So I clearly need a new method of keeping up with my posts, seeing as it's 1:15am, and I haven't posted for weeks. I'm going to try to post shorter posts every few days so it doesn't get so overwhelming...the idea of posting one a week became a really daunting task after it took me 2 hours the first week, and that was the week that not that much happened in comparison to the rest of my time here!! I'll make it part of my Lenten promise :)
So, we had an absolutely WONDERFUL first show last Saturday night! It was such a wonderful experience to finally be performing to a real crowd of hundreds of people, instead of to an empty auditorium, as we had been doing day after day for the previous week and a half.
Here is an except from the journal I keep for my Interpersonal Class....I wrote it last Sunday night :)
"Tech week....always a stressful, sleep-deprived week, but always with a wonderful ending. I think UWP tech week was more extreme than any I’ve had before...more stress-filled, less sleep-filled, more painful for my feet....but what a high the night of the show!!
It’s amazing to think back to last Monday, how far we were from having a full show, and how surreal it felt to have a show in a mere 5 days. Even on Tuesday, Misa (my roommate) and I were sitting in bed and I was chatting to her, and she stopped me, took my hand, and said “Amilee....we have a show...four days.” It was such a hard thing to fathom that she couldn’t even get the words out right!
We were in full costume almost every day, which meant nice hair, makeup, show costume, heels, the whole business. I don’t think my feel will ever be quite the same again, but they still work, and only one of my feet has been a little numb for the past few days!! It hardly matters though, because once we got on stage, the rush of having a real (big!) crowd, and the lights on us, and the applause...nothing else mattered. I took the show more seriously, too. Certain songs that we had practiced over and over invoked more emotion in me, and I’m sure in the audience as well, which is such a wonderful feeling, to know that the message of our show is really coming through. There were people in the audience from both of the volunteer site's I’ve been to so far as well, which I thought was an awesome thing to share with them.
I also got my first experience as a Merchandise Assistant, working the table at intermission and after the show, which was great fun, and I can’t wait to learn more about it in the weeks to come...Veronika ("Veronika from Sweden, Marketing Coordinator") told us it would be true “experiential learning,” and she was absolutely right...I don’t think we got any instruction at all before we were thrown into the fire! After the show, I was trained to be a CI (Community Impact) Crew Leader, with my first day being Tuesday!! I’m really excited to be able to have the opportunity to lead a group with more experiential learning...that’s my favorite kind of learning! This last weekend with our wonderful host family has been absolutely lovely, but definitely bittersweet. Misa and I have been working all day to put a scrapbook together of all the things we’ve learned from our Host Parents over the month...we’ll be up late tonight, and up early tomorrow, but it’s so worth it. I feel so truly blessed to have Maureen and Kevin as parents for this month. We will say goodbye tomorrow morning, but I know I will always have a home to come back to in Florida."
So yes, Misa and I DID stay up until 4am, and we WERE up at 6am the next day, but the scrapbook turned out really well, and we really enjoyed spending out last night together as roommates, singing, packing, and alughing. I was blessed not only with a wonderful host family, but also a wonderful roommate during Staging, and I am so very thankful for that!
Monday was our first travel day, and so we all packed our suitcases up and said our (tearful) goodbyes. We were all ready to finally get on the road, and to really start our tour. I miss Lakeland already, but I know it's not Goodbye, but See You Later.
We arrived in Fort Myers accompanied by a police escort as we drove intot he city and media all around as we got off the bus...it is so exciting to know that Fort Myers is so happy to welcome us into their city for the week! My host mom and her sister for this week actually live in Naples, FL, which is about an hour away, but both families are hosting two of us Uppie girls, and so the car rides are full of interesting conversation (that is, if we're awake!)
My first day as a crew leader on Tuesday went very well...a group of 10 of us went to a thrift store whose proceeds go to a program called ACT Abuse, which helps young women who have been abused to get back on their feet. (Read more about ACT Abuse here.) We had a great day sorting donations and getting to know one another better. But unfortunately, I left my sweater there...and a thrift store is a very bad place to lose a gently-worn sweater...
Wednesday was our first "class" day on the road, and so this week we had time for some independent study. Other weeks, we will have online sessions with our professor. It was a great opportunity to get some work done, especially since I haven't had as much time in the evenings to do my homework. I sat outside for quite awhile, reading my textbook and soaking in some sun...I couldn't have asked for a better morning! Alone time is something that is very rare in UWP, so you have to take the opportunity when it comes!!
Valentine's day with a group of 120 people who are all genuinely happy to be together every day is a wonderful feeling, and the amount of love expressed throughout the day was really heart-warming. Valentine's Day is often a day that is resented by people, either because it is super cheesy and they don't see the point of having one special day to let people know you love them, or because it's a day when being single is a "bad" thing. I think that's really a shame though. My family has always celebrated Valentine's day, and I think it's important to remember that love is so much more than romantic love. I have so many wonderful family and friends in my life to cherish, and I appreciate the day to remind me how blessed I am. I think it was an especially great way to start off Lent as well.
Well I guess I've chatted enough, it's now 1:45 and well past my bedtime!! I wish everyone a Happy (belated) Valentine's day, a blessed Lent season, a Frohe Fasnacht, and a great day!
Much love,
Amilee
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