Auburn, Washington

For our last two cities in the US we made the trek over to Washington from Montana.  It was about a 15 hour bus ride and we stopped in Spokane, WA for an overnight with the cast. Full cast overnights are a bunch of fun! We worked on some Mexican music for the show and then did a very large cast debrief on the past week because we all had such different experiences and it is very important for us to share those because they were all unique.  We had some students who lived in tepees for the week, many went to sweat lodges with their host families and so many of us had amazing conversations with various Natives both old and young.  Looking around our group you could see touches of Native jewelry around people's necks or wrists that were given to them by their host families and each one had a story or meaning behind it.  Then of course we had some free time to kill and just be with each other.  We were staying at a Salvation Army facility and we slept on donated cots with blankets and pillows donated by the Red Cross which made a huge difference on how well we slept! 

The next day we had about 4 more hours to get to Auburn, WA which is like a suburb of Seattle.  For the next two weeks I would be staying with Marie from Belgium and we were staying with on of the sponsor Rotary presidents, Gwen.  We lived about an hour away from Auburn so every morning was a pretty early one but it was so worth it to be with Gwen.  

Tuesday was a CI day where we went and cleaned up a riverbed of invasive plants.  Then we had an awesome lunch at the local senior center with some of the locals.  In the afternoon we went to a warehouse where we cut these huge tarps into smaller ones.  The lady who was our site contact was so enthusiastic and helpful.  At the end of the day they gave us T-shirts and water bottles as a thank you.  Then we got to take the train back to our facility.  We had to rehearse for a BTS the next day, so that was our afternoon.  Our host mom is very much a mom.  She cooks us amazing food and then doesn’t allow us to pass the island in the kitchen because she likes doing the dishes.  She cooked us Gumbo because she is from Louisana.  She has so much to tell us about and has lived a very colorful life.  She has 3 grown daughters and quite a few grandkids as well who she adores.  She is also involved in so much! She is President of one of the many Rotaries, has her own non-profit (HEY-Helping Empower Youth) and she also volunteers at a local church with the youth group.  

Wednesday I was in a middle school with anti-bullying workshop and we had a fantastic class.  They were all very attentive and interactive which made our job so much easier.  The afternoon was all internal.  The Education interns did their final project.  It was all about sculpting yourself as an individual in a group using balloon animals as their demonstrations and then we made monsters representing qualities about ourselves that we don't like and talking about how we can remember those traits, but they don't have to control us.  After that, Pete, the Study Abroad management professor was here and he did the same workshop we did last semester about "being a bad apple in a group".  This time he used the 2nd semesters since we are a small group and it went really well because all of us were able to really exaggerate our roles and it made for a better outcome.  

For SA on Wednesday our classroom was in the Museum of Flight! It was super cool! We also had Pete and Theresa, our professors, with us which is always great.  The last hour or so we got to explore the Museum.  I've been to several flight museums and this one was one of the best! We even got to see the first Air Force 1 and it had great WWI and II exhibits.  For dinner Gwen, Marie and I went to this great little Italian restraint and tried some kind of italian ice cream.

Friday was another day of SA where we were in the local city hall in the conference room.  I also found out that I am going to be the next Show Manager intern for the next 5 weeks! I’m SO excited because I’ve applied for it 5 times so I’m ready to get started! In the evening we had a show.  The theatre is a part of a high school, but the place is HUGE! The auditorium is really beautiful too.  The show went really well and I’m sure the awesome alumni audience helped.  

Sunday for host family day we went to Gwen’s beach houses on the peninsula.  It was pretty cold and rainy out, but the homes were so cozy and it was a beautiful setting.  I loved the weather too because it was so refreshing.  I get to stay with this family for another week which is nice because then I didn’t have to stress about getting packed.  Plus I love Gwen, she has been so sweet to us! 

Gwen demonstrating how to toast a marshmellow

Marie's first s'more!

