Stockholm, Sweden
November 12th- November 19th
Theme of the week: Refugees
Annica and Magnus
Angela (Mexico) Fiona (Maine)
11-12-18 Monday
Travel Day from Jonkoping to Stockholm took about three hours by bus. When we arrived, we prepared for a flash mob in Sergels Torg. This is a very famous plaza in Stockholm where Avicii was celebrated. I have never been a part of a legit flash mob before! It started out with 3 dancers and ended with the entire cast. The Swedish people were so confused, and really enjoyed it. We ripped our jackets off and ran in with our green Up with People shirts. Then the cast went back for allocation meeting. The production interns ran everything for the staff, and it was a lot of pressure! Then I met my new host family and they are so sweet. We live about an hour outside of the city. They are an older couple with some children living out of the house and they have the biggest servant hears. Fiona was throwing up all night, so hopefully I don't get sick from her.
11-13-18 Tuesday
Public transportation was the challenge of the day. It started out by getting to our facility on time right away in the morning. We needed to take a train, a subway, and two busses in order to get there. Annica was so worried about an American and a Mexican using the Stockholm public transportation, so she came with us half of the way. We made it on time amazingly! Then the acoustic promo group rode the train everywhere from 9-3 and did many performances in the train station, the street, and many buildings. In Sweden, it's illegal to perform in the train station without a permit so we almost got arrested! haha We went all over the city on the subway and ended up walking 7.4 miles and went up 50 flights of stairs. I was in heels and by the end of the day, I was in so much pain. We also didn't have time for lunch because we needed to do so many performances. I was so HANGRY because doing that all day was exhausting and my blood sugar was low. At the end of the day, we went to a very prestigious school in Sweden and did a vocal workshop. We talked about immigration, and it was really interesting to hear the perspective of Swedish teenagers about this topic because it is a huge issue in this country. I got to teach a song called "Through your eyes" to a choir. It was my first experience standing in front of a choir and teaching them a song! I am absolutely loving this internship because it is giving me opportunities to do things that most people studying music education would not get until their student teaching. It was actually pretty successful too! This week is very important for Up with People because the entire board of directors, the CEO, and the Vice President are here to see the sow and observe our impact. It was a crazy adventure trying to get home too with public transportation... It's a big cultural experience.
11-14-18 Wednesday
Show Day!! Today is the most important show that we have ever had to do in the semester because of all the important people who were there. As the vocal intern, there was a lot that needed to get done before rehearsal started. Ellen and I talked about my goals for the internship and things that I wanted to learn. We worked with people on the Swedish medley, and then I lead the review workshop, and then lead warmups. It was a lot of getting comfortable in front of a huge group and teaching them... This is such good practice for the future. I taught three new warmups that Phil Brown uses! hahah! My production manager was extremely impressed that I brought new exercises in because we had been doing the exact same ones repeatedly. This show was the best show that we had done this entire semester. Everyone was performing their hearts out and actually enjoying the show as much as we did in staging. The dances, solos, and cast movements were sharp and impactful. After the show, I saw Autumn from camp!! She surprised me and I also got to see her dad, Rob. He was so flamboyant when he saw me and it made me giggle. I never thought that I would see Kyra and Autumn in Europe the same week! My life is surreal and I am still in shock. Also, I got to see my favorite counselor from camp who gave me the golden bandana, Max!! He came up to me after the show and gave me a big hug and congratulated me on how much better my voice has gotten since camp. Ellen and I worked on the vocal Excel sheet after the show and then we left to go home. This has been my favorite show day so far because I was given a lot of responsibility and the show was the best it has ever been!
11-15-18 Thursday
The cast had a panel with very successful social entrepreneurs who shared their stories of success. There was also an refugee from Afghanistan who shared his story of getting kicked out of his country, getting beat up, chased, and truly treated inhumane. I cried listening to his testimony, and I have a completely new perspective on the word refugee and immigrants. I have always heard about those people and automatically had a negative viewpoint. Regardless of political opinions, I will always hear them out at least. Then the cast went on a walking tour around the Tensta Area. After we had a globe smart workshop where we learned a little bit about ourselves and each other. Most of the cast is out with the plague this week! We had the best Swedish dinner that I have ever had in my life! Fish and Chips with Daim Ice cream for desert.
Today was one of the best days on tour so far!! The acoustic promo squad got to record a music video for the new song called Here and Now. First we recorded our voices in the studio but in the acoustic version of our song. Then we video recorded a performance of the group in multiple places around the city. It was basically a jam session all day with the most musically inclined people in the cast. After our shots were done, we went to espresso house and hung out. We started talking about how the semester is almost over, and how grateful we were to have a group of talented people like this to sing with daily. It got deep and emotional really fast. I realized how great of a support group I had in these people, and I will never forget them! I am so happy that the music video happened because now we can document a tiny bit of what we do with each other. After UWP hours, I got to meet some refugees from Afghanistan. We were in a circle and about 10 refugees, and 10 cast members who could play instruments and sing. Then we jammed for two hours straight. The refugees were brightened up with our ability to sing any song with joy and happiness. It was a truly incredible moment for them and for us.
11-17-18 Saturday
In the morning, the cast did a CA with Futbol de Forca which is an organization that empowers young women to play soccer and gain confidence in themselves. We played soccer with them and talked about our program. Then we had community discovery!!!! Kayla (From Bermuda), Javier (From Mexico), Joaquim (From Connecticut), Nannette (From Netherlands), Shannon (From Ohio), Ivy (From Indiana), Angelis (From Bermuda), Laryssa (From Colorado), Yaz (From Bermuda), Nasya (From Bermuda), and I explored Stockholm city! This group of people has become my tight night family within this organization... But when trying to travel in a group this big, we all were about ready to strangle each other. HAHA!! We went to different shops and stores downtown. Then Nasya and I broke away from the group to do our own thing for a while. We went to a coffee shop for some Fika!! It was a really fun day overall because we had the freedom to do what we wanted with no schedule. When we went home, we had an amazing dinner served with some drinks! I love Sweden!
11-18-18 Sunday
Host family day! Annica and Magnus brought us to Old Town in the city. We got to see gorgeous buildings, Swedish culture, the shore, and many coffee shops. Then we rode on a Ferry and saw the island across the city. We shopped again especially in H&M. Then their daughter came over for dinner and we had a really great evening. I will be really sad to leave this host family.
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