Saturday, January 13, 2007 1:10 am (saturday)
Fact: Talking to plants does help them grow better. This is because the Carbon Monoxide that you exhale is what the plants process for a source of chemical energy.
Today I made another interesting discovery; Eagle Eye Cherry is Swedish as well! Anyhow, this morning was much like most other mornings as I’ve come to expect them with one exception. This morning I was not awakened by the sweet smell of fresh brewed coffee, but rather an empty pot. Making the best of the situation I began to search for the coffee. It was not until I had reached the fridge freezer that I found it. Just as I did Kevin walked in, and squinting, directed me to the proper coffee and prepared it. It was definitely a 3 cup morning. We were a bit late driving in with Kory this morning on account of the weather conditions; cold and snow. This mornings meeting was in the Rotunda building. A round building where we do most of our dance instruction/practice. The session was one of the best I had had as of yet. Perhaps I am a morning dancer; or at least the coffee helps me improve my speed a bit. We warmed up before even the morning meeting by playing a cheerleading game; it was intense to say the least. I also did not know that the push-up is a legitimate dance move. Anyhow, later in the morning we had a session on how to document your trip. This covered many mediums and ideas ranging from collecting recipes to doing online blogs. I’d love to do everything but I know I won’t be able to. Its getting really late and I know I should sleep so I’ll be somewhat more brief than yesterday. The afternoon was spent almost exclusively in dance session for the opening number with the exception of Home Group meetings following lunch and vocal auditions in the afternoon. In home group meetings we played an icebreaker game called “Thumper” where each person has a sound and action and you have to know other peoples actions or else you get eliminated from the game. It is played in a circle and everyone keep a beat and you perform your action and the action of another person and it continues in that fashion until someone messes up. This continues until only one person remains. Also in home meeting; we were assigned a region of the world to keep tabs on the current events for and to update the entire group on. I was designated the “Home Group 5 European Technology Correspondent” for the time being. As well I offered to do up the email list for everyone in the group ( that hasn’t gone so well as I keep misinterpreting people’s writing ). I have also somehow managed to get myself on the committee in charge of putting together a website for cast A 2007. I have promised template pages and flash animation for Monday so I’ll be busy this weekend on that. Today was a great day for Peppe as he was finally able to get his US Social security card today which allows him to get paid by up with people for his work.
Supper this evening was pacific salmon served with lemon and tartar sauce as well as some scrumptious baked potato slices which were lightly spiced with garlic and sprinkled with cheese. It was really all Good.

Well Its like 1:57am and even though I can sleep in tomorrow I am going to go to bed now anyhow. I’d just like to say thanks to Carolynne and Hattie for dropping some comments in. Its great to hear back from the people who read this stuff. I’d also like to give a shout out to my fiancé Miranda back in Newfoundland; Keep it real Girl :)


Photo Captions: Jörn & Peppe; The Skillens; my accommodations; Bjorne and myself; the lunch crew; Greg and myself; and the Irish fan Club.

Thursday, January 11, 2007
11:33 pm

Photo Captions: The Crazy Canadian in the snow with his shorts on; Sausage and Peppers For Supper!

