SuNsHiNe DaIsY

June 12th, 2008

We had been told the night before, that call time on this day would be 7:00am. After a moment of shock among us --the extras-- they said we had to check the website in the morning and see if the call time had changed.

At 5:20am I got out of bed and went directly to the computer, hoping with all my heart to read something like "Call time is now 9:00am"... but I didn't. It said exactly the same as the night before. 7:00am. Crazy, I thought. Oh well, it was 5:20 and I was already awake, so I had little over an hour to get ready for the long day ahead.

After breakfast we walked across the street and up the block to the football field, were everything was neatly arranged for the Graduation scene. There was a big cloud above us, but as soon as it passed, we could see it would be a clear day, for there wasn't any other cloud behind it.

I sat in the stands along with the rest of the "audience", sadly looking at all the Graduates lined up in front of us, wishing I could also be wearing a cap and gown along with them. Suddenly I heard someone say, "For all the Graduates that were here on Tuesday for the rehearsal, we have new people joining you today, so please explain to them what we practiced". As soon as I heard this, I rushed to ask if they needed more people down there. Third in the short line of "new people getting their robes", the woman said she only had robes for people 5'8" and up, so she sent the two girls in front of me back to their seats. I was a lot taller than them, but still too short for what they were looking for (I'm 5'6"), so they also told me to go back. I told them I really wanted to be in the scene, and that the 5'8" robe looked good enough for me, but they insisted, so I sat down... close by.

Not even a minute had passed when I walked back towards them, and just stood there, "hanging out". One of the ladies spotted me and signaled to get closer. They asked me how tall I was and I repeated "the 5'8" robe looked good enough", so I tried it on and it fit. The silky white robe reached a little past my ankles, but I didn't care: I was going to be a High School Musical Graduate!!

I am not disclosing what was filmed on that day, I am only saying that it is AMAZING. I'm really anxious to see how it turns out... I think it's going to be the best part of the movie.

The most exciting thing for me was throwing my cap into the air. For my real graduation (November 2007), we weren't given permission to do it... for a whole number of lame reasons. And now, on the set of High School Musical 3, I got the chance!!! Actually... a lot of chances. We had to do a lot of takes for that scene, and after every "CUT!" came the part where we all yelled for our hats. Getting all of them back from the huge crowd took probably even longer than the scene itself.

For the last scene filmed that day, those of us who weren't in the Dancer's group had to go be part of the audience. That was also so much fun. Lots of cheering, dancing, clapping, and going WOOO!!!!!!!

We were done by 8:30. The sun goes down at 9:00 at this time of the year in Salt Lake City, and we needed the light. We would finish filming the Graduation the next day.

June 11th, 2008

Call time was 8:00am. However, at 8:15 some people told us --a very large group that had already arrived-- that last night they had changed it to 8:30 and that they had posted it on the website. Apparently a lot of us didn't check the website.

We were filming the Graduation Scene. Although I wasn't going to be a Graduate, they needed people as "audience", so we all had to change into our formal clothes, and then go get breakfast... which was outside... and it was COLD.

We waited... and waited... and waited... and, yeah, waited some more. Then Kenny (the director) told us that since it had been raining the night before, the football field was wet and muddy, so instead of filming the Graduation Scene, we would go to the auditorium and be the audience for the East High "Talent Show".

They needed the public's reaction. We needed to clap, cheer, laugh, laugh some more, FREAKIN' LAUGH, act surprised, act confused, etc. But the show wasn't really going on, so we had to imagine it. Of course, Kenny would explain what was supposed to happen, and to dramatize it a little more, he stood behind the camera and made quite a good show of his own. He would imitate Sharpay (just imagine that!) by wearing a red wig and blue boa, and just act like a snobby teenage girl, he would shake his butt, clap, dance around, jump, throw himself on the floor, and just basically make us laugh. You had to be there, it was the funniest thing EVER!

After those great moments, we had lunch and went back to the gym.

There wasn't much more we could do, so at 6:00 we were told we could go home.

June 10th, 2008
Graduation Rehearsal... supposedly

Call time... what was the call time?

I didn't know, and as long as I hadn't received the text message with the info, I figured out I could keep on sleeping. At 11:42 Jo texted... apparently the web site said "Call time is 12:00". I took the fastest shower in my life and by 12:45 I was running into the basketball court, outside which was a giant sign that read "EXTRAS".

Everyone around me was wearing caps and gowns. I rushed to a desk and asked for a voucher. They said they were out of space. I explained that I hadn't received an email or text message with the call time, and that was why I was late. They said they couldn't do anything about it. But I wasn't going to go back home and give up, so I stayed there arguing and explaining. Then another lady walked up to the desk holding her cap and gown, and said she could give me hers. So I happily took it, thanked her as many times as I could, and hurried to the door, where a group of "graduates" was standing. As I was leaving with the group and putting on my cap, I realized the tassel had fallen off, so I went back inside to find it and put it back on. Then I sat on the bleachers and waited for the next group to form, so I could leave with them.

