catch up

hello everybody... im back to blogging... havnt had the internet for a while but lets see what i remember... i left off after warsaw i belive.... we headed out to zabze poland and i got a cool german host family... it was a grandma... two parents... and there two kids... after that i got on a bus and drove to berlin... if you get a chance to go to berlin go there... its an amazing city and i wish i could have stayed there longer but i would have been broke by the time i got home... after berlin we went to hamburg and that was also very fun... i picked up a two liter beer boot from germany so i can put it on a shelf or somthing until im leagle to drink ;} also i went to a dungeon which turned out to be somthing of a haunted house mixed with a history meuseum... after hamburg we went back to denmark... which i forgot to mention the first one... and unlike the first time when i had the whole community looking after me... this time ijust had one family a wife a husband and there three kids... that was a fun week and i got a little gnome to bring home to show everyone... i named him hector.... dont ask why... but after that we went to varsborg sweden and that was a good time too i stayed in a family that lived near the place where we went to do our shows and so i rode a bike... and as it turns out there is nothing funnier then me trying to ride a bike with a backpack bright and early in the freezing cold morning... apparently ... i didnt see the humor but my friends here all sure did when i arrived...and now here we are in opsila... our last city... we leave here for tempura and come back for our final show so this host family will be the last i stay at this semester... the end of the program is very near.... i need to take more photos... i think thats enough blogging for one day... good night... or day or morning whatever
-Dylan

their are a few things in my life i never want to see again... today we went to the death camp auschwitz ... i took only two pictures... the rest of what i saw i wish to not relive in my mind ever again and i hope that you all have that experience one day.... but until then just take my word for it... when you look at a wall where thousands of people were brought and executed because of a thought they held dear to... iyou find that its hard to look away...

guten tag!

after sunvall we went to vadensborg and we had a kicken time
our show was on an ice hockey arena and they didnt melt the ice so we got to play on it between acts... i mean we didnt play on the ice... that would be childish... but now ( after 14ish hours ) were here in germany.
so far what i have seen of katpus is beautiful. my host dad is from ozbeckestan and he works for vattenfall. its interesting to see how the world can change based on the region you live in or your perspective on life. also we see europe as very distant and magical, but they have the same problems we do back home... canadians... just kidding... another thing i learned is that canadians are awesome

sunsvall? sunsfall??

made it through lulea and stockholm with grea love sweden... the kids in the schools r awesome and i want to be a teacher here... just kidding
but these days its all about the event... ive met with alot of important people and done lots of awesome things, but the islands and the citys here are the coolest thing i think ive seen... besides the pyramids :)

SWEDEN

finnaly in europe... and it only took 2 long plane rides and a 12 hour bus ride to get here... so butiful tho... my god.. i love it here... wish you all could be here

Mexico City

So my parents were here before I got here! Yep this is Mom typing on the blog while Dylan is laying on the bed thinking of sleeping! There are lots of parents at the hotel with the cast. they got to go to the pyramids with us. Dylan and Jim climbed the third largest pyramid in the world, the sun pyramid and its dwarf the moon pyramid. we saw an awesome church, and rode the subway in mexico city together. we toured mexico city and have been stationed in a beautiful national park called xochitla. theres over 2100 tickets presold to the show so far. the cast did an awesome culture fair in the park and 1500 highschool kids showed up to participate. today jim couldnt stand to watch the kids work so he jumped in with them. it was a fun day!!! :) ::)) they did a show at a mall... it wasnt that good but they tried god bless em..... dylan is a little brat and he was typing and thinks he's funny now that he knows a few of the alumni follow his blogs ... he took the computer away from me after the first line sorry blog over for the night.

vera cruz

its beautiful... independence day was fun... sang kareoke.... did ci at an oldfolks home today then we did a bts show... since ive been here ive eaten pig feet, pig stomach, pig intestines and pig skin. also cow brains, stmoch and intestines and sheep intestines... all good... exept the skin...

