erie, colorado

April 13, 2020

02/25/2019 - 03/04/2019

Week TWO on the road! Spent the week getting to know another little town in a state I absolutely adore.

monday

Our bus ride from Greeley wasn’t crazy long, so we arrived in Erie early afternoon, same as last week. My CA was at our facility, and I spent the day helping with a program called “Passing Hats.” The woman who founded Passing Hats sat with us and showed us how to easily weave/knit beautiful hats that she would later deliver to hospitals for cancer patients. This CA was such a beautiful experience, and learning to weave this way was so much fun. You can clearly see, I was very proud of my finished product (as was Nannie when I sent her this photo!!:)

That night, as we all rushed to get our allocation cards, I almost burst with joy because next to “roommate” on my card, I saw my best friend’s name. I was already way too excited for this week. The two of us grabbed our things and eagerly awaited our new host family. Finally, we were greeted by the most welcoming and warm mom and daughter. Lucia and Emi came to pick Sophie and I up from the facility. Emi had made us the most beautiful sign, and was literally so excited to see us. It was the most adorable and warm-hearted greeting ever - I was already so excited to spend the week getting to know these people. We got home late and met Marco, our host dad, and Mati, our little host brother :”) We learned that Lucia had also traveled in Up With People at 19, and having her understand the experience, share her own, and tell us stories of her year on the road was incredible. Again - another amazing start to my second week on the road.

I wrote in my journal this week: humanity in its rarest and most beautiful form.

It really was something so unique. I wrote little things like this all over the pages of my journal. It’s like I couldn’t form a full paragraph of my thoughts, but every now and then I knew exactly what I wanted to say. This week - this was it.

tuesday

Woke up on Tuesday and ate the best breakfast with Emi and Mati before they left for school. Marco dropped Soph and I off at the facility, and we started the day. Today my CA was promotion, representing Up With People around the community, handing out flyers, putting up posters to advertise our shows, and talking to people about Up With People - who we were, why we were in Erie and what we were doing throughout the community that week.

Who would’ve known promo could involve so much sweat? Myself and a small group of others spent the day at the Erie Community Center, participating in a cardio bootcamp class and talking to those in the class about UWP at the same time :) Talk about multitasking. We promoted the show at the end of the class, and then made our way to another in line dancing. Our small group of five represented four countries that day. It’s crazy thinking about it, because at the time, I didn’t. I had become accustomed to hearing three different languages around me simultaneously, and this just seemed to be my norm now. Every now and then it would hit me, just exactly where I was, what I was doing, and the amazing people I was lucky enough to be surrounded by.

After our workout classes and a small booth at the center to promote the show, we packed up and drove the van around the city, hanging up posters and putting flyers in local coffee shops around town. We stopped in Fredrick, a tiny little town a little ways out from Erie, for coffee. It was like a ghost town, lost and almost abandoned-looking. We sat there drinking coffee talking about how we felt like we were in a movie.

WEDNESDAY

Sitting here trying to understand what the heck I wrote in my journal - my handwriting at 12am clearly didn’t do me any favors. But Wednesday we had three shows - in one day. Wow. Our host mom Lucia came to the first school show (6am wake up came earlyyyyy that morning), with her kindergarten class. After that one we did it again. Ate Chick-fil-A for dinner (bless our Promotion Reps that week:), and then did it all over again.

Something I wrote in my journal after our three show day:

Performing for those kids today was a reminder of why I’m here. There’s no feeling like it. My heart is so full.

FRIDAY

Friday was a much-needed rest day for all one-hundred of us. We spent the day doing internal cast workshops on goal setting, self-reflection and wellness. One of our cast members from Canada led a little session on meditation and positive psychology. To have a full day of reflection and self-care was so beneficial and much-needed after four shows over the course of two days. That night, we ate out at the cutest restaurant in Longmont. All six of us talked, played games, and ate insanely good fries.

SATURDAY

Saturday was Gala day. The Up With People Gala happens every year around March. Our cast was performing a few numbers at Gala, as well as helping out with the auction, etc. The Gala took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver. It was the most beautiful venue, and ended up being an incredible night. It snowed like crazy that night, so bussing back was an interesting time, but entertaining nonetheless. We met Marco back at our normal facility in Greeley close to 3am. Bless this family for all of their late nights (or early mornings), picking us up, and driving us to and from everywhere, just out of the goodness of their hearts. This family was so special. Selfless, genuine, kindhearted, and so. much. fun. I wanted this week to last forever. I knew this goodbye would be hard, and I was just nowhere near ready.

SUNDAY

HOST FAMILY DAY. Slept in, and woke up to the best pancakes for breakfast. The weather was cold and snowy, so we spent the day bowling - all six of us, plus our neighbors who were also hosting two Uppies. Though I’m absolutely awful at bowling, the day was so relaxing, and a lot of fun. (Plus I think Emi was pretty happy about beating me:) After bowling, Marco drove all of us to Sweet Cow for ice cream - possibly the best ice cream I've had to date. We spent the night playing Twister, drawing pictures, watching movies, and beginning the long packing process to prepare for travel day the next morning.

