Up with People Cast B 2010 On Tour

By Lisa Gröticke – A fun creative writing piece about the members of Up with People’s band, The Center Stage Potatoes

Paul, Breton, Teke, Andi

We all know them. More than one heart has been stolen by those talented, good looking young men that stand in the back center stage. Being the foundation of the Up with People show, they play their instruments with passion throughout the entire show, never once taking a break, missing a beat or slumping into a routine.  Needless to say, they have gathered a wide fan base of all ages across the globe. They have skyrocketed into the world of the stars and are now one of the “hottest newcomers in 2010”, says People´s Magazine.

The band consists of Finnish bass player Teke, Andi from Germany on the keyboard and the two US-Americans, Paul playing the electric guitar, and their drummer, Breton.

But who are these young men really? After refusing interview after interview and leaving fans in the darkness they have finally agreed to share the secrets of their private lives with their new Band Manager and Representative, Allison Hall and Lisa Groeticke. They are both working closely with the Center Stage Potatoes (CSP’s) and fully understand the public´s thirst for information and the need to know the truth about all those rumors circling these mysterious gentlemen.

Get ready to know the truth – but be warned, these interviews are highly personal and might change the way you view your favorite stars.

“How was your life before your break through with the Center Stage Potatoes?”
Andi: Before it was quiet and calm in my cabin up in the Bavarian mountains, no parparazzi, no stress, ..
Paul: Well… struggling with noodles and Easy Mac, Spaghetti Os.  I moved on to flaming mignons and lobstertail though, I´m quite satisfied at the moment.
Breton: Mmmmm… It was… somewhat sad. I always had problems with girls, but now that I´m a cool and famous CSP-drummer, I have no problems whatsoever, I got off to at rough start though!
Teke: Many plans in my life, but none of them have broken through like Stage Potatoes. I have dreamed about being a rockstar all my life it feels good to be on the top now.

“Did you ever play in another band?”
Andi: Yes, “Die Drei lustigen Zwoa”(  = “The Three Funny Two”), I played the triangle.
Paul: Yeah my first bands´ name was “The Greenroom” and then, “Lead to Gold” but we were not as successful as the CSPs.
Breton: Yeah I did, it was the band “Broken Heart Surgery”.
Teke: Uhma, and played in weddings, the second band was called Ankia.

“How long have you been playing your instrument, have you ever played any others?”
Andi: Forever. Like since I was 8… so 14 years? I`m also good at the accordion and didgeridoo.
Paul: 13 years. I also play the piano but I am working on becoming the next kazoo-king!
Breton: For 10 years.  I try to play piano and guitar too, but it all started out on pots and pans for me.
Teke: Played the guitar since I was 8 years old, but this is the first time I play the bass. I only played for fun before.

“Did your parents foresee your big potential and help you on the way, or was there any other person that played an integral part of you being interested in music?”
Andi: “It was my own choice to start playing piano, for fun.  But my parents were always there for me.
Paul: My parents were very supportive, but my true inspiration came from my heart.
Breton: My parents had a big influence on me, I remember my father taking me up to the edge of pride rock one day and saying: ”Son: One day all this will all be yours.” And from that moment on I knew I was destined for greatness.
Teke: My guitar teacher played in one of the first heavy metal bands of Finland (Zero Nine) and told me cool stories about how to be a rock star on the road!

“Who inspires you?”
Andi: My best friend, my grandfather.
Paul: Dave Penny.
Breton: Animal, from The Muppets.
Teke: The band Interns.

“What do you think about when you play, what makes you want to keep playing?”
Andi: Girls. And chess.
Paul: Lisa, our manager.
Breton: A lot of the time I think about what I´m going to eat after the show, and sometimes about how Paul´s hair looks really good during the show, I wish I had hair like that.
Teke: I might be playing on the same stages as my idols.

“What keeps you motivated when you can only play the same music over and over in the UWP-show, even though you could do so much more?”
Paul: Oh, I´m playing? My mind just wanders when I play. I guess my fingers do the rest.
Breton: All the screaming fans at our dressing room after the show!
Teke: I am such a bad bass player, so I really have to concentrate really hard. It motivates me that I want to get better.

