Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

 Zlata

Liam (Pennsylvania), Grace (Arizona), Santa (Gorgia), Romane (Belgium)

6-5-19 Wednesday

First day in Croatia!!!! The five of us said goodbye to the cast right away in the morning. My hardest goodbye was Sophi from Mexico, the entire band, Andree from Sweden, Hayden from Washington and Virginie. I really realized how many quality people I have in my life. That being said, I get to spend another 5 days with my closest friends in a totally new country, and I am pumped for that experience. We flew from Denmark to Sweden, and from Sweden to Croatia. It was a smooth travel day, but we defiantly stand out as Americans. We got off the plane in Split, and the weather was beautiful. We saw mountains and instantly got excited for this trip. We ordered a massive taxi to carry 5 of us and all our luggage. He dropped us off at our Airbnb. This apartment is adorable!! We are right by the bus station, the beach, a grocery store and the city of Split. We have a balcony that overlooks the sea. Our "Host Mom" is awesome!!! She offered us her chicken eggs for the morning and other groceries that we need! I talked to her for a while and got to know her well!! She's so caring, and I still kinda feel like I am in UWP, just with more free time. The 5 of us walked to the beach and put our feet in for a while, and then walked to the store to by our food for the week. When we got back to our apartment, we cooked dinner family style and ate outside on the balcony while the sun was setting. We had a deep conversation about how we all were feeling about the semester. This is a great way for me to debrief my year in Up with People! This place is beautiful, and I am so excited for this week!

6-6-19 Thursday
Our first full day in Croatia was unbelievably awesome!! This is how I want the rest of my life to feel like! I am so content and full of joy being in a beautiful place with my close friends. We slept in, and made a homemade breakfast. We are saving a lot of money by the way we are traveling. Then we went to a beach on the coast of split called Bacvice Beach. This is a common hang out spot for young tourists! It was absolutely stunning. Our Uber driver was extremely helpful and such a cool dude! We swam in the Adriatic Sea, cliff jumped and hung out with strangers. We met a girl from Ireland, and a guy from Egypt. One of my favorite parts of traveling in Europe is meeting people from all over the world. We swam out to posts in the middle of the blue water and jumped off of them.We just enjoyed the heck out of the day sitting in the sun and being together. Our uber driver on the way back was a very direct person and he got mad at us for having a wet bathing suit. We cooked dinner in our house, and watched a movie. We have an early morning tomorrow!! It was a truly great day!

 

6-7-19 Friday
Today, Liam, Santa, Romane, Grace and I woke up at 6:00am to visit Plitvice National Park. This is one of the most famous places in Croatia. If your in this country, you have to visit this park. We were supposed to be at the pick up spot at 7:15am, but we were 30 minutes late. We freaked out in the ride there for no reason because we didn't leave until 8. We rode in a van for two hours from Split to Plitvice. In our car, there was a guy from Finland named Jaakko. He was really nice, and he became our travel friend for the rest of the day. We arrived at the National Park and hiked around waterfalls and clear blue waters. I have never been stunned by nature like I was today. The water was beautiful! Our tour guide was really nice, and he hung out with us all day as well! On the way home, we went to a town called Trogir. It was a gorgeous city that looked like a scene from MamaMia. I felt like I was in Greece because the streets had the ascetic architecture. The entire day I felt like I was in a surreal dream. I can't believe that I am living out these experiences. We got dropped off at our Airbnb, and we got our finances in check between the five of us. I am actually very proud of how we are managing money and expenses!! This week is half way over, and I want to make the most of it!! We stayed up late on our balcony jamming to our favorite old disney songs.

