Kock Fight Club footage

Finally! Some footage from Kock Fight Club!

Generally Speaking, Unspoken

I played a gig at Tastebudds yesterday with my friend Adam who is an amazing pianist, guitarist and singer. Our music seems to work beautifully together so I think we'll be doing more together in the future. All our friends came along with some people we didn't know very well, which was cool. We got free food (a welcome change from the cafeteria!) and even made fifteen dollars for playing! It was great fun. I played violin on some of Adam's songs and he sang on some of mine. Tomorrow we have studio time so I can start working on my projects for my production class.

This is from a series of shorts I'm writing tentatively called
"Generally Speaking, Unspoken" It's still in the working stages (when is any writing NOT?) but anyway, here it is.

"And then he said, 'I love you.'" Rachel sips her iced tea and stares at me, her eyebrows raised over her hazel eyes, waiting for a reaction.

"Like, LOVE love?"

"I suppose so…" She sets her glass on the table with a sharp clink and pulls her purse from the ground. Rifling through the oversized white, leather tote, she pulled out her compact and eyes herself.

"I mean," she said tucking a stray length of mahogany hair behind her ear, "we've only dated for two months!"

"Well, what did you say?" She shifted in her seat, uncrossed then crossed her legs again. The purse still in her lap, the compact open and forgotten in her right hand.

"I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. It's like, we were standing on my front porch and all the mosquitoes were buzzing around, and he said it, and my brain froze. I couldn't…" she trailed off shaking her head.

"Do you think you love him back, then?" I ask, pulling my sunglasses down to reflect the sun's hot glare.

"I don't…" her head rolls back staring at the sky "who knows, right? Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I don't think anyone ever really knows, right? Like how can I really, truly KNOW I have a sustainable feeling for someone and I haven't just caught a fleeting emotion that will vanish just as quickly as it came?" her shoulders rise with her uncertainty. I sip my water, she her tea. The sun makes Rachel squint, she pulls her dark shades over her eyes.

"Whenever I went shoe shopping with my mother she always said, 'if it's not an absolute yes, it's a no," I offer.

"That's a tad extreme."

"Yeah, but it's better than limbo." The waiter comes, setting our salads on the table. He is cute, I see Rachel check him out as he walks away.

"Rachel," I say reaching for the balsamic vinaigrette, "trust me, it's a no."

"You know," she says, cutting her cucumbers into quarters, "men aren't shoes."

"Yeah, but they're just as hard to shop for."

How did everyone do with last weeks three hug a day challenge? I'm not sure I even met my quota... The past week I've found myself thinking a lot about how I act differently around different people. With certain people who I feel safe around I can act goofy and playful, but when I've just met people, or am in a public situation, I have a harder time letting loose. It seems like all the "good" actors I know act differently with everyone constantly, if that makes sense. They're continuously playing with their identity and personality. They don't get stuck in one character the way I tend to. This week I'm going to try being looser with my identity, which for me probably means being sillier and doing things that I would normally not do because, "it's weird."I challenge everyone to do one thing a day that is out of your normal character. I want to hear what happens!

I wish you much silliness and laughter.

Love,

Marina

New Semester, New Projects

Well, the first week of Spring semester is over. All my classes are GREAT. I'm taking, intro to acting, physical comedy, private guitar lessons, electro-acoustic ensemble, production and reproduction (not what you think, it's a music class where we learn the ins and outs of the Bard recording studio), acting company and first year seminar. All my teachers are lots of fun and I anticipate learning a TON.

On top of all the amazing classes I'm taking, my friend Hannah and I started the Bard Puppetry Union. The club will allow all puppet lovers to express their pent up alter-egos through puppetry. Hannah's mom's best friend is a professional puppeteer and we hope that the school will fund her coming to Bard to teach a puppet making and performing workshop one weekend! For those I haven't been gushing to about puppetry recently, my puppet fervor began when my dear ol' dad took me to see the Jim Henson exhibit over winter break. I'd forgotten how much I LOVE the Muppets, but being surrounded by all of Jim's artwork and reading about his amazingly creative and upbeat life made me fall in love with Kermit, Piggie and all the others all over again. Puppets can create such silliness and joy, which these oh so serious, depressed, existentialist scholars of Bard need quite badly. I also envision the club acting jointly with other clubs, especially those involved in human rights and social issues to raise awareness in a fun, innovative fashion.

I've decided since I'm not taking any poetry or creative writing this semester, and it's something I enjoy and want to cultivate, I will be posting one short story or poem a week on my blog. The main purpose of my telling you this is so that I'll feel the need to actually DO it. If I know people are expecting something once a week, I'll feel obligated to produce something.

I don't have anything right now, because I just came up with this idea, but next week, expect something a bit more substantial to read than my normal run-down of life events.

I'm also going to start doing challenges of the week, just for fun. You can choose to ignore this or not. This week's challenge: Give at least three hugs a day! Hugs are great and wonderful things. If you hug someone for about thirty seconds your hearts start to beat together. I don't tend to be a very huggy person naturally, but I've started making a point of hugging my roommate, Emilia, because both of us are used to being hugged by our parents at home and we miss the huggin' since we've been here. So go on, hug someone!

Love,
Marina

A poem from Fordham

I was waiting for my friend Chelsea to get out of her Research Methods class at Fordham University and got bored so I wrote a little poem. She and I had previously been discussing how learning in a collegiate atmosphere, one guided by test scores and such, seems to promote forgetting everything as soon as the test is over.


Formulas

Gray stone walls towering
Limiting my mind's force
Can I save thoughts superimposed
Or will I this memory divorce?

Remember the quadratic formula
Because life is all xs and ys
Please: "Punch in these numbers..."
For equations never lie.

Now that I step outside
The high, steep barricade
There is no calculator
No study sheet to aid.

So I sit and ponder
And watch the clouds go by
And come to think that maybe
Even noble formulas can lie.

Purple Pinatas and Pumpkin Pies

Happy Friends and Footy PJS!


First of all, Thanksgiving was incredible. On Wednesday night, my friends Molly and Erin from Up with people picked me up and we drove to Plymouth NH, where our friend Beth lives. We arrived at two in the morning to a wonderful house that Beth had rented for the weekend, called the Blue Moon. The house was, you guessed it, very blue, with a distinct moon motif. We spend Thanksgiving at Beth's family's house. Her mom made a great meal, and we all enjoyed talking, eating and relaxing. As everyone was finishing their turkey, there was a knock on the front door and Beth nearly jumped over Molly shouting "Swede!!!" Our friend Sophie had arrived with her father and grandfather. They are on a trip through the US right now, and New Hampshire was their first stop. They joined us at the table and we told them about the tradition of Thanksgiving. Sophie's father speaks fairly good English, but her grandfather knows none. Despite this, he managed to have the table laughing uproariously as he joked with Sophie and she translated. As we passed around the food and told them what was what, Beth's grandmother turned to Beth and asked, "Do they eat bread?" It became the joke of the weekend and we were constantly teasing Sophie about eating bread.

On my birthday, I lounged around the house in dinasaur footy pjs that Beth gave to all of us. Later we all drove to see the lake where the movie Walden Pond was shot. I've never seen the movie, but I've heard (from Beth, who is a tad biased I suppose) that it's a fabulous film.