“How do you manage to stay grounded in your private life when you are so famous?”
Andi: Yoga, Qui gong, Feng Shui and Sudoku.
Paul: Slip´n slides … daily.
Breton: Playing drums on the video game RockBand, I’m HORRIBLE so it evens the playing field.
Teke: I don´t really manage to stay grounded.

“What do you like to do most when you have free time on tour?”
Andi: I don´t really have free time, being a star is a 24hour job
Paul: Although it is very limited I enjoy anything that involves doing something active
Breton: Play tons of World of Warcraft.
Teke: Sports.

“Do you have any hidden talents?”
Andi: Professional minigolfer.
Paul: I can toss grapes really high and catch them in my mouth. The sun makes me sneeze, is that a talent or a condition? I should get that checked out.
Teke: I can write really cheesy love songs.
Breton: Nah…  Just a lot of visible talents.

“In what way do you act differently when not in the spotlight? Are you really the person that we see in the CSPs?”
Paul: not at all, when it´s show time, a completely serious Paul comes out , at least I think its serious, but really I could just be making a fool of myself.
Breton: No, when I am outside of the CSPs I like to think of myself as a humble individual, you didn´t write my last answer down did you?
Teke: Actually I have difficulties getting rid of my rock star role. I also have very bright lights at home to feel comfortable because I´m so used to being in the spotlight.

There it is, ladies and gentleman, a personal look at the lives of the men behind the music of the Center Stage Potatoes.  I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about these men who rock your faces off night after night!  They are continuing their world tour through Mexico right now for the next 4 weeks.  You can continue to follow their travels right here at www.uwpontour.com.

Name: Jasmine Berg
Age: 29
Country: United States of America

What were you doing before Up with People?
Working as an independent consultant and the worship leader for my church.

Favorite food tried in Up with People?
Balot, a  fertilized duck egg complete with duckling.  It took me the furthest from my comfort zone and I was actually able to eat it and keep it down!

Funny host family experience?
My host family in Colorado Springs had an African-American rabbit doll named Shaniqua and we took her everywhere, taking pictures with her, introducing her to everyone and showering her a good time out on the town! She came to green room before the show and played games and danced and we took a cast photo together!

Career goals?
I’d like to get my masters and doctorate in mathematics and teach at the university level.  During summers off I would like to travel to various countries and do mission work.

Everything else:
I’ve wanted to join Up with People since I saw my first show in high school, and I’ve finally realized that dream. I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel the world helping people.  I’ve learned so much from my cast mates, host families and the communities I’ve served.  This experience exceeds any expectations I had prior to the start of the tour.  My goals for life have changed, and I realize I’m not just a citizen of my country – but a citizen of the world.  My heart overflows with compassion and an unwillingness to settle for comfort.

“A mind that has been stretched by a new experience can never return to its old dimensions.” – O.W. Holmes

by Emily Sealy, USA, on an experience at Forest Home Camp in California

The smell of campfire that sticks to your clothes and hair. The warmth of the flames against your face. The tast of the gooey, burnt marshmellow that sticks to your fingers. These sensations evoke the memory of long summer nights, snuggled in sleeping bags under bright stars. 

Summer camp is a mostly forgotten experience of childhood, but these feelings can bring back a rush of nostalgia.

Cast A 2010 was lucky enough to go to Forest Home, a beautiful summer camp in California. Many o the people in our cast had never been to any sort of camp before. Some had been camping, but there is something very unique about the “camp” experience. When you’re around a big crackling fire with a group of your peers, holding a stick with a marshmallow over the coals, there is a certain sense of camaraderie. You feel close to your neighbor, even if you may not be the best of friends. The atmosphere is charged with that togetherness.