Before I begin today, I’d just like to say that I didn’t know that Abba, Roxette, Ace of Base, E-Type and Rednex are all Swedish! Anyhow, Today I got up at around 6:30 even though I had my alarm set for 6, but I slept through it and my room mate Peppe got up, turned it off and went back to sleep. I don’t think I’ve mentioned the names of my wonderful host family parents; they are Michelle and Kevin Skillen. They have been involved with the Up With People program for many years since they were first a host family and their son Brian (hope I remembered that right) travelled with a cast a little while ago. I don’t think I could have ended up with a better host family for my first experience with this program. They are about the same age as my parents and have many shared common interests such as working outside, teaching, and general healthy living. I could really get used to organic and naturally processed foods; perhaps as a result of this experience I will eat differently when I am home again. Supper tonight was all ready for us even though they were out at a yoga-laties class (combination of Yoga and Pilates). We had fried green peppers and Oktoberfest sausages with Sauerkraut; Peppe and I were both big fans of the Sauerkraut. It seems as I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.
There is one question that I’m sure crops up quite often; What does the name Up With People come from? Well, It originated in the mid 60’s so it is a play on such sayings as “down with war” or down with violence”. This program itself originated in 1965 originally just as a traveling musical show, but later came to incorporate much more including components of leadership, education, management, and community service.
Anyhow, Peppe, Whittney, Madorka and Michelle drove in to the campus this morning. Our base of operations for the orientation and staging is the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, more can be found at www.rmcad.edu This mornings first activity was with regards to the “experimental learning cycle” in which you are constantly evaluating and learning from your experiences in order to make more positive and impactful decisions in the future. To demonstrate the difference in this style of learning versus other styles ie. Visual learner, learn from reading or hearing, the cast was divided up into 4 sections and each was instructed differently on how to construct a large origami Crane (bird). I was in the group that was given the hands on experimental learning and as a result we had the best crane. Following this presentation we had a session on the basics of performance which turned out to be more of a history of stage performance. It was all good. Lunch was simply a baked potato; this of course was a welcome change from the usual sandwich. After lunch we did literally song and dance. Cast vocals i what we call the singing portion where we learn the big numbers in the show. If I would have one recomendation it is that this program is not geared in any way towards bass voices such as myself. I have to sing nearly everything in falsetto which gets to be quite tiring since I am not used to doing it all the time. Even then I am doing better than some others who don’t know what falsetto is let alone how to sing in it. Well they say what goes around comes around; and Indeed I’ve been going around and around and around and around in our dance sessions. What I know in music makes up for the complete mess I am at dancing; well compared to some other people at least. I’m sure it wouldn’t be fair to say I am the worst dancer there but with size 15 feet there is a certain degree of clumsiness and lack of speed that comes naturally to me. We will get it all eventually. I also auditioned for the band today, partly because I’d love to do it and partially because it would excuse me from some dancing. Its only going to be the rhythm section for the first bit but I’m sure I’ll either be fiddling or playing the trombone at some point in the show. Anyhow, I don’t want to write so much that it gets boring to read so I’ll stop it at that.
I received an email from one of the followers of my blog, my dad actually, who is teaching grade 8 at Pine Ridge Middle School back in Nova Scotia. He brought up an interesting point. If anyone has any questions or would like to know anything about what I am doing or where I am please feel free to post comments at the end of each blog or email them to me at brennancoldwell@gmail.com . My hope is to address questions directly in the blog as promptly as possible.
Well, It is getting to be close to 12:40 here and I know I’ve written a lot tonight so I hope you enjoy it and I’d appreciate your comments and questions. Lol, I can hear one of my host parents snoring all the way upstairs; I really should get to sleep. Tomorrow is definitely
a 3 cup of coffee morning.

Also, I've been introduced to lots of international Music since arriving here.

Currently Playing
The album "Deep Cuts" from the Swedish group "The Knife"
The live album "Rivfader" from the Helsinki based group "Finntroll"

Photo Captions: Me and Armando from Mexico; the morning activity; Angelo from Curaco with Crane; Me and the guy from New Zealand (wish I could remember your name!); and finally me and the guy from Denmark.

Photo Captions: Me; Kory (cast Manager), Me, Whittney, Mayoka, and Peppe; Angelo From Curaco with his nations flag in the Culture Jam

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
11:37 pm

Today was a really busy day indeed. This morning I got up a bit earlier to have breakfast. Kory the cast manager drove us in to the campus this morning. Along with us was Whitney from Panema, Mayoka (probably wrong spelling) from China, and my room mate Peppe from Sweden. After our morning meeting, we had our first vocal session where the entire cast started learning the music of the show. Later that morning we had a seminar on host family expectations where we discussed expectations on both sides of the table with regards to what goes into being a host family and what you are expected to do as a student. This included such topics as curfews, alcohol, and house chores. Lunch was the already routine soup and sandwich; but the conversation is always good. In the afternoon we spent several hours in dance lessons; yes dance lessons, and yes this is Brennan here. By the time I’m done with this program I should be at least somewhat proficient in many styles of dance from Latin and Swing to Hip Hop. I think some of my friends back in Canada would pay to see me do that. None the least of which is Adam Daniels, My home boy holding down the fort up in St. John’s; Keep it Real! (or Keep it reel if you are from Cape Breton). Following dance we had another seminar with some alumni from UWP and how it has its roots in the Moral Rearmament Movement long before 1965; the year of UPW’s unofficial founding. We had dinner with them as well. We had steamed rice, chicken and salad. Tonight we also had another great even we call “Culture Jam” where anyone who wants to share something (perform something) from their culture has the chance to do so. Many people danced, some sang, some even acted. I played the fiddle. I am so fortunate because even though I didn’t bring my fiddle from home; my host family was able to find one that I could borrow. Even though I screwed up a little they all still clapped. It was all Good™ And so now its going on midnight here and my room mate Peppe is snoring away in the sofa bed next to mine so I’m going to wrap this cornucopia of awesomeness up and turn in for the night. Cheers!

