Manila!

Hello lovely friends!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, I've been busy up to my neck! This past week, I was in Mexico City, but the week before, I was in Manila, in the Philippines.

Take a look at these pictures: This was my week in Manila.

I spent two days playing with young children in a small village called Gawad Kalinga Baseco. Gawad Kalinga is an organization that helps families build homes. In order for a family to receive a home, though, they must help build the home for 265 days. It gives them motivation, and it also gives them a reason to be self-sufficient. Some of the students in Cast B had the opportunity to share some smiles with the children in this community. We played tag, Duck Duck Goose, hide-and-seek, etc. I have never seen so many beautiful, bright smiles. These children were incredible! 

After seeing how a lot of the world lives, it opened my eyes to what I have. I am so thankful for the life I have been fortunate enough to live: I have clothes on my back, a roof over my head, food on the table, and so much more. Some of these children don't have any of that. All they have is their small community, and they're so happy! 

The next day, I spent time at the Nazareth home. It was a home for girls who were pregnant. Some cases were rape, incest, etc. Some of the girls were there just to have a safe place to give birth. I was privileged to be a part of the group that visited the home. We learned about the the girls, their stories, and we held their beautiful babies. The most impactful part of the day was learning the ages of some of the girls. One was 12, and one was 13. They were there because it was a safe place for them to go. In the US, I hear about 15, 16, 17 year olds getting pregnant, and I'm surprised, but when I hear about a 13 year old being pregnant, and knowing their situation, it is extremely shocking! They were still such little girls! Their bodies weren't ready to handle a pregnancy! That day also made me appreciate the fantastic family I have. 

Anyway, I'll catch up with you all soon! 

See you in December :)

Bonnie 

Welcome to the Philippines!

Hello friends!

I'm here in the Philippines, in Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan. We arrived here on Monday after a fantastic three weeks in Taiwan. I learned so much about the culture, food, and so many other things!

For now, though, I'd like to tell you about the day I just had.

I woke up this morning fully prepared to plant mangrove trees, or something similar. The UWP staff members told us to bring shoes that could get wet because we were going to be standing in a little bit of water. I thought, "oh, that's not a problem, as long as there are no snakes." Little did I know, we weren't going to a mangrove site. We were driven to a jungle (yes, a jungle). The bus couldn't make it down the road we were supposed to take, so we hopped on a 3 wheeled jeep-looking-thing, and bounced our way to an open pasture full of water buffaloes, stray dogs, and beautiful mountains surrounding it. By this point, I didn't really care what we were doing, all I knew was I had found the most peaceful place on earth! No mechanical sounds whatsoever!

But the road didn't end there. The Filipino "guides" said it was another 20-30 minute walk. I was still thinking "no big deal, this is incredible." As we ventured into the jungle, we encountered a small, lightly-treaded, muddy/slippery trail. The guides seemed confident in the direction they were heading, so we followed! Soon, we were passing people going the other way. We smiled and said, "mabuhay" (it means hello in Filipino), and kept walking. As we got farther and farther into the jungle, we came across a group of people serving rice and meat with bamboo shoots! It was incredibly efficient, so we tried the same. We quickly ate lunch with our hands, eager to get to work! We walked back on the path a little ways but took a sharp turn into the thick of it. We stumbled down a slope, and splash, we were in the river. Brown, mucky water, in the middle of a Filipino jungle, with strange creatures surrounding us. Nervous and excited to be in a river in the Philippines, we plunged into the neck deep water, floating our way to a place we could touch.

Once we got semi-comfortable being with the 2-inch spiders and floating things that felt like strange animals, we started clearing out the river of dead logs and debris. We worked our way down the river, tossing out what we could. When we ran out of time, we made our way back up the slippery, muddy river bank. Half of the group was quicker than the other, so we went a different way, with a different guide. One thing we didn't know: this guide took us on a 15-min detour. He explained it would take us through a small underground river, so we were all for it! When we got to the underground river, we held on to a rope to guide us to the exit. Another unknown fact: the exit was an extremely steep slope, more slippery than an ice rink! It was quite a challenge getting our group up it!