The most exciting part of the campfire experience are the ‘smores’. S’mores are the delicious classic treat of roasted marshmallow, chocolate (usually Hershey’s) and graham crackers. Most Americans regard it as a sweet remembrance of youth, and most of those from outside of the USA were filled with curiosity. The consensus: YUM! I am proud to say that the majority of the smores were eaten within the first 15 minutes. That, my friends, is what we call a successful fireside experience.

I remember listening to stories and music by the flickering firelight as a young girl. Especially when at summer camp with the older kids, we were told scary stories to keep us up at night. Thankfully we were sparred the tales of horror this time, but there was still entertainment of a good story. There is just something so suspenseful about the shadows dancing on the trees and the hush of the wilderness—it transports you to another world.

There are plenty of times in Up with People when I feel completely out of my element, and in these times I grow as a person. But it is also nice to have the times where I feel comfortable. When I was sitting on the cold stone surrounding the fire pit, right next to my friends, trying to figure out how to eat my s’more without getting it all over my hands, face, and clothes, I felt like I was back in Colorado. I felt like I was at home. And that is a good feeling as being miles and miles away from home—especially after spending one month in a completely different atmosphere in Manila. It was great to be transported to a safe place of my camping/cabin memories, and even better to be able to bring some of my friends—especially those who’d never experienced it before—with me. S’mores and the smell of campfire will always hold special significance and weight in my heart and mind, and after my experience with Cast A at Forest Home, I have another great set of memories to add to it.

By Caitlin Stroup, USA, on Community Impact in Yuma, AZ

Some of my fondest memories as a child and to be honest even as a young adult have been playing at playgrounds. I love to see how high I can go on the swings before jumping off, hanging upside down on the monkey bars, and trying not to step on the woodchips or ground because it is fiery lava and the playground itself is the only safe place.

The cast got to experience this first hand today in Yuma, Arizona. We did CI at a local playground that was built in 2007 by community members of Yuma. The community asked children what they would like in a playground and in return they received drawings and ideas from the kids of Yuma. They brought together all the ideas and created a playground with castles, tree houses, play airplanes, trains and giant spiders.

It was great because half of the cast got to help by washing the playground for all the kids of the community to play on. This playground hadn’t been cleaned since it was built in 2007! Even though it was over 90 degrees we made it through and got the playground spic and span before lunch. We got done much earlier than they expected, but it was great because we were able to help clean another playground and do some weeding that needed to be done in the park.

As we were leaving the park it was a great feeling to see a group of kids playing on the playground that we helped clean and knowing that they were going to be making the same great memories that I did as a child.

by Annie Matthews, USA, on Community Impact at an Organic Farm

While in Vista, California Cast A had the awesome opportunity to do community service work at a local organic farm. Our work at the farm consisted of weeding, painting a mural, creating tomato beds, planting seeds in a greenhouse, cooking our own lunch, picking nut sage, and digging up numerous vegetables.

Working at the farm was such a fun opportunity because for most of us it was the first time to even learn about what makes a farm a regular farm or an organic farm. We were able to pick plants directly from the ground and eat them! Including types of leaves and flowers.

One group at the CI site worked the entire morning cooking lunch for the cast. For lunch we had organic pizza all from scratch, as well as organic apples, hot tea, salad, and beans…all grown on the La Milpa Organica Farm.

The owner of the farm took a little bit of his personal time to tell the cast about his experience in creating the farm and why growing organic foods are important. The other workers at the farm worked along side us all day and were very helpful in describing their work and the tasks at hand.

Thank you so much to everyone who works at the La Milpa Organica Farm, along with the Vista Promotions Team for creating an amazing community impact experience for Cast A.

check out the Cast A youtube site! Video on the cast’s experience in Vista coming soon!!!…..

By Emily Sealy, USA, about her experience doing Community Impact in Manila

 This month in Manila has literally flown by, but at the same time it feels like we’ve only been here a few days. That is such a strange feeling. The biggest, and best part so far, has been working at our Community Impact sites. I have been working at Gawad Kalinga at Baseco (the very same one that we visited on our Regional Learning day: see other blog). We’ve been there for 13 days, the longest stay that they’ve had at that particular site.

