Charleston: Beautiful, historic and romantic.

Charleston. Beautiful, historic and romantic. Out of all the cities that we have visited on this tour, Charleston is by far my favorite. We got into town around 1:15 PM yesterday. I was able to meet up with a friend of mine that I met when I went to China last summer. His name is Jonathan Tice, and he is in the Coast Guard here in Charleston. He was one of the people that went on the Global Project to K-Town, China.

Jonathan picked me up and we drove around town a bit before we found a place to have lunch. I had some blackened chicken, cabbage and potatoes, followed by a coca-cola chocolate cake! It was delicious! After that we went to the ocean, which was amazing because it was the first time that I saw the Atlantic Ocean! After that we stopped by his house so he could change into "civilian" clothes before we went to dinner with my teammates. We met up with Adam and Brennon (Faith had the day off) and walked around until we met up with Courtney from UNC Greensboro. She and her friend drove down to spend the weekend with us! We ate at Mellow Mushroom...which was delicious!! After that we went back to Jonathan's house and hung out with his roommates. Jonathan was really nice and gave me his room (he slept in his roommates rooom), and the boys slept on the couch. His bed is the most comfortable bed in the entire world. I was pretty convinced that I would not have the ability to get up in the morning. Somehow, I did.

Jonathan had duty this morning, so he left the house around 6:30AM. We were still sleeping! He is going to come to our screening tomorrow at John Wesley United Methodist Church. Today, ,we met up with Courtney and went to the beach again. It was like 80 degrees, and really sunny. The boys went swimming and I found some sweet seashells. It was so nice to spend the day in the sun!!

Tonight, Faith, Courtney, her friend and myself are going on a ghost tour of Charleston! I am really excited and I cannot wait. We leave for the tour in 15 minutes, so I am getting really excited! I wish it was going to be a little darker outside, but you can't win everything in life! ha.

I am going to meet my grandmother on the 4th. Like literally meet my grandmother. I know I saw her once when I was 8, but I don't remember her at all. I have no idea what she even looks like. She is really excited that I am coming too. I will get to spend three days with her. (Invisible Children gives us three days off at some point). The last time we talked on the phone, she told me that she loved me and it seriously brought me to tears. I don't have any memories of her saying that to me. It was pretty incredible! I had to get off the phone quickly because I didn't want her to know that I got all teared up! lol Anyways, pray for me, I am a little nervous!!

Well, I hope to get you all some pictures soon. You are going to love it! OOOOOH! Jensen shipped me my computer, so I should be getting it sometime this week. THEN I will be able to upload a lot more pictures whenever.

A little glimpse...

Adam made me wear a hate in an effort to "model" how amazing it looks on...and convince people to buy it. I said I didn't like wearing hats, he replied with "Well, we should have one girl wear it and one boy wear it. I'll wear one, and since you're the only girl...you get to wear one." Thanks Adam.

Selling Merch. outside a high school after school. I don't know how legal it was, because we were in a parking lot across the street. We got asked to move...

Penn Station=the most delicious subs in the entire world. One of our contacts father owns the sub shop and invited us to lunch. I had a pizza sub, and you can tell that I loved it!

We went to a rave...in the Library at Elon University. People were dancing on the circulation desk and on the computer desks.

A student sold Invisible Children Support slips to raise money for Schools for Schools

So, I realize....

I realize that I have not posted much lately. With that said, I would like to explain myself. I finally started my section of tour and I feel like we have been non-stop on the go! Don't get me wrong, I love every moment of it, and I LOVE meeting all of my new friends, but it does leave little time for posting blogs. Don't worry, I am still thinking of all of you!

This morning my teammates and I had the privilege of waking up at 4:00 AM and driving two hours to Charlotte, NC where we did a screening at Charlotte Catholic High School. The school is beautiful, and the students were so helpful! I had so much fun hanging out with them at their club meeting after school. No wonder this school won the trip to Uganda last year, they are hard, dedicated workers!!!

Tomorrow my teammates and I are going to an AVEDA Institute here in Charlotte. This is a Cosmetology school...which is great because we are hoping to get...a facial? I hear the other roadies are getting them!!

Anyways, I miss all of you, and I am looking forward to Christmas with the family! I will post some new pics this weekend.

-Christa

Jamestown Adventures

So, we are almost halfway through the tour, and I am starting to miss everyone so much! Let's see, some things I miss the most.

1. Sleeping in. December 20th, I am sleeping in until noon!
2. My family. I miss my whole family. Albert, mom, Blake, Amber, Susan, Marc, my dad, Karen...the list goes on.
3. Cooking! I really miss cooking. I miss meditating while I cook.
4. My dog Shiloh, and Cat Samantha. I don't miss Dory, she is evil and she can run away.
5. Having time to put makeup on. Even if I don't wear it, I miss having the time to do it if I want.
6. Jensen. Duh!
7. HEROES! Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and every other TV show
8. Knowing what is going on in the world
9. Dancing...with Tessa!
10. My BMED crew. I really miss them right now. I wish Anna could come home!!