When we returned home, a wonderful aroma warmed our frozen faces. Our Swedish grandpa, as we started calling Sophie's grandfather, was nearly done cooking a Swedish meal. Beth's family came over and we dug into really great roast, potatoes, bread and salad. It was a great birthday dinner.

After we ate, Beth told everyone to go outside. We all stood in the front yard for a few minutes before I saw something descending from the front porch--a purple, guitar shaped Pinata. I was handed a long stick and started whacking the pinata. I realized that it was the first time I'd ever had a pinata at my birthday party, and what a perfect first pinata it was!

Once back inside, Beth's mom brought in a cake covered in drawings in purple icing. I blew out the candles with my friends gathered round me and felt so grateful for the amazing people in my life.

The rest of the night we played Apples to Apples and goofed off. Sophie and her family were going to leave at four AM the next morning, so Erin and I stayed up all night talking with her. It was so nice to spend time with people I'm normally so distanced from but am so close to emotionally.

On Saturday, after three hours of sleep, we headed locked up the Blue Moon and headed down to Pennsylvania to visit our friend Jessica. It was an eight hour drive through rain and crazy traffic, but we finally arrived at 9 PM to a cheery house full of Jessi's family and friends all eating and drinking wine. We enjoyed a night of more Apples to Apples, pumpkin pie and laughter. We fell asleep around 2 AM and woke up the next morning at 8. Erin and Molly had to leave early to go back to Indiana. Beth and I stayed for breakfast with Jessi's family, which was delicious bacon and french toast.

Beth and I hit the road and drove four hours back to Bard. We listened to music and talked, thoroughly catching up. I arrived back at Bard late Sunday afternoon feeling grateful for delicious pie, silly birthday gifts and most of all, my friends.

This week I've been feeling stressed about upcoming finals and papers that are due. I'm so ready to come home! I can't wait, but I keep reminding myself to be here and experience Bard as fully as possible, which is hard when I have so much work to do and break looms so close.

I'm in the process of signing up for classes, and am definitely taking two acting courses next semester, possibly three, and a course where I get to learn how to use the studio here on campus. We'll learn how to use Pro Tools and learn how to mic people and instruments properly. I'm so excited!

Can't wait to see everyone! I come home Sunday, December 21st, early afternoon.

See you all soon!

Love,
Marina

I think I've decided.

After much thought and horrendously traumatic contemplation, I've decided to double major in music and theater. It may sound crazy, but in actuality, the workload is not so bad. I've mapped out my schedule for next semester, and it's mostly really fun classes that I'm sure I'll grow and learn a ton from and won't have too much work outside class time. I'll be taking Intro to Acting, Voice for Majors (Theater majors that is), Production and Reproduction (a class where I'll learn to use Pro-tools and how to mic concerts and recording sessions properly), First Year Seminar and two dance classes. I'm soooo excited!!! I'll have so much outside class time to be creative and I'll only have one class that I'll have to write papers for. By majoring in both, I can get free private music lessons, and I'll have a much better chance of being cast in plays. The theater department is really high-quality and a tad competitive, which is a good thing, I think. All of the actors (excluding one...) I've seen in plays here at Bard have been excellent. Yay!

Love,
Marina

Kock Fight Club

Stairs to the pit
Hippolyta, Egeus and Theseus chillin' on the couch "backstage"

The "stage." The sign reads "Select Your Firmness"
Our Fab band rockin' out.

I forgot to write about the play! Midsummer Night's Dream turned into a crazy adaptation called Kock Fight Club. The entire play took place in the orchestra pit of the blackbox theather in the Performing Arts Center. A huge screen was built and lowered over the pit at various points in the play. At certain moments video bits were projected onto the screen. All the musicians were on the stage. The audience had to wear chicken costumes. I was involved in writing pieces of the music. Some songs were writen fom scratch with Shakespeare's dialogue as lyrics, and some, such as Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics and the David Bowie song Oh You Pretty Things we adapted for violin, trombone, viberaphone, drums and upright bass. By the end of all our hours of rehearsing, the band was soooo tight. It felt like a real band instead of a thrown together group of musicans intended only to work on the show. One weekend we rehearsed for ten hours a day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and we reahearsed for four hours every night for two weeks leading up to the show. Everyone loved it and the entire experience was absolutely incredible. I made so many new friends from being in the play and am anxious to work with Daniel Fish (the director) again someday. He's brilliant. Sorry this is so rambly, I have to get back to studying but I wanted to share this and some pictures from the play. Love to all!

Loving every second...

I am sitting in the library studying Russian, listening to John Danley and feeling incredibly content. I've had many of these moments, especially in the past month or so. I keep noticing how amazing it is here, and how amazing my everyday experiences are. I'm surrounded by people who are intensely interested in what they're studying and passionate about learning. I make music with brilliant people, go on long walks through the woods, drink coffee in Red Hook, a tiny picturesque town... When I was dreaming of coming to Bard, I never dreamt it would be this great. I spend hours in this library, wandering through the stacks, reading bits on Linguistics, Economics, and anything else that catches my fancy. All for the pure pleasure of enriching my life. Last night a few friends and I went to see Casablanca and then had an hour long discussion about gender roles in society. Every day I am immersed in a culture of intense inquiry.

On Wednesday I got paid to record some violin parts for a friend's album! It was really nerve wracking knowing I was getting paid though, because I felt horrible every time I played a wrong note and had to start over. It was great to get experience recording in a real studio, especially on violin.

I decided I'm taking Russian again next semester, which means I'll have class for two hours four days a week and a tutorial the other day. I'm not set on my other classes yet, though I know I want to take four dance classes.

This is the first year I won't be with any of my family for Thanksgiving, which is a little strange, but I suppose it had to happen sometime. I'm going to have an Up with People Thanksgiving, which is exciting! Two of my very close friends, Molly and Erin are driving up from Indianapolis, picking me up and then we're all spending the break at our friend Beths's house in New Hampshire. Our friends Sophie from Sweden and Jessie who goes to Cornell are also joining us. It should be a fabulous time. :)

I miss everyone in Georgia so much, and I miss Georgia in general. It is fabulous, however, that I will be home for an entire month from Dec 21st through Jan 26th! I'm very happy about that :).

I hope all is well with everyone, love to all!

Love,
Marina

Rockin'

In a moment of craziness Jeff, a friend of mine who plays violin and guitar as well, and I agreed to play as an opening act for one of our friend's bands at this bar called the Black Swan in the nearest town, Tivoli. We worked up a few songs just this afternoon and are going to play in an hour or so. I hope it goes well!

Play practice is going well, I hope someone records it because I want everyone to see how amazing it is! The director is very famous among the off-Broadway crowd and the vocal coach has coached really famous people. It's so incredible to be involved in such a classy production. :)

I decided to run for Student Senate! The voting happens tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. There are so many great things about Bard, but there are things to be changed as well and I want to have a hand in making this school as amazing as it can be.

Ok, off to rock in Tivoli!

