San Luis Potosi, Mexico

San Luis Potosi

October 29th- November 3rd

Theme of the Week: El Dia de los Muertos 

Juan, Sandra, Fer, Mateo, Lazaro (Rosi)~ Coco, Reina

Hosted Alone!!

10-29-18 Monday

Saying goodbye to the family in Zacatecas was really hard this morning. We drove from Zacatecas to San Luis Potosi in three hours. I watched Coco again but in English this time. I am so excited for the day of the dead in Mexico. The cultural experience of that is going to be unreal. When we got to our facility, we talked about Sweden and Denmark! We go in five days!!! Ahhh!! I'm so excited! Then, they announced interns for Europe. I got the vocal internship!!! This is a huge deal because this could really help me get the job at camp. Also, it will be a great experience leading vocal warmups and teaching songs to the cast. I can use that in the future at Concordia. I will be so much further along then the rest of my cast mates because of this internship! It will look great on applications for future jobs! YAYYYY! Then I found out that I was hosted alone and I went into instant panic. I was freaking out that it would be awkward, and that they wouldn't speak English! But when I met them, they spoke English and invited me into their family so smoothly. They bought me two packs of M&Ms! They have three kids, one 20 year old son, one 18 year old son, and one 16 year old daughter. The two sons are studying Mechanical Engineering in University, and both of the parents are doctors. When they drove home, they said "Welcome to your house." I felt so comfortable with this family, even though I am alone for the week. I am going to have so much fun!

 

10-30-18 Tuesday

Leah (From Pennsylvania), Cloe (From Switzerland), Javier (From Mexico), Nasya (From Bermuda), and I did show promotion all day. We went to coffee shops and put stickers on the cups with all of our show information. Then we went to a mall and handed out flyers. It was a very fun group of people, and we just got to hang out all day. Then the cast had a workshop where we learned all about the day of the dead. We made our own alters with ofrendas. Some of the cast members printed out pictures of friends and family who have died and they put their picture on the alter. Then some people shared a little bit about their family member who died, and then every one was crying and grieving together. It was a very weird experience for me because I have never lost anyone close to me, so I was just observing everything. Usually the alters are happy, and a big celebration, but it was really sad when the cast did it. Then when I got home, Fer had four friends over and it was a big party! They pressured me to play the piano, so we jammed for a little while! I love this host family so much, and I have a new life long sister. 

10-31-18 Wednesday (Halloween)

I painted the walls of a rooftop garden today at Universidad Facultad. I was partnered with Lovisa (From Sweden), and we had deep conversations about religion. Her viewpoint on God is SOOOO screwed up, and I just had to listen and hear her out. I sometime can't believe how people can form such bizarre "truths." But, I loved having the conversation and trying to understand her point of view. We painted and stained wood all morning. Then, we had dinner with Sam and Eliot's host families. There were probably 25 people in the restaurant. Then we went downtown to look for souvenirs, and I got a pin and a patch. My host mom bought me an extreme amount of candy from a famous place called Costanzo. While walking in the busy streets of San Luis Potosi, I saw so many kids dressed up in costumes, girls faces painted, and mariachi bands. I felt like I was in the scene from Coco. There were many skeletons and freaky figures. Then a bunch of young kids who were friends of my host brothers went to a karaoke bar! It was the most fun that I have had in such a long time. We sang so many Spanish songs, and just had a really great time. 

11-1-18 Thursday (Day of the Dead)
I went back to the rooftop garden at the school again in the morning, and Fer came with to help volunteer. We did a lot of manual labor like carrying 20lbs grass blocks up three flights of stairs. Then we hit the ground with a hoe to soften it up, and then we laid down sheets of grass to brighten up the garden. It was a serious workout, but it was fun to have my host sister there to help out. Then we went to the mall and had our first Cast B flash mob. The music to "Party" started and the dance line took off their jackets and ran to the center of the mall and started dancing. Then the rest of the cast joined, and it was a huge promotional success. At night, Fer and I got our faces painted for el dia de los muertos. My host mom had a friend who was very talented, and then she professionally paid for it! She's so loving and giving. Then she drove us to a party at Stephon's house. He invited most of the cast and their host families, and it was such a fun time! There was Mexican music, drinks, laughs, and dancing!!! AHHHH it was so fun! I love Mexico and this host family, and it will be really hard to leave.

11-2-18 Friday
Today I went to our show facility all day and set up the stage. This show venue is outside, and it was very difficult to put our set on the stage. It was a lot of heavy lifting, arguing, and frustration. But, we ended up getting it all ready to go for the show tomorrow. Then the cast got together for a culture fair, and BTS. It was a exhausting day. I went home and had to pack because we are going to SWEDEN TOMORROW!!!!

11-3-18 Saturday

In the morning, Sandra, Juan, Fer, Lazero, and Mateo took me out for a goodbye breakfast. We had delicious sopas. This is the family that I am going to miss most. They invited me to spend spring break with them next year in Puerto Vallarta. Then we had our cast appreciation where the entire staff put on a full show to appreciate members of our cast. They made fun of cast couples, reflected on our hard work in the semester, and sang about our memories. Then they kept saying how our semester is almost over and they sang "We are many." It was a fantastic show that made the entire cast hype about our show outdoors. About 20 minutes before the show, it started raining extremely hard. We talked about canceling the show. Last minute, we decided to do a 60 minute rundown. Then in the beginning of the show, the piano didn't work so I sang my solo acapella and it was saved! HAHA everyone was laughing and freaking out backstage. During the show it was raining, but people were still in the audience cheering us on and we got an encore for our last show in Mexico! Every time I came out for my Hope Moments, my host family screamed my name so loud from the audience! It was amazing. After the show, I ran out to them to finally say goodbye, and we all were crying in the rain. Then we striked and started our journey to Sweden...

