"So What Exactly is this Up With People Thing?"

The more people hear about this journey of mine, the more questions they have about what I am doing. Well I am here to answer all of these questions. The most obvious of these questions being, "What exactly is this Up With People thing?" Well to quote their website,

"Travel. Perform. Impact. Up with People is a global education organization whose mission is to bridge cultural barriers and create global understanding through service and music. We bring this goal to every community we visit and aim to leave a lasting, positive impression along with a spirit of community and service. For our students, our goal is to develop global citizens; to provide personal growth and leadership development opportunities; to instill an appreciation of the value of volunteerism in our society; to expose our participants to a wide range of experiences and cultures which will broaden their mind to the world and to their own potential".

Or more specifically, I will be leaving July 2015 heading first to Denver, the organization's headquarters, to meet my cast mates, professors, and the whole Up With People team. In Denver I will be learning the musical production and beginning my college courses before hitting the road. 20 different destinations in 22 weeks means I will be spending a week in each location. Although the destinations for my tour will not be finalized until approximately 2 months before I leave, recent tours have included stops in the United States, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Japan, The Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Another question, "What are you going to be doing while on this trip?"

"Each group, referred to as a “cast”, travels to nearly 20 communities across two or three continents, per semester, spending about one week in each community. Each week they live with a local host family, participate in 8 – 12 hours of service-learning projects, learn about different cultures through 4 – 6 hours of educational workshops, and perform in Up with People’s two-hour professional musical stage production."

These are just a few questions answered and I know there are many more, so please let me know about any questions you may have and I will be sure to answer them in future posts. You can also learn more about the program at  www.upwithpeople.org

Thank you so much for your time! I am excited to share My Journey to Up With People with all of you.