BUT all of the amazing people we meet, and the amazing story we get to tell far outweighs all of these. I am looking forward to coming home, but I am also excited to be here, working with Invisible Children. I start my section of tour on Monday, and I can't wait to meet all of the people I have been working with to get these screenings set up. It is going to be so great to put a face with the name!!

Ok, so today my team and I finally got a MUCH needed day off. Usually, on our days off we just work the entire day. I am sure we should have just worked all day, but we needed to spend some quality time together as a team and bond! We went to Jamestown and Yorktown...AMAZING! Oh, we have a new teammate on the Mid Atlantic Team. I would like to introduce you to Shaniqua (AKA Furbs, Furbalicious, Furbalic, and Furby)

Furbs getting ready to fire the cannon in Jamestown

Me! Getting my gear ready to take my post!

Me and one of the men who work on the boat

I'm joinin' the Continental Army Mom.

This is why I am NOT traveling through time to be a soldier. No medicine to numb the pain, scary instruments and a crazy doctor who drills holes in your head! YIKES!

While we were walking back to the exit, we stopped in the Native American village to look around. We met an "actress" who told us all kinds of crazy ghost stories about Jamestown. She has seen a ghost before! NUTS! She told us about six different stories. INSANE! It was so fun, and we all left a little creeped out. Oh, I secretly took pictures inside the museum, even after I was asked not to. I am a teacher....I have a duty to make my students' education solid...and amazing!!!

-Christa

Sign the Citizens Arrest Warrent of Joseph Kony

Here is some more information about my trip to Uganda and what I encountered along the way...

On September 17^th I returned from a 10 day journey to northern Uganda with 12 other Roadies to gain a deeper understanding of the Schools for Schools program. On the third day of the trip, I had the opportunity to spend an entire day at my partner school, St. Mary’s Lacor.

By the first break in the school day I had made a few friends. We sat in the courtyard and talked as the girls flipped through the pages of my notebook, exploring a small part of my world while I sat in the midst of theirs. A hush came over the girls and one asked, “Madam, what is this?” as she pointed to notes I had taken during my Roadie training about the LRA. My heart skipped a beat as I searched for a way to explain why I had information about the LRA in my notebook.

Barbra in front of St. Mary's Lacor

I gathered my thoughts and explained to my new friends that in addition to working to rebuild their school, Invisible Children is actively trying to bring an end to the war the LRA has been perpetrating for the last two decades. There was a long, awkward silence as the girls stared down at the number of people who have been murdered and abducted by the LRA since December. After some time, a girl named Barbra looked directly at me and asked how we planned on doing this. “We are asking American students to ask President Obama to help to bring an end to this war. We believe that if we get enough students to do this, he will listen,” I replied.

After another long silence, Barbra said that she wanted to write to President Obama herself. When I returned to the school the next day, Barbra greeted me with the three page letter she had written to the President. I tucked the letter away and took a few photos with her before I had to leave to visit another school. That night, the other Roadies and I gathered together to read the letter. My heart broke as she told of how the LRA had attacked her camp, killed her family and abducted her when she was only 12 years old. While she was lucky enough to escape her captors, Barbra’s life has been forever altered by the LRA.

The more I thought about Barbra’s letter, the more I realized that she speaks not only for herself, but for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced by Joseph Kony and the tens of thousands who have been killed and kidnapped in four different countries. While Barbra is back in school, thousands of others in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic are still living under the constant threat of attack by the LRA. Here at IC, we believe this war will continue unless we let our leaders know that we will not rest until they do something about it. If you agree, please take a minute to add your voice to Barbra’s and sign the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant of Joseph Kony. (www.wewantobama.com).

Invisible People: Make one!

JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY

Right now, I am sitting in the commons area of James Madison University surrounded by hard working college students on a mission to get an A. Well, not all of them. There is a guy next to me who just put his textbook down because he was falling asleep. He is taking a nap with his feet hanging over the edge of the couch. It reminds me of my favorite thing to do in music listening at Sac State. Sometimes I miss college, then I remember the PACT and decide that I don't miss it all that much after all!

Annie long is a roadie from the Spring 09 and Summer 09 tour. We are staying with her right now, and doing a screening at her campus tonight at 6:30 PM. I wish I could invite all of you to come and see what it is all about. They have made these incredible displays to raise awareness about the event. They call them "Invisible People" and they are made out of tape. *I will post the pictures later tonight* So, so make this invisible person you get a crazy volunteer to sit still for about 30 minutes and be taped from head to toe. You tape around them with the sticky side up, then do it again, sticky side down. Then, you cut them out, and re-tape the people back together, put a sign on it and put it somewhere where a lot of people walk around campus. We did it in the quad area, and it has been so great watching people's reactions to these invisible people! They are great conversation starters!! haha Oh, I helped out my donating my hands to be "molded" into invisible hands...and got cut when they were cutting me out! Ouch! haha, it's ok. I suppose I can take one for the team!

