There be gold in them mines, Water in them Tubs, Snow in them Mountains! Mehico is just plain hot!

It´s been a while since I´ve written here. For that, I´m sorry, but my access to internet was very short, and was never enough to write down what I felt. Also, I had to regroup myself.

I found out today that my girlfriend left me for one of my best friends.
I feel like I´m a “stranger in paradise”.

Well, I could talk about how I feel forever, but I still need to think about it myself…
It just hurts, you know…

So, let me start where I left off.

I left the family Cearley last week. I want to thank them again. They were awesome.

After that was a travel day. (I had Russ as a bus-date) We went up to the mountains of Breckenridge and stopped in an old gold-mine. I took a lot of pictures there, that might be a visual aid in a Dungeons and Dragons adventure I’m currently thinking about writing and to play it in the future. It was a lot of fun up there, and the location was awesome. I took some pictures of Chipmunks too. (They are like land-squirrels), while they were eating out of my hand.

Well, after a day, we arrived in Breckenridge (Indeed, the place where they recorded "Dumb and Dumber". You're so good to know that!). I got paired up with Eduardo (from Venezuela) as my roommate, and 2 people from a cameracrew (John and Dan) as housemates. We were all placed in the house of the family "Anderson". The family was: Rae (mom), Parker (son) and Sutton (daughter). They were just awesome. They brought us to every location every day.
Every night was a “party”-night. I mean:
Day 1: we all stayed in the Jacuzzi with some other families (that also hosted UWP-students) for a few hours.
Day 2: It was Fenna’s birthday, so her hostfamily came over (the hostfamilies all seem to know eachoter) and we all had a big Barbeque. Then we went over to her family to have some party in they’re basement, where we played pool, and I learned poker. (I kind of 30-folded my starting money)
Day 3: Again, spent a few hours in the Jacuzzi.
Day 4: I decided to change the name “Breckenridge” to “Party-city”.

Well, on day 5, we already left, which was too bad. I really enjoyed being there. The family is just awesome. Parker is a student in animation-movie-making and wants to travel around the world. I invited him to come to the Netherlands someday.

It’s just too-bad that we couldn’t have a “host-family-day” there, since I would have loved it.

Now, these days from a more “work”-perspective.

We went to our first CI (Community Impact) location on day 2. Together with Paulina, Linda, Eduardo and Catherine we painted the local “conference-room”, which is used for almost every important person, or so they said. They were really happy with the result.

The next day, I went to another school (elementary) where we, together with Russ, Jenny, Annika and Mitch cleaned up the look of the school, which involved:
Plucking weeds, painting benches, painting playing-objects and that kind of stuff. We had a lot of fun there, which included fooling around.

The day after was a show-day (Day 4), and we spent the whole day preparing for the show. I really enjoyed it, but it was a lot of work.
We also practiced the “Mexican-medley” a lot there, since it would be a few days before we left to go there.

The second show was a huge success, and it was almost 2 times as good as the first one. The people really enjoyed it and I was really happy that it worked out just fine.

My host family gave the show a 9 out of 10, which is not bad, considered this is the second show ever.
I also met the parents of Jordan (another student). They were really nice people, but since it was short, I didn’t get their contact-address. This is the third family (after Ben’s parents, the Cearleys and Zach’s family, the Murphys).
I really like how they are asking their kids to meet me. I feel like a celeb, but hey, it doesn’t get to my head, does it?

Well, you know, after the show I got to sign 3 autographs which felt really cool. People asking for that, most of them little kids.
I also interviewed a potential future UWP student. I think she will make a good chance. She’s from Ukraine and is very independent. Personally, I would recommend her.

The day after the showday was in a big room in an hotel, where we spent the rest of the day and night together. We had a lot of fun there, but waking up at 3 in the morning was a big pain in the ***.
We made it though, and I fell asleep in the bus again, with Ai as my bus-date. We arrived at the airport later on around 6 in the morning, where we left to Mexico. We traveled around the whole day, and after a few-hour-flight, which I almost slept through completely, we arrived in Mexico! Dread, was it hot!
Again, another bus-date, Lexi, and sleeping a lot again. After a while, we made a short stop to eat lunch and I bought some Mexican burrito’s. Man, where they good!

After a while we arrived in our final destination, La Paz, which felt as hot as hell! You sweat, even when you’re doing nothing with the air-conditioning on! Ah well, it’s worth it!

Now, I have Anthony A. (Staff member; light technician) as my roommate.

Today, we had a “rest”-day. I really needed that, since I almost didn’t get any sleep the last week.
My host-family exists of 2 people, which are in love and let us stay in their house. The girl is a teacher in “Law”, and the guy is her student. They are good people =)

I just finished my first few tequila’s, and I love it. It’s supposed to be a strong liquor, but it’s not that heavy, and I think I could drink a whole lot of it. I would love to drink more, but since I’m with a staff-member, it wouldn’t be such a good idea. And drinking enough booze to get a whole island drunk wouldn’t be such a good remembrance for my host-family here.