6-8-19 Saturday
Once again, the five us of woke up early to catch our Blue Lagoon excursion. We hopped on the boat in Trogir. We were the loudest people throughout the whole day which means we got a lot of funny jokes from the tour guide. It was a double decker boat, and we sat on the top. The water was bright blue, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect. We first stopped in Medena which was a beautiful Croatian town right on the beach. Santa and Liam bought paintings from a local artist. They made a beautiful human connection with this guy. It made me feel like we were still in Up with People. We pack our days full of things to do, we introduce ourselves by name and country and we start conversations with random people all over the world. I think we talk to strangers more than ourselves, which makes traveling so much fun! Santa, Liam and Romane almost missed the boat. The sarcastic tour guide yelled at them and gave them a hard time in front of everybody. It was hilarious. Then we stopped at the Blue Lagoon Krknjasi. The boat was anchored, and everyone could swim. Liam, Santa, Grace and I jumped from the top of the boat. Romane was scared at first, but eventually jumped in as well. We had everyone on the boat watching us, and we were the last ones to get on the boat again. The third stop was in Maslinica where they had a big lunch included for everyone. It was a huge dead fish laying on a plate. I was defiantly in my challenge zone when I saw it. We sat by an old couple who were from Sydney, Australia. They felt like host parents to us. We also made friends with a family from France with an adorable little girl. The boat ride was sooooo peaceful. I had a really great conversation with Liam about life, family and school. This is a fantastic way for me to end my UWP year because I am processing the loss, while doing incredible things. The boat dropped us off in Trogir. We got ice cream and walked around a little bit. Today was the best day ever for only $30. I can't even describe how content I feel here. At night, we went to a Bar Crawl in Split. The Egyptian that we met on the first day was very enthusiastic to see us! We went to two bars with free drinks, and we mingled with anyone and everyone. I met people from Norway, Sweden, London, France and Croatia. I had an absolute blast going to bars, dancing and meeting incredible people. The last stop of the night was a night club on the beach. We didn't get home till 4:00am, but it was so worth it. This was something I will never forget. It was more eventful than an UWP day!

6-9-19 Sunday
Today was the best excursion I have ever been on! Somehow the days are getting better everyday. We went WHITE WATER RAFTING! It was an insane adrenaline rush the entire time. Our tour guide was named Ante and he picked us up along with three other guys from London. It was a huge van with an orange raft on top. We drove an hour through gorgeous scenery of mountains and the river. There were three sections of the day. First, we learned how to paddle as a team to control the raft to the best of our ability. There were a range of rapids along this river. In the beginning, they were little. We went over two level three rapids. Ante said that there was a level four rapid, but no one is allowed to go there because there is a whirl pool that makes people drown. We stopped at a cave that blew my mind. When he was explaining it, I got terrified by the amount of risk. We had to walk through slippery rapids, jump into freezing cold water one by one in a dark cave, and climb over rocks. The waterfall in the cave was incredible. Ante lead the way as my entire body was shaking from fear and temperature. I had more adrenaline doing this than I did skydiving. I will never forget it. I looked over at Santa and she was almost crying out of happiness for this experience. Once we slowly made our way out of the cave, we hopped back on the raft and conquered the level three rapid. Ante was in the back screaming commands at us. We had to respond immediately otherwise the boat could flip. At one point he yelled BOOMBA. We all had to jump inside the boat and put our paddles in the air. The boat went through the rocks and a wave of water hit us in the face. IT WAS TOTALLY WICKED! The second rapid wasn't as smooth, we ran into a tree. Ante took us cliff jumping in two different locations. The first was 11 meters high with a fast current waiting for us at the bottom. We had to swim hard and fast to not get stuck in the river. Then we got to take a break for beer and fruit. The second was 6 meters high. Liam and Santa both did back flips into the water. There was a calmer rapid that Ante let us float through on our backs. We had to lay flat on our backs and keep our feet up so that we won't get injured. The last part of the tour was a calm paddle through beautiful scenery. We just talked to Ante and learned about his life. I can't even put into words how amazing this day has been. My cheeks hurt by the end of the day because I was smiling so much. We got home, made a delicious dinner, played games and hung out on the balcony. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE. I think Croatia might be one of my favorite countries.