Once we were all through the underground river and up the slippery slope, it was more adventure. By this time, it's been 30 minutes. The other half of the group is already back with our bags, heading to the bus. We're still trying to find our way back. We start walking, and come across another river crossing. Fortunately, this one only requires one rope (only one rope, huh?), so we make it across quickly. Our guides are whacking vines and bushes out of the way, making a path, and when I ask, "where is our stuff?", they reply, "oh, we're close, ma'am." Another 30 minutes passes, and we're still beating through bushes, finding our own path. After we've been walking, and getting scratched for an hour, we finally reach our bags!

Oh no, the journey isn't finished yet, we still had to hike back out of the jungle! So, like I mentioned earlier, we clambered back the faint path, and after what felt like forever, reached the beautiful meadow. It was even more beautiful that the first time I saw it! Knowing where I was made me feel so comfortable! Then, an hour and a half later, we climbed back on the bus (with the rest of our worried group) and rode 2 hours back to town.

It was one of the coolest adventures of my life, and also one of the scariest, but I know I'll never experience anything like that again, so I decided to make the best of it! I pretended like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, which made me feel pretty bad ass! And now I'm at my host family's, in a comfortable bed, thankful we didn't get more lost.

Hope all is well, and Happy Halloween!

XOXO
Bonnie

Nihao ma? (How are you?)

Good evening friends (morning for you)!

What a week it has been. Up with People finished the USA tour with a bang, and headed to Taiwan with excitement, and a bit of nervousness. We boarded a plane in New York City and landed in Taipei at 11:00pm the next day. I cannot begin to explain the anxiousness we all had on the plane. We couldn't sit still, it was Up with people students roaming the plane, talking about how excited we were!

After we landed in Taipei, we boarded three buses, jammed them with our luggage, and ventured into the crazy night driving of Taiwan. Two hours later, we arrived at an incredible temple where we spent our first night. The thrill, and exhaustion, was overwhelming. The strong smells of incense were so "spiritual" and  welcoming of the culture. The girls got one room and the boys got the other. We slept on bunk beds, but they were not the traditional American bunk beds. 

We slept on thin blankets and red, rectangle, brick pillows. For three hours, we rested our minds until we were greeted by the sun. We did yoga on the roof in the humid, sticky air. Our breakfast was hot soy bean milk, hot coffee, and hot tapioca with some sort of sauce. We also had a rice bread sandwich with an assortment of meat and vegetables. Needless to say, it was interesting.

The rest of the day was spent touring Erlin, Taiwan. We visited the largest Buddha in the world, met out sponsor, who welcomed us with a traditional tea ceremony, and then we toured a museum that had a display with the history of the bicycle. By this time, the jet lag was starting to set in, and it was all we could do to stay awake on the bus. Then, before I knew it, I was in bed at my first Taiwanese host family. What a great experience. So welcoming! 

I'm writing this blog, and it's Tuesday night here, and it feels like just yesterday we were doing our first Community Service project. Now I truly know the feeling of "time flies." This culture is incredibly giving. Everywhere we go, they have gifts for us, and they give us a presentation of their school, or nursing home, etc. Today, we interacted with students at Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology. It was great to meet students our own age, and talk to them about the college experience in Taiwan. We're even doing a private show for them tomorrow night! I can't wait. 

Now, let me tell you about all of the food we've been trying. A couple nights ago, we went to a night market. There are food vendors, clothing vendors, and many other vendors. The strangest food I ate: chicken stomach. It didn't taste bad, but the texture was a bit more than I could handle. The other crazy food they eat regularly here is stinky tofu. It smells (literally) like fried dog poop. It makes you want to vomit, but it actually tastes pretty good, surprisingly. And right now, I'm drinking Mango Taiwanese beer. Strange combination, huh? My host dad walked in, saw me and my roommates working hard, staring at our computers. He didn't say anything, walked out, and came back with a handfull of beer and said, "enjoy." He must have sensed our mood. Anyways, I have loved almost every moment of being in Taiwan. Some smells I can't get out of my head, and perhaps that is how I will want it to be when I can't remember the taste, but some things I will never forget, and the smell of stinky tofu is one of them. I will never forget the Taiwanese BBQ with some other cast members in celebration of the Moon Festival. 