All's Quiet on the Northern Front

Ahhhh, Sunday mornings. I love weekends here, and not so much for the seemingly obvious reasons of endless parties, but because I wake up in the morning fully rested, ready for the day. Often during the week, when my alarm goes off, I am not ready to wake up. I get plenty of sleep, but something about knowing that I can sleep however long I please, makes sleeping so much more enjoyable.

So, news from the past two weeks...
I got a part in the ensemble of a Midsummer Night's Dream! Though it's not quite what you may be envisioning, fairy wings and long flowy dresses, because our director is kinda crazy. He's done lots of off-Broadway productions and decided to take out all the fairies from the story and focus on the lovers. This makes for an interesting plot, because the lovers wake up in love with the wrong people and have no tangible reason why. Basically, Daniel (the director) wants to explore the crazy things that emotions do on their own, without the meddling of fairies. The ensemble consists of six instrumentalist/singers. We've only had two rehearsals and still don't' really know what exactly it is we'll be doing. But, it's always fun being around theater people, and I'm learning a TON about how Shakespeare's language should be performed.

I don't remember if I talked about my friend Daniela in my last blog... forgive me if I have. I've been so fortunate to find a fast-friend so quickly. Some people seem to have simply fallen in with a certain group, and for lack of a better one, have stayed put. But Daniela is one of the few REAL freshman I've met here. Many seem very immature, concerned about appearance, drinking and drugging themselves up night after night, content to sit around smoking weed and not much else. Daniela and I like to adventure, go on bike rides, play piano in the practice rooms, study at the cafe in Red Hook, look at the stars on clear nights, drink tea with honey, the list goes on. We really enjoy moving, doing, adventuring. I'm so happy I found someone who isn't solely involved in the rampant party scene.

Another friend whom I'm happy to have is Cam. I met him the day I met Daniela. I was practicing piano in a practice room and heard amazing music coming from down the hall. As I was walking out, I cracked the door and there thy sat, Daniela and Cam. Thus, we met. From day one, we've all been best buds. Something about the three of us makes me so happy and content. Last night Daniela jammed on piano (she is an AMAZING player) and Cam and I improved vocally, it was so great! We're thinking of starting a musical group.

My classes are going well so far. I don't remember if I already said what I'm taking, sorry if I have! I'm taking Russian, Macro-Economics, Music Theory and First Year Seminar. I'm especially enjoying music theory because I'm seeing music in an entirely new way. Now when I sit down at a piano I see new relationships between notes, chords, etc. It's so cool.

Russian is hard, but really fun as well. It's five days a week, so I should be pretty good by the end of the semester!

Macro-Economics is very interesting. Since beginning the class, I've been doing outside research and I'm reading the Fair Tax book. I think it's so important to understand how our economy works and how economies work on a global level.

First Year Seminar is a class on the Enlightenment. right now we're reading Plato and we will read Genesis, John Locke, Galileo and many other writers who were revolutionary in their time. It's a cool class where we sit around a big, wooden table and discuss our ideas.

Despite all the awesomeness, I do miss home terribly at times. I miss Decatur, I miss driving, I miss walking around the lake, but most of all I miss my family and my friends. I miss you all. when I think these thoughts, I envision transferring to Agnes Scott, or even GA State. I miss the familiar. But I know, that eventually, maybe after a semester, maybe after a year, Bard will have the same nostalgic feeling that home does, or more likely, a unique nostalgia. but I do wonder sometimes, if I'm getting my money's worth. I keep wondering if there are places for far less money where I could be just as happy, if not happier. But don't worry, these are only fleeting moments of doubt that I experience, overall I am extremely content here.

Ok, it's nearly noon and I'm starving. Off to Kline (the dining commons)!

Love to all,
Marina

Livin' the Crazy Bard Life

It's the final night of the Language and Thinking workshop (L&T). I can hardly believe that two and a half weeks have gone by since I arrived at Bard.

This is the first night in the past two and a half weeks that I haven't had three readings to do or some writing assignment. I finished my final essay, a seven page exploration of Otherness, last night and now I have nothing pertinent to do! I do need to decide on my classes, for we are registering on Thursday. Also on Thursday there's a Matriculation Ceremony, which encourages "creative formal wear". Only at Bard.

People watching is one of my favorite things to do here. Especially last Saturday when the Rocky Horror Picture Show played in the theater and everyone, at least it seemed like all 523 of us, showed up dressed ridiculously. Most people here take advantage of every day as if it were Halloween or some day worth dressing up for. Top hats, fishnets, vintage boots... And, for the most part, it seems people dress in this crazy manner because they find it amusing, because they want to, not necessarily because they feel they have to to fit in.

I've made a really good friend named Daniella who is my bike-buddy and my impromptu piano teacher. We went for a ride yesterday to Tivoli, a nearby village (one main road with a scattering of small storefronts) and found an amazing little library. It's run by a committee, not by the state, but membership is still free, so we both got cards and checked out some books and movies. The library is all dark wood, high-ceilings and has a very cozy feel to it.

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day I'll sit in the classroom that has become a second home, with the people who were initially my enemies, initially seemed too smart too articulate, now my friends and peers. My teacher too, he is amazing and will be going back to San Fransisco tomorrow to teach at the Art Institute. Despite all that, I am excited for new classes next week!

Hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day weekend.

Toodle-loo,
Marina

A Place to Think

I haven't figured out how to change the name of this blog now that I'm no longer reporting on Up with People.

At any rate, as many of you know I moved into college yesterday, Saturday. I have a lovely roommate from Jersey and we share a nice, big light-filled room, which has much more space than I expected from a college dorm.

I woke up this morning inexplicably early, 5:50 to be precise, and went adventuring on my bike. I found a bike route that I followed through residential areas near Bard. I still don't know where it ends up, as I rode for thirty minutes and then had to turn around. The rest of the day we spent sitting and listening to introductions and a ton of safety info that I'm positive everyone already knew. So, mostly I spent the day fairly bored, but happy that there is only one day of maddeningly boring safety info versus the three in Up with People.

The best part of today was the Prokofiev concert, put on by the American Symphony Orchestra, which was FABULOUS. The theme was The Cult of the Child, and it covered an array of works from Peter and the Wolf, to a set of five fairy tales. After the concert, we heard from the Dean of Students, the Director of the Language and Thinking workshop (what I'll be doing for the next three weeks) and the President, Leon Botstein. They are all brilliant speakers, and, seemingly, brilliant intellectuals. I sat in awe listening to all of them lay out their vision for Bard, our class, and for the next three weeks.

I love being here. The trees are inexplicably soothing, the cicadas lull me to sleep and the birds wake me. I'm so glad I came to Bard and I'm so excited to begin the workshop tomorrow!!!

Love to all,
Marina

The Final Up with People post

It’s been a month and a day since I parted ways with Cast A, 2008. It feels like a lifetime ago, it feels like a minute. I haven’t experienced the heart-wrenching, depressing aches that our staff prepared us for. I’ve had my moments, weird things remind me of people and places, but these memories don’t stay for long, they float away as swiftly as they came. And I’m ok with that. Maybe I’m not nearly as emotional as I expected because I’ve kept myself busy, I haven’t had much time to contemplate the past. Maybe I’ve come to terms with life, the nature of which is temporary and fleeting. I figure if I spend my time now missing everywhere I’ve been, everyone I’ve been with, I’ll miss the present moment, which is equally valuable.

