Culican, Mexico

Now we have reached past our half way point in Mexico.  For this week it was more of a challenge, but a really good one.  When we got there we got there we got a tour of our facility which was an addiction museum.  It was super interesting and really interactive, but all in Spanish, so it didn’t quite have the impact it should have on some, but I got a lot of it.  Then we got a mini concert from this local pair from a performing arts school.  It was drum-based party music and was really cool.  After that we got to see traditional dances and even learn a little bit which was super fun! Then we had to go sit through a bunch of people who sponsored us talk in Spanish which was really hard to pay attention to, but it was still really nice what they were doing for us.  We even had the President.  I lived with Iris from The Netherlands.  Our host family didn't come to get us at host pick up so we got switched with other students into a family.  This family was a mother, daughter and grandmother who none spoke English so I was the translator for the week.  My Spanish is not the best, let alone translating level.   For the week we had a new experience of taking a public bus for an hr each way to get to our facilities.

Tuesday I was in Planning session with the staff which was not at all interesting, but I did get to hear about what the rest of the tour will look like.  After we had a BTS which I ran the whole thing with Emelie and Erin because it’s our intern week.   It went super well.

Wednesday was SA and a BTS but I stayed behind at the beginning of class to run rehearsal for the BTS.  The BTS went well with a full audience.

Thursday I was in classrooms at an all-girls private school.  We had a 3rd grade and they were wonderful and creative and an 8th grade.  The 8th grade class was harder because they were less confident with their English but we still got awesome answers.  Then we had our 3rd BTS which went great and the girls went wild over any boy.  In the afternoon we had our final intern meeting where we shared stories and gave Leslie feedback on the program.  Erin and I felt almost exactly the same that  we loved our internship but the split staff member was a small challenge.

In the afternoon we had cast universities and I went to one about sharks by Dani from Mexico where I learned a ton and then learned a Dutch song with the three Dutchies.  Lastly we had the Ed interns’ final project which was about having an attitude of gratitude.  While I don’t think the cast really needed it, it was still a great refresher and felt really good.  For wrap up we announced the last round interns in super hero fashion.  My replacement is Kanami from Japan which I am super excited about.

Saturday we were back at the addiction museum because it was our show facility.  In the morning we were surprised we Cast appreciation by the staff that was super great.  The we had an hr long rehearsal that I ran and then a double show day! I got to watch the first show which was great, and then I started watching the second show but got called backstage because quite a few people were beginning to be stuck in the bathroom due to explosive stomachs by what we think was caused by food poisoning from the pizza we had for dinner.  By intermission we had around 10 people who had to sit out of the rest of the show so we were in a huge rush to fill all the now missing spots.  But we still managed to put on a solid full show!

Sunday we didn't do much.  We went to church, but we didn't really understand anything then we took the bus into town to go to the pharmacy and see our host mom at work.

This week was definitely a challenge, but a good one and I improved my Spanish a lot.

Beautiful Beaches Galore! Mazatlan, Mexico

This week after a hard goodbye we headed to the beautiful beach city, Mazatlan.  When we rolled in, we knew we had arrived because we were driving along a beautiful coastline.  When we got there we dropped out suitcases off at a beach-side hotel and walked down to the sand where we got to release around 200 baby sea turtles!  We had a dress code for the day of a nice white outfit, or light colored.  At first we all made jokes about why that would be, but the photos turned out beautiful on the beach at sunset in white-like colors.  My roommate for the week because of some hosting issues ended up being Cammie from Colorado! We weren't the most diverse pair, but we had a great family and I am so happy I got the chance to room with her, because we had 14 coloradoans last semester and I didn't get to live with one! Our host mom Karina is very nice and she has a son Fernando who is 16.  She drove us around the city a bit and told us about the city.  Then we went out for tacos for dinner. 

Adorable baby turtles!

the cliff jumping rock

The cast on the beach

This was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done and I was super excited about it!

Tuesday was a full internal day that was a ton of fun!   In the morning we did this thing called Cast University where cast mates led different workshops.  Hugh and I did one on self defense that turned out a lot better than we expected and everyone seemed to really like it.  I also went to one that Cammie did about color personality tests.  Turns out I'm an orange, in case you were wondering.  Then in the afternoon we had Hometeam Olympics on the beach!  There were many relays and team stuff and there was also a sand sculpture contest that we should have won with our Ursula sculpture! We ended up coming in third which still wasn't bad.  Then after we just got some free time on the beach.

Our sand sculpture

Hometeam 3!

The whole group

Wednesday was a BTS on this strange outdoor area in a park.  I got to run most of rehearsal and the didn't perform but got to watch and record it instead.  That evening we went out to dinner with Karina and Fernando and Cammie and I tried to practice our Spanish.

Thursday was our show day #1.  We were in this huge convention center and it was definitely one of our nicer venues except that they didn't turn on the AC until 1pm which was hard but the cast pushed through.  For the morning I was with the costume crew helping them find a routine for their setup.  Then I helped the stage crew set it  up more which was something new for me!  I got to sit out of all rehearsal which was really exciting! I love seeing it and being able to take notes.  During the show we lost power towards the end, but it didn't even phase the cast.  We've had so much practice with that by now.  