I will try to post more often, but for now, I am going to bed because tomorrow is a show day! Thanks for tuning in :) 

Wan an (goodnight in Taiwanese),

Bonnie 

Being Great

Hello all:

I finished my week in Newburyport, MA and now I'm in Hamilton, MA. Our cast manager left for week, and just before he left, he enlightened us with some wisdom. "It is easy to be great when we have what we need. The real challenge is being great when we don't have what we need. Cast B 2012 has been great, whether we have what we need or not." I applied this to our tour around the world, and there have been and will be times when we don't/won't have what we think we need. It takes courage, teamwork, strength and open-mindedness to be great when we don't have everything. We are here to be great wherever and with whatever we have. 

This week, we were working in classrooms in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. The coolest part? We were in 83 classrooms, and reached over 2000 students. We did activities such as creating a personal flag with the elementary students, a values auction with the high schoolers, and a cultural trivia game with the middle schoolers. We talked about what values meant to different people, and why we value different things. At first, the high schoolers were reluctant to get into the workshop, but after we did a few rounds of bidding on things like "a long happy life" or "to find the cure for a disease", there were discussions floating around the room that surprised me. These students were talking about the importance of having a long healthy life, and if you have that, everything else can fall into place because being happy rubs off on everyone else, and happiness can spark people to do great things. Some of these kids were only freshmen! It was a great way to start our classroom work. 


We have two shows this week, and it's estimated that 1200 people are going to show up at both shows. Incredible, isn't it? And I can't believe it's already September. I'm starting my third month! and in three months, I'll be home for Christmas! Man, time flies! 

I will see you all soon, and until then, hasta luego! 


Bonnie 

Good afternoon, friends:

I apologize for the lack of updates lately. When I get back to my host family's house, it's all I can do to stay awake during dinner. I will also apologize in advance, especially because these next few weeks are going to be incredibly busy, preparing the cast for ouf first international travel day: a 17 hour flight to Taiwan! So, bear with me!

These past few weeks have been incredible. Last week, the cast was on Cape Cod. What a beautiful place! We performed in a venue that seated 1400 people, and each night was sold out! Awesome, isn't it? While on the cape, we did a variety of community service projects. The cast helped clean and tidy the local YMCA, helped with maintenance for a local farming group, and visited elderly people. The best part of the cape was not the community service work. The best part was whale watching! On one of our host family days, a group of us spent the day in Provincetown and enjoyed part of the morning and afternoon watching Humpback whales splash around off the coast of Cape Cod. It was a wonderful experience! I am so grateful to have had that awesome bonding time with some of the cast members as well!

This week, we've been in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It's a beautiful, small colonial town, about the size of Durango. The first day of community service, I was in a group that worked at a church building a natural play ground for preschoolers with special needs. We made a sand box surrounded by large rocks, we built a teepee from vines and sticks and various other things. We made a wheel type thing in the ground and a small art studio to display the artwork they create. It was such a pleasure to see the joy on the supervisors face. She said it would have taken them months to accomplish what we accomplished in one day! I felt so honored. She also attended the show and said she had never seen something so powerful. It was a great week for the cast. I am so proud of the effort we all put in, and it's incredible to see what we got out of it.

These next weeks will be insane. We are doing anti-bullying workshops every day next week, along with 5 shows! Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few days of summer!

Love and hugs,

Bonnie

100 Sardines

Hello friends!

It's been a great first couple of days on the road! The travel day to Lowell, Massachusetts was exciting and taxing. We woke up at 4am mountain time, and finally went to bed at 11ish eastern time. We met our host families upon arrival in Lowell, and they were welcoming and maybe more excited than we were! On Tuesday, we participated in the Merrimack Riverside Beautification Project. The Merrimack River runs through Lowell, and it's a large part of their history. It used to power the mills for the textile workers, and over the years, the banks have slowly gotten neglected. A group of about 50 of us cleared large logs, painted a mural, picked up trash, etc. The stamina of the group was extremely impressive. I was so proud of us!

Today, a  group of students and I conquered the town to promote the show. We played a game called "Trade it Up" where we started with a quarter and traded it for something other people were willing to give us. We ended up with a demo phone from AT&T and $5 from a person planning on attending the show. The idea of the game was to tell people why we were trading, and tie Up with People into it. I had a blast meeting all kinds of people from all over the city.