Since today is the birthday of the girl, we are going to have a party with her family later this evening. I’m looking forward to playing “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” with her brothers. I also hope I will have internet, to post this whole message (I’m typing this in Word) on my blog. Well, you will know when I had ;)

Let me conclude this whole message, since I just started on the 3^rd page on letter-size 11. This will probably be the longest post I made, ever, so This will bore you.

I still need to learn the lyrics for the “Mexican-Medley” of the show, since it’s very hard.

I'm sorry, again no pictures, since this is I can't upload my pictures at the current location, somehow... Sorry!

Byebye,

I miss you, family and friends,

Bubbayz!

It's true, what they say
You can't always go home
You can't always be warm inside.
That in love we're like orphans,
Strangers in paradise

Show and depart

Yesterday was the day of our first show. We had a hell lot of fun!

The morning started with the dress-rehearsel, and there were quite some mistakes, but it doesn't matter! It was way fun!

Now, for the interesting part: the show was in the evening, and started at 3 o'clock. At 2 o'clock, the whole staff collected the cast, and we went to the "green room", which is the room where you chill out before and after the show as an artist.
There, we got to do some very intense things. For example; we got a speech, where we had to close our eyes. Our show manager, Gabe, started talking, and it got really emotional. It reminded you about the loved ones you left behind, and even though I got a good luck message from both my parents, I still felt a bit alone...
Matthew, a staff-member, started a tradition: He got a book, something like a diary, where you write a page in respect for another castmember. He wrote to Gwen from Switzerland, and now Gwen has the book, writing for someone else. (She really deserved it. She was the first person to open her heart to the complete cast, asking for help. That took some courage!)
But, there were good things too, it wasn't all emotional ;)
For example, we did some mood-setters. Yells. Fun games and stuff! Really cool, peeling potatoes and other things that were just good ice-breakers.

Well, the show:

The opening-song started, and I was playing the saxophone as expected. In fact, I got a solo, when a power-cable got unplugged, and the only sound in the whole room was the sax! It was so awkward and scary, but it got the dancers to finish their dance, and all was well in the end.
I don't want to brag, but I might have saved that moment...
Well, the rest of the show was just awesome. I got a feeling almost everything went well! The love medley was awesome to do (you know, the part with the comedy) and I got the feeling I was blazing fire from my sax during "Go-daddy-Oh".

In the song before the last song, our staffmembers came into the aisles of the audiance, carrying giant cardboards with texts like "Cast B, we love you", "You guys are great" and "Keep your eyes on the ball", almost the whole cast was ready to cry.
It was just so emotional... But it was a good emotional!

So, today was the last day with this host-family.
The Cearleys were awesome and I will never forget what they did for us. I had a good time here, and I certainly hope I will meet them again, later in my life. They are awesome!
Tomorrow is the day we are going to Breckonridge, west of Denver here. A 2 hour ride.

We will stay there for a week, before going to mexico.

Now I'm going to prepare myself.

Bubbayz!

too... much... to... tell...

So, just as the title says: I just have way to much to tell, so this whole post might be a bit messy. I apologize right now for everything you don't understand later on in this post.

So, let's see. We've been in the new building for 2 or 3 days now. Tomorrow we have one run-through of the show, and after that: OUR FIRST PERFORMANCE!
Today was the day the whole cast met eachother exactly 4 weeks ago. And also, on 08-08-08, when the Olympics are being held in China, our last student has finally arrived. FROM CHINA!
Her name is "Grace", and I hope she will fit in the cast soon.

Let's see. The show. I think it's pretty sure what I will be doing. Even though more people learn the same roles for the show (so that they can rotate), I think I will be doing the next things.

Saxophone in the opening-song
Saxophone in a "rap"-kind of song
Saxophone in "Go Daddy-Oh", which is a swing song and awesome to play on sax
Saxophone in the ending song (Themesong: Up With People)
I will be "frontline" on "I can believe", which is a song, pretty much coming from the heart and charisma.
And the best part: I will probably in the Quartet (in the love song medley), which is the only comedy-style part of the whole show! I'm so happy to be in there.

Also, tomorrow is saturday. On monday, we will leave for our next destination. I'm a bit sad. I really like my current host-family. They are good people, and I will really miss them...
I feel like I still have so much to do with them...
Time is short!

Oh, a fun thing between the lines. We're here in Denver, which is located in a climate that is almost classified as "Desert", and we had a lot of sunny days. In fact, it only rained for 2 days this month, and both were just 5 minutes of almost no rain.
Today was different. After dinner, all of a sudden, it started to rain, storm and hail. My host-family was shocked by it. Appearently, this was not normal here in Denver. So, after 2 or 3 seconds staring at it, Ben, Zach and I took off our shoes, socks and shirts and we ran into it. It was just awesome. The rain felt so good, and even though there was hail, you almost couldn't feel it. Pictures were made, but I don't have them on my laptop yet. Coming soon!

Ben and Zach both got a piercing today. Ben through his ear, Zach through his lip.
I'm secretly thinking about getting a tattoo. You know, on the back of my hand, a tri-force or something like that. Would be cool.
I'll sleep a few nights, considering it.