6-10-19
Last day in the beautiful country of Croatia!!!! We all slept in and made breakfast during our slow morning. Then we went to explore the downtown city of Split. The plan was to have one dry day discovering the culture and monuments. We went to the center palace for a little bit, but then started to sweat profusely. It was 90 degrees with intense sun. We decided to walk to the beach that we went to the first day to jump in and cool down. We spent a couple hours there swimming, tanning and diving. We got 15% of drinks at a bar by the water, and just played cards together. For our last night, we decided to dress up and go out for a fancy dinner. In the city of Trogir, there was a nice restaurant right next to the water. There was a breeze from the beach, a glow from the lights, and a cute man from Japan creating music on the street. I was so happy to be in such a beautiful place for my last memory with my friends. Before we ate, Liam asked to say grace for the food, and a wave of overwhelming joy flooded me. It was a beautiful gesture knowing his story and all the conversations we have had about God. We all went around and said what we are going to miss about each person. I got a little glossy eyed when I realized how each one of them has impacted my life. I am going to miss this more than I want to let myself miss it. It makes my heart sad, but also I am so excited to get home and start the next chapter. Goodbye Up with People, goodbye Croatia, and goodbye my dear friends.

6-11-19
Travel Day Home after one full year in UWP!!! This semester has challenged me in so many ways, but I am forever grateful for the experience, the memories, and the incredible friendships. As I sit in the airport with tears in my eyes, my heart is very content. I fly from Split to Copenhagen to Chicago to Minnesota. It's about 12 hours of flying with additional layover time. I am excited to just take that time to reflect.

Skive, Denmark

Skive, Denmark 

May 27th- June 5th

Theme of the week: Now What?

1 Show,  2 BTS, 2 Acoustic Promo, 2 Flash Mobs

Michael, Helle, Line, Mikkel, Mathilde, Karolin

Ya (China), Kaede (Japan), Sam (Switzerland), Leo (France), Romane (Belgium), Nadine (Benin), Isac (Mexico), Katelyn (Canada) 

5-27-19 Monday

Last Travel Day ever in my Up with People journey!! I sat next to Hayden, and it came full circle. He was my first bus buddy and now he is my last. I am really going to miss the deepest conversations that happen on 12 hour busses. We also sat next to Alicen, and it was really great to talk to her as just a person. When we arrived in Skive, I saw that I was in a special allocation. All of the recent hospitality assistants are hosted together for an after hour event! I have 8 roommates all from different countries. We have China, Japan, Europe, Africa, Mexico, Canada and I am the only American. My host family is the sponsor for Skive this week! They have dogs, cats, kittens, goats, chickens, ducks, cows, and llamas. I am living on a farm with a lot of people. We had a house tour that was 30 minutes long because they have four different apartments. We have beds in a tree house, in an apartment, and in a slumber party house. Three people slept in the apartment, and 5 of us slept in a little shed with two beds. We were sleeping very close together, and I couldn't change positions all night. There were bugs and spiders along the window and in the bed sheets. We all had the chills and were ichy all night. It felt like the beginning of a horror story, but it is probably one of my favorite memories so far. The sun came up at 3:00am and I woke up and went for a walk because it was so bright. It was one of the best mornings. I woke up in the middle of nature with dew on the grass and brisk air. I had a surreal moment in my life. I am very grateful to be here this week with an awesome family in an awesome house with awesome roommates. I couldn't ask for a better way to end my last week of Up with People. Life is really so good!!

5-28-19 Tuesday
Today we had an acoustic promo at a school in downtown Skive. We performed twice for little Danish students in their gym. This is one of the last acoustic promo days I will ever have in Up with People. This is the week of final activities and it is bittersweet. I had the most impactful acoustic promos at a hospice center today. There was an lady in a wheel chair on her last couple weeks of life in the audience. She was taping the beat with her finger even though her body couldn't move. All of the sudden she started crying while attempting to sing along. Her daughter was there by her side crying over her mom's reaction to the music. We were in the room singing our set quietly and passionately. It wasn't until that moment that I realized the message of the songs that our in our set. "Mama Said," "Till Everyone is Home," "Give the children back their childhood..." Angelis grabbed my hand and started to tear. It was really touching to physically see how music can change a life. The band had our last PA time ever. We talked about how far we came as a band, and how close our bond has gotten. We are a family and the fact that we will never play together after tomorrow breaks my heart. We laughed about all of our struggles in staging, and cherished the memories we had together. When we got home, I was in charge of cooking dinner. This host family wants food from every country we have represented. Katelyn from Canada and I decided to do a northern themed meal. I cooked tater tot host dish and she made a Canadian desert. Everyone loved it, and it was really fun to share a little bit of my home with my family in Denmark. Sam and I cleaned out the tree house, and we are facing our fears and sleeping out there tonight. It's high up and in the middle of the forest over the river!!

