The University of Arizona Centennial Hall

This is where we had our Tucson show. We had about 2,100 people! The show was sold out.

FYI, Tucson, Arizona used to be the home base of Up With People -- so the people there know and look forward to the shows. We were also lucky to be performing right in the middle of an Up With People Alumni Reunion (at the super posh Westin La Paloma Hotel)

Here are some more photos!

(We taught the kids of UWP Alumni some songs and dances for the Alumni show. Haha. It was frustrating and fun.)

BackTracking Tucson

Now where do I start writing about stuff that I missed writing about?

Maybe the Stand for Peace project we had in Desert Sky Middle School in Tucson? Yes, I guess that is a good starting point. SFP is an Up With People program for schools , where we go into classrooms and conduct workshops on diversity, respect, and peace for the students. We were all trained to do the workships in one of our Education sessions.

We had our first Stand for Peace a day before our Tucson show.

I was a bit nervous conducting the workshops infront of kids from a different culture (8th grade - aged 12-13 years old) since the image that I had of American kids were those from the movies. Brats, smart aleck-y types. But I was so surprised and refreshed after working with the kids! They were all really smart and focused.

A typical Stand for Peace session looks like this:

I. Welcome and Intro for Stand for Peace and Up With People

II. Getting to Know You Ice Breaker

III. Activity: Card Identification (an exercise in similarities and differences)

IV. Movement: Stomp! (we teach them one of the dances in the Show)

V. Activity: Tammy Stands Up (a special session about bullying, which is a big issue in US schools)

VI. Activity: Power With vs Power Over (an activity about how working together peacefully is better than fighting over things)

VII. Wrap Up : Piece of the Peace Puzzle (students write down how they can make peace in their own little way in puzzle pieces)

I was not too confident with my facilitation skills , especially since at the back of my mind I have my insecurities with my English. I promise to have more confidence and to do better next time!

In the afternoon, we had our Back Track Show (BTS) for the students which is like a sneak peek of the full show.

Ah, my favorite part of the day was:

"Diversity. Does anyone know what diversity is?"

(Student raises hand) "Diversity is like a bowl of Fruit Loops. We all come from the same box, yet we are all different. But we're all good"

Loved it.

(photo shows my teammates Raine from Canada and Gina from USA with our homeroom teacher Mr Hill)

"Live in the Now" ...

... my host dad said.

Yup, I have been here in Tucson for 4 days now and this is the first time I am writing about it. I am so sorry if I have not been able to write about our experience in Gallup, New Mexico (it was only an overnight stay) and a whole lot of details from other experiences. It's just that my host dad told me to live the moment and not stress myself about writing because I just might miss the action right here, right now. So I am just living in the now right now!

I am loving Tucson. Great city. Great experiences. Great host family.

My host parents, Bruce and Kathy Garret lives in the middle of the golf course (I am without a roommate this time, and the room is right beside the laundry room, yey!) . They have such a beautiful home and they are such wonderful people. They have shared a lot of wonderful stories and experiences with me. I do hope I get the chance to right about the whole experience soon.. (promise, i will try my very best.)

Had a great Community Impact day with some people in the cast in one of our beneficiaries' satellite site (our beneficiary was the Southern Arizona Center for Sexual Assault) where we interacted and played with the kids whose moms / guardians were seeking therapy or guidance. It was super fun mainly because the kids were so particapative and open, plus there were only 7 of us who did the CI, which was a great number. We were able to discuss about things well...

I also got to see my best friend Em who is taking up her Masters degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Arizona. She came with me and my host family to the Desert Museum on my last day in Tucson.

( I can't believe I am missing to write about a lot of other stuff ! Like the Up With People Reunion, our Stand for Peace project, meeting "Super Dad" Bob Kincaid at the alumni Reunion and finding out that he has hosted 6 Filipinas in UWP!, babysitting the kids of the people who attended the reunion, etc, etc...)

Will be leaving Tucson tomorrow and will be on our way to Globe, Arizona. I badly want to blog about this Tucson experience! I need to find time in the bus...