Today is what I would call “picture perfect.” The New Year is finally here, and I can’t believe it’s 2010! We have had the most incredible experiences in London and the parade topped the trip off with a perfect ending. When I woke up this morning, I felt the sun beaming in through the window, and I jumped right up excited for the day to start.

The All-Americans were split into three separate groups for the parade performance: Working day and Night, Chillin, and Wanna be Starting Something. When we arrived for the parade the streets were already filled with excited spectators. In total there were 550 thousand spectators at the Parade! The groups were placed at the front middle and end of the parade (The excitement was spread out through the entire parade)! The UCA, UDA and USA groups were the crowd favorites. When they were walking up, you could see the excitement in the spectators’ faces.

During the parade, the cheerleaders and dancers did chants, dances, and stunts they had practiced earlier in the week. They looked absolutely amazing out there showtheir hard work really paid off. They walked about two miles during the parade and they stopped to perform the routine every chance they got. The parade route was fun to walk through because we also got to do a little more sightseeing along the way.

After the parade, when All Americans headed back to the hotel, they all wanted to eat and warm up a little. Some of the participants still wanted to do a couple more things while they were here; last chance shopping and ice skating were two biggies! Several groups had a final dinner together with their staff escorts, too. Spending time together was a great way to end their night and bond.

While we were in London, we all became familiar with a participant named Haili Hagen. Haili  wanted to do something different on her trip to London. When she became an All-American and decided to participate in the London Parade, she didn’t want to make it about herself; she said “I wanted to give something back while I was here.” She wrote to different sponsors in her hometown and collected mittens from them for a children’s charity in London. But, when she arrived in London, something was missing… her luggage with her charity mittens. This mishap landed her at our Varsity Desk, face to face with Mike Fultz, our Special Events Coordinator. Shortly after the word got out, everyone wanted to help, and after the parade was over other All-Americans gave their mittens to help Haili accomplish her goal. After she collected the mittens, her luggage came, just in time to add her sponsored mittens and do go back home! In total, she has collected 264 pairs of mittens! Thank you Haili for all of your hard work, it means so much to everyone, you are truly an inspiration to others.

Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible! Especially to the escorts, the varsity desk, our resource guides and Mike Fultz. Have a great New Year!