Then the lady that had handed me her cap and gown walked up to me, and said she had been told that the responsibility of the clothing was hers, even though I was the one holding them. I told her she could have them back, but she didn't want to receive them. Finally, after a long talk about "What should we do?" I told her that she should have them, because this was her first day on set, and I had already been there on Sunday. I convinced her that it was okay, and handed the things back.

Back at the desk, the lady in charge told me I could stay for the prom scene. It was 1:15pm and the call time for that was at 2:30. A while later I went back to ask a question... "about the prom scene..." to which she interrupted saying, "Oh no, you can't be in the prom scene, I only need 20 people and I have them already".

"But you just told me I was going to be in the prom scene"
"No, I didn't say that."
"So what should I do?"
"You're going to be a student extra"

So I waited until 2:30 and signed up in the auditorium. It was quite a cold day and we had to film an outdoor "morning" scene. No actors, just extras. It was very fun, except for the fact that it started to drizzle.

Later in the day there was another "morning" scene, this one with Vanessa and Monique. Along with four other girls, we had to stand in front of a planter and pretend to talk. The camera was on a dolly and would move directly in front of us, they even came and did our makeup. After a few takes, the person in charge of the extras said there were too many people grouped in front of the planter, so she moved three of us to another spot. On the very last take, I got to walk right past the camera, seconds before the director yelled "CUT!", so I don't know whether I'll be in the scene or not.

That was all we did. At 9:30pm we were dismissed.

June 8th, 2008

Call time was moved to 2:00 pm.

1:50 and I take my heavy backpack out of the car and nervously walk towards the line behind the sign that reads "Extras".

After a while I finally reach the door, past which a few tables are installed. We receive a paper we must sign and then head into the auditorium and wait.

Minutes later another line is formed, and in groups we are directed to a classroom that has been arranged for Costumes and Wardrobe. We are handed tops in red, for East, and in blue, for West. I get a red shirt and a blue pullover (which comes in handy later on, when it gets colder). They are our paycheck; if we don't return them, we don't get paid.

Cafeteria for breakfast, even though time is close to three o'clock. Then back to the auditorium to wait... again. Finally we are taken to the basketball court. Today we are filming the big basketball game.

Words stuck to my mind. Words which I could still clearly hear when I woke up the next morning: "Rolling!"... "Background... action!"... "ACTION!"... "Background... pantomime"... "and CUT!"... "check the gate"... "Print!"

It was fun, I must admit. Cheering for East High, then changing tops and cheering for West. Seeing the same scene being filmed from five different angles, having to move and reenact the scene from five different places. All that screaming, and sighing, and laughing when the ball didn't reach the basket. Waving pom-poms and signs (and foam fingers). Watching Zac Efron throw a basketball at Corbin Bleu... which landed perfectly on his distracted head and made us all burst into laughter. Oohing and ahhing imaginary games. Cheering silently... I must say, everything was fun and perfect.

Oh and the end, how could I ever forget those last hours of filming? It is 3:20 am and we all are very tired. There are two more scenes to go, both need very little extras in the background. Still, the crew must fight to get us to participate: we are that tired. I decide to lay down on the bleachers and watch. I'm so glad I did. I won't give out details of the scene, but it includes Zac Efron and it lasts --I'm guessing-- no more than eight seconds. However, it must be perfect. Between takes, there's only time for two women to come up to the young actor and spray his face with water: he's supposed to be dripping in sweat. Let me say, the "dripping" part they really got. I could see the drops leaving his chin, all the way from my comfortable bleacher-bed. With all this, I say --again I'm guessing-- they are shooting one scene per minute, at least. It is three-twenty in the morning when they start, but in every shot there's a little detail: Zac's head is too high, his chin is too low, the angle is wrong, and so on the list goes. It is four-ten when it's finally over. I was happy for Zac, he started to look angry after a few takes, but we could tell how pissed he was by the end.

But there was one more scene left to do. Gladly, this one was shorter. By 4:30 we were done, so we changed back to our own clothes and lined up --again-- to return our signed papers. By the time I walked out of East High School and got into my dad's truck, it was five in the morning and dawn in Salt Lake City.

A las 8am sonó mi despertador. 15 minutos después, Rocío me llamó. Pensé en levantarme, pero me di los típicos “5 minutitos más”, y... resultó en una hora.

Salí de mi casa a eso de las 10:45am, pasé a buscar a Rocío y Valentina, y nos dirigimos al Santuario.

Me tocó leer (para variar! ¬¬), pero esta vez elegí el Salmo. Luego llevé las ofrendas (cosa que me encanta). Al final de la misa, nos pusimos de acuerdo con la Juventud para las actividades del día de mañana.

Fuimos a dejar a la Ross y a la Vale, y luego mi mamá me llevó a la Plaza Condell, donde cada domingo se reúne la Sociedad Protectora de Animales de Iquique. Ahí me encontré con la Teresa y la Katherine, y me iban dando pequeños trabajos, como preparar una vacuna, escribirla, repartir volantes de “¡NO A LOS CIRCOS CON ANIMALES!”, etc.

