Up with People Cast A 2008 Blog

9 March 2008

24feb-3mar

Posted by Up With People under: Muscatine-Iowa and Burlington-Wisconsin .

Muscatine Iowa and Burlington Wisconsin
Arriving in the town of Muscatine, I felt the anticipation creep in as I wait to meet my new host family. The host family experience is one of my favorite things with UWP. Like every city/town we arrive in, we have a code to associate the cast members to our host families. This time around the theme for our codes were famous African Americans and mine was the infamous Malcolm X. 6 30 came along and it was time for my roomates (Rachel and Molly) to find Malcolm X. Once we connected we went straight home were a nice home cooked meal awaited. While chit chatting at the dinner table, Rachel received a phone call concerning the passing of her grandfather. Tough times. She had to book a flight back home to New Mexico, and she left early the next morning.
The next day, eating cereal for breakfast (the food I eat almost every morning while on the road), getting ready for a long day of working in classrooms, I try to wake up. On this day I did Stand for Peace for grades 5 and 6. – Once Molly and I got picked up, we headed down to the Mississippi River. Although it was gloomy and wet outside, and our evening plans of walking along the riverside got canceled we saw the mississippi. This time, then and there, I remember oh so well. An image that’s engraved in my mind. It was such a cool sight, the bold and constant-flowing Mississippi and the surrounding landscape drew me in and captivated me. Swatches of countless blues and grays complimented one another to make this powerfully eerie and tranquil picture. An ominous mosaic. The overcast skies, the light fog in the backdrop and the river which flows ever so powerfully with great pride and wisdom.
The following day was our show day. As the sound intern, I help set up the sound and also assist in the fine tunnings of rehearsal. We had difficulty setting up but, whatelse is new? With my internship, I pick up a lot and learn many new techniques, details regarding the behind the scenes aspect of the show.
The show that night was SOLD OUT, the highschool auditorium was filled with a very responsive, energetic croud. Afterwards, we had to take down the stage, it was a long tiresome process especially with the cold cold Iowa winter climate.
I wake up exhausted, it’s now morning and Molly and I get dropped off for the next city, Burlington Wisconsin.
Before we hop on the bus, we had a few presentations. The one that struck me was Natalya’s culture presentation on her home country of Uzbekistan. A very interesting presentation in which I learnt a lot.
Arriving in Burlington Wisconsin, Chocolate Town. Let me tell ya, my will power regarding the giving up of chocolate got trampled by my visit in Burlington. Certain times of the day the whole town smelt like chocolate, a full flavoured scent , due to the Nestle factory in town. It was just too much! haha. Ultan (my roomate during Burlington) and I met our host family. They were very nice. Checking my email that night, to my surprise, I had gotten into University, I was ecstatic. And have met my host mother for no longer than an hour, she gave me a huge authentic hug. Then and there I new I was going to feel at home.

The next morning, after eating a bowl of cereal…..
The day ahead was a day dedicated to community involvement. We worked for a local organization called Love Inc. where they do so many great things for the community (I recommend you checking them out). I spent the day at a grocery store promoting customers to contribute to their food drive, to help support their food pantry for the unfortunate.
Leap year day, Feb 29th was our show day. Our host moms’ friend invited us to her restaurant downtow for a nice breakfast. A break from the cerial. Ultan and I and a few other cast members were there enjoying coffee and great food. Throughout the day we set up and put on the show at the Burlington Highschool. It was another SOLD OUT show. The cast preformed infront of 1200 people. Once strike was over, Ultan and I’s host brother and his friends took us out for dinner at a 24 hour restaurant for a midnight meal. I didn’t hit the hay ‘til 2 am. Waking up at ten to seven the next morning, I started to realize my teenage judgement wasn’t such a good one. We went to a dairy farm for regional learning. It was amuzing seeing the faces and reactions of my cast mates who have never been to a dairy farm before. Returning for lunch and having a full afternoon planned. I don’t really remember any of it, since I was half asleep. Everything past that was a haze. I bet you can guess what I did when I got back to my host family….. Sleep
Our last day in burlington was spent sleeping in, showering and going to Milwaukee. Ultan and I got a tour of Milwaukee and we went to the Miller Stadium. We had a quick bite to eat at the TGI Fridays. A couple little appitizers to fill the void before going out for dinner at a chic Italian restaurant back at Burlington. This local Italian restaurant was delicious! Some of the best food I’d had in weeks. Nothing went to waste. We had great conversations with my host parents, their sons and girlfriends who also joined us. It was a great way to spend our last day in this very neat city.

/Andre Moreau, Canada

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