Mostly, my time at home has been spent with my friends

and family, which has been strange in a very good way. I’m not used to spending so much time socializing. Before Up with People, I always had something to do, dance classes to go to, violin lessons, quartet or orchestra rehearsals, now, I have had more of an empty void; a void I can fill however I please. It’s been nice just being with people instead of rushing around, going, going, going all the time (although I’ve had plenty of that in the past two weeks getting ready for my party).

And I haven’t been completely cut-off from my cast mates. Facebook, apart from the annoying applications and extra crap, is a tool I have found extremely comforting and useful. I also went back to Denver for a week at the end of June to record a song for the new Up with People cd. I was also there because I was chosen to be a part of the Convention Cast, which is a cast made up of alumni from all different years (there were some from the eighties, nineties and from my cast as well). We spend the week learning a shortened version of the Up with People show that we will be on call to perform throughout the year for corporations and various other events. I got to stay with my host family from January and see some of my cast mates for a week, which was weird, and nice.

I think those who don’t have a clue what they’re doing next with their lives are having a harder time being out of Up with People. I know I’m leaving August 1^st to go to Bard, so I have something to look forward to and a predictable amount of time this summer to fill up.

July 18, 2008

I’m finishing this the Friday before many of you will read this on paper at the party. Some part of me apparently decided to prove me wrong when I said I hadn’t had any major, strange emotional stuff happen. This morning I was scrap booking and suddenly began feeling very dizzy. My arms felt like they were floating, it was a very bizarre feeling. After an hour of pushing through feeling like I was going to pass out, I just began sobbing for no apparent reason. I felt crazy, like maybe this is what a panic attack felt like, like the world was going to end, like I would never be happy again… It was all very dramatic, of course (at least in my head it was). But it felt so REAL. Like nothing I could ever do would be good enough, like I would miss my friends from Up with People forever, like so many thoughts and feelings that fly through your head so quickly you can’t catch them to even recognize what they are. Mom held me as I cried all over her shoulder and patched me up with some homeopathic remedies.

All this happened two hours ago, and I’m still not sure what triggered it all. Maybe all the scrap booking, looking through old bits of the last six months of my life, reminded some deep part of me, that I hadn’t had a really good cry about it all. Whether I was crying because I was sad to not be in Up with People anymore, or because I missed my friends, or because I’ve changed so much and so little, and am still finding my equilibrium, I can’t be sure. All I know is that I cried, big gasping ugly cries, and now, I feel cleansed inside.

Well, many of you who are reading this will see me tomorrow! Can’t wait :).

Signing off,

Marina

Final day in Up with People

I woke up two mornings ago thinking, "ugh, four more shows in this soupy heat, how will I make it?" Last night, as we performed our show for the final time this semester, I mentally ticked off each number, "that's the last time we'll do that one, and that one... and THAT one."
Today feels like a normal day in Up with People, but it's not. It's our last, the final, el fin. We have a banquet this afternoon, a time to get dressed up, party a bit, cry a lot (I imagine) and enjoy each other's company before climbing on our three buses for the long ride back to Bangkok and then the flight to California.
Right now, I don't feel it. I can't fathom returning to my "normal" life, where the world has turned on, without me, where my friends and family have so many stories to tell, so many memories that I do not share in. I fear not being able to connect, I fear crying at random moments, feeling angry, confused, lonely, and having no one understand why. Because I have a new family, here in Up with People. A family with members I may never see again, who knows. A family that means the world to me, and I want to hang on forever, but I know I can't. I know it's time to move on.
It's been an amazing ride, and AMAZING journey across continents, through emotions, growing, performing, learning... I'm ready to start the next adventure of my life, but I imagine I may have random moments of withdrawal over the next few weeks. For those of you who will see me soon, please know that if I start randomly crying or acting strangely, most likely it's nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me re-acclimating to my "home" life again.
Thank you all for all the support you've lent, the e-mails, phone calls, facebook messages... I apologize if I missed something important, if you needed me when I couldn't be there, if you felt I left you for good in some way. I love you all and can't wait to see everyone again.

Peace and love,
Marina

Wow. Wow wow wow...

Four other girls and I are living in a school for deaf kids from the ages of six to 18 here in Khon Kaen. Today we played with the kids and learned how to make this really bizzare, but tasty, coconut, egg and rice flour ball soup. We are living together in a new building on the campus and are very spoiled. The teachers bring us breakfast and dinner every day, and it's always something fabulous and thai. Last night we visited a friend of one of our hosting teachers and she is hosting a bunch of Uppies as well, so we all got to help make a delicious dinner and hang out for a few hours. I feel like the rest of my time here will be grand...

We visited a village an hour away from Chiang Rai where we helped clean the grounds around the temple and met the monks.

Here's a picture of the White Temple in Chiang Rai that we visited.

Land of smiles

The past week and a half in Thailand has been incredible. The people here are so giving when they have so little and it truly is the land of smiles.

Our time here has been spent working in schools during the mornings, teaching English and generally sharing our cultures with the kids. They are so receptive and excited to see people not from here! For most, if not all, it was the first time in their lives they have interacted with anyone who wasn't Thai. Every afternoon we had a BTS, which is a short version of our show. The kids went wild every time, and I got a taste of how it would be to be a rockstar. After our shows the kids would run up to us, in mobs, screaming and pulling at our hands, I almost got pulled down a couple of times. I signed so many autographs my hand started to cramp.

I'm living alone with my 16 year old host sister and her parents, but really she takes care of me. I'm living very close to five other Uppies who are hosted alone with 16 year olds as well, and they are all friends with each other so every morning and evening we go home together on our motorcycles. I LOVE riding on a motorcycle, SO FUN! These kids are amazing. Tonight they're cooking us a farwell dinner (we're leaving for Kon Khaen tomorrow) and last week they planned a fabulous host family day full of sight seeing, great food and shopping at the night market, where you can buy amazing Thai silk for 3 dollars.

I'm addicted to the Thai pants here. They're very hippie in look and feel so I'm stocking up so I can be a real Bard student this fall.

It's hard to believe there are only two weeks left in our time, but I'm ready to come home. I find myself soaking up every minute even more now that I know it's getting down to the time to leave. I feel like I've grown so much, probably in ways I can't quite describe or see yet. I know I'm more confident speaking in front of people, and I know I've learned to let my feelings be. I'm sure I've learned so much more that I will only recognize in the future looking back on this amazing period of my life.

I hope all is well with everyone, hugs and kisses to all!

-Marina

Leaving for Thailand!

I haven't had internet at all this week and I'm experiencing a time crunch right now... ahhh! I wish I could write more! I hope that in Thailand I will have internet access, but if not, please don't be offended that I don't write!

We're leaving tomorrow, Monday, morning at 3 AM. It's going to be a crazy 54 hours of travel to Chang Mai.

The past week was awesome! I got to stay with three staff members and three other interns (did I mention I'm an education intern now?) which was really really fun. It's great to get to know the people who I previously knew only as authority figures. We stayed in a newly finished and not yet opened transitional living home for boys.