PS As a side note, Annie lives in the most amazing house! It is an old Victorian house, with about a million girls who live there. The walk to campus is beautiful, and every step reminded me that I am really in Virginia! Nuts! There are so many brick buildings, and the leaves are turning to the beautiful fall colors! Ahh, I wish I could live everywhere I go!

This is me with "Elise" the Invisible Person

Brennon and our Invisible Baby

Another Invisible Person to promote the screening

The day I blew it at Liberty University...

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

Sunday, October 4th we woke up at 5:45 Am to drive the 7 hours it was going to take to get from Lexington, Kentucky to Lynchburg, Virginia. Faith and I took turns driving because it was such a long drive. While I was driving, the GPS decided, unannounced, to re-route our trip to the "scenic" route, which tacked on another hour. Not only that, but it was the most beautiful, magical, windy, car sick inducing ride of my life. I was the driver and I felt sick! We had to stop for a bit because people were getting sick!

BUT ti was all worth it! The people we met at Liberty were so amazing, and I had a ton of fun with them. The screening was huge! It was our biggest college screening to date, with 275 people showing up (this is huge for a college campus). The students were really interested in Invisible Children, and so supportive. The only bad part of the entire day was when I got up to do the conclusion and blanked. My teammates had been telling me how great I was at doing the conclusion, and I thought they were insane, but went to do it anyways. The deeper yes, remember? Well, when I got up there to do the conclusion Adam handed me an Activist Journal and I walked up to the mic. As soon as that thing touched my hands I am sure you could have seen tumble weeds passing through the inner workings of my ming. NOTHING! I was stumbling over all of my words, and could not figure out what I was saying. Eventually, I figured it out. I need my hands to talk!!! So, I put down the journal, took a deep breath and started over. It was an OK recovery, but I still totally blew it! BUT we had 29 people sign up to participate in the TRI donation program. Amazing, considering that was the one I blew the most in the conclusion! Thankfully, God doesn't need me to be perfect to get his message of peace across! (PS We raised the most money at the screening for Invisible Children as well! I guess it wasn't a total failure!)

After the screening, the Liberty students gave us a huge goodie bag with deoderant, tooth paste, mouth wash, TP, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, etc. AND Two $25 gift cards to Wal Mart AND a case of water that was donted by their Representative...yes, THEIR Representative!! So cool! We went out to Cracker Barrel that night, which was my first experience. LOVED IT!

The AMAZING Liberty students the waters that were donated to our team by their Representative

Enjoying the rocking chair at Cracker Barrel!

Me with all of the goodies we got from the Liberty Students

The aftermath of our reorganization of the van. The office asked us to re-count all of our merchandise. FUN!

Free food? Yes please!

First Alliance church was probably one of my favorite screenings that we have done so far (outside of a college campus). We got to the church early to set up, and were able to hang out with the people who came early as well. The church had this band come and play (I loved them), free food and time for people to hang out and chat before the screening. It was perfect. I met so many wonderful people, and got some more free food! I don't think I have ever had so much free food in my life as I have eaten as a roadie.

The thing that I really liked about this screening was that though we could not pass out the citizens arrest warrant, we were able to set up a station where people could electronically sign the citizens arrest warrant for Joseph Kony. We had about five computers set up at one point, and people were crowding around to sign the petition. As an added bonus, the guy who was singing gave all of us a free copy of his CD, which is great. AND he autographed it for us as well! Love it!!

The church had a lot of room for people to mingle before the screening

Our citizens arrest warrant "signing" station

Me at the merchandise table doin' my job!

UK fans are out of control!!!

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY (UK)

On October 1st my teammates and I made our way over to Lexington to visit the University of Kentucky. The screening was good, and we went out to ice cream with a group of the Invisible Children club members after the screening. We hung out at Laurens house for a while, and went to sleep. It was so nice to be able to sleep in a bit that morning, we were lucky enough to have that day off from screenings so we could catch up on other work. I got so many phone calls made this day, AND I printed out 100 pictures from my trip to Uganda so we could put them in a photo album to share with people who want to know more about Uganda. Brilliant idea, because everyone always wants to see pictures!!! My teammate Adam's parents came into town that night, and they treated the team to pizza. YUM! Pizza is my favorite food in case you did not know that already!!