Today was another very interesting day. This morning we did activities where we became aware of some of the stereotypes that exist in the world today with regards to peoples of different nationalities and cultures. Having been made aware off the prejudice that still exists today in the world motivates me even more in this program where we will be given the tools to reverse such seemingly irreversible damage. That was the morning. The afternoon was spend in ‘modular auditions’ where you were assigned a group of people and you were conducted to your audition as a group. There were some very good singers in my group; and then there were some not to good singers. Similarly there were some good dancers, and some like myself who basically could barely manage to remain standing as we were instructed into doing many different moves and styles. Supper was waiting for us in the crock pot when Peppe and I arrived back home. There was a note on the table saying that they would not be returning until later. It was noodles, boiled chicken and rice; all very good indeed. I am striving to get up earlier tomorrow morning to take in a better breakfast than the bagel and coffee of this morning. It is all good™

After supper I went upstairs and played my fiddle for them; explaining the styles and origins of each piece including their important historical and cultural roles (from Newfoundland). They had never heard anything like it before and completely loved it. Tomorrow night I am playing in the "culture jam" session where people can showcase some things that are unique to their culture in song and dance. I won't be dancing.”

Photo Captions: The Morning ride in with Peppe myself and Whitney; Stereotypical Canada; Canadian Geese; Campus @ Night.

Monday, January 8, 2007
10:46 pm

Today was a very busy first day. I got up around 5:45 am and took a shower and had some breakfast consisting of organic cheerios, orange juice, coffee, and a sliced up apple dipped in strawberry yogurt. On the way in Mrs. Skillen and I picked up Whitteny, another student who had flown in the night before from Panama. There were morning sessions with demos of the show and ice breaking activities. Lunch was served from the campus cafeteria; I had a blt. Following lunch, the afternoon took us back to the auditorium for seminars on US culture and some of the goals of the program. We also broke up into our Home groups and did some introductions. There is a pretty good assortment of people in my group and we already seem cohesive. There were a few more information sessions in the afternoon with regards to dress and such. For Supper back at the house we had burgers; really good thick burgers with a variety of hot sauces. I can’t believe how tired I am. I discussed it with the family and they said it was directly linked to the altitude. There are always the most interesting conversations to be had and we still left more things to discuss tomorrow. Speaking of Tomorrow, tomorrow is when we ‘audition’ for different parts in the show. We shall see how things go. As well, my host family has been able to lend me a fiddle to play in the cultural jam in wednesday night. Perhaps they will even scout me out for the show band; who knows. Its all Good™

10:33 pm
Its hard to believe but its 10:33 at night and everyone is already going to bed! I guess I shall be soon as well. After they arrived back this morning from the airport, I was given a bit of a grander tour of their back yard. They keep rabbits and ducks and have several gardens. There is also an assortment of fruit trees including an old McIntosh apple tree, crabapple, pear and apricot as I remember correctly. I should really get out and take some photos of that to send along. After that we went to a 50’s style diner for brunch and then toured to the place where the bulk of the UWP activities are going to be held.
This afternoon I spent showing my host family pictures from back home; both Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. They were quite impressed with the rugged beauty of the Island. I even showed them the tour of around my house and yard too. He was quite impressed with the amount of cement work around the place. For supper we had buffalo meat-loaf with squash potatoes, and salad. It was all quite tasty and filling. We talked at length of world affairs and the place we would be visiting on our travels. We also learned the true meaning of thanksgiving. Peppe is quite the awesome character I must say. I showed him on the wall map where in Canada Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were and probably talked far too much about the different geographical uniquities of the nation. We also compared latitudes and found that where he is from is about 5° farther north than where Griquet is. Anyhow, I probably should get to sleep as well as he has to be up @ 5:45 to catch he ride into work before the rest of us. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow is going to be like...

Cultural Differences in Denver
Interesting to note how universal culture has become. It really shouldn’t surprise us that it is quite common in North America where we are so close; but it certainly is interesting to note. Most of this stems from my conversations on my second flight yesterday from Newark to Colorado. I sat next to a 52 year old lady of colour who was just returning to Denver after being over in Europe for several weeks to visit her daughters who are in the armed forces. Despite the fact that we had never met before, and that we had grown up in completely different environments, and that we were of completely different age brackets there were still many things of the cultural realm that we were both familiar with. For example, we both had talked about cooking on George Foreman grills which are available practically everywhere thanks to large retailers such as Wal-Mart. Another point of discussion was how we could both gripe about the bargain basement quality of the hamburgers found at McDonalds restaurants worldwide. Also interesting to note that we could both make references to world events, famous actors, and movies past and present and that these things have seemingly become so universal between our two cultures that there is no real reason why Canadians should not be allowed on Jeopardy. Just kidding, but it certainly is interesting to note how mass media has such a huge influence on culture.