Mom, Chelsea, Eva and Alex surprised me on Friday when they showed up at Green Room before the show. I was so excited! I knew that Chelsea was coming, but I had no idea bout Mom, Eva or Alex. I've missed them a lot.

Ok, I have to go do laundry... I hope everyone is well! I'm looking forward to my return home and the big party I promised for all my share holders.

Sawadika, (Thai greetting)
Marina

So sorry I haven't written in forever!!! It's so hard to remember that I'm living in a time bubble, where a week flies by and it seems like I only packed my suitcase to leave Atlanta yesterday... Let's catch up on a few of the countless cool events that have happened... In San Louis, we visited an old mining town that is now mostly full of Swiss and Italian people. We had to walk through a mile long tunnel to reach the city, which is in the center of a ring of mountains. A bunch of us stopped in the middle and did the Gumboot dance from the show. For those of you who haven't seen the show, the Gumboot dance is a dance that mine workers in Africa used to communicate to one another in the dark. My friend Erin and I found an awesome cafe called Cafe Azul and spent the afternoon drinking coffee, eating brownies and reading. It was awesome.
In San Louis Potosi, our last city in Mexico, the staff surprised us with a "Cast Appreciation Day," which was sooo cool. Our theater was outside and none of us were looking forward to setting up in 80 degree weather, but when we were let through the gates to the theater, we saw the stage completely set up and covered in streamers, balloons and small heart shaped papers. Martin, explained that it was Cast Appreciation Day and that we would be treated to a show put on by our staff! He started the show with the reappearance of A the bear, who had been MIA since Chicago. I was so happy to see A back! The show consisted of the staff performing their favorite numbers from their student years, and a few of the numbers from our show now. The best parts were Martin dressed in a tiny, sparkly dress singing the lead for one of our Mexican songs, and Pepe, our videographer dancing the female lead in a swing number called Go Daddio. The theater was so cool! It had a small pool in front, as you can see, so after the show we all jumped in and played in the water. The rest of the day was great, and we performed that night to our biggest crowd yet this semester of 4,500.

I was a little sad to leave Mexico, but also glad to get back to the US for a few weeks of relative comfort before heading to Thailand. I didn't realize how on edge I was during the five weeks in Mexico. Something about not being able to call, or e-mail whenever I wanted for so long was discomforting. I think I also was just a little uncomfortable being surrounded by a foreign culture. it's odd though, because it didn't hit me until we crossed the border to Texas and i INSTANTLY felt at home, safe and comfortable. To celebrate being back in the US, a bunch of us went to Burger King, which is ridiculous because I've only ever been to a BK once before in my life and it was to use the restroom. But, something about transitioning from Cactus Taco Land to Fast Food Land called for a burger and fries.

When we arrived in New Braunfels, Texas, we were greeted by our awesome advance team Dan and Maiken and a river party! We pulled up in front of a HUGE house and were instructed to leave our luggage in the garage and go over the bridge in the backyard to the island. For the next two hours, we swam in the gorgeous, spring-fed, clear river, ate amazing food (the woman who owned the house also owned a restaurant) and played volleyball. When I looked at my allocation info, I was so excited! Once again I was put with one of my best friends in the cast, Molly Essington! We've been having a sweet week together, along with Erum, from Pakistan and Linn from Sweden.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, we had Community Impact and workshops. Wednesday I stayed at the lovely church where we've been meeting and learned an older version of Up with People that is really cool. It's got great harmonies and a cool, barbershop quartetish sound. Thursday and Saturday I worked at a halfway house for teens called Connections. The building was in need of new paint and some sprucing. Beth, Brittany and I painted this awesome coffee table that you can see below:

We painted the two trees with all the seasons and a dark, night sky changing to a bright daylight full of flowers to represent the change that kids go through when the go to Connections. The colors are so cool and I could hardly believe we created something so awesome!

On Saturday I also helped paint the kitchen cabinet doors and walls. It's amazing what a good coat of paint can do for a slightly shabby room. I feel so great knowing that those kids will have a brighter place to live.

I have plenty more to write about, and I promise I will the first chance I get in the next city.

Only a month and a half left! I can't believe it...

Love to all,

Marina

Puebla is so much cooler than Mexico City. It's a smaller, less densely populated town with a beautiful center park and surrounding colonial buildings. Puebla is known for its churches and the intricate tiling on the walls of many of the older constructions. And the best part... we don't have to ride in a bus for two hours each way to get to our destination! 

My host family here is awesome. My roommate, Sofia, and I are living in the house of our host's mother, though we're going to stay with the actual family on Saturday night. Our abuela is adorable and kind. She cooks amazing food and wasn't at all offended when we asked if we could have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast instead of the HUGE meal she cooked for us for the past few days of chicken, beans, salad, rice and bread. The first night we were here, she showed us all the pictures of her family, she has eight children and twenty grandchildren, and told us about Mexico. 

I'm feeling my Spanish improving all the time, which is lovely. I have a goal to be fluent by the end of the tour but, I realize that "fluent" means different things to different people. I know I want to be able to listen to people talking incredibly quickly and catch what their saying. I actually did it last night, it was such a cool feeling! 

On Tuesday and Wednesday we did our community impact (CI) at a place called Caritas, which is a Catholic Church run shelter for older people who can't afford to go to a private nursing home. Many of them are also mentally or physically disabled. It was very challenging for me to sit and talk to people who have so little in their lives. The woman I talked to the longest sat hunched in her wheelchair with a large plastic bag of belongings next to her. She told me how she had no family or friends, even at the center. Being there changed my perspective a bit on the mentally challenged because many of them seemed blissfully unaware that anything was "wrong" in their lives. We played catch with a few older guys who acted like children, laughing and smiling wide, gap-toothed grins. I was also surprised by one man who grabbed my hand when I said hello and pulled me to him, I didn't know what he was doing until Mitch, one of our staff members saw me and said, "He likes to arm wrestle, just go with it." So I did. That man DID like to arm wrestle. He beat me every time. I keep relearning old lessons, and that day I definitely relearned not to judge people by their appearances. 

For me, the main event of the week was hearing from Mom about financial aid for college. I got an email on Tuesday saying something about $3,500 that I MIGHT be getting, and I freaked out. I thought I was going to receive a lot more than that. I tried my hardest to suck it up and start figuring out ways to manifest the nearly $50,000 it was going to take for me to go, but in the back of my head was doubt and fear. I kept trying to ignore it and beat it down until the end of yesterday when I absolutely broke down and cried and snotted on five different friends. I knew I could do it, but I had to let out the fear and doubt first before I could focus my entire mind on how to actually raise the money. So, this week I also relearned that I should honor my emotions by letting them be and not try to change what I'm feeling. When I got home last night, I checked my email and saw that Mom had sent me one saying I'd actually received $29,000 in scholarship from Bard, $23,000 is grant money!!! I was so, so excited. Part of my breakdown was also over feeling stupid because I thought Bard didn't want to give me money, which MUST mean that I'm hardly smart enough to go there, but no. Mom said the most they give to anyone, unless their a science major or a homeless kid from Ethiopia (and I quote) is $24,000. So I got almost the maximum amount! What's left to raise is $22,450 which is only $8,000 more than I raised for Up with People, so I know KNOW I can do it. If any of you come across scholarship or grant opportunities that you think may apply to me, please let me know! I've already begun thinking of fundraisers for when I return in the summer, and I want to do something NOW while I'm on the road. I haven't come up with anything right now, so please let me know if you think of something. Ok, gotta go change the world, bye folks!

