Show Day!!!

It is almost 1 am here, but body clock is 2 am already. My side of the world just adjusted to Daylight Saving Time and saved 1 hour. However, I can sleep in tomorrow!

It was Show Day today (err yesterday? whatever -- October 27 basta) and this also means that this is my last day as Advance Team member (oh, maybe except for Host drop-off on Monday) I am so excited to join the cast again -- because it really feels so weird to be away from them, especially for 3 weeks. Everything happens so quickly and one misses so many things.

It was Tuesday of this week that we found out that only 20 tickets were sold. Lo and behold, the Uckerseehalle had 1,000 happy audience tonight! We really owe it ( I believe) to the team who did the dance workshop Community Impact because i feel that they really made a big impact to the students. Enough impact that the excitement will be talked about even after we've gone from Prenzlau. I was talking to the Europe Tour Manager, Frank Liffers and he said that Cast B's presence in Prenzlau was very important because of future sponsorships and long term partnerships. And the sponsors were happy with what they saw on show day! Woo hoo!

Aside from the"normal show" new stuff and surprises made it more fun. The cast had a German song (I am thankful that I did not have to learn it, but it was so cool onstage) - then some local Prenzlau students also shared their talents! Like many other shows, local youth participated in our Stomp! number. They took a step further and shared a breakdance exhibition + an original German Rap Song written especially for Up With People. It was so cool. That's not all -- a Polish dance group also performed a lively dance number.

It was amazing! Because getting the whole community involved is what Up With People is all about. Diversity and participation was really evident on stage. And the sight of the hip hop dancers and break dancers jamming with 60's music was also really fun to watch!

This was my first time to watch the show and I really liked it. The message of Peace, Unity, Respect, Community Building rang out through the music without being pushy or "preachy"

Now that Advance Work is over, it feels weird that I am saying goodbye to Prenzlau where things have become so familiar to me after 3 weeks of exploring its tiny streets. I know that I might never see this place again, and that makes me feel so sad. My host family, Klemens ( the best driver, picture taker, tree climber, cheese cutter in all of the world) and Brunhilde are amazing people!

Well, who knows? Maybe someday I'll get to visit again.
We got unlimited ice cream from a local ice cream company. :-) It felt like AYLC all over again. Here I am with Frank Liffers.


Host family! Klemens, Brunhilde and their daughter Judith who drove from Berlin. Birte is the one infront.
With Dr. Blohm. He is a city representative and we worked a lot with him. Without him, all of it wouldn't be possible. He was so cool and helpful (despite the language barrier)

The Seefeldts! Our pseudo-host family who gave us late night rides home. They were the host family of Rasmus and Jeremy.


Katie is now the only original child wrangler onstage. In tonight's show, she took my old place.. (the spot near the soloist) and it was so cute! Hehe, I wonder if I'll get my child wrangling job back?

Cheers to Prenzlau and Up With People ! Let it be known that I will be home in less than 2 weeks!