The University of Kentucky sign

Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market to raise awareness about Invisible Children and the screening at First Alliance church that night. We had stayed up until 2:30 Am the night before, and woke up around 7:00 AM to get ready to go. It was so much fun! It was so cold that morning that I had two sweaters on, a scarf wrapped around my head, jeans and gloves...and I was till cold! We met a lot of people who were interested, and donated change to our change for chance jar. Josh bought me lunch that day, a pulled pork sandwich, which was delicious. They had this wonderful BBQ sauce that I put on it, delic!

Me with my new haircut!

My other teammate Brennon is in a wedding in just a few weeks, so he had to get measured for a tux. Faith and I dropped him off and went to the dollar store to wait for him. While we were there I found these AMAZING Halloween decorations for out van! Now, we have the inside of our van all decorated for Halloween, and it only cost us $1.00! Excellent! On our way to the church, we hit major traffic. Apparently UK is a big deal, especially UK football. I had only seen this in movies, and I really didn't believe that this kind of a college town existed, but it does! It took us an hour to move two miles becuase the traffic was out of control (much like their fans). People came all the way from Alabama to watch this game...insane! You could tell who was on what team, because they were either wearing all red, or all blue. Crazy people!

Just this past week...

Ok, so I know that my blogs are few and far between...but we are so busy! Just this past week we visited The Brown School, University of Louisville, Paul Mitchell the School: Louisville, Atherton High School, Seneca High School, Asbury College, Georgetown College, Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, and University of Kentucky. The days all blend together, and I can never remember which day of the week it is. I repeatedly ask my teammates what day it is, and what we did that morning. It's crazy.

Asbury College, Asbury, KY.

On Wednesday, the Mid Atlantic Crew journeyed on to Asbury, KY where we spent two whole days on campus. My teammates Faith and Brennon went to do screenings at a high school and university while Adam and I stayed on campus to promote the Asbury College screening and participate in an "All campus pillow fight." Yes, I said that right, a pillow fight. But, let me tell the whole story.

Campus wide pillow fight at Asbury College. I borrowed a pillow from a guy named Micah and started hitting people. In between hits, I would stop and invite people to the screening that night!

Adam and I stayed behind at Asbury to hang out with our contacts, and help promote the event that evening. In the early afternoon we received a tour of the campus where we saw the chapel, the original college "house" from 1890, and the film school (the most important part of the campus). When we went into the hall of the film school on the wall, hanging in beautiful glory and majesty was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I ran my fingers over the cool surface of this long, wooden stick and rubber "straw" and sighed. This was as closest I would ever get to Harry Potter. Apparently, the Media Communications program is really good at Asbury, and many students end up working on crazy movies and sending props back to the school. Examples: Coins from Hook, Potter from Prince Caspian, a skull from Indiana Jones, Claws from Wolverine, a giant potato peeler from Honey I Shrunk the Kids, pajamas from Dreamer, Goggles from Star Wars, a button box from Benjamin Button AND a broom from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I, of course had to get a picture with the broom. We found a chair in a random classroom and I climbed up on top of it to get a picture with the broom. It was epic.

Need I say more?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Button Box!

PAUL MITCHELL THE SCHOOL: LOUISVILLE

Paul Mitchell the School: Louisville

Earlier this week my teammates and I did a screening at Paul Mitchell the School: Louisville. I was so excited to do the screening there because we were going to share our documentary "Roseline" which I love. I also thought it was a nice change of scenery, because we usually only visit high school and universities. While we were there, Kim, the Education Director told us that they were going to treat us to free hair cuts. I was excited, because I knew the boys needed hair cuts, but I was so stubborn and did not want my hair cut. Shaneen had just cut my hair before I left Sacramento, and I only let her cut my hair! I eventually got over my fear, and a girl named Megan cut my hair for me. I had so much fun talking with her, and standing in the parking lot with wet, pinned up hair during a 30 minute fire alarm experience. She was so sweet, sincere and fun. I was sad to leave, because I felt like we could have been great friends! Oh, and I loved my hair cut! I have pretty much had the same hair cut since I was 18, with varying degrees of an A-Line, but I finally just chopped that A-line off and it is "squared" as they put it in the Paul Mitchell School.

Megan and myself after my new haircut! Love it!

My teammate Brennon getting a sweet fohawk.

Adam finally getting rid of his fro!

Faith and I at the Paul Mitchell Screening

THE BROWN SCHOOL: Louisville, KY

When my teammates and I pulled up to the city block that is "The Brown School" I discovered that the school was equipped with its very own Fallout Shelter. Good thing we have protection from a nuclear blast, I was very worried.

RANDOM PICTURES: LOUISVILLE, KY

I found this next to a random bench and thought it was funny.

I thought Jensen would be excited to see this picture...

The biggest baseball bat I have ever seen.

Kentucky Derby anyone?

Well, I have a serious game of Apples to Apples to play, and a Farmers Market to attend at 7:00 AM tomorrow so I better head out! Five hours of sleep? Yes please!!