And just one clairification: I had contact with my girlfriend today. She said that at home, everyone thinks life here is great and awesome, with no worries at all. (She didn't say that, but that's how I think you guys think about it).
Let me tell you, nothing is perfect. In fact, I've been crying a lot here. Leaving all of your loved ones behind at the same time is harsh. Okay, most of the time here it's fun, amazing and I'm learning a lot, but I just wanted to share the other side of the coin with you. I really miss my girlfriend, my family, my friends...
They are all really precious to me, and being away from there where your heart is, almost unable to communicate due to a difference in time is hard.
It's a reason for a man to cry his heart out once in a while...

Hmm... I think that's it. Maybe I forgot something...
Ah well, if I remember, I'll tell you next time. It wouldn't be that important if I can't remember it. =D

Bubbayz,
Love from Frederik
to my family,
friends,
and my amazing girlfriend Esther

Oye el boom, boom, boom, de mi corazón

So, today was the last day in the Sherman Centre, the place where we've been going to for practice and where we've been all the time so far!
Tomorrow, we will be in a local highschool called "Teikyo Lerado Heights", where we will have our first show on saturday! Can you believe it? We haven't even been here for 3 weeks, and we're already getting ready for dress rehearsel!

So, on request: what is changing me?
This is a very interesting question, since the program is focused on teaching people and letting them grow. They want you to reflect on your own situation.
So far, I could name a few of the obvious things:
My dancing skills have inproved, my vocal skills have too. I have expanded my vocabulary of a lot of languages, including English and Spanish!

But there are a lot of "hidden" changes as well, which are less obvious, but are certainly there. They are, in my opinion, by far more interesting, for they are growth of the spirit and mind, not just of the brain:
- I understand why my mother always was talking about "comunication", and I am now getting used to do so more often then I used to.
- I am more confident and my self-esteem has grown.
- I realized just how much time can change. I get the feeling I know all the people here for years already. It also seems ages since I last saw my family and friends... On the other hand: it looks like I arrived here just yesterday. Everything still looks completely new and the in one or two weeks, I'll be in Mexico! Can you believe it? At that point, I'm already on 20% of my trip.
- These past few weeks in America helped me gain a few dreams: I want to make a movie or series someday. Also, I'm in love with the concept of "build-a-bear", and if I'm still when I get back home, I might take steps to make a dutch version.
- I respect hard work more then ever. I work her for 9 hours per day on 6 days a week (exception is Wednesday, which is 12 hours per day), and never before am I willing to do so. It's for a good cause, and that is good for personal growth.
- I have expanded my comfort zone very broadly! I don't know my limits at the moment, and everyday, I am growing.
- I started to respect things you don't like, for that is the main power of personal growth!


So, what about the title of this topic.

It is spanish for "my heart is going like 'boom, boom, boom'", which has 2 meanings for me:
1> I love my girlfriend. I truly do, and the thought about her does indeed let my heart beat a little faster than usual.
2> The excitement of the trip is truly an inspiring moment of the heart for me. I can't express it in words...

Sorry, no pictures today! I haven't made any interesting pictures the last few days, and they are not on my laptop either, so... maybe later!

I'm going to quit this long post now! I hope to hear from everyone soon!

Bubbayz,

love to Esther

day off

I know I haven't been on a lot lately, sorry for that,
well, let me talk about it:

1> These last few days were killing me! They are tiring me out, and today was the first day in 3 weeks I could actually sleep in.
2> You guys should not get used to a daily update: When I'll be in the Philipines, or maybe even in some places in Mexico: there will be times I can't update for weeks! Just get used to it.
3> Last few days weren't interesting, okay..

So, about number 3: we did a few run-throughs of our show, we practiced the songs we already know. The only thing interesting of the last few days was that we are learning a Spanish medley! That one's actually quite fun!

Today was interesting though: I slept in till 10:40 (for the first time I can sleep later then 6:00 in the 3 weeks I'm here), and just when I was finally talking to my family for the first time in a week, I realized that we were going to a picknick in the park. I felt really bad about that, since I really wanted to talk to my girlfriend... I haven't talked to her in 2 weeks now... I miss her so much... It's killing me...

Well, we got to our picknick which was fun, since a few other castmates showed up. (Euhm... Jenny, Ai, SuengBom, Josh, Anthony and Eduardo) We went to fish some crawfish in the creek and we played some volleyball. None of them lasted very long, but it was fun to do!

After that, we went to go shopping. First thing we did was going to "Build-a-bear", which I consider a "hole in the market". You can make your own bear there! I made 2: one for me, one for my girlfriend. I called them "Freddy and Ezzie". Ezzie has a "I love you" sound in it, and has a ribbon. Freddy just has a bandana. I stuffed the bears, and added a heart in both of them (Everyone needs a heart, right).
I had a lot of fun there. My hostsister made a "pirate"-bear, which is really cool too!

After that, we went to some gatches-stores. I almost bought some "christmas presents" for the family when I get back, but I don't know for who I have to make a "surprise", so I can't actually buy something...

Well, that's about it. I really miss my home, and my girlfriend the most of all...

Now, here you go! 2 pictures: one of me and me bears, the other one is Zach in one of the stores we went to!

Bubbayz!