Love,

Marina

I believe the biggest lesson I´m learning on this trip is this: the thing you least want to do, the person you least want to talk to, the hardest day to open your eyes, the times you feel alone, when you feel that feeling of, "I don´t wanna!" just do it. Nike really has it right. I thought I´d learned this lesson before, but I suppose certain life lessons can be learned and relearned.

Yesterday, when I climbed on the bus after a long day of walking around Mexico City, seeing the Modern Art Museum and a really awesome castle, all I wanted to do was curl up in a window seat, turn on my music and sleep for the hour long bus ride. But when I got on the bus, I saw Mitch, one of our Education directors who traveled as a student last year, with an empty seat next to him. I hadn´t talked to him that much and he always seemed like a really cool person, so I asked if I could sit next to him. We ended up talking the entire way back about religion, our families, how our parents met, his backpacking trip through Spain, my struggling with wanting alone time here in Up with People, and tons of other random stuff. That conversation was one of the few I´ve had here that I felt truly present for. I felt like I shared myself more than I have been with others, and that inspired me to begin sharing more freely and openly with everyone around me.

This experience, for me, is one opportunity after another to learn how to get past that stage of "I don´t want to," and be present in the moment so I can share my thoughts, ideas and energy with everyone around me. With every person I talk to when I don't want to, every community service project I do when I don't want to, every show I perform in when I just feel like crying, I can feel myself grow a little stronger, more independent and more trusting of my own abilities.

On Tuesday, we went to DIF which is a governmental organization that provides physical and psycological therapy for children with birth defects. DIF had games planned that they called the Olympics. I was feeling extremely tired and really dizzy. I decided not to participate in the shortened verson of the show we did because I felt like I could hardly stand up, much less dance without falling over, but now I wonder if I had just decided I was OK, if I would*ve felt better. At any rate, I lay down for a while and after resting felt a bit better. Lunch was prepared by all the therapists who work for DIF and we all ate with the families and their children who had come for the day of games. I sat with a mother and her two sons, one only a year old and the other six, and talked with her as I ate.

Ok, enough philisophicalness for today...

Ok, I'm finally publishing this post one week after I wrote it. Now I'm in Puebla, which I like much more than Mexico City because it's quieter, smaller, and has less people. Plus, it has a really beautiful downtown area and this coffee chain called the Italian Coffee Company, which is way cheaper and yummier than any Starbucks! Ok, I have to go shower, but I'll write again soon!

Marina

Camp Cabungalo in Brenham Texas and Mexico

Oh My Gosh. This week has been absolutely INCREDIBLE. After wishing for ever to be hosted with a ton of people all together, I finally found myself rooming with nine other students on a ranch in Texas. The ranch has three cabins/bungalos, we're not sure what they are exactly, so hence the name, Camp Cabungalo. Each cabungalo has two rooms, each room two beds and its' own bathroom. On top of living in hotel style conditions with a ton of other awesome people, I got to share my room with my bff in the cast, Molly. We were so stoked to find out that we were rooming together. We basically knocked each other over from excitement when we found out.



This week was mostly amazingly fun. When we first arrived here at The Retreat (the REAL name of our ranch) we spent a good fifty minutes freaking out about how awesome it is and taking pictures. We had a huge bonfire and Molly, who also is a singer songwriter, and I played guitar and sang for a long time. We didn't sleep at all that night and we got to know this awesome chick Brittany a lot better. We stayed up all night drinking coffee, playing pool, laughing, making ridiculous videos, and generally having a ball. We didn't sleep for thirty-three hours, which was a record for me. The day after our all nighter we worked on our Mexico Medley, which is sweeeeet.



The week basically was night after night of late or all nighter coffee drinking, video making, bonfire dancing, amazingness. Last night we decorated plastic eggs and filled them with tea bags, almonds, uncooked noodles, and other random stuff we found in the kitchen. We then covered them in googly eyes and feathers. It seemed like every single evening when we returned to our haven, It was so soo cool to get to know more members of the cast much, much better.

Ah, it is now April 2nd and I've been in Mexico for nearly two weeks already! My last host family didn't have a computer or internet so I am only now finishing this blog.

The first week in Mexico was awesome. We were in Monterrey, where I lived with an alum of Up with People named Mayte, her two beatutiful, intelligent daughters Marisa and Mariana, their father Geno and their abuela (grandmother) Teresa. Mayte always said I fit right in because my name started with M. I got to be very close with Mariana who is 12. Everyone in the family spoke excellent English but insisted on speaking Spanish most of the time so I could improve. We played Scrabble a lot so I could learn new, important words like balde, which means bucket, and morro, which means purr. I feel like my head is getting back into the Spanish language and I understand a lot better than I did when I arrived.

Now we are in Mexico City and staying with a cool girl, Ana who's twenty years old and lives with her really nice abuela and aunt. Ana works at a gym that's in a really nice indoor/outdoor mall. Every night she picks my roommate Veronica (from Norway) and me up and we stay here until eleven o'clock. We drink coffee at Starbucks and talk endlessly. I continue to get exactly what I want as far as roommates and host families.

Being in Mexico has been harder than I expected. Maybe because it's so different from home and I've been semi cut off from communicating by cell or internet I have been feeling very homesick at times. In the US I didn't feel homesick hardly ever, and when I did think of home, I didn't feel very badly but here, it hits my harder than ever. I'm really grateful I have Veronica as my roommate for two weeks because we get along very well and I've been wanting to know her better for a long time.

Yesterday, we went to the pyramids at Teotuhican and I climbed the largest one, which is actually taller than the one in Egypt. It's so cool I can now say that I've climbed one of the seven wonders of the world.

onother exciting thing, on Friday, we get to meet the president of Mexico!

It's so cool and yet so challenging for me here. I'm learning a lot about myself, other people and the world. I'm really glad I'm here even though it's hard right now.

Hugs to all,
Marina

Enid Oklahoma

Well, this is the second computer that refuses to recognize my camera, so, yet again I cannot share the awesome pictures I have.

We arrived in Enid on Thursday evening and are leaving tomorrow, Monday, morning. We had our show day on Friday, and had a better turn out than we expected. The theater we performed is one of the many that the fake John Wilkes Booth's body was displayed in. It is purportedly haunted, but I didn't see anything suspicious.

Tonight I experienced Black Walnut ice cream for the first time and a Cherry Lime-aid, both of which were fabulous.

Yesterday I finally got to learn one of my favorite dances, an African one called Gumboot! It was soooo much fun. It's really simple, but really cool. I think I'll be performing it in Mexico.

We finally know that our last city before Thailand will be Plano, Texas. I'm so excited to experience Texas...