5-29-19 Wednesday
Last Show Day!! In the morning, I helped with set-up. This may be the last time that I ever help in the process of constructing an Up with People stage. We are in a huge theater with a lot of space on stage and in the audience. After lunch, we had the infamous Fun Rehearsal. The cast was so confused, and it was priceless to see Danielle perform "What does the fox say." I had to dance Party and I totally embarrassed myself, but it was fun! Then rehearsal started... I entered in the anger stage of loss. For my last show in UWP, they put Julia in for Hope. I was LIVID!! For all of Europe, I have been singing and playing piano, and all of the sudden I got taken out of all my singing parts. The worst part is, they didn't even tell me why! My last rehearsal in UWP was so bad and that totally sucks. After I got over my anger, I just wanted to focus on the band. Last semester, I got to sing Keep Hope Alive with the whole cast crying behind me. But now, I am going to enjoy every second I have with the band. During rehearsal, Fiona came up the piano and told me that she was going to play Home. This is my favorite song to play on the piano. I was not doing anything in my last show and it made me really angry. I got extremely bitter and became a total jerk to everyone. I just wanted to skip the last week and go home... It was a very pessimistic 2 hours. Then we had our final greenroom where we danced the Mexican, Belgian, German, and Danish medleys. Once I got out of the negativity, I tried to focus on what I loved about the production side of UWP. We had our final band circle and that lifted my spirits tremulously. This is the last time that I will ever play with Divine Dingus. I finally reflected on how much being apart of this has changed my life. We are a family of complete random opposite people, but we come together to create a beautiful unit. My favorite memories are with these boys and it's so sad to think that we will never play all together again. I played and performed so hard. Since I wasn't singing, I went on for every cast movement with Santa, and I got to feel the energy of the cast again. In the end, I was grateful... but still really bitter at the production team. Then we had our final strike!!!! The tech team had the closing truck ceremony where they tricked us and threw champagne everywhere!! Then we sent energy into closing the truck, and then it was all over...

5-30-19 Thursday
The beginning of the internal days started today. The cast went to the school and we spent the day with host families and community members. They went to the forest to clean up trash, but I stayed at the school and took a nap. Yesterday took it out of me because I was physically and emotionally burnt out. I needed 2 hours to sleep and chill. Then the cast split into home teams and created dances to different EuroVision songs. It was hilarious. My home team won, but I didn't participate because I was still asleep when they were creating the choreography. Juliette and I spent time writing our final banquet letters. It made me realize how many people I wanted to appreciate in this cast. We got home, relaxed a bit and drank hot chocolate. It was a wonderfully chill day and I really loved it. Then Kaede and Ya made an Asian Cuisine dinner for 20 people. We had healthy noodles, vegetables, meats and traditional dishes! This was one of my favorite meals and communal dinners so far in UWP.

 

 

5-31-19 Friday
Today was one of the best days that I have had in such a long time!! We started off the morning with our last home team time. We all took time to appreciate each other and acknowledge growth. With my love language being words of affirmation, this activity put me in a good mood. Spencer and Fredrick encouraged my heart and it meant a lot! Then we went into rehearsal, but the band took time together in a ascetic gazebo. We played Mafia during every break we had throughout the day. Up with People flooded the streets of Skive with a big flash mob. This is the first time that I felt happy and connected to the cast. We all disguised our shirts and pretended to be shoppers in the street. Then the music started, and the dance line entered. The rest of the cast joined in and mingled all along the street and the square. We had two flash mobs and two backing track shows. During the last BTS, I performed with all of my energy and soul. It was the last time that I will truly perform any UWP song in my student semester. Since my last show day wasn't the best, I treated this like my last show. During "Home," I was standing next to all of my best friends. I made eye contact on stage with Liam, Virginie, Romane, Tylene, Sara, Momo, Angelis, Aaron and Spencer. I felt so close to the cast, and I felt complete joy singing this song outside in the middle of Denmark. Today was the day that lifted my negative mood that I have had the past two days. We got home and went to bed. Sam and I had a really deep conversation in the Tree House!