show in queretaro and travel

yesterday was a long day got up at 430 and went to set up the stage... then did 2 shows... then stayed until 130 taking down the stage... it was fun... today i slept for 7 hours on the bus fun stuff... now were getting ready for bed in veracruz with our awsome host fam and its all good.

community impact in quetero

not sure if thats how you spell it but its where i am... today i went on a ci that was... eyeopening. me and micheal went around with this guy who didnt speak english and picked up all of the friut and veggies that friut stands in a local market didnt want... because it was ass rotten and collected it into crates... the part of this ci that was odd to me or rather amazing was that in this case one mans trash was anothers treasure... the food was for the needy and it was what i had previous to today considered not edible... if i ate this stuff no matter how preped i would get very sick... it would not be good.so ya then we went to a lucha match and the bad guys won.... and now i have a mask...
-Dylan

aother ci day in leon

yesterday i had a hellacious fever that made me miss a mini promo show and i dont really rember alot of yester day,,, but today was good. we went to a lower income neighborhood and we fixed up their park for them to give them somewhere awesome to hang out... then we played futball with some guys who were helping us... who were a karate sens'e and his students in which i scored on the master... ballin... and then we had lunch with a hall full of the areas grandmas which had assembled a day earlier then they usually do to see us... batteries dying gotta go
-Dylan

leon mexico

viva mexico


spent the day after lake havasu on a bus... then a plane... then another plane... then a long bus ride north from mexico city to leon... when we got here it was early in the morning and we all went to sleep on the floor of a building in the tech school. using chair covers as blankets.... they were small chairs... but then we got up in a few hours and got to watch a great dancing preformane by the dancers of the school... after that we sang viva la gente and went to lunch wich was amazing... after which we had an impromptu mariachi dance party... after the days festivities we met our host parents... dave pennys my roommate and we have an amazing host family... we have our own guesthouse and all kinds of hospitality has been given to us. we had pizza the first night and on it we put a sauce only found in leon on it... soooooo good. then for desert we had sweet potatoes that were candied in different flavors... also amazing. then when we got up from the taste coma in the morning we ate tuna... which is a mexican cactus fruit... which was amazing. and fresh guava and pina (pineapple) then we went out and took a viva la gente tour of leon and saw the most butiful church ive ever seen in my life... and a huge arche way that has leon's lion statue on the top... then lunch... then the most amazing dinner... possibly ever... quesedias... mexican soup... and flan... so so so good and now that ive called my parents on skype and noone picked up... im gonna go to bed...

-Dlan
how spanish speakers say Dylan

this is what hell feels like... but hell is more mild

we rolled into lake havassu on monday and it was about 110 degrees... our bus broke down and we had to wait for the other bus to come back and get us... then we had a few days to do CI i taught some kids and that was cool... but when it hit abot 125 on the third day thats when i was sold hell is colder then lake havasu... but despite the heat it was a butiful place and i had fun
Dylan

wow

i cant belive its been about 2 months since i left home... its been quick and with mexico coming up in about a week its not slowing down much... so far its been good

the second day of ci before the shows in durango

today i went to a soup kitchen called manna soup kitchen... it was very interesting, i met a bunch of cool people there and a couple of folks who have been wondering looking for jobs... i was telling them that carpet cleaning is in need and that we cant find people who want to work. their ears perked up and they asked if the company still needed people. i told them that is was the most demanding greuling work they will ever do and the starting was around minimum wage but they said that it beat driving around looking for work... natrually i called mom and gave the guys the shop number and they said that for employment they would be willing to drive to washington. and they only got more excited when i told them that it was from 8 in the mornig until 11 at night. i cant vouch for them but i know that anyone willing to uproot and move 20 hours away is willing to tug a hose up the side of a building. also i told them flat out that if they did poorly or slacked they most likley would get let go and they seemed to find that funny and said that if they found a job they would do all in their power to hold on to it. i thought this was a good thing and know that we need a few strong backs for the summer and that dedication can outweigh training if its strong enough... the means to live are as strong a motivator as they come... i just hope that even if those guys dont end up cleaning they end up working somewhere... but other then that we served at the kitchen and i got to serve pie... everybuddy loves pie... officially. and then we sat down and ate with the people who were there and it was shocking to me that many of them had full time jobs and had to choose between transportation to work and food on the table and their choice that day was an obvious one... we sat by mothers of many and people with degrees and the uneducated all at one table then we celebrated a mans birthday that had just been released from the hospital some months ago from what i assume was a biking accident, in which he tipped his bike doing about 75 to 60 and ended up in a little white bed surrounded by doctors. he was 49 today and we sang happy birthday to him in 5 languages... it was nice.

