Settin' Up Stage

This is a brand new week full of brand new experiences! This week we're out of the office and into a church called 24/7 in Burlington to learn the set-up of our stage. The church is kind enough to allow us to use their entire space. We have two huge rooms where we can set up our ginormous stage. Every time we set up, we have to haul all the equipment off the bus (which is very heavy FYI) and bring it into the gym. Then we put everything in place and start setting it up. Every person is assigned a job which they are responsible for everyday. My job is to set up all the sound equipment ... Good thing I know quite a bit about that! I have to put the subs, speakers, and moniters in place, then I have to hook up the wires from each of those to the amp rack which supplies it with power. One frustrating part is the amount of wires that accumulate around the outside of the stage! Everybody is wiring different things and they all get in the way of each other, but it all works out in the end!
Another job of mine, once the stage is all set up, is to work the soundboard. This one is a bit different than what I'm used to, but it sure helps to have some experience at it. It's so cool being responsible for such big things in the show!

Today was our photo/video shoot. We each had individual photos done, as well as a short video without sound. It was slightly awkward because for the video we literally had to pretend to talk to people off stage, stand there fake laughing, do funny dances and anything else for like three minutes. We also got individual photos done. Then we got to make a team video which was hilarious! The team video will be played at the very beginning as an intro, before anybody gets on the stage to speak. It's kind of to get the kids' attention. Then, as each of us are being introduced when it's our turn to speak, our personal video will be playing. And while we're speaking, a picture of us from the photo shoot will be displayed on the screen behind us.

We also got to meet both of the bands yesterday. The band that will be touring with my team out west is called Crystalyne. The lead singer Marissa was on a show called Disband with her previous band, and this band just got together recently. The other band that's touring with the East team is Brian Melo. He was a Canadian Idol winner a few years back. He's a really nice guy and has a great sound!

It's looking like this is going to be a great year!

Week One Completed!

Hey all! So on my last post I said that I would be sharing the story of an aboriginal lady who was forced into a residential school. There has been a slight change of plans. The story of this lady was not mine. I have never met this lady before, however, a girl on the other road team has met her before and is sharing her story as a monologue on the other team. Our main leader, Christal, originally wanted me to share the same monologue on my team, but I found it too hard to try to tell this woman's life story when I've never met her before and dont' know much about her. So, Christal told me to think of someone I've met in my lifetime who has influenced my life and who I could talk about. So, I went outside and sat on the roof with my laptop and my headphones in and tried to brainstorm. I wanted to tell the story of someone who's had a hard life, but who still stays strong and has hope that things can and will change. I prayed about it a lot and God reminded me of a girl I met at an orphanage in Jamaica. Her name is Anna and she was almost 5 years old at the time I met her. She had never had anyone teach her how to speak because there were so many kids in the orphanage and such few staff. The only word she could say was "no".. she didn't even know her own name. I will be telling her story on stage as if I were here, speaking in first person. At the end, I will turn it around and tell the audience that this is not my story, it didn't happen to me, but I do know this girl and she had a huge impact on her life. One line from my monoloue : "I sat with her, played with her, held her hand and today my life is changed because of who she is. Anna doesn`t have a voice, so I am standing here today to be a voice for her, to show people that they can make a difference in other people`s lives. "
 Right after this monologue, someone else will speak about Absolute's 'Hero Holiday' program, their humanitarian trips, so it all tied in together. I'm excited that I get to share a little bit of my Jamaica trip in the presentation.
This week they announced to us who would be on our road teams with us. Both of my road team leaders are strong Christians, which I'm happy about. I'll also be touring with two other girls my age.
This week we start learning how to set up the stage, the sound, and the lights!

Days 2 and 3 summarized!

Hi everyone! Nice to chat with y'all again haha!
So training at the office has been great so far! I have to admit, our first day was not the most interesting... it consisted of 4 and a half hours worth of rules and such ... which i know are important, just slightly boring ;)
Day 2 of training however was much much better! Christal is the lady in charge or organizing our shows and making sure everything fits properly. She decides who will be sharing their stories in certain settings and how the overall look of the show will be presented. So on our second day, we all sat around a table and told each other our life stories. Some were a bit emotional but it really helped everybody to be able to understand each other a lot better. You could begin to see where each person was coming from and understand why they are who they are today. Then we had to begin writing. We started off with point form notes and Christal went through each of our stories with us individually and told us which direction she thought we should take it in.
Some people will be sharing their personal stories, but one person on each road team will be doing a dialogue. And that would be me on my team. I will be sharing the life story of an aboriginal woman who was forced to attend a residential school at age 5.
Stay tuned for details in my next post!

The day has finally come !

Hey everyone! So today was my move -in day at the Absolute house. I arrived at about 4pm and have been meeting so many people! The house is in Hamilton and we'll be here for training until our tour starts on September 6th. There are 13 girls living in one house, along with our "house mum", and 5 road team leaders (3 guys and 2 girls) and also a pet bunny haha. Every one seems to be getting along great so far and I couldn't ask for a nicer group of people to start this journey off with! Four of the girls will be leaving for Mexico in about one week so the hosue will be a little bit less crowded after that. Our fridge is completely packed with food because we all bought groceries to bring and share. Training starts tomorrow at 10am at the Absolute office so we'll see how that goes :) I can already tell that this is going to be a fantastic year :)
Goodnight!

Hasta Luego Sault Ste. Marie !

So I said goodbye to my house yesterday and we started on the road at about noon.. made a few stops along the way, all the while racing with that wild rain storm we had yesterday. Everytime we managed to get ahead of the storm, we had to make a stop, and by the time we were ready to get back in the car, the storm had caught back up to us! What a day! At about 8 o'clock, my mom was driving and noticed that a whole bunch of car lights turned on telling us to service the vehicle soon and stuff so we pulled over to check it out. Everything looked ok so we got back in the car to get back on the road only .... the car wouldn't start ! My mom tried probably ten times to get it to start and even tried taking the key out and everything. We checked to make sure it was in park but still nothing happened! Sure enough my dad tries it and nothing for the first 3 tries and then magically it turned on and all the warning lights had disappeared! My mom said to herself if we pass an accident just up ahead, we'll know why God made us stop randomly like that. Sure enough, 2 minutes up the road, a ginormous buck deer had just been hit on the side of the road... Coincidence???
Anyways, we made it safe and sound at about 12:30 that night.
Sunday's coming quickly and my team and I can't wait to finally meet in person! :D

Departure = soooooo soon!

Caaaan't believe that I'm leaving so soon! Technically I leave today (since it's 12:05) but i'm still saying tomorrow haha. Bags are packed (almost) and i'm gathering up some last minute things. It's going to be a crazy journey! I'm so thankful to everyone who sent donations to make this journey possible for me :) You're all the best!
I'll keep in touch I promise :)

And yes... I packed my toothbrush mom ;)

Getting Close!

Welcome to August, the indication that half of your summer has officially passed :(
Part of me is too chicken to actually look at the calendar and see how few days i have left in the Soo! August 21st is coming sooner than later, and there's lots to do before then!
It's so hard to pack for 4 months in this country because almost every month the weather changes! Summer, fall, winter... that's a lot of clothes to pack :/
If anybody has packing tips... send them my way! :)
TTFN, i've probably got some packing to do or something! ;)

p.s. thanks for all the support i've gotten so far! :)