On a typical day, we arrive by tricycle at GK Baseco, and almost immediately, the kids come up to us. There is usually a group of them who stay with us every day, and each of us have children who we are particularly fond of. In the morning, we work on one part of the area. We’ve painted a lot of houses bright pink, blue, green, and yellow. We’ve picked up a whole lot of trash. We’ve layed many bricks and reconstructed brick pathways in different villages. We’ve fed children. We’ve repainted murals and the front plaza area. In all of these activities, our main group of kids are present, willing and excited to help. They are eager to steal our paintbrushes, to hold our trash bags open, to scrape dirt off of bricks. It doesn’t matter what we are doing—as long as we are there, they are there. As long as we are helping, they want to help. We have lunch in the air conditioned café, and they all crowd around outside of the glass doors, making faces and watching us chat and eat. Sometimes they try to sneak in, but Tito Jun, the head honcho at Baseco, always shoots rapidfire Tagalog at them and they rush out. After lunch, we go outside and play with them. Sometimes we play music together, sometimes the boys play basketball, sometimes we go to the library, but we always spend some quality time with our kids.

One other thing that happened every day was photography. At the first sight of a camera, a group of kids would swarm. They were amateur photographers, and would take snapshots of any and everything they saw. I have at least 500 pictures on my camera taken by various kids who asked me nicely and looked very cute at the right time. We taught them how to do the basics and to put the strap over their wrist, but they are smart. They figured out parts of the camera that even the owners weren’t aware of. The pictures are so incredibly cool. They’re from a unique viewpoint—all from about waist level—and so much more interesting than the pictures that I probably would’ve taken. I am in the process of creating a snapfish album for all of the pictures that I have that they’ve taken, and will post a blog within the next week with the link.

We played with them a lot, but it wasn’t just about jumping around or going to the playground or making paper airplanes. We wanted to impact them, just like they were impacting us. For example, there were these twin boys, about 10 years old, who were obviously pretty high up on the social ladder in the area. They were sweet and helpful but sometimes trouble. Michael Roudebush hung out with them the most, and he took it upon himself to shape up their act a little bit. He taught them to say “sorry” if they hit someone, or “thank you” when one of the cast members would let the twins use their camera. There were some times when they behaved better than others, but they came every day and they always wanted to be involved and help somehow.

At first, it wasn’t always easy to communicate. They knew phrases like “what’s your name” and “hello”, and we only knew “salamat” (thank you in Tagalog) and “mabuhay” (welcome and literally, long life). But it wasn’t a huge deal. We were there and we would smile at them and play with them, and that earned their attention and loyalty. It is incredible how quickly the language exchange happened. Now, it certainly didn’t happen at once.. But by the end, our vocabulary extended to many words, including “hindi”(no—a very important word to know, especially when dealing with children), “bukas”(tomorrow), “basura”(trash), and a lot more. They learned how to say “sorry”, “beautiful”, “I miss you”, and many other phrases .

 The girl that I was always with is named Jonnelin. She is 8 years old, very smart, sweet, sensitive, and funny. She found my hand as we were getting our first tour on our first day of CI, and she didn’t leave me the rest of the time. I played with other kids, but she was my constant. One day, I was playing with a boy named Stitch (ok his name was Leonel, but he looked like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch in a way, and the nickname just stuck. Aurelie de Mevius was his friend so everyone called her Ate Lilo. He was friends with the twins, and was friends with everyone in our cast), and Jonnilen got jealous. She started crying and hiding her face in a friend’s shirt, and wouldn’t talk to me or look at me. I was pretty baffled. After a little while, she let me hold her, and she stopped crying. I told her that she was my friend, I always played with her, and that even though I would play with other kids, I still liked her a whole lot, and that she would always be my friend. She accepted that, and the next day she brought me a note written on a slightly dirty, a little bit damp, brittle paper. It had a picture of me drawn as a princess, with a heart that had “Ate Emily” in it. (‘Ate’, means ‘older sister’ in Tagalog.) She had written “Dear Ate Emily Pretty Pretty nice you Thank you God bless you biutiful you I Love you”. It was so sweet that it brought a tear to my eye. She was so enthusiastic about her affection and wanted to spend all of her time with me. She showed me her house and I met her older sisters and guardian. I went in again on the last day, and I told her that I hope that when I have children, my daughter is like Jonnilen. She got a little choked up, which made Jonnilen cry a little bit, which made me cry. It was a domino effect.