Throughout the week, Lucia told us stories of her time in Up With People. All the heartwarming ones, the classic ones and of course the crazy ones. It was so cool hearing someone who had experienced it all, talk about it like it was yesterday. Every little detail, person mentioned, place visited - she remembered so well. Something Lucia told me that I’ll never forget (and that I’m feeling thankful I wrote down in my journal:) was “Enjoy your time as an Uppie. They say time flies and you won’t really listen now, but I promise you you’ll look back and wish that you did. Soak it all in while you can, and feel everything.” I carried this with me throughout my entire tour, and I thank my pretty awesome host mom for that.

A lesson I learned this week: There’s no such thing as strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet.

This incredible family hit this one home for me. I met these people on a Monday and was just learning their names, but by the following Sunday I had tears in my eyes as I hugged them all goodbye. Little did I know I would get to see all four of them four short months later!!

Next stop: Grand Junction, Colorado

xx, Anna

greeley, colorado

April 9, 2020

02/18/2019 - 02/25/2019

Welcome to this journey! As I sit at home (safe and healthy) during this crazy time, I decided to spend some time finally blogging out my mess of a journal from my year on the road. I told myself I would keep up with this while traveling (ha), and made it a good three weeks into staging before never doing it again. Seems like my messy little notes of each week and endless photos in my camera roll will suffice. I wanted to have these posts to look back on. I already worry about forgetting the small but significant details of my weeks on the road, and now seemed like a good time to start getting them all down :”)

Greeley, Colorado. My first week on tour with Up With People, and a memorable one at that. I had already spent five weeks in this beautiful state, one I had absolutely fallen in love with, and was preparing for another three. This was the first. Though only about an hour away from where we had just spent five weeks in chaotic staging, Greeley felt new, unexplored and exciting nonetheless. I was nervous about what this week would bring, but also just so thrilled to finally be on the road.

We arrived on busses to Greeley mid-afternoon, and immediately went right into what we call “CA” in Up With People, or “community action.” I spent the afternoon flyering for our shows, promoting UWP and exploring downtown Greeley. The ART hidden throughout this little city was incredible.

Monday night we received our “allocation cards,” identifying who our host family was, how many host siblings, pets, etc. we’d have, and where we were staying. We were also told who are roommate for that week would be. As I found my roommate - Leo from France, we waited nervously for our “host mom” to come pick us up. Nerve-wracking as it is, randomly meeting a stranger and then going home with them to live in their space for a week, it also gives you a massive amount of hope knowing people are inherently good. To selflessly open your home to strangers for a week, provide them with food, a place to sleep, and all sorts of accommodations is something very rare and extremely special. Our host “mom,” more like our host sister, was the perfect example of just that - absolute selflessness. She radiated kindness, and just seemed so real to me the moment I met her. I met Amanda over a year ago, and I can say today she has had a massive impact on my journey in this program and in life in general. I was so comforted knowing we’d get to be staying with her this first week. Also, a sidenote: Amanda is young, extremely fun, and hilarious. She lived with roommates who went to college nearby and her apartment was the cutest spot :) Leo and I felt so at home here, and I was so thankful for that.

This week was extremely hectic, as I, and all one hundred of us were adjusting to life on the road and what this would look like. I had promised myself I would journal each week, which of course, I didn’t find the time to actually do. After getting home each night, we spent time drinking wine with Amanda, making pancakes for dinner, or watching A Star is Born :”)

This week, my mom and Ray visited. They saw our first show on the road, and sat with me for hours just talking and catching up. Yes, I hadn’t even been gone two months - but that little piece of home made me crazy happy. I stayed with them overnight at their hotel, had breakfast and explored Greeley and downtown Boulder the next day. We went to some of the best spots including Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse for the loveliest lunch. It felt so weird seeing them in this whole new world I had just become a part of. I was so content.

After my mom and Ray had left to make their way back home to Mass, I spent the rest of the week warming up to this whole UWP thing, and volunteering at local places around Greeley with my cast. My first CA day was at a Boys & Girls club. A group of about twenty of us spent time painting murals around the B&G facility. It was one of the best things I’ve been a part of, and also just so much fun. We spent all day laughing, joking around, getting to know each other, and painting some of the coolest murals for the kids that spent time there after school.

This week felt unreal. I had been preparing for this “trip” for almost a year, and now I was finally living it. It was something so special, and I was so thankful. I had to stop every once in awhile and remind myself what I had decided to do with my life for the next five months. Some days it felt like a crazy dream.

Over the next few days, I spent time on a few different sites volunteering with a small group of castmates. One of the projects I was a part of took place at Poudre River Trail. We spent time helping the park service employees clean out a barn, sort through old things kept there, and organize tools and equipment. It was a beautiful spot, and the weather was just as beautiful. At the end of this long day, my roommate and I were picked up by our host sis, and we made our way back home. We made 9pm pancakes and watched A Star is Born in the kitchen, stayed up late and just talked. This week literally felt like three sisters hanging out and I was so damn lucky for that. I just knew how much I was going to miss being with these two.

