Today began with a bit of sadness and with a reminder that Up with People is a constantly changing lifestyle. I left the comfort of my first host family bright and early as Colleen dropped us off at 7:30 to board the bus. There were lots of tears, hugs, "I'll miss you's" and goodbyes, but through all of this we were all reminded that the future holds only the best for us! As a matter of fact, in my lunch bag that Colleen packed for me was a card that on the front read "Don't look back unless you're planning on going there."
We arrived in Breckenridge around 2pm after a short stop in Idaho Springs for regional learning. We stopped by the Phoenix Gold Mine which was way cool! Geologists estimate that there's still 85% left to be mined in the area, so they're working hard to find and extract the gold. We left there about 12:30 and we knew instantly when we arrived in Breckenridge because the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The elevation here is just under 10,000 feet, so it goes without saying that it's the closest to heaven you can get in the United States. I just don't know how else to describe it other than to tell you that it's not like anything you'll ever see in Texas. If you don't believe me, consult the pictures. They don't lie.
After a few hours of hanging out at our meeting sight here in town (a middle school which will serve as our headquarters for the week) it was finally time for host family pick up! In order to stay with the UWP tradition of finding host families with a "secret code," we were given a season and year during which the Olympic Games took place and we had to find the family that was holding the flag of the corresponding country. I know it sounds confusing, but it wasn't too difficult. It turns out we were looking for the flag of South Korea and one of my roommates is from there, so it was incredibly easy. Now here comes the amazing part. On the allocation sheet which tells us all about our host family (the family name, how many kids, if they have pets, their phone number and address, etc) and our roommates. My allocation sheet told me that I'd be staying with Seoung Baum from South Korea, Gijs (pronounced Heiss) from The Netherlands, and Zach from Colorado. What the sheet didn't tell us is that four other cast mates would also be staying with us under the same roof! Tina from Germany, Linda from Finland, Caitlin from Arizona, and Laura, a professor at the North Carolina School For Performing Arts who's here to film a documentary about Up with People were all staying with us too! The house we're in is absolutely incredible. Our host mom, Caroline, has lived in the area for about 20 years and just recently built the house we're in a few years back. We had lasagna, salad, and garlic bread for dinner which made me think of home and how much I miss my mom's cooking because she makes the same exact meal all the time! Everything was great and we sat around the table (all 10 or 11 of us) talking all about Up with People, how we learned about it, how we raised our money, and what our expectations are for the program, for almost two hours. It's funny how instinctively pessimistic we all our as individuals when it comes to dealing with new and potentially uncomfortable situations. However on the other hand, tonight has been my second affirmation that new doesn't always necessarily mean scary or negative at all. Caroline and her family are a great bunch of people who find great comfort in the faith and religion and their generosity truly shines through because to be quite frank, it takes a special kind of person to welcome eight strangers into their home!
Up with People has left me speechless yet again. I'm continually amazed by the grace and goodwill exhibited by the host families I've come into contact with thus far. Next week will be the first true test of just how flexible and willing I am to step out of my comfort zone as I have my first cross-cultural experience with my first Mexican host family. Speaking of Mexico, we found out today that we'll be flying out on two separate flights. The first will leave extremely early Saturday morning (5am to be exact) but lucky for me I'm not on that flight. The second group, which is a much smaller group of about 30 will leave sometime on Monday and meet the cast in La Paz, Mexico. I can't wait!!!
We arrived in Breckenridge around 2pm after a short stop in Idaho Springs for regional learning. We stopped by the Phoenix Gold Mine which was way cool! Geologists estimate that there's still 85% left to be mined in the area, so they're working hard to find and extract the gold. We left there about 12:30 and we knew instantly when we arrived in Breckenridge because the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The elevation here is just under 10,000 feet, so it goes without saying that it's the closest to heaven you can get in the United States. I just don't know how else to describe it other than to tell you that it's not like anything you'll ever see in Texas. If you don't believe me, consult the pictures. They don't lie.
After a few hours of hanging out at our meeting sight here in town (a middle school which will serve as our headquarters for the week) it was finally time for host family pick up! In order to stay with the UWP tradition of finding host families with a "secret code," we were given a season and year during which the Olympic Games took place and we had to find the family that was holding the flag of the corresponding country. I know it sounds confusing, but it wasn't too difficult. It turns out we were looking for the flag of South Korea and one of my roommates is from there, so it was incredibly easy. Now here comes the amazing part. On the allocation sheet which tells us all about our host family (the family name, how many kids, if they have pets, their phone number and address, etc) and our roommates. My allocation sheet told me that I'd be staying with Seoung Baum from South Korea, Gijs (pronounced Heiss) from The Netherlands, and Zach from Colorado. What the sheet didn't tell us is that four other cast mates would also be staying with us under the same roof! Tina from Germany, Linda from Finland, Caitlin from Arizona, and Laura, a professor at the North Carolina School For Performing Arts who's here to film a documentary about Up with People were all staying with us too! The house we're in is absolutely incredible. Our host mom, Caroline, has lived in the area for about 20 years and just recently built the house we're in a few years back. We had lasagna, salad, and garlic bread for dinner which made me think of home and how much I miss my mom's cooking because she makes the same exact meal all the time! Everything was great and we sat around the table (all 10 or 11 of us) talking all about Up with People, how we learned about it, how we raised our money, and what our expectations are for the program, for almost two hours. It's funny how instinctively pessimistic we all our as individuals when it comes to dealing with new and potentially uncomfortable situations. However on the other hand, tonight has been my second affirmation that new doesn't always necessarily mean scary or negative at all. Caroline and her family are a great bunch of people who find great comfort in the faith and religion and their generosity truly shines through because to be quite frank, it takes a special kind of person to welcome eight strangers into their home!
Up with People has left me speechless yet again. I'm continually amazed by the grace and goodwill exhibited by the host families I've come into contact with thus far. Next week will be the first true test of just how flexible and willing I am to step out of my comfort zone as I have my first cross-cultural experience with my first Mexican host family. Speaking of Mexico, we found out today that we'll be flying out on two separate flights. The first will leave extremely early Saturday morning (5am to be exact) but lucky for me I'm not on that flight. The second group, which is a much smaller group of about 30 will leave sometime on Monday and meet the cast in La Paz, Mexico. I can't wait!!!
Goodbye Colleen! :'(
Ryan & Libby
Enough Said
Ryan & Celiana from Venezuela!
Ryan & Yui from Japan!
The Phoenix Mine near Idaho Springs, CO
Things are pretty dangerous inside a real live mine!
Our tour guide, Mark
Martin (Cast Manager) and his "Travel Day" Hat!
My new home in Breckenridge!
My new room and roommate Gijs from The Netherlands!
Ryan & Linda from Finland!
Dinner pictures are awesome!
Laura from the North Carolina film crew!
Linda from Finland making Tea!
The lovely Caroline!
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1 comments:
fantastic.
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