One of the bright spots of playing with all of the kids at Baseco was that we had an exchange of games. When I was a little girl, I played “Miss Susie had a steamboat” and “Say Say My Playmate” and “Double Double This This” when we were on the playground. They are like modified patty-cake like hand/clapping games. Some of the girls there taught us “Apple Apple Kiss”, and I taught them “Say Say My Playmate”. They LOVED it! I taught it to about four or five girls originally, then the next day about ten more kids came up to me and wanted to learn it, and the next day about ten more came up to me and already knew how to do the basics. It spread like wildfire. Even some of the boys knew how to do it, including Stitch. I soon got sick of having people come up to me going, “Ate Emily! Ate Emily! Say say my playmate!” but they were persistent. Eventually most of the girls in our CI group learned how to do it too, and that took a lot of the pressure off. On the second to last day, I made up a new version of the song. It goes: “Say My Kibigan (friend), come to GK with me, and bring your waveboards 3, climb up my mango tree, take lots of pictures and teach us Tagalog, and we’ll be kibigan forever more more more”. They all had the tune down, and I wanted to have a song to remember our stay there, something personal and real, and by the last day a few of them got it. I know that I won’t forget it.

I also will never forget that last day. Jonnilen started crying pretty quickly, just bawling. Another girl who I was close to, Shaira, said that she would not cry. But when I looked over, she was wiping her eyes. I had them sign my Gawad Kalinga shirt, and Shaira wrote “I love you I miss you Sisters forever”. I just held them close and swallowed my own tears. Then Jonnilen’s older sister, whom I had only met once before, came up and started crying and hugging me too. Then I pretty much lost it. I did my best to hug and hold every kid that I had had a connection with, but they were rushing us and I was so scared that I would miss the chance to say goodbye to someone. I gave my address to Jonnilen, Shaira, and Stitch, and made them promise that they would write to me. I got their addresses too. As I was leaving, I saw that Stitch, normally a tough guy, was silently crying and holding onto Paul Rush’s pant leg. Paul was Stitch’s other main hangout person. I gathered him up into my arms, felt his hands clutching my arm, and pressed wet kisses to his forehead. All I could do was hold him, let him cry on me, and cry on him too. I kneeled down as we were being told to get into the trikes for the last time and looked into Jonnilen’s eyes. She was sobbing, and so was I. “I love you,” I said. “I love you too. Miss you,” she said through her tears. I crushed her in my embrace and cried, cried for the great times that we had had, the connection that was so strong between us all, the realization that I didn’t know when or if I could come back to Manila to see these people, and the sadness that I had to leave this little girl who I felt so strongly for. I kissed her forehead, and got into the trike. The image that will forever be burned into my brain is of all of our children in the gateway into the plaza of GK, and the twins, normally the macho types, crying and breaking down, chasing after the trikes with Stitch. It just made me cry harder, miss and love them so poignantly at that moment.

Each one of the kids made a difference in our lives, and I truly believe that we did the same for them. We didn’t fix everything, and we didn’t stay forever, but while we were there, we worked, we played, we created memories, we took LOTS of pictures, we laughed, we cried. I will always hold them in my heart and cherish the time that we had together. I know I can’t do everything, but when I have a stable job back home, I would really like to help sponsor Jonnilen get through school. You can sponsor one kid through high school/college, you can donate money for whoever needs it most, or you can just donate it to Gawad Kalinga. I’m not 100% sure about what I’m going to do, and how I will facilitate it, but I know that I need to. These kids are truly amazing. They opened up their lives and their arms to us, and we have the great opportunity to give some of that love back to them.