Now, imagine the whole cast in a meeting, sitting in auditorium chairs, talking about the next day's activities. Then, we migrated to the stage to play a couple of team bonding games, and a suggestion was sardines. Now imagine 100 people running all over Lowell High School searching for one person. When we finally found him, we packed in like sardines, and laughed our heads off until the rest of the cast found us. It was a great way to end the long day.

I hope you are all doing well!

"Go confidently in the directions of your dreams."

Bonnie Waller, USA

MA, Here We Come!

Hello friends!

So sorry for the gap in between posts, I've been working hard rehearsing the show and trying to sleep when I get the opportunity.

These past few weeks have been the most hectic weeks of my life. From learning all the blocking of the show to getting ready to head out on the road, I've never been so tired! Lynn Morris, the director of Up with People, arrived two weeks ago, and it's been non-stop rehearsing since then! "Go here, move that mic, stand on this x!" It's what makes a fantastic show, though! The most beautiful part of the process is the diversity on stage. Students representing 19 different countries makes for an incredible cast! I'm very proud to call myself a part of Cast B 2012.

Along with rehearsing, we've been participating in multiple workshops. Today, we learned what being a global citizen really means. It is an acknowledgement of our responsibilities to each other and the earth. It is understanding the need to confront injustice and inequality and having the desire and ability to work actively to do so. It is respecting and valuing diversity. Up with People teaches us to be global citizens. We explore the world and learn about cultures we may not know, and we learn to love every culture and learn how to appreciate our own culture more than we have in the past. Like our songs say, "we party all around the world" and we "come together and rise up".

We will be performing the premier show of Voices on Friday night, where our host families, parents and friends will learn and hopefully we will inspire. It has been a long journey and I am sure the show will be incredible. For now though, I'm going over my mic moves and lyrics!

Talk to you all soon,

Bonnie Waller, USA

Experiential Learning

Good morning, friends! 

What an experience-filled couple of weeks it has been! Last Saturday, the UWP cast ventured into downtown Denver, split into teams, and headed out on a scavenger hunt. We had multiple destinations, and at each destination, we had to take a picture, and fill in some fun information about that place. We walked all over downtown, and later enjoyed dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with 60 other cast members! Needless to say, the waiters were a little stressed. 

The next week was filled with more dance workshops, education workshops, and good laughs. Cast B 2012 participated on our first Community Impact day. We worked near the Hayman burn area, a fire that burned 138,000 acres 10 years ago. We worked with the Coalition for the Upper South Platt to restore trails to help the runoff of water. I was highly impressed with the hard work we put in and the endurance of all the sea-levelers was greatly appreciated! We made 7 water bars, cleaned 150 feet of trail, made 11 steps, and 1 flying V! Such a wonderful day, working in the woods! 

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer! 


Love to all,


Bonnie 

Week 2 Is Underway!

What builds a family?

Toño from Mexico City, Mexico said, "In order to make a strong family, you need to 'be the change you wish to see in the world.'" Ashley from Alaska said, "Conflict builds a family and working to resolve those conflicts makes it even stronger."

Paul Whitaker from the United Kingdom, Senior Vice President of Up with People explained that hard work and dedication is what builds a family. Our reputation is a part of the group. Becoming a family is hard work. There will be tears, and laughter and we should welcome them. That is how we learn. We learn when it gets difficult. Mr. Whitaker said, "It is not out job to make it easy. It is out job to make an experience." We came for it to be different. We came for an adventure. We are here to learn, love, adapt, accept and explore. We won't let anything or anyone derail us.

Today was day 7 of staging. Today was the day we learned all about our future tour cities. Today we learned how to properly coin cables. Today I learned. It wasn't the fact that I was in a classroom environment with students from 19 different countries surrounding me. It was because we are all here to  experience something completely out of our comfort zones. We came to be immersed in a variety of culture, where one night we may be sleeping on a thick, luscious mattress, and another night we may be sleeping on a bamboo mat with 8 other people. We came to make a difference, and that is what I am going to do.

