his donation of an original Mexican meal which was really good.

After lunch we had some free time to discover the city and also to promote our Mini Show at 6 o’clock at the city’s main plaza. We did our best to get as many people as possible to see our only (small) show in Mexico this semester. And we succeeded with it because we had a lot of people not only watching, but also enjoying our performance. Just to mention: It was a sunny day with a temperature of 104°F (about 40°C) that made it very important to drink a lot of water. It was quite tough to just stand on stage, but after dancing two dances my pulse was at a 180 – no kidding! But I can also tell you, that I enjoyed every single minute of our single show in Mexico. It was unique for all of us. And finally, we were able to get the “taste” of a Mexican audience – they were just really good and excited about our show.

Right after the show, we had to load the buses to go to our last stop. We had dinner at a great place out in the countryside. The Rio Grande River was right next to the (open) house we were at and we were very thankful for the great dinner we were provided with. Real Mexican tacos just taste the best in Mexico.

We finally crossed the border back to the US at 9pm without any problems, which I was happy about. We were thaught about the issues of the US-Mexican border in San Diego with all the illegal immigrants. It totally reminded me of that while we were in that area. For me, borders have a kind of “negative” taste, no matter on which side – which country – you are at.

That leaves the question, what I would prefer to do: Going on a tour through Mexico or visit Hopi and the Navajo Nation? I can only answer, that I would like to do both, because wherever we go (or have been) as a cast, it has always been a great experience for all of us.

-by Gregor Pollehn, Germany

- Molly Robertson, USA

“I saw differences in the houses, bread baked outside. As a community people come together.”

- Andy Nijssen, Belgium

“I saw a lot of our culture in Hopi land, from food, dancing, and family values. They were a very giving and inviting people.”

- Yohannes Dawd, Ethiopiea

“In every culture we visit, I find elements that I will take with me. On the Hopi, I was amazed by the hospitality, family values, and spirituality. The people there welcomed us and embraced us, something I will always remember.”

 - Phil Woods, USA

“We got to experience Hopi by being with the people. We got to share the rain, which we heard is unusual for that area.”

- Paquita Cornelissen, the Netherlands

“It was very cool to live in the village and have the opportunity to see their ceremonies. It was such an honor and an unbelievable experience. I loved it!”

- Gianna Roos, Switzerland

Friday, May 22^nd, we first had a workshop about global warming. After this it was time for classrooms where we interacted with high school students and taught them our “Stand For Peace” program. At 3 o’clock we performed a backing track show (BTS) for the students. The BTS was great, the students were very much into it, so our last day at the Navajo Nation ended in a powerful way.

Members of Cast A on the Hopi Reservation

Saturday, May 23^rd, we traveled to the Hopi Reservation. Many people of their community showed their talents in traditional singing and dancing to us, which was very amazing. We had a great opportunity to get to know these people. It looked like another world in the US, one that many of us were not aware existed. We also had a tour through one of their small towns. In the evening we had a traditional Hopi dinner which was very delicious.

Sunday, May 24^th, we performed a BTS for the community of Hopi. We were all very pleased to be able to do this for them, because they shared their life and their homes so much with us. The Hopi reservation was a very unique experience for all of us.

-by Andy Nijssen, Belgium

Rowin and Sisa at the military base in San Diego

San Diego may have been a last minute addition to the schedule, but it certainly was a great one!  On Thursday, May 14^th, we started the day with some Community Impact work and a backing track show (BTS).  We had the opportunity to perform at the Bob Hope Theatre at the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar.  American Idol was filmed in that theatre just one week before we performed.  The audience was small but it was a fun show in a great theatre nonetheless. In the afternoon, many of us had the opportunity to tour a KC-130 airplane and talk to several of the Marines while the rest of the cast went on a behind the scenes tour of an aquarium.  It turned out to be a memorable experience for both groups.

On Friday, May 15^th, the cast spent the morning at La Jolla beach.  It was a great break for everyone to relax whether that meant swimming in the ocean, walking around town, or even just sleeping on the beach.  That evening we held a free show for the host families. Saturday brought the opportunity for another performance, but in a very different venue.  We were lucky enough to perform at the world famous San Diego Zoo on the stage where the Sea Lions perform.  It was a very unique experience for all of us.