END OF MEXICAN TOUR

Zacatecas, Mexico

Zacatecas

October 22nd- October 29th

Theme of the week: Non-Violent Organization

Jesus, Laura, Montse, and Chuyito Moreno Sifuantes 

Santa (From Atlanta)

10-22-18 Monday

Travel Day!!! It was a four hour bus ride from Durango to Zacatecas. I sat next to Andree (From Sweden) on the bus, and had a very deep conversation with him. When we arrived in Zacatecas, we got to see the Promotion Representatives Hidde (From the Netherlands) and Karen (From Mexico). These are my two favorite PR's! Then the cast got to go Zip Lining over the entire city of Zacatecas. The buildings and houses are so close together that you can barely see streets in between. Also there is every single color painted within the walls of the city. It's truly a beautiful site to see, and we got to zip line on top of it! Then host pick up was in a building in the center of the town. We got to watch a traditional Mexican Dance called Folclore. I had asked Hidde to host me with Santa, and he made it happen!!! Then we met our host family and they are amazing! They have two kids ages 15 and 16. They went across the street and bought us Mexican Churros, and it was the best thing I have ever tasted in my life. Holy Cow! Their house is very nice and has three stories. Santa and I have two separate beds, our own bathroom, and the entire top floor to ourselves. I could not figure out how to turn the cold water on in the shower, so I froze to death. I figured it out later though... gotta love Spanish! This is a great week:)

10-23-18 Tuesday

There was a backing track show today on a small stage in the middle of the street in Fresnillo. We performed on a small circular stage while it was pouring rain. This week is extremely production heavy with two BTS's, an Acoustic Promo, and three full Mexican Tour Shows!! It's a rally week for sure. Our host family took us out after dinner. We walked around downtown and saw beautiful buildings, Mexican food vendors, shops, and many Uppies. I really wanted to buy a specific maroon sweater that has a Mexican design on it, so my host family took me to six different shops till I found the perfect one! My host brother and I got matching ponchos. We saw churros in the street again and we got another one. They are so freaking good!

10-24-18 Wednesday
In the morning, a smaller group of us went to the university UPZ. We did many activities with the college students like world dance classes, playing soccer, and planting trees. During lunch, the principal of the school had an entire banquet prepared for us. He made a speech about how Vive la Gente's existence is positively impacting the world. Then he gave each volunteer a certificate and souvenirs. After our time in the university, we had another backing track show in a new venue. This time we were outside, but under a roof that blocked the rain. It was raining so hard because there is a hurricane that is hitting the cities around us. After the BTS we drove an hour from Fresnillo back to Zacatecas. Then the cast learned the Swedish Medley because we go to Europe in two weeks!

10-25-18 Thursday

SICK DAY!!!!!!! I slept for six hours, worked on my camp application, my blog, and the parent newsletter. It was a productive, relaxing day that will prepare for the three shows this week. I had some time to do a devotional with this view... on the balcony of my host family's house. When santa got home, we went out for american hambergers!

 

10-26-18 Friday

Today we have two shows in Zacatecas. It was an emotional roller coaster because this week was so production heavy. It is so exhausting to do one show a week, let alone two shows in one day. Our host family came to the show that started at 9:00pm and were very supportive of our performance. This show was the best time that I personally sang Keep Hope Alive since the tour started. I felt very accomplished even though no one was in the audience to notice. Also Nasya sang crossroads for the first time this show, and he cried when he came off stage out of happiness because it was a huge accomplishment for him! It was a great show. But the day in general was really long, and difficult. Then we had a superstrike after a full day of set-up along with two shows. It was crazy!!

10-27-18 Saturday 

Today is the last production day of this crazy rally week. We had a set-up, rehearsal, a show, and another superstrike. We were in Fresnillo, and it is a very dangerous city in Mexico. We could not walk the streets unless we were in groups of five or six. During the morning, the cast had some free time to walk around and shop. We finally got to act like tourist and just explore the city. The show went really well at night. It was one of the best shows of the tour so far! Then we had to take down the whole stage in an hour. Then we hopped on the long bus ride back to Zacatecas. The busses were so nasty, and the doors in the back did not shut. It was long, cold, bumpy, and smelly bus ride back. Then we didn't get to bed until 2:00 in the morning! Its been a ridiculous week, but these are the most memorable experiences. 

10-28-18 Sunday
My amazing host family let me sleep in, and then my mom made the most amazing breakfast. She is the cook, and makes wonderful Mexican dishes. I have been spoiled this week with her food. Then I needed to wash my clothes for the week, but they don't have a dryer. I got the full experience of hanging my clothes up on a clothes line in the heart of Mexico! Then we went to watch the movie Coco in the theaters. There was taki flavored popcorn! The movie was in Spanish and I was amazed at how much I could understand. Then we walked around downtown to look for souvenirs. We bought some churros again! This is the one of the best host families I have had so far. At the end of the night, we wrote letters to each other and cried because we did not want to leave. In my host family book, they wrote four pages of heart warming notes. They said that I was part of their family, and that I could come back anytime I wanted. They signed the letter by saying tu papa, y tu mam, y tu hermanos. It was amazing to see how close I could get to a random family in Mexico who doesn't even speak English. Sometimes I zoom out and wonder how the heck I got so lucky to be getting this experience.