Bueno, y ahí estuve hasta las 2pm, me compré un heladito, y he vuelto a casa.

Ahora, aunque un poco tarde, voy a almorzar ;)

-Raquel S.

SuNsHiNe DaIsY

Dia: Sabado 30 de julio 2005
Lugar: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Hora local: 5am
Hora chilena: 7am

Suena el despertador, me levanto, me ducho, tomo desayuno. Los otros seis ocupantes de la casa se despiertan para despedirse, sin antes decirme y REdecirme que debo volver pronto.

Llego al aeropuerto con mi papa, y luego de unos 20 a 30 minutos de eterna fila para el "check-in", a las 8am por fin logramos encaminarnos a la puerta de embarque.

Mi papa contaba con un pase especial que le permitio irme a dejar hasta la manga, justo en el momento en que llamaban a embarque a la Zona 5, mi zona.

~*~

Lugar: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), USA
Hora local: 9:30am
Hora chilena: 12:30pm

Me desperte poco antes de que aterrizara el avion. Me baje con mis bolsos y me dirigi al "baggage claim", donde me encontre con mi mama y su tia, que me esperaban.

Recogi mi maleta (que para variar se demoro en salir) y luego las fuimos a chequear. Antes de subir al avion, nos aseguramos de comprar uno que otro "souvenir".

~*~

Lugar: Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Hora local/chilena: 8:30pm

El avion a Santiago partia a las 10:10pm... bastante tiempo para comer algo, pasear, entrar a tiendas, etc.

A eso de las 9pm nos acercamos a la puerta de embarque... para enterarnos de que el vuelo estaba sobrevendido y que necesitaban nueve voluntarios para quedarse una noche mas en Atlanta. La linea aerea (Delta) se encargaria de alojamiento y comida, y tendrian en un proximo viaje (con la misma linea aerea) un descuento de US$400 por persona. No aceptamos por el simple hecho de que teniamos mas conexiones... Pero el vuelo salio igual, aunque con media hora de atraso.

~*~

Dia: Domingo 31 de julio 2005
Lugar: Santiago de Chile
Hora: 1:30pm

Llegamos a Santiago a eso de las 7 u 8am. De ahi fuimos a almorzar donde mi abuelita materna, y volvimos al aeropuerto, ya que el avion a Iquique salia a la 1:50pm.

Comprando doughnouts 20 minutos antes del despegue... luego seguridad, y llegar a la puerta de embarque. Ya nos estaban llamando por altavoz, pues solo quedabamos unos seis pasajeros sin abordar.

Despegamos a la hora, me parece, y sobrevolamos Santiago por unos breves 10 minutos. El piloto nos anuncia repentinamente que no puede guardar el tren de aterrizaje, asi que si no soluciona el problema en unos minutos, deberemos volver al aeropuerto. Asi ocurre.

Nos ordenan bajar del avion, y nos dirigimos a la sala de espera. "En 30 minutos sabremos el estado del vuelo" anuncia una azafata... Y en 30 minutos vuelve a hablar: "El vuelo se ha programado para unas dos horas mas aproximadamente, asi que se les ruega venir a buscar tickets para el almuerzo que le brindaremos."

Las opciones del menu son: carne, carne, pollo, o carne. Pregunto por las pizzas, pero todas tienen jamon, que segun me dijeron "no se lo podemos sacar porque vienen hechas."

"Se lo sacare yo", pense, pero unos segundos despues viene el garzon y me dice "tenemos una de queso, tomate, y choclo", asi que con esa me conformo. Sabe bien, y el postre, mejor aun. Sin contar el hecho de que tenian Pepsi, cosa que en Chile se encuentra en pocos lugares, y es mi bebida favorita.

Por fin a las 6pm despegamos... con una escala en Antofagasta, aterrizamos en Iquique a las 9:30 mas o menos, llegando a mi casa un poquitito pasadas las 10pm, cosa que me hizo decidir que el proximo dia me dedicaria a descansar...

Y asi fue, 14 horas de descanso que me dejaron con mucha energia para el dia martes 2, dia que llame "mi primer dia de clases del segundo semestre". Y lo fue, no?

~*~

Lugar: mi casa, Iquique, Chile.

Me pongo a pensar... QUE FIN DE SEMANA MAS AGITADO! Cierro los ojos por unos segundos para dejar todo claramente numerado:

2 dias
4 aviones
18 horas, sumadas, de vuelo
35 horas de viaje continuo

Y eso, debo informar, es solo el regreso...

~*~

-Raquel S.

SuNsHiNe DaIsY

My family calls me The Roller Coaster Girl.
Boy, are they right!

I've been to many amusement parks in California: Disneyland, California Adventure, Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World, Universal Studios... This last one I can barely remember, because I was too young when I went there.

The best coaster park NO DOUBT is MAGIC MOUNTAIN. It has just about every huge, gigantic, fast-speed, spine-chilling, breath-taking, upside-down, round and round roller coaster you can think of. Sea World just has one, which opened last year I think, so I haven't been on it. After Magic Mountain comes Knott's Berry Farm, with a couple of great tracks