-by Kristen Eastman, Nebraska, USA

San Diego

I can’t lie, this week was like vacation. Not to say we weren’t busy but no matter what we did it was usually sunny and 70 degrees with a slight refreshing breeze. We spent one full day at Mission Beach surfing and swimming, ending the evening with a beach bonfire and smores. Another day we performed at the world famous San Diego Zoo on the same stage the sea lions had their show right before, which was pretty humorous to see us all dancing hoping no one slipped and fell in the mote that surrounded the stage. After our show at the zoo we had the afternoon off to go see the animals, like the pandas and giraffes, my personal favorites. One of the days there we got to go to the mexican border and have an immigration debate which until now I never understood how important and impactful the issue of immigration really is in America. The same day we had the opportunity to meet foster children and have a discussion panel with them about the foster care system in the USA. It was very eye opening to say the least.

Aafke and Camilla at a baseball game in San Diego

Besides all these days the best day was saved for last. On our day off with our host family, Hans from South Dakota, Aafka from Holland, Camilla from Denmark, and I went to the Cincinnati Reds professional baseball game. it was so cool to see my home team from Cincinnati play in a different city, even though my team didn’t win it was still amazing. After the game we went to a place called ‘The Village’ where there were neat little shops, sailboat rentals, picnics, musicians playing, etc. It was so beautiful and fun, it made me truly sad to leave San Diego, my amazing roommates and host family. But, the journey goes on and it looks like the next piece of chocolate in our box is 107 degrees and called Tucson, Arizona.

-by Alex Lippert, USA

We continued to talk about immigration during the day and the week and it opened my eyes to the big issues we have in the world and the hard question of who should be allowed to be where.

Tove and Gregor during a mini show at the San Diego Zoo.

On Wednesday we split up in different groups for community service and I was in the group who did a minishow at high school in San Diego. We spent the afternoon and evening on the beach with potluck and a bonfire with our hostfamilies. It was a great time to get to know the hostfamilies more and learn about them.

- by Tove Alsegård, Sweden

Anthony, Alex, Kristen, Tove, Manuel, and Andy at Summer Camp

Cast A spent the last week at the Forest Home Summer Camp, outside of Los Angeles, California.  It was an amazing experience in so many ways!  We all worked on different projects around the camp, from painting and landscaping to remodeling cabins and cleaning facilities.  Everyone in the cast worked really hard and we got much more done than they expected us to!  The staff of the camp have been awesome to us, and have really appreciated our hard work.  They provided a great week for us, the cabins were nice, the food was great and the work was fun and productive.

Alex Vargas watches as fellow cast mates go down the zip-line at camp

This week has been one of the most fun weeks for me ever.  Having some time with the cast has been great, especially after Taiwan.  Being in such a fun and comfortable place made it much easier for us learning that we were not going to Mexico.  We kept our spirits high with all the activities that the camp had to offer.  We did the zip-line, climbing wall, swam in the pool and went for lots of hikes.  We also had a couple of volleyball tournaments, a heated international soccer match and mud wrestling in the camp’s mud pit!  This week has been an absolute blast, we are really looking forward to San Diego, as well as the rest of our tour.

- by Matt Aboussie, USA

Alex and Nouria at a temple

I strut down to the 85 Café, order my usual ‘hi caf-ay’ which means black coffee in Chinese, and buy a rice burger at the 7/11 for lunch. On the way back I dodge a high speed scooter or two, it’s a country where making it to work on time is more important than running over a foreigner, so you have to be alert at all times. My Slovakian roommate Sisa is waiting for me as I get back in then we walk to the street to catch our taxi to take us to the Taichung Catholic School for the Disabled, where we’ll be doing some volunteering with the kids for the day. Its just another morning in Taiwan.

We leave tomorrow and honestly a month ago I assumed I would be ready to leave but now this tiny island feels so much like home its really hard to imagine not waking up and eating breakfast with my non-English speaking family, saying “Nie Hau” instead of “Hello”, and going to the kitchen for dinner not having any clue what the food sitting in front of me is. Of course the challenges were hard, getting lost in the subway station in Taipei, not being able to call my parents, and eating pigs brain weren’t exactly the greatest moments in my life but each experience taught me something new about myself. However, the rewards are countless. That three hour hike and finally reaching the hot springs, seeing my host sister cry after our show in Taipei because of how touched she was by our songs, and seeing the smiles on the kids faces at the disabled school after we painted murals in all the dorm rooms are experiences I will remember my entire life. I am leaving Taiwan with a new family, a totally different perspective of Asain culture, and new knowledge about who I am and what I’m capable of. “Zia-Chen Pang-yao” or See you later, Friend!

Alex's mural for the disabled school

-by Alex Lippert, USA