By Sonja Drecher, Germany, on Cast A’s show experience in the Philippines

After 3 weeks working along with all the great people at the different CI (community impact) sides we had to say Goodbye to all of them on Wednesday. I can only speak of my own CI-side Kaibigan Foundation, where we had a fabulous Farewell party with funny Philippino games, speeches, exchanging of little presents for memory, watching the Video Brandon had put together and just enjoying the last few hours we had together. After a lot of tearful hugs we had to separate and I realized that I really had the time of my life her in the Philippines. Knowing that there will always be this tiny place on our big world where people think of me and where I could always go back to and find these friends who care about me is really a wonderful gift.

Inspired by this experience I was ready for our little show marathon. After 3 weeks without a Full-Cast Show we all worked hard on Thursday to rehears and put our amazing show back on stage. It was good to see all the energy that came along with our Cast although most of us were really tired from the last weeks. Our Production team and their interns were challenged to work with us in unusual conditions as our show facility was a shopping mall which was still in construction and we would be the first group performing there. The noise of all the machines used made it hard to understand each other, the air was dusty and the smell of chemicals caused some little headaches. The floor was slippery and the glassy rooftop kept us sweating in the heat.

Despite all of that the Cast was so motivated to go back on stage that the rehearsal went well and we got a lot of work done. To stay energetic delicious meals were provided thanks to Paul Chens organization.

When we met on Friday morning we were surprised by a very special guest- Giselle … from Japan. She travelled in Cast E 1999 ?! and after that started her own non-profit organization based on her UWP experience- called “A common beat” in Japan. She has a fascinating personality and everyone loved her Kung Fu warm up, consisting of some fast and very strong fighting movements combined to a fluent choreography. Our other special guest at this weekend was Yui, our staging dance captain. She was a great help to the costume crew and we were all happy to have her around again.

During the day we rehearsed a few more pieces including “A sound of peace” with the children choir of Kaibigan Foundation.

Time for green room! The first green room in the Philippines had to be special and Leslie fulfilled this expectation to the full. After the guests left green room –we were all pleased to meet Aurelies family- she asked us all to sit down and close our eyes. A few people only would remain standing and Leslie read out sentences. If the sentence was right for someone of the standing people about how they feel about someone sitting they would tap that person on the shoulder. Leslie said for example “Tap a person who you look up to.”, “Tap a person who has changed your opinion about something.”’ “Tap a person who you would like to stay in contact with after UWP.” And so on. This way of appreciation was very special because I never knew who had tapped me and it really built up my self-confidence. Some of us couldn’t held back the tears, just because it was such an amazing feeling. After some motivating cheers we really were ready to rock the stage!

Fridays show was for the members of Rotary Club Manila who – among Resort World Manila and …- sponsored us. It was a great feeling to be back on stage and the show went very well. Especially I want to point out that the Production team has done a great job here in Manila with giving opportunities to the whole Cast to show learned dances, MCs and songs.  Thus we were all proud to see different people on microphones, in dance lines and in the spotlight for MCs.

During Intermission and after the show most of the CI sides we worked with set up booths in the lobby and sold handmade items or informed our audience about the great work they’re doing. It was good to see them represented at our show.

On Saturday morning we were all signed out for different things. Some of us went to a Zoo and helped leading around a bunch of children, some worked on the internship project, operations prepared our journey, business had some work to do, too. We were al very busy but it was good to be surrounded with different cast mates as we haven’t had seen each other so much the past few weeks. After lunch we all had warm up together, went over some show notes and rehearsed a couple of things, especially the Mexican medley.

Saturdays audience was a very special one to all of us: We performed for our CI-sides, community leaders, the children that had taken such big parts in our hearts here in the Philippines. Some of them joined us for green room were the Business team thought us “The lion sleeps tonight” and some other very funny games. For me it was wonderful to see how some among us were so proud of the children they got to know and to hear that some would sponsor specific kids. It is great to see what the trip to the Philippines did to this Cast. We are constantly growing in personality and understanding of life. I am very proud of my Cast mates! Getting a very warm positive feedback from a hosting lady called Kid who actually has applied for UWP now, too, underlined this green room.