Friday was my first CI in a while here in Mexico! I was at the Orphanage that our sponsor owned.  We were painting and weeding but then we ran out of paint so we started sweeping.  We didn't even complain because we knew that then the girls wouldn't have to.  It was a really beautiful and well kept building that felt like a home and not an institution and it’s amazing what they are doing for those girls.  That evening we went out to dinner in the middle of this beautiful square with the sponsor and her kids because she is super close with Karina.  She was hosting Beyah so we got to spend some time with him.  The whole evening was beautiful and calm and so much like what you would expect mexico to be like!

Saturday was our second show day and it was a hard one! We were outdoors with no coverage so we decided to do rehearsal in the morning to try and dodge some of the midday heat.  But that didn't stop all of us from sweating buckets.  I was still super proud of how hard everyone worked.

Sunday was a dream.  We went on a boat of our sponsors with a few other families and all the staff over to an island where we just hung out the whole day.  It felt like such an escape and I got to talk to so many people in the cast that I don't always get the chance to.  We even got to sit and watch the sunset on the boat in the middle of the ocean.  This week there were so many times that I was in awe of the beauty of the Earth and I felt extra blessed to be where I was (even if I was sweating more than I ever had).

All the Uppies who were on the boat and the island

Hanging on the boat

The breathtaking sunset.  This photo doesn't even do it justice

Lazy day 

We were the only students of the group so of course we had to take a photo

Host family!

Los Mochis, Mexico

This week was another great one in Mexico.  We went on a long hot bus ride to Los Mochis and I had two bus dates with Darlene our sound tech and we shared awesome music and then with Miguel to work on intern stuff.  When we arrived we had to say goodbye to Jordan (WA) and Carlos (Mex) because they are off to be PRIs in Europe.   I’m rooming with our Vocal instructor Diane from TX.  Our host family was great! We had 3 host sisters, Andrea (17), Dani (14) and Dana (8) and one little brother Jose augstine (4).  Our sisters and dad Jose all speak amazing English and our mom Pati understands a lot but doesn’t speak much.  Right away I could tell it was going to be a great week.  I love having host siblings close to my age.

Host Code: Disney! 

Dani, Dana, Pati, Andrea and Diane

Tuesday was an internal day that was great.  We started with a Q and A with the Business team which was good to learn new stuff about how and why things happened within the program.  After lunch we did a “save the world” workshop which was about that Earth was no longer habitable, so we had to create a spaceship for 100 humans to live on.  We had to decide what types of humans would be there and how the space ship would be laid out.  One of my favorite decisions is that we decided right off the bat that there was to be a myth passed around that if you were bad, you got shot out into space (but it wasn't true).  It was so easy to do and everyone in my group agreed and we had all our spaceship planned out.

Wednesday was a normal SA day and in the afternoon I was with Miguel and Erin while they held dance workshops and I sat and worked on my intern stuff.  That evening Diane and I went out to sushi with Andrea, our oldest host sister.  It was fun and her friends were nice, but it got hard when they would all start speaking Spanish to each other. One of Andrea's friend’s grandparents live in CO in Fort Collins which is the city neighboring mine which was really cool and we talked about that.  I really like Andrea, she’s totally a person I would have a friend myself.  She picked us up every night so we three would talk a lot and sing a lot in the car.

Sushi with new friends!

Thursday I was signed out with the staff all day and we went to Starbucks.  For the first 3 hours I sat with Miguel at what is called a planning session where they plan all the open time for the next 3 weeks.  It was mind blowing how much went into it and I walked out of it not being able to keep any of my weeks straight.  For the afternoon I was just doing computer work while Miguel and Erin worked on the Danish medley dance. In the afternoon three students did a workshop on Human Trafficking which was super interesting and full of important information for everyone to know.  Did you know that the Super Bowl is the day with the highest trafficking in the world?

Saturday was our show day in our first outdoor facility! It was a long, hot day.  I got to give my first show notes (notes for the cast to improve upon)  as well as watch the first half of rehearsal which was exciting.    The show went great and we had a pretty full audience, but after a lot of people, especially our band people, we going out like flies from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  For strike I was with costumes trying to teach them everything and they actually did okay and I was proud of them for how much they want to know.

Sunday we went to the beach, but first we took a little boat to a secluded place where we got to pet a wild dolphin! It was so cool to be so close to something natural.  Then we had amazing sea food right on the beach and then hung out in the water for a bit.  When we came home the 2 oldest girls and one friend and Diane and I hung out just talking about everything for quite a while.  This has been a fantastic family and I am not looking forward to leaving.

Getting ready to get on the boat

The dolphin Pechocho (precious) 

Meeting up with a bunch of uppies mean jumping photos! 

And sibling jump for joy as well!

I made it bigger so you could see I'm eating real octopus, suction cups and everything! And it even tasted good

The whole amazing family :)