I want to share an experience I've already had here in Denver. This morning, we stopped for a cup of coffee on the way to staging. I ride in a van with a few other students, and we all walked in with our name tags on and smiles on our faces. A man in line asked us if we were touring, and we said we are doing staging in Denver and there will be a show in August. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he said, "I have to tell my wife about this! I've always wanted to see an Up with People show!" I'm sure it sounds like a simple thing to you all, but the fact that this man was already excited about his day because he knew there was an Up with People show made me appreciate that mornings can be turned around with just a couple words! I felt so proud to have made a difference today!

I'm sure this is going to be a small thing compared to some of the experiences we will have along the way, but I know I will never forget this. It started with a couple of name tags, and ended with quite a few happy people, and on a Tuesday! I will greet these upcoming experiences with open arms and I will cherish the memories I make. I will share them with you and maybe they will make a difference, too.

De ja la musica sonar.
Laisse la musique jouer.
Sakana de yo.
Let the music play.

Dance on, my friends.

Bonnie Waller, USA

Bonjour les amis! (Hello friends!)

I thought that since most of you have not had much experience with Up with People, I'd give you a little bit of information.

Up with People started in 1965 as a global education program that brings the world together through service and music. Up with People's goal is that we will leave the program as global citizens with a commitment to community. It provides the opportunity to travel, interact with communities a round the world, perform for thousands, and it introduces us to the professional world. As a cast, we have the power to change lives, including our own, and create a more positive message to bridge gaps between cultures. We will develop cultural awareness, interpersonal communications, and and group development skills. "Up with People prepares students to facilitate positive change in their workplaces, their communities, their countries and the world" (UWP). 

I hope this helps for those of you who had questions!

L'amour à vous tous (love to you all),

Bonnie Waller, USA

Dance with the circumstance.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It is about learning to dance in the rain."

I am dancing in the rain. My fellow Up with People (UWP) cast members are dancing with me. We are embracing the thunder and lightning, holding hands and venturing into the storm together. The great thing about weathering the storm is we get to enjoy the rainbow and green grass when the clouds fade. 


These past couple of days have been more chaotic than an elephant stuck on main street! 100 other cast members and I are going to learn a brand new show in 5 weeks, perform it twice, and head out on the road. I think that as "CRAZY" written all over it, but it will be such a fantastic experience. Yesterday, as a cast, we learned a little bit of one song, and I'm a sucker for great choir music, and we sounded... INCREDIBLE! It gave me goosebumps, and that takes a lot!


Today, however, was much more eventful. To start the day off, we prepared our show costumes for pictures that will be previewed before the show. And we were half way told if our costumes would look decent on stage... Hopefully the director approves mine! Later on, we learned about the technical side of things; how the lights work, how the sound works, where the stage ends, etc. After lunch, things got exciting. The most nerve-racking thing so far was the vocal module: there was a "panel" of staff members waiting to hear you sing. That was one of the scariest things I've ever done! But now it's over with and I'm ready to go to bed and do it all over again tomorrow :)


Hope you are all enjoying your summer!


Much love and happiness,


Bonnie 

The First Day of My Journey

Hello friends-


I only have one word to say: exhausted.


Today was the first day of my journey with Up with People. After arriving in Denver, I unloaded my suitcase, strapped my backpack over my shoulders, and headed in to register for my year of travel! Immediately I was greeted by energetic, friendly staff members who directed me where to go. I proceeded to show them my passport and other important documents. After I was finished there, I made my way into the circle of cast members sitting around. I was welcomed by young adults from 19 different countries who were all in the same position I was: ready for a new adventure! 


As the afternoon progressed, more students showed up, and I was introduced to more and more people; students who traveled last semester, students who were children of alumni, students who are just out of high school, students just out of college. I can tell that this is going to be the best year of my life! If I could have bottled up the energy in the room, I'm sure it would power an airplane around the world. Smiles were ear to ear, and hugs were abundant. We learned what side to put our name-tag on, how to properly shake hands, and of course, how to say different names. But most of all, I learned, that just in this one day, I will make connections that will last a lifetime. 


I am so fortunate to have this opportunity. Thank you to all the people who helped me get here! I will keep this blog updated with the exciting things that happen!


Be well,


Bonnie Waller, USA