Sunday was host family day. Amanda took Leo and I to Horsetooth Reservoir in Larimer County. We went on a hike overlooking the most beautiful views, and had the absolute best weather for it too. We spent all day outside soaking up the sun and taking allllll the photos of the most incredible mountains. I had fallen in love with this state, and it seemed like every day it decided to amaze me just a little bit more. I was so excited for another two weeks in Colorado.

We made our way back home, and spent the rest of the night packing up our suitcases, and getting ready for travel day the next morning. We would have another short bus ride, only about an hour to our next destination, Erie. I experienced those same feelings all over again - what would my host family be like? Would I get along with my roommate?

What would the next week look like? I did know we had five shows over the next seven days. I was exhausted just thinking about it, but so dang excited too.

I was so sad saying goodbye to Amanda the next morning - it was the best first week I could’ve asked for. I tried to remind myself that was what every week would feel like: strangers on a Monday and family by the following Sunday. And the goodbyes just sucked. That’s really the only way to put it. But holy crap was I beyond grateful for the journey I had decided to take on for the next few months. I was grateful for my first on-the-road roomie, the friends I was making, the relationships I was forming with people I had met only a few months prior, or in my host sisters’ case, only a week prior. Over these seven days I truly recognized the powerful presence of hope, in a world where I used to think it was lacking. I saw someone open their home to a complete stranger out of the kindness of their heart. I saw young kids faces light up as they saw the murals we had so much fun painting for them. I had spent the last few weeks not knowing what the next day would bring - and I fell in love with that feeling. That isn’t to say I wasn’t still nervous about what the semester would bring. I was worried sick about missing my family too much, losing touch with friends from home, or being unprepared for what I chose to do. However, someone once told me, “Preparation is important. But we can’t always wait until we feel ready. Otherwise, we’ll just waste precious moments, and we won’t be living the life we imagined for ourselves.”

“I hope that under no circumstances, do you sacrifice your dreams, dignity, or self-respect for anyone. I hope you retain who you are and who you want to be become with ferocity. Take the time to be self-reflective, and always fight tooth and nail for things that are worth fighting for. Now, before you worry, don’t. Because we will absolutely keep in touch. Love from your host mom/sista/friend.”

Absolutely blessed for my first week on the road, and for all the people who were a part of it. This crazy program had just become my life, and it was only the beginning :”)

Next stop: Erie, Colorado.

xx, Anna

First Week in Denver, CO

January 20, 2019

01/15/19 - 01/19/19

ARRIVAL DAY!!

Arrived at Boston Logan Int. Airport on Tuesday the 15th. Said goodbye to both my parents, made it through security & boarded my plane. I was off to a completely new place, to meet complete strangers, who would soon become the people I spent the next 6 months with.

When I arrived in Denver I was feeling so many different emotions. Happy, scared, excited, eager, terrified. I eventually made it to the shuttle which I took to meet Up With People staff & other cast members. I was greeted with hugs from staff & different questions about where I was from, why I decided on UWP, etc. I was overwhelmed - in the best way possible.

After shuttling to the church, meeting SO many new people, and hanging out, we were picked up by our host families. My host family is amazing!!!! My roommate is also the best. Maëlle is from Belgium and is one of the funniest, kindest people I’ve met. My host family was a Navy family - and have so many incredible stories about where they’ve lived and what they’ve experienced.

Day one was exhausting. Went right to bed so we were ready for official day one with UWP.

THE NEXT THREE

The next three days were a whirlwind. They FLEW by. People weren’t kidding when they said soak in every moment, it’ll go by fast. Our first couple of days were composed of “workshops,” where we learned all about Up With People, it’s mission, how to live with host families, etc.

We were then split into “home teams,” a smaller group of people that we will continue to spend a lot of time with over the next 6 months.

Thursday was “Modules” day!!! I had heard a little bit about this day & was honestly overwhelmed. I’ve auditioned for shows before, yet there was something so new about this. I anticipated this day & made myself even more worried. What should I expect?? What if I fail?? So many things were rushing through my head. But by Thursday night - I was asking myself why I was so scared. Modules was so much fun. We sang in groups, danced, took some photos, and talked on camera.

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday FLEW by. We began learning the show & I began learning from others.

HOST FAMILY WEEKEND #1

Saturday!!

Slept in. Woke up to jazz music from my host family, and spent the morning relaxing, reading, and playing with my host family’s two dogs: Stewart & Shin Yu.

We drove to Garden of the Gods, a park in Colorado Springs: home to some of the most beautiful red rock formations overlooking the mountains.

Explored Manitou Springs, shopped downtown & learned all about the old “hippie town.”

We then drove some more to Helen Hunt Falls, and saw some of the most beautiful views.

Headed to dinner at one of our host family’s favorite places to eat: the Laughing Lab.

Had the most beautiful host family day in Colorado Springs, exploring and seeing some of the coolest places around Denver :)

Week #1 in Denver was such an amazing experience. I am feeling so lucky & so blessed. The people I’ve just met within these first few days have huge hearts & so much kindness to give. I am so thankful and looking forward to the coming week!!!

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