Dylan Folsom... pro mountian climber?

ok so im in durango colorado with this rockin host family the johnsons and my community impacta for the day was going to be heading out to see how the civil air patrol does its thing and saves climbers... i get in the van and instead of the nine people that we have there is ten... so long story short i ended up clearing trails in the mountains. we get to the place where we are supposed to begin the 45 miniute hike and i stay back with phil (bussiness manager / band leader) and laura lynn ( vocal instructor) to help the people who had a rough time making it up this mountain... we turn our backs for one second and the whole cast dissappears... so the three of us are trying to find the cast and a few kids come back because the hike is to hard... its flat out the most ridiculous mountain hike ever crafted by the devious hands of satan himself... so we stay with the kids until their ready to decsend then phil (the biggest of the three of us ) heads down the mountian leaving me and laura lynn to carry this big gatorade container up this mountain... we start the ascent... then behold like a sign from god that were screwed to begin with the trail branches out in two directions... we decided that we should take the right fork after looking for the cast up both. the right fork is not fun... but we persevered and hauled this hellacious water jug up to the top of the mountain... end of story... or it would be... if it had been the correct mountain. instead we come to the end of the trail and theres no cast. so with our water jug about two gallons lighter because of use we head back down the slope of death. this time were smart and take the left fork... and we have got ourselves a guide... but were still carrying a helacios amount of water with noone to help us and switch off on it with us... having climbed the mountian once we climbed a seperate peak that made the first look like a nice gentle hill. we stopped about every turn and eventualy left the water because we were to exausted to continue with the water jug. then i was proven wrong in the theroy that without the jug the rest of the hike would be much easier... wrong again ... when we finnaly got to the top i was afraid that if i sat down then i would never get back up... but we made it to the top of that mountain and now its a great story to tell my grandkids.... when the blisters heal
-Dylan ( mountaineer)

the first show day and my b day

the first show was amazing then we stayed up until like 12 taking down the set. i passed out at about one o clock and woke up on a bus headed for aspen. that was yester day. today we cleared trails in aspen and it was one of the most butiful things ever. tomarrow we have another show on fanny hill in snowmass village and it should be quite interesting to have an outside show. then we have a freeday and we are going to go to the farmers market then can food all day... its good because i havent canned food for so many years. every since apple butter in like 4th grade. it should be fun. then we are going to a neighborhood potluck in the evening and i may try pickled peaches.
-Dylan

the first strike and the first community impact day

we did our first strike the other day and it started to dump rain as soon as the electrical equipment came out but i got to ride a light stack up a truck lift so it was good. then today we did our first community impact day and i got to paint at a church all day and it was fun. also a few people had a paint... war... and the carpet was the victim but luckily we have a great staff that banded together and helped fix their mistakes.
-Dylan

new post for a new weekend

had a nice relaxing day today... wenrt bowling... starting to dance better but thats not saying much... miss home but not enough to visit yet... doin good granny... make sure to tell mom i finnally blogged and spend the day with her because im sure shes lonley
-Dylan

days off

i love days off... heard bout granny today tho... sux but other then that had a day of rest and im ready for tomarrow... sry if its short today... dont feel like writing

friday... finnaly

today was fun... more singing and dancing... but tomarrow were going rafting down the arkansas river and in my photos i posted a bunch of pics of the rockies and my host families car after a small amount of the hail fell on it and when the leaves were stripped off of the trees onto it

today in my life

it was a fun day... we had speakers that came in and talked about leadership then i went into vocals then worked on my dance... also we talked about sex in the cast and in the communitys... apparently its frowned opon... who would have thought? also its not good to get wasted and do drugs... not suprising. but despite the news it was a good day for me... easy dances and songs all day...it was good.

