Written by Megan Luebke, USA, about the Cast B 2009 Semester-End Banquet in Uppsala, Sweden.
December 16, 2009 came all too fast. Today the members of Cast B 2009 arrived at our last facility, listened to our last morning meeting, ate our last Swedish sandwiches, and endured many more “lasts” that will stick with us forever.
December 16, 2009 was our last full day together as Cast B 2009.
When we started this adventure 6 months ago, we never imagined how fast this adventure would go.
We started off our day at a student nation house in Uppsala. After an hour-long morning meeting full of laughs and tears, we had a meeting with Eva, a representative from Vattanfall who is also an Up With People alumnus and organized this entire tour. She shared with us her initial plans to bring Up With People to Europe to help commemorate Vattanfall’s centennial celebration.
We were happy to hear that we far exceed her expectations!
Then we had a cast meeting with our amazing cast manager, Jen Moody. Our respect, love, admiration and appreciation for this amazing woman grew minute by minute. We were so blessed to have shared this journey with her.
We then traveled back through time as members of our cast set up country stations full of memories of our tour. We remembered our month of staging and our first experiences as a cast. We laughed at the empty rolls of toilet paper scattered on tables as we walked passed the México station. And we sang the Happy Birthday song to ourselves in Swedish, German, Danish, Polish, and Finnish as we walked through the Europe station. Each station was complete with pictures representing that time period. Many tears were shed and smiles shared.
We came together as a group with unlit candles and stood in a circle. One by one, we lit the candle of someone in that group who had inspired us. It was hard to choose just one person as we all have been an inspiration to one another.
Then it was time to get ready for our banquet! In colors of red, black and white, we sat and shared in more pictures and memories. We cried as we watched photos sent from loved ones back home. We ate a wonderful dinner and didn’t have to wait 30 minutes for seconds (thus was the norm for an Up With People meal)! And we danced the night away and snapped picture after picture.
When it was time to leave, everyone seemed to move slower than usual. 
We weren’t tired by any means. We knew that once we left with that host family, drove away in that taxi, or got on that bus, our Up With People adventure would come to an end.
Our cast connected in such a special way. Never before has a cast experienced what we experienced. We performed 47 shows in 6 months. We traveled to 7 different countries. We successfully completed a corporate tour. Because of that connection, we know that our adventure is not over. We will all continue to live an Up With People life. We will continue to give and share with others in our community. We will continue to inspire and bring hope around the world. And we will always sing our song wherever we go.
We had a moment just a moment. That will last beyond a dream, beyond a life time. We are the lucky ones. Some people never get to do all we got to do. Now and forever.
Below are some memories from our banquet. Enjoy!
“When our cast manager, Jen Moody, read her letter from home.” – Deng Tiancheng, China
“Just us.” – Drew Thompson, USA
“Seeing messages from our families!” – Timothy Lewis, USA
“When they announced it was our last song and everyone freaked out because we all knew the time we had left was pretty much over. Not my favorite at all but it gave me a feeling unlike any feeling I’ve ever had before. I’ll never forget it. Thank you Cast B for giving me that feeling.” – Kyle Stugelmayer, USA
“The “Letter to Home” put everything I am feeling into words and inspired me to remember that this has been an experience for my parents and family too.” -Aubrey Finkelstein, USA
“Dancing together for the last time…” – Lima Guggiari, Switzerland
“For me it was seeing the slideshow of pictures from home. It reminded me of the first green room we had in Denver when our parents sent pictures to tell us “Good Luck” for the first show….what a great way to end the semester, with picturse from home saying they are ready to welcome us with open arms…” – Annie Matthews, USA
“Almost lighting my graduation certificate on fire.” – Emilie Gladback, USA
“How everyone’s napkins kept lighting on fire and people rushed to put them out!” – Caitlin Stroup, USA
“Going back in time and seeing how much we did… there is so much to be proud of!” – Willemijn Van Eldik, The Netherlands
“Realizing just how darn much I’ll miss everyone… that proves how incredible this semester has been, and how much you all mean to me.” – Tinna Boman, Sweden
“The moment our last song ended and we did everything we could to not let go.” - Sarah Yakich, USA