Sunday, January 7, 2007
11:20am
I think I’ve been able to recoup most of my lost sleep from the past few days travel. I can only say that my traveling time was far shorter than that of some other people. Its amazingly bright and sunny here this morning; I’m glad I brought along my sun glasses. My host family has gone to drop their son off at the airport as he is flying back to New York today. He is a dancer/choreographer. My room mate here, Peppe from Sweden is actually a veteran of the group and has toured before. He is the sound technician for this trip so I may get to do some interesting learning there. After they get back this morning we are going out for some brunch. Man I’m going to be so in shape by the time I get back home. The sun keeps warming up the roof and huge chunks of ice are falling off every so often. Anyhow, time to make this post happen and throw up some pictures from yesterday. More to Come... :)

Bottom: Newark New Jersey Terminal
Top: Tweetie Bird, Colorado Resident
Middle: Denver international Inside

Denver 2007
Getting there, in a plane.
Saturday, January 6th
11:40am
Well Miranda, you said you wanted to be right in the middle of things; well I’m there. I’m sitting at terminal C, Gate 86 at Newark Airport. From here I can see the New York skyline including the Empire state building. On the way in this morning I saw the Statue of Liberty out on its island in the middle of the harbor. The flight out of Halifax was short at just under 2hrs. The sun is shining here in New Jersy and it is warm. I arrived wearing my sweater and jeans and as of now I’ve down graded to cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Its interesting to note that in Canada you see things in English and French, here its the same idea but English and Spanish. There is quite a number of little shops around that I have seen; notably Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dunkin’ Doughnuts. On the plane I had some cola and some pretzels which I have saved for the later flight just in case. I think I am for the most part over my flu and anything left is probably due to my lack of sleep. I didn’t sleep so well last night, probably because I’m not used to such a large empty bed. The name of the hotel was the Airport Hotel.
I’m assuming that they’ll be some other Up With People people on this flight with me. its far too early to say though as we’re not due out for another 2 and a half hours. It would be neat to send you a postcard from so close to New York, but as of Yet I have not seen a postal outlet. Perhaps I can buy one, write it and send it later. I’m probably going to get hungry at some point and then I’ll go out prowling then. Oh!, there is other good news as well, I conned my folks into buying me some Skype credit so I can phone you when I get to somewhere with free high speed internet. I really wish I had some now cause I’m lonely and bored. lol. People here actually talk like they are from “Jersey”; Our flight crew this morning was from Texas. Perhaps I’ll go to Starbucks for some coffee... All For Now :)
12:55 pm
Well, I walked around the terminal a bit more. I’m getting quite familiar with the place. I found and figured out how to use one of the pay phones here since the wireless internet is over 7$ an hour. I phoned Miranda to let her know where I was and how things are going. It was all good. There is a bazzillion and half planes here. I’m not sure which is bigger though, Newark or Heathrow; this place does have a monorail. I can’t believe it, CNN news headline story is a UFO sighting. Anyhow, I’m up to 6 Mac Sightings today. One Macbook Pro, a few Powerbooks and an iBook. My machine, when out grabs a few glances wherever I am. What can I say, its all good. Man I am getting tired, I’ll wake up when airborne again though; More free pretzels, Yay!.
11:44 pm
I got into Denver right on time. As we were landing I saw a wolf out the window running across the airfield. I found the up with people people and then got my luggage. They took me out for coffee at this fance coffee place and I had no idea what to order. I probably made a bit of a fool of myself but its all good anyhow; the coffee was good served cold. We then boarded a bus for the rec center where all the final papers and such were done up and there was pizza and pop. I have come to find out that there are 5 of us from Canada, me, one from Nova Scotia, One from Edmonton, one from Comox, and one Ontario. I really have no sweet clue what I am in for but it seems ok. I met my host family for the duration in Denver, they are veterans as shown by the numerous photos posted on their living room wall. They live in a house in a suburb of Denver about 20 minutes out. My room mate and I are basically staying in a basement flat of their house. His name is Peppe from Sweden and he is very soft spoken, not to say he doesn’t speak, but he seems very nice. I had a tour of the place and he made us ham sandwiches on halves of cinnamon bagels then covered them with shredded cheese and microwaved them. We talked at length in the living room about the weather and travels and such. Their son who us leaving tonight for New York is a dancer/choreographer. Tomorrow we are going out for breakfast and I get to see a little more of town as I have the day off tomorrow.