6-1-19 Saturday
My entire allocation this week is previous hospitality assistants. We all had to wake up at 5:30am to serve bread and coffee to community members in the square. We arrived at 7am and nobody was there for us to serve. The acoustic group had our last performance for about six community members. The cast arrived and we had free time downtown for 5 hours. I spent a few hours with the two rooms from the second semester retreat. We got coffee, walked around and shopped. In the street, there was a live band playing 80's music. Everybody danced and created a spectacle in the street. A random lady offered us free smoothies. Then, we had our final band pull together. Affe, Talin, Liam, David, Daniel, Aaron, Brody and I went to a bar. We ordered drinks and played a VERY intense game of Mafia. This has become our legend in the cast, and it is so fun to play that game with people who get extremely worked up about it. As I think about how I got into the band in the first place, I am amazed that it all worked out so well. I am beyond grateful to have this sense of community. I thought I knew what it was like to be in a musical family with choirs, camps and UWP. But, being in the band is even more than all of that. I'm going to miss some of my best friends in that group of dudes. Tonight, Isac made a Mexican Cuisine dinner for everybody. He made enchiladas and we watched a scary movie.

6-2-19 Sunday
Last host family day in Up with People!!! Today was a really great day. It started off with a few hours of extra sleep in the tree house. The view in the morning instantly put me in a good mood. All 15 of us went to a Danish market in the morning and looked through traditional trinkets. Then we went rafting in the river. It has been cold weather all week, but today it was warm enough to go swimming. However, the water was frigid. We took tubes and peacefully floated down the river for an hour. I am really appreciative of this host family and the week that I have had here. I got unbelievably lucky for my last week on tour. Nadine and I went horseback riding with the three horses that our host family owns. I was on a golden-brown horse that was very slow and farted during the whole ride. We have gotten to do really awesome things today and we haven't even left the house. They have a unique set-up and I feel like I am on camping retreat. For dinner tonight, we had typical Danish food. Michael cooked for us, and it was so good. I have loved the variety of foods we are eating this week! We chilled the rest of the night and got ready for our last full day tomorrow!

 6-3-19 Monday
Last full operational day!!! The cast was together for the last full day and we spent quality time together. In the morning, we had a workshop about all the things we could put on a resume and CV after traveling with UWP! Sometimes I don't realize all of the major life skills that I am gaining until I write it down on paper. Then we had Gallery! There were pictures hung up all around the room with memories from the entire semester. We watched videos and just took time to reflect as a cast. I remember being very sad when we did this last semester. Now, I just feel grateful and ready to leave. It's a great place to be in. The staff did their 12 days of summer tradition with staffings, bad pickup lines, dancing, singing, quotes, UWP when's and memorable moments. It really was a great day, and I'm ready to start the goodbye process.

6-4-19 Tuesday
Sam and I woke up in the tree house for the last time. The view in the morning was gorgeous, and I am really going to miss this place. The nine of us spent the morning writing letters, packing, getting emotionally ready and physically dressed up for the final banquet. Then Helle and Michael dropped us off at this barn type place where the final banquet took place. I loved my outfit so much and it made the night that much better. For dinner, there was two roasted pigs and an entire salad bar. It was totally awesome!! There were many pictures, lights, decorations and memories hung up all around. They had a beer pong station set up with water instead of beer! Hahah, the life of UWP:) People were taking pictures the whole night and the staff was trying to make us realize how much of an amazing semester we have had. There was a full circle at the end of the night where we all wrapped our wrists in yarn to represent the web of connections we have with each other. Then we played the tapping game where we went around the room and tapped people that we appreciated. Right then and there I realized how many people I care about in this room. Then we cleaned up, said goodbye and jumped on the bus to the Billund airport. I sat with Virginie as our final goodbye!