I'm really in Florida....I ATE alligator!!

This week has been exhausting in the best possible way...every day we're working from 8 to 5:30...lots of singing, lots of dancing, lots of learning, and lots of playing. We have already learned almost half the songs for the show and quite a few dances!! We've had a lot of workshops about a range of different topics...from cultural diversity to team building to the history of Up with People. The workshops are always very interactive, which is really beneficial to learning about the different things we all need to know before traveling. We've also been doing a fair bit of auditioning...on Tuesday we split into lots of different groups and had "modules," which were like stations for different aspects of the show (singing, dancing, learning about tech, costumes, and discussing admissions). Everyone had to sing solo for the music director, who told us he has heard every single person sing who has been in Up with People for the past 20-some years. From there, we have been leaving the cast in smaller groups to sing or dance more, so that they can get a feel of everyone's different talents and strengths. I was chosen to be in the first dance of the show...a high-energy but very simple dance, which was really exciting...especially because all this dancing has made me remember why I decided to stop dancing 10 years ago! I'm really enjoying it though, and I'm working hard tog et all the steps down right...I think I'm doing a pretty good job!

My evenings are normally pretty relaxed...we bike home (only a few minutes bike ride!), get changed out of our sweaty dance clothes, and hang out...then dinner (usually at least an hour-long event...our host parents are so fun to talk to!), often an episode of Lost (we started watching in class and are now hooked...), and then bedtime!! Bedtime has become one of the best parts of the day, and normally happens around 10:30...earlier if possible! I know, I know, how could I possibly be the same Amilee?? Well, they say Up with People is a life-changing experience!

We did have some pretty exciting nights yesterday and the day before though! My castmate Amy was on Wheel of Fortune on Friday night, and her host parents were wonderful enough to open their house to the cast to watch her episode when it aired! Unfortunately, she had some bad luck and only won 1,000 dollars, but it was great fun to watch her on screen and to hang out with everyone without having to follow a schedule!!

Amy is the one on the right!

Last night was possibly my favorite night so far...it was one of my roommate's last night in Lakeland, since she is a Promotions Representative, and left this morning to go to Statesboro, GA to help prepare the city for our arrival in a month or so.  Our host parents decided to do something really special and really Florida for her last night, so we drove a half hour to the "best" place to eat....alligator!!

Host Dad Kevin, Me, Misa, Nikka, McKenzie, and a stranger
who was sitting next to us...Floridians are very friendly!

I don't think I've tried so many new things before in one sitting ever...we ate raw oysters on the half shell for appetizers...

First with crackers:

And then we were back for seconds and thirds, straight from the shell!

We were really proud of ourselves!!  We also had scallops, catfish, shrimp, oysters, frog legs, and.....alligator!!

Okay, not this alligator...

...This one!  Clockwise from the dark circle is a conch fritter, shrimp, catfish, frog legs, alligator, and the middle is an oyster.

 We weren't so sure about the frog legs once we realized what they actually fired was a whole frog butt....turns out they really do taste like chicken!!  ...except flavorless, kinda water-logged, and not yummy.

All in all, it has been an absolutely wonderful week, with Up with People, with my castmates, with my host family, and with my roommates....I really couldn't have asked for more!

Yes, this is the result of my over-exhaustion...

...Mac looks tired too.