Before every show Michael Smet played a video showing what we have done at our CI-sides and I don’t want to miss to mention that this video was the best intro we could have for our shows. We certainly have a fantastic tech team!

Performing for all these amazing people out there in the audience gave so much more depth to the message we are bringing to the world! We all knew before what the songs are about but I think each of us had someone or something different in mind when we were singing words like “There are people out there who do more then they share” or “I’m just one person- same as you”.

In intermission we all met the people from our sites, interacted with them, took pictures, shared some last memorable moments. The Goodbye after the show was again tearful and moving.

And then our last day in the Philippines had come. Having the morning off gave us a final opportunity to spent time with our host families. Half of the Cast also had to pack their suitcases as they wouldn’t return after the show but go straight to the airport.

The suitcases were loaded into a truck and at 2:30h the advance team spoke to us for the last time.

At this point I want to thank Lari, Hygeia, Paul, Luis and Aoife once more for all the great work they have done for us setting up an entire month for 85 students in a third-world-country. Hats up, guys! You did an astonning job!

The few hours we had left before our final show we spent rehearsing and getting ready. Again an amazing audience awaited us, this time our excited host families. Especially Paul Rush and Kyle DeGraffs host family was a great support helding up banners and screaming at the top of their lungs!

I don’t want to miss the opportunity to thank my host family from the bottom of my heart that they came to see the show, as I know they had some personal issues, which nearly stopped them from coming. Ponching and Alps, you have no idea what it meant to Cecilia, Juri and me to see you out there in the audience!

After this last energetic and powerful show we said Goodbye to all the people we had to leave, half the Cast rushed to change and get ready to head off to the airport and the other half went home once more with their host families.

This show marathon was certainly a fire work of emotions and a perfect and unforgettable ending of our time in Asia.

But every ending means a new beginning and I definitely am excited for Summer Camp in California and all the other unknown places we will discover in our last 2 months as Cast A 2010.

By: Sonja Drescher (Germany) on her experience in public transportation in Manila 

“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.”

At 7:10 am each morning you can meet Juri, Cecilia and me standing at Hermosa Street, Tondo, Manila, still tired trying to stop a taxi to take us to our Community Side- Kaibigan Foundation. The smog rises in front of us like a big grey wall as the first sunlight breaks through, colorful Jeepneys and rattling Tricycles are trying to drive in 5 lanes where only 3 lanes are actually provided and hundreds of people are crowding the streets, shops and sidewalks.

Getting a taxi can last from 1 minute up until hours of patient waiting and when a taxi finally stops the best thing to do is to hop in without asking if the driver wants to drive you to your destination, because he might as well just tell you that he doesn’t want to drive that far and would shut the door to drive away.

The first thing we do before we try to enjoy our ride is locking the doors. Second thing is checking if the taxi driver is starting the meter at 30.00 Phesos. After that Cecilia would write down the plate information, which is written on the inside of each taxi door. This is to have information we could go back to if for any reason something would go wrong during the ride.

Most of the time the taxi I sit in is kind of old, dusty and makes noises that are completely new to me. In Germany these cars would never pass through security checks. Anyway, they still move and it’s for sure better to be inside a taxi then riding in a tricycle in this insane traffic.

The taxi drivers have a completely different interpretation of how their job look like then what I know from home. I always thought that a destination further could actually give you more earnings than a short ride. In the Philippines the drivers kind of have the opinion that long distances are a lot of effort and that is the first reason why we should definitely pay at least 20 Phesos extra.

If you get away with excuses for that one, the next argument for extra charge would be the traffic going to that destination. Right- and of course on that particular day the traffic is so different to all the other days… No. In fact the traffic in Manila is super bad on every single day, but the drivers always try to argue about that.

The best way to make your taxi driver stop asking you for extra money is to tell him that you might give him some extra money depending on how much money you will have left over and on how fast/good the ride was.