news

today was fun. we went into the mountains and explored a few towns up there. also we read the uwp website and it turns out that theres a show on july 26 in mesa colorado... whos in it...? because we are not ready yet and i dont know if we will be... its not far off... but ya...

holy crap

very very tired today... yesterday we missed our bus because we wanted to get somthing to eat but then we tried to get a bus later and they were done running to our station. i tried to call our host mom the first time and i got some random lady... after i was done talking to her i got the number right and called our host mom and it turned out the next bus to go near where we wanted to go was at 925... needless to say... i hate buses. but after all that i had a nice read before bed and when i looked at the clock it was 1 in the morning... today we did coreography for the remainder of the day... if im not on at ten there youll understand why... im beat... but all in all its fun, so...

-Dylan

other cultures

迪兰佛桑

for all you crackers that reads di-lan fo-som
which as it turns out is my name in chinese... who would have guessed but its pretty cool lookin...
today went good and there was alot of dancing... we did cast fitness and we did zoomba which is likk salsa dancing... it was very... feminine... and i have recently learned that all the workouts are based on womens fitness because of all the women in the program... not really fair but who cares right? o well i guess thats the price you pay for being surounded by women all day... worth it.

- 迪兰 (Dylan)

modules...

we went through a bunch of stations today and they tested a few things. vocals was first thing in the morning... you start in a group of 4 then you sing this little snippet off of the wall with the group a few times. then you move to singing it in front of the group by yourself... the judge told me it was a rock song and i was singing it to "pretty" so after a few years of not singing i took it as a compliment... then he went on to say to sing it more "rocky" and less "pretty" it was an interesting morning. after that we went into costume where they told me that i needed black shirts so that wasnt so bad. then came tech... boring but it was just stuff like "dont trip on these cords" and "dont pour water on the power splitting box" and simple stuff like that. after tech we went to speaking. i feel like this was my part of the day as opposed to the rest. we went in and said these speaches to our group and they needed to come from the heart... or at least look like they did... i think i fake pretty well... hopefully. then we went to the thing i had been fearing the most, dance. it was so funny. they wanted us to do this crazy hiphop routine then a ballroom dance. then they wanted us to do a jazz music dance then others but we messed it up so badly that the group of staff just laughed and we started just doing our own... kind of. it was funny but i dont think lead dancing is for me. o well! but we ended up not going to the movies last night because tickets were sold out!!! hopefully we will be able to see journey when they play in the city this weekend. it should be fun so ya... see ya

-Dylan

1st singing day

started the chorous today... its like a 5 part harmony and its very hard... my voice hurts but ill live. also we are going to a drivein theater in denver which should be fun because i havnt been to one in many years but if our host brother dosnt come back soon we wont go. their showing the office and even tho the movies just ok at least its on a 90 foot screen. missing home..... just kidding... its fun here i think ill stay.

lst day before dancing begins...

me and my host brother went to the denver museum of art today and saw some pretty cool art. it was weird because he said that they dont have american art in china but we have so much of the people of asias art that its rediculouse. i think its because we stold it from them during ww2 and other conflicts and just never gave it back... spoils of war??? o well whats done is done i guess...

first free day

woke up at like 330 today... it was a good sleep though. then we went with our host dad ike to a shopping center much like pioneer park mixed with the fair. it was fun and i got a few pictures of the mountain.

Meet and Greet

winding down off of a long day today... i cant remember how many times i awnsered my name and what state i was from. met a kid named marek from the check republic today hes cool... im probly gonna hang with him for a while. im rooming with a kid named erin. but in his home city of bejing china he is known as liangchang. my host family seems nice enough they have good food and a dry place to sleep.dont miss home yet but ill keep you all updated.

-Dylan

first blog

its the night before the first of many trips and i hope that i see some cool stuff on this trip... to my parents, whom i told about this blog when i was allready leaving ... love you guys... to my dear friend tim...PHONE CHECK!!!