-by Breton Shepherd, USA, about his week in Veracruz, Mexico
You may have heard of the TV show on VH1 called “The Best Week Ever” that interviews celebrities who are having “good weeks” according to the tabloids. Well, for the past week UWP Cast B’09 has been in Veracruz, Mexico and it turns out the producers of the show caught wind that I was having the best week ever down in Mexico and selected to showcase my week! We were able to get the transcripts and screen shots of the show before it airs so enjoy!
VH1: Welcome to “The Best Week Ever”, the TV program that showcases the rich and famous having THE BEST WEEKS EVER. On this weeks episode we have a unique story. Breton Shepherd, a 21-year-old student from Nebraska, is traveling around the world with the international educational program, Up With People. We caught up with him down in Mexico, where we heard that he was having the best week ever!
Breton: Hey everyone, welcome to Veracruz, Mexico. I’m having the best week ever down here and I want you all to be a part of it! So sit back and I hope you enjoy hearing some stories that make my week, the best week ever!
VH1: What are the top five highlights that make up your best week ever!?
Breton: Here are my top five highlights from the week in Veracruz counting down to number 1!
HIGHLIGHT #5 – Show Day!
Sunday was our show day in Veracruz, and ended up being a busy and exciting day for me. I spent the whole morning rehearsing for a project that the show interns were working on. They are putting on a show for their final project and was really excited when they asked me to be a part of it. I’m usually always stuck behind the drum kit, so this will be a new experience for me, as well as those getting to watch hah!
I was also really excited on show day because I was selected as the new marketing intern. This will be a great opportunity for me and my communication studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University. I really love show days in general because I am most comfortable behind a drum kit doing what I love to do! No matter what I’ve been feeling that week it all goes away when I take a seat behind the drum kit and count off “1…2…3…4…” to start the show. Did I mention that the Governor of Veracruz stopped by to say a few words to our cast?
A jam-packed and eventful show day comes in at highlight #5.
HIGHLIGHT #4 – Mexican Independence Day
September 15th was the Mexican Independence Day. I had the opportunity to go with my host family to the town center to watch the celebrations take place! We saw performances by traditional Mexican dancers, got to hear the Mayor of Veracruz speak and chant Viva Mexico and then watch some awesome fireworks to finish off the night! Mexican Independence Day is one of the biggest holidays here in Mexico, so you can be sure they do it big!
HIGHTLIGHT #3 – Host Family Day
Saturday was a free day to spend with our host families. My family took Kristine, my roommate, and I to see some ancient pyramids about an hour and a half away from Veracruz. It’s so cool to have the opportunity to go and see things like this that I normally wouldn’t have the chance to see!
After we returned home, we headed down to the beach in the evening to night swim and just enjoy the ocean one last time. There’s something awesome about sprinting full speed down the beach and crashing into the water when it’s pitch black out. Then you lift your head out of the water and end up taking one big wave smack in the face because it was so dark you couldn’t see it coming. Then topping if off with a big glass of salt water hah!
Ancient pyramids and night swimming on host family day take highlight #3.
HIGHLIGHT #2 — Cucumber massages and host family experiences
After spending a whole morning and the better part of an afternoon out in the intense Veracruz sun, I got pretty sun burnt. Upon our arrival home from UWP activities the next day, Kristine and I found our host mom standing in the kitchen holding a sliced cucumber. We were confused as to why she would be carrying cucumber slices but we didn’t know enough Spanish to ask. Apparently cucumbers sooth burnt skin so she wanted to rub the cucumbers over our sunburns. She patted down Kristine’s neck and when she was done she moved to mine. Then she proceeded to pat down my burnt back as well… Was it awkward having a cucumber rubbed on my back by my host mother who didn’t speak any English? Yes. Was it hilarious and something I could only imagine happening to me in UWP? Definitely. I said gracias and went into the bedroom to work on my computer with Kristine. No longer had I sat down on the bed and our host mom comes back in with more cucumber slices! She flipped me over and patted me down again all the while our host sister was doing the same to Kristine’s neck! I just love the host family experience, especially when language becomes a barrier because you just never know what to expect! My host family was so kind and welcoming and it was hard to say goodbye.
Cucumber massages and the host family experience comes in at highlight #2 for sure!
HIGHLIGHT #1 – Sailing the open ocean, homemade raft style
On our regional learning day we had the opportunity to spend the morning and afternoon at the beach hanging out with everyone! Some of the guys and I noticed a bunch of big logs washed up on the shore. We decided we were going to build a raft! We walked along the shore picking up the huge logs and collecting scrap string to tie them together to build the frame. We summoned our inner Man vs. Wild skills and Survivorman instincts to build one of the greatest floating devices known to mankind. After lots of hard work and dedication we finished the raft and took it on its’ maiden voyage. My fellow crewmates trusted me to captain the vessel. I decided I would set sail for Sweden and meet the rest of my cast there in two weeks when we depart for the European tour. It turned out that I washed up on shore and found myself looking up at a Chinese man… for a second I thought the winds had shifted and I had blown off course, accidentally arriving in China. As my eyes adjusted to the blinding sun, I quickly realized it was only my friend, Tiancheng. Unfortunately I wasn’t anywhere near Sweden, the waves had just pushed me back up on the shore I just set sail from. So, unfortunately I won’t be arriving in Europe Tom Hanks style like in the movie Castaway. I’ll just be flying like everyone else. Nonetheless, survivor raft building makes highlight #1 of the best week ever!
VH1: Thanks for watching VH1’s “The Best Week Ever”! Don’t forget to check out next week’s episode, where someone else in UWP Cast B ’09 is definitely going to be having the BEST WEEK EVER!
Breton: Thanks again for watching, hope you enjoyed my best week ever! If you’d like to check out more screen shots from the episode head on over to www.bretonshepherd.blogspot.com to follow my travels each week!
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