If nothing works and he still insists on his extra charge you better jump out as fast as possible and take the risk of waiting for another half hour for a nicer driver. Whenever that happens to me I wish myself “Good luck” for finding a new one and tell myself to calm down, relax and accept that this is part of the Philippino culture.

If you finally found a taxi driver who is willing to take you to your requested destination without charging you extra, you can relax, lean back and enjoy tagalo-music and advertisements on the radio- if there is one. I sometimes just close my eyes and enjoy the cool breeze from the air condition- if there is one- to get myself ready for the day.

But don’t you dare fall asleep if you want to reach your destination, in our case that’s Nakar Street in San Andreas Bukid. Otherwise you will end up walking the whole Nakar street to Kaibigan Foundation, as it is One Way and your driver wont take you down that road. We learned to be very demanding to not be kicked out and walk from the wrong end of that road, which is pretty long. You are the one responsible for telling your driver which way he has to take, where to turn and to stop.

Maurine and Thibaud in traffic in Manila

After about 30 to 45 minutes we finally see the blue Jeep in front of the Kaibigan office. That’s about the time when we check the meter to get the money out. From most taxi drivers you can’t expect any change, so you better have some smaller bills or coins. Whether you give some extra now kind of depends on the ride. We really had some funny or nice or really fast drivers that deserved extra payment, but we also sometimes gave less then he was asking for if we thought that he took us on a little sight seeing tour, which we didn’t ask for.

But there is one taxi ride I want to point out.

On our last CI-day we found a taxi pretty quick and the taxi driver turned out to be a super nice and smart guy. Alfredo told us about his family, and how is wife got finally pregnant after the doctors have told her that the chances of having a baby for her was about 10% or less. After a few weeks the ultrasound showed that the baby lost its heartbeat. He and his wife were distraught when they finally decided to remove the baby as it could cause infection. Just before the surgery started the baby’s heart started beating again! They named her daughter miracle and actually got another baby after this one, too. The story was so moving that we had tears in our eyes. All the conversations about lacking education in the Philippines and other problems we had discovered were very interesting and Alfredo had a very good perspective to all of the topics.

When we arrived at Kaibigan Foundation we decided to give him a lot more additional money than what’s usually appropriate. But Alfredo said: “You know what, my friends, actually as this is your last day for volunteer work I don’t want any money at all for this ride.” I was so surprised and overwhelmed by his selflessness; I couldn’t believe that he was seriously offering this. We ended up winning and gave him our money. And we really hope he can make it to our show so that we can meet him again.

Summing it up, I’ve learned to be very demanding and clear when it comes to talk to taxi drivers. But sharing some culture and stories while singing the German national anthem or learning some new sentences in tagalo and at the same time hoping you will survive this insane way of driving a taxi that is nearly falling into pieces is as much part of my experience in the Philippines as everything else.

by Emily Sealy (USA), on Resorts World Manila

Our time in the Philippines is almost up, and I can safely say that every person in our cast- student and staff- has been affected by our stay here. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve learned a lot and tried new things. Resorts World Manila is a HUGE reason why Up With People got to come here, and for that we thank them wholeheartedly.

Cast A at Resorts World

During our first week here, we were given a tour of Resorts World’s hotels. We split up into a few smaller groups to see different parts of the area. My group first went to the Marriott. We got to see the welcoming lobby with a comfortable waiting area and a nicely decorated bar. We were shown a room with a beautiful view, big beds, and lovely accommodations. (And it’s reasonably priced too, especially for such a classy hotel!) We saw the spa and the pool.

Next we were given a sneak peak at the still-in-construction SIX star hotel! I didn’t even know there were six stars possible, but they did it. It was quite impressive. We walked through the casino and got to look into the area where Up With People will be performing at here in Manila. It was still a construction area, but they have made leaps and bounds since then. The plaza where our stage is has transformed amazingly!

Resorts World Manila is sponsoring our stay in the Philippines, and we will be having 4 shows in the next 3 days at their facilities. For more information about the show, go to www.upwithpeople.org.