The woman I'm staying with, Vicki, has a masters in handwriting analysis and this morning she gave me a crash course in how to interpret people's handwriting. She also talked about how writing certain ways can be therapeutic for the subconscious, and you can actually alter certain habitual thoughts and feelings through practicing your handwriting. Soooo cool! I'm staying with Kelsey from California and Gift from Thailand. I stayed with Kelsey in my last host family as well, but I'm really glad I've had her again as my roommate because the last city was a very short stay. She's talking to her family through iChat, which I still find perplexing and weird, and I have no idea how it works, but it's so cool.

Happy St. Patrick's day everybody!

-Marina

Oh where to begin...

The past week was awesome. Even when I was sick, it was awesome. It was actually more awesome BECAUSE I was sick. ok, so, last Monday we arrived in Chicago and we were all super stoked. I love Chicago and was excited to meet my new host family and roommate. I hoped to be staying close to the Downtown area and got my wish! I was in Old Town staying with Heather, an alumnus of Up with People. It was cool staying with someone who knew what we were going through because she was flexible with letting us do whatever we wanted. Whether we wanted to go out with her, meet friends or just stay home at night, she was cool with it. My roommate was Noa, a girl from Belgium. It was so cool to stay with her because she was someone I wouldn't have just gone up and tried to get to know otherwise. We became pretty close since we shared a bed and a very small room for a week.

On Tuesday, all of the cast went to inner city schools to do our High School version of Stand for Peace. I was nervous, but pleasantly surprised to find most of the students responsive and not only willing, but excited to participate. The first class my group and I facilitated, the teacher was AMAZING. He was a French and English teacher who jumped in and participated in the activities with his students. My team and I could tell that he had an awesome connection with his class. The next period was a free one for us, so we got to sit and chat with the awesome teacher. I've thought in passing about possibly teaching before, and talking with him made that passing thought stick a little. He talked about how he loves his job and can't wait to go to work in the mornings. I walked out of his classroom thinking that I could see myself teaching in the future.

Wednesday brought more school projects for half the cast and other community service for the rest of us. I went to help at the Gaia (the word means Earth in Latin) center where they recycle everything from clothing to baby strollers to books. I sorted through two huge boxes four times the size of a refrigerator of books and junk, sorting the paper products from the random stuff people had thrown in there. I salvaged about twelve new or nearly new books that my book loving heart couldn't bear to throw away. I keep them in a box on one of our buses as a sort of library. It felt great to know I was helping the recycling process along.

Thursday morning dawned bright and sunny and very very phlegmy. I had more Stand for Peace at the schools and didn't want to let my team down so I walked fifteen minutes with Noa and arrived at morning meeting worse off than when I left the townhouse. I nearly immediately turned around, went past the drug store to pick up Airborn (yes I know it's been proven not to work, but even if it was the placebo effect, it helped me!) and cough drops, past Einstein Brothers for some soup, and headed back home to bed. I basically slept the entire day, which was very boring but very restorative.

Friday came and my throat was dry, dry dry. I got up to get some water and felt like I was going to puke, tried to get to the bathroom, and then almost passed out. I spent who knows how long hunched over on the floor with my head to the ground regaining consciousness and trying not to cry. I was freaking out. My Aunt Kelly was coming to the show that night, I had to feel better, I had to be on stage that night. I toughed out the entire day of rehearsal, refusing to go home, insisting that I was feeling much much better (when I really wasn't) when our show manager Gabe tried to send me home. It was so worth it. That show meant more to me than any other I had done because I was doing it for my aunt. I knew she was in the audience and that meant more to me than anything. She's the reason I came to do Up with People. She traveled in '89 and last year when I was trying to decide what to do after high school, she encouraged me to do this. I'm so, so grateful to her. The show was meaningful because I felt like crap, because our venue had absolutely no backstage, so every time we had to cross over to the other side of the stage, we had to run outside, all the way around the back of the building. On top of it all, it was freezing backstage because of the doors being opened and closed constantly so once you were inside, it didn't feel much warmer than when you were running for you life around the building.

After the show, I made my way into the audience and found not only Aunt Kelly, but also Aunt Cathy, Nana, Uncle Gary, Mom and Dad! I was sooooo happy! I had slight suspicions that there may be someone else coming, but five more people?! It was soooo amazing to see all of them and know that I had stuck out a horrible day and sickness for all of them; it made the Chicago show ten times more meaningful.

The next day I woke up feeling much better and met my family for breakfast downtown. Mom took me shopping at H&M, which was AWESOME. I really want to get a job there next year. I found one close to Bard that I think I'll apply for. We spent some time in Nana's hotel room just talking, which was really nice and then we met Dad and Uncle Gary (who had gone to a museum exhibit) for dinner and a show. We saw the Improv Olymics which was super funny and fun. Afterwards we went to Ethyle's Chocolate Lounge where I had a delectable banana cupcake and stared in awe at all the colorful, sparkly, oddly shaped chocolates. I went home feeling very content and happy and found Noa and Heather making Belgian waffles. Ok, about Belgian waffles... I'm not a big waffle eater. Not like I have anything against waffles, I just don't get the chance or take the chance to eat them very often. And now, I don't thinki I"ll ever eat another unless it is a REAL Belgian waffle. It's no wonder American's pile syrup, whipped cream and fruit on their waffles, because they are very tasteless I realized. But the one's Noa made, warm off the iron, thick and spongey, tasted like a bite of heaven. After eating a few, Noa decided we shoud watch the Wizard of Oz because she wanted to see Wicked the next day but had never seen the Wizard of Oz and thought she might be lost if she didn't watch it first. Something I realized while watching it is that it's a very strange movie. I've grown up with the story of Dorothy, the Munchkins and the wicked witch of the west, but to someone who has never seen the film nor grown up around the culture of it, I can imagine it's quite strange. Especially Munchkinland. We got about half way through before we were all falling asleep and decided to call it a night.

Noa and I packed on Sunday morning before heading downtown to buy her a ticket to Wicked. I planned on meeting my family for lunch in Millennium Park, but bumped into them at the Wicked box office instead. They had decided on a whim to get tickets and go that afternoon! I was very excited for my mom to finally see it! My friend Jill and I saw it two years ago, but we couldn't get a ticket for mom. We went to lunch then to the show and it was awesome. We ate dinner at a pizza place and I got to meet up with my friend Hope from dance back in Georgia. She goes to school in Chicago now at the University of Illinois. After dinner we went to Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, which is a show that Mom and I absolutely love and have seen four times now. The night closed with coffee at the hotel. As hugged everyone goodbye, I was surprised to find tears in my eyes. Saying goodbye hadn't been this hard before, I'm still not sure why it was then. The weekend had been a much needed and very nice respite from the craziness of Up with People.

Now, wer're in Missouri, or Misery as our bus driver Stan announced to us when we crossed the border. It's not so bad, but I'm looking forward to Mexico more than anything right now!

Now, I'm going to watch Veggie Tales with my roomie Kelsey and laugh my head off.

Go Cubs!