Lame Deer, MT on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

We made a small pit stop at the Battle of Little Big Run which was breath taking and we got told a really cool rendition of the story of what happened

This week was an amazing experience.  None of us knew what we were getting into and each of us had our own unique experience.  We arrived on the Reservation pretty early so we could get a blessing from a native.  It was a really cool thing and something I had nothing about.  Then there was a teepee raising demonstration.  It was fun to see that those are actually used.  There were even some guys who got to live in a teepee for the week.  My roommate was Lorena from Mexico and we lived with a Mennonite pastor and his wife, Scott and Suzette on the church grounds on the Reservation.  Our bedroom was a little unconventional.  We lived in a hurricane, tornado, bomb-proof dome.  But it was more like a really safe studio apartment; we had a fridge, bathroom, windows and a bed for each of us.  It was right off the main house.  Scott is from PA and moved out here to preach and Suzette is a Native who moved back recently from Seattle.

Our little home! We would describe it to our castmates as "Patrick's rock" from Spongebob

Tuesday I went to Lame Deer Middle School to do anti-bullying workshops for the students.  It was a very different environment than I have ever experienced.  Something we learned after the workshop was that it is very rude to point at someone.  We didn't know that, so at the beginning we played a game that had to do all with pointing, so that made things kind of awkward.  But the class was overall good.  I had lunch with some of the girls from my class and it was a lot of fun to just talk to them.  That afternoon we did a group discussion as a cast on gun control.  It was a great conversation I thought and I was super excited about it because it is such a hot topic that my family is involved in because the boys like to hunt.  I expected there to be some heated discussions and conflict, but it really was just a great conversation! Lorena and I take a shuttle every morning because the reservation is HUGE and it's meant to help with the gas.  I sat in the front seat so I talked to the driver more.  His name is Michael and he is super nice.  He’s really easy to talk to and I’ve been asking him questions about life on the res and himself.  He is 5 years sober from drugs and alcohol and has totally changed his life around.  He’s been more into the old culture than he used to be which also means that he knows a lot about it that he’s willing to share and I am more than interested to ask.  For dinner the head Pastor of the church grounds we are living on and his wife came over.  They didn't host because they are leaving later in the week.  But it was so great talking to them because they have lived on the res for almost 40 years, so they might as well be natives and they had a lot of knowledge and stories to share but Lorena did our fair share of talking as well and it was a great way for me to learn more about her and her culture.

Wednesday was SA.  We were at a local nursing home for our classroom, so not the best learning environment.  I didn't feel too motivated, but during lunch we ate with the residents and Katelyn (SD) and I just happened to sit down next to a deaf man, so we got to spend lunch signing with him.  It was so easy to tell how excited he was that we could talk with him and we were both just as excited to get to practice our ASL and to interact with him just as much as we would with the hearing residents.

That evening the PRs organized a traditional drum circle which was really cool, and there was a fire and host families brought food for a potluck and we got to learn some traditional dances as well which was really funny to watch.  We then got to see some natives do a traditional dance and it was moving and very powerful.  That whole evening I experienced a whole new culture right inside my home country.

Thursday we had a mini show all the way back in Billings.  So 40 of us took a 2 hr bus ride at 5:45 in the morning to get to the local United Way building where we would be performing.  We were the entertainment for all of their volunteers for their day of Caring which was a way of them to thank all of their volunteers.  There were some 800 people in the audience.  It was such a cool experience and we could tell how much they all loved it.  It was also my first Backing Track Show (BTS) which was really exciting! 

Friday we had 2 more mini shows but this time with the full cast.  Saturday was the show day, but the show was in the afternoon so we could spend the evening with our host families because we would have to leave early Sunday morning.  Scott and Suzette showed us all around the grounds.  They had this cute little history room talking about the history of the church all the way back to the beginning of the reservation which was really cool to see.  Right now that have some native elder women who still speak N Cheyenne translating the bible and the prayers and such so that the service can be conducted in that language.  Suzette does beadwork and she gave Lorena both these really cute Caribbeaners that she put bead work around.  

I learned so much this week and this was the type of week I was expecting on the road; living in a new culture and experiencing it and soaking it all up!