Wave Your Flag

It's time for the World Cup!!!  Check out K'naan's performance of Waving Flag at the opening ceremonies of the World Cup.  This video gives me chills everytime I watch it, check it and enjoy!

Flowers

Nothing But Flowers

Oceanside, CA

Post: May 19th

___________________________

I realized last week that I've accumulated quite a few pictures of flowers.  Flowers are always solid subjects to take pictures of so I thought I would post some of the abundance I've accumulated over the last couple weeks.  Most of these flower pictures come from the flower fields in Carlsbad, California that I visited a few weeks ago and there are a few that come from an Estuary on the border of Arizona and Mexico.  Hope you enjoy!

Turns out flowers make some beautiful pictures, I'm sure that won't be the last post of flowers I put up.  That's all for now, check back soon for some pictures from Mexico!!!

Adios!

Breton

Beach Bum

Oceanside, California

April 27th - May 3rd

______________________________

While we were in the Oceanside/Vista/Carlsbad area we got to spend a day at the beach together.  The cast participated in Home team Olympics on the beach.  It was a fun afternoon of some friendly competition.  Here are some pictures I took from that day, enjoy!

That is all for now, keep checking back for more soon!

Much love,

Breton

Up with People Goes To Camp

Forest Home Summer Camp
Forest Falls, CA
April 21 - 25th
______________________________________________




When we camp back from the Philippines we spent our first week back in the United States at a summer camp about and hour and a half Northeast of Los Angeles in the San Bernardino Mountains.  It was absolutely beautiful up there and we had a blast!  Here are a few pictures I took from the week we were there! Enjoy

(Camp counselors hosting 80's dance night, Karl Kindness and Freddie Friendly)

Let me preface this picture a bit... During the week at camp, we had what we like to call "Man Week."  It's a week dedicated to the real "man" in all of us hah!  We give each other "man names", for example, I was known at Grizzly Shep for the week.  Each man is also not allowed to shave and to try and grow a nice man beard.  I let my beard grow for about 5 weeks and the result was the picture on the top left....  On the very last night of camp, all the men decided we were going to shave off all our facial hair at the big camp fire that night.  We collected everyones beards in a bag and sealed it and are saving it for our 5 year reunion when we will bring it out and laugh and be grossed out that we did that hah!  When it was time to shave mine, they left me with a mustache, which is the result of the middle picture.  From there we shaved off my best friend and ended up looking like the top right picture....  So that's the story of man week!

Hope you enjoyed looking at these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!  That is all from camp and the mountains, next stop, the beach in Oceanside, California!!!






Much Love,
Breton

2010 WORLD CUP

ESPN Commercial
World Cup
May 5th
________________________________


Today I was told about a commercial playing on ESPN for the 2010 World Cup matches in South Africa taking place this coming month. I was told to check it out because the idea behind the commercial is comparable to what we do here in Up with People. I think the commercial is awesome wanted to post it on here for you to see because it really is a cool message. Check it out:









We talked about the video a little and it really is what we do in Up with People. 85 people from 20 different countries all over the world come together for not just one month every 4 years, but for 5 months, 2 times a year. Just the same as the commercial, we put aside our differences and come together for one cause, to connect the world through cultural understanding. Whether or not you dig soccer/futbol or whatever you call it, the commercial sends a powerful message!


Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Now you know where to find me June 11th-July 11th!


Breton

Manila Life

Goodbye Manila
May 1, 2010
Week 4
______________________________


Here is my last update from Manila, Philippines.  A few random pictures but most of them are from a mural that my CI site helped paint on a wall in the slums we worked in.  The idea behind the mural is it is the tree of hope.  The leaves are made of hand prints from us, the UWP members, and children in the communities we worked in.  Down the truck of the tree is the word, "HOPE"  It was an amazing day and the mural came out more beautiful than we could've planned on.  We turned a street in the slums into a bright and beautiful piece of artwork!  Enjoy these last pictures from Manila!

As the sun went down the last night in Manila, we packed our bags and hoped on a plane early the next morning to head to Los Angeles, California!  Next stop, a summer camp in the beautiful mountains of Southern California!  I hope you've enjoyed all the pictures from Manila.  It is truely an incredible place to visit and see.  An absolute life changing experience for me and the rest of Cast A!  More to come soon!

Much love,

Breton

Manila Life

April 11th

Manila, Philippines

Week 3

____________________________

Last week I worked with an organization called Gawad Kalinga here in Manila.  I visited a slum area that is located right on Manila Bay.  When you think you've seen the worst of the worst all you have to do is turn your head in the other direction and there's more where that came from.  At this site I was visiting there were enormous stretches of shoreline completely colored with trash.  It made it look like you could walk halfway out into the ocean on the trash that was laying there.  The following pictures were taken this day at that slum area.  You'll get the idea of the picture I was trying to paint after you see them.

So just when I say "this is my favorite picture" I end up with a new favorite... As of now this is my favorite picture.  In my last post I posted a picture of the slum area with the skyline in the background and mentioned how visible the gap between poor and wealthy is here.  Well this picture gives a better depiction of that.  On the left side past the t-shirts are stretches of poorly assembled homes that look over a bay area filled with trash and gives off a terrible smell.  On the right side is a ship yard where large boats come in to dock and unload huge crates of various goods.  Just a small strip of water separates the two.

Here is a small piece of the stretch of shoreline that is just covered in trash.  It's hard to tell but the majority of that trash is sitting on top of the water.  To the right of this picture are homes that line the shore as well...  This is where they live.

A little kid wanders along the shore.  This is his playground.

Searching through the trash.

Whatever works to get out of the hot sun!

One of my favorite things to take pictures of here are basketball hoops.  Everyone loves basketball in the Philippines and there are basketball hoops everywhere no matter where you go.  I've played countless games of basketball with kids while spending my days in the slum communities.  I love taking pictures of them because they are all unique.  Maybe I will post a blog of all the pictures I've taken of just basketball hoops.

I've posted a lot of pictures of the not so happy life here in the Philippines but I was reminded by this picture that we are still surrounded by amazing beauty everywhere you go, you just have to pay attention to it so you don't miss it.

Only one more week left here in the Philippines then it's back to the United States in California!  It's been an incredible tour so far and I am only looking forward to the rest of it!  Hope you enjoyed the update, more to come soon!

Breton