-Marina

Des Moines, Muscatine, Burlington

This is Des Moines!Here are my friends Chris and Sandra and I working with an organization called Kids Against Hunger. We totally rocked the hairnets as we packed food to send to kids in Kenya and Haiti. It was a fun, fun time. We packed over 250,000 food packets in one day!
Is this not one of the coolest libraries ever? It's the Law Library at the Iowa State Capital Building. Beautimous! Aimee, my roommate, and I got a sweet tour since our host mom was a tour guide at the Capital.
A few of us went to a Hy-Vee (super common grocery store in Iowa) to bag groceries, talk to people about our show and paint kids faces. These black spongey things were supposed to somehow aid us in the painting process. Instead, they aided Leo, Johanna and me in being totally awesome.
So, this Irish dude, Ultan, who is totally crazy, carries a faux blonde mullet with him. So on this certain day almost the entire cast tried it on. Personally, I think I looked the coolest. Vincent from Belgium and Oscar from Sweden helped me pull off this majestic picture.

Oh where to start...

Our show in Muscatine two nights ago was AMAZING. It was at the Muscatine High School (yes I said THE Muscatine High School) and was not only sold out, but over sold by 58 tickets. Bad, yes, but in a very good way. The auditorium was PACKED. It was the first show I experienced the glow of cell phones waiving back and forth as I sang. So cool!

We arrived in Burlington Wisconsin today, and I'm already in love with the city. The old, brick buildings that make up the downtown area are so cute! There are two coffee shops that AREN'T Starbucks within walking distance of our home base, which is sweet. I've been elected to the Coffee Committee and have named myself Coffee Consultant. As such, it is my job to find the best coffee places in every town we go to and to inform the cast where the shops are. The interview process was quite intense. I was asked questions such as, "is your favorite color brown?" and, "would you drink a cup of coffee even if it tasted terrible?" I was competing along with three other people for the position. Obviously the committee wanted someone very experienced and passionate about coffee.

Our show here will be in the high school gym and I'm not sure how that's going to work stage-wise... But we've already sold 800 out of 1200 tickets! It's crazy how excited I am about everything, all the time...

It's so amazing to me how nice host families are. They open their homes, washing machines, computers, and, most importantly, refrigerators to us and ask nothing in return. How cool is that?? I hope I can host someday and pass on the kindness to Up with People students of the future.

Love to everyone!

-Marina out

Lincoln, Mquoketa, and now... De Moines!

Sitting in the back of my Denver host family's van before we left on Feb 10. Our buses! Ernie and Burt. Yes, I named them. I love both our bus drivers, one's named Marv (I assume that is short for Marvin) and the other is Stan. They are both awesome!
This is my songwriting/being crazy weird friend Molly. We like fruit.
This is Kristian from Denmark. He wore this crazy headgear all day on Valentine's day. I wish I had the picture of him sleeping open-mouthed with these one... as my Irish friend Ultan would say, "'Mazin!"
Backstage opening night at the Buell:

So I have really good excuses for not writing for so long. Mainly, not enough time (story of my life) and the lack of internet at the last host house. So, I do apologize; I hope no one thought I'd died or anything tragic like that.

The first bus day was awesome. I love road trips and the bus was one giant party. Travel days are really the closest things we get to days off. Even our days off in cities are taken up with host family activites, which is great, but we don't get a ton of time to do absolutely nothing. We arrived in Lincoln that night and got picked up by our second host families of the semester. I stayed with an awesome girl named Brooke, and her Aunt was our host. We were only there for three nights, but the whole family made us feel right at home. We did our first Stand for Peace project in middle and elementary schools in Lincoln. IT was so cool to work with two different classes for two hours. We played games and did activities that helped them recognize and appreciate the diversity within their classrooms and in the world. Super cool! We ate lunch with the first group and I felt really awesome when one eleven year old girl rushed up to give me a hug before we left.

The show in Lincoln was fun because it was at the University, so it felt like I was in college (yay college) for a day. During breaks some of us walked around campus drinking coffee adn handing out flyers for the show asking students whether they'd been "flyered" yet. We had a fairly large crowd and it was great fun.

We left the next day for a tiny town called Mquoketa in Iowa. It was snowing when we arrived at the hotel where our host families were to pick us up and all I could see was the glowing, blue, Walmart sign across the street. "Welcome to Mquoketa," I thought. It turned out that I really loved the town a lot. It's one main street runs through old, two-story, brick buildings and lovely victorian style houses. My host was a 26 year old girl named Sarah who lived in a cute, little apartment downtown. She and her cat, Toby, made me feel right at home.

The next day we spent doing community impact (CI) at various places. A group of about twenty others and I helped move some stuff to the new Mquoketa Historical Society building. It was physically hard work, but we had so much fun! All of the other volunteers were much older and seemed to enjoy our young energy. We also took tons of pictures with our newest "cast member" "A." A is a stuffed bear that Beth and Brittany (cast mates of mine) made at Build a Bear. He has a guitar and a hard hat and is super cute. I tried to upload some pictures of him, but my camera stopped working. I'll make sure to add some next time. We also wrote a song about A and played it for the cast that morning.

The next day was show day, and very very snowy. We were all worried that no one would come because of the weather, but we actually sold a lot more tickets than expected. The house was probably close to 3/4 full, which is amazing considering the circumstances.

Today we set out, yet again, and arrived in Des Moines Iowa after what was supposed to be a 3 hour bus ride turned into an 8 hour one. We watched a fabulous, Irish movie called Once, which I highly reccomend.

My host family here is an older couple who seem very nice. I'm so excited to be traveling and learning so much about the world! Wooo!

Love to all,

Marina

P.S. Sorry for all the typos and missing words, I don't proof-read mostly, so it's a bit messy.

First show!!!

I'm dead tired. I'ts 2:10 AM on Sunday, technically the day after the premier Up with People show at the Buell Theater in Denver. 2,000 plus people filled the theater (pictured above). I was amazed at how I was not the slightest bit nervous throughout the show, even though I had to stand on stage b myself twice throughout the show. Everyone seemed to love the show and we got a standing ovation afterwards.

The best part for me, happened after the show. I was talking with my ecstatic host sister out in the crowded lobby when Jessica, one of the staff, pulled me away and said, "I have something to show you." She took me back into the theater and pointed to a few ailes down and said, "Pink sweater." I had no clue what she was talkign about until my eyes fastened on a terribly familiar fuzzy pink sweater and I realized who it was. I screamed, burst through the small crowd of people still milling at the top of the stairs and nearly bowled my mom over as I threw my arms around her. I , laughed, cried some more and hyperventilated a bit before I even choked out a "hello." Come to think of it, I'm not sure I really said hello at all. I suppose after one cries as I did, with avalanches of makeup rolling down my cheeks and great, hi coughing gasps for air, "hello" would sound a tad cliche. I had to stay conduct an interview of a possible future "uppy" (an Up with People cast member) but, at 11:30, Mom and I went out to a 24 hour diner in Denver where I mainly stared at her in awe of her being there and tried to make conversation, but my brain hardly cooperated.

We leave Denver on Monday, bright and early at 7:30. I'm half looking forward to and half dreading the 9 hour bus ride to Lincoln Nebraska. We've been here for so long it seems and I'm ready to get out on the road. But, I'm going to miss my host family here very much. I feel like Denver is yet another place I can call home, so it's hard to leave it, not knowing when I'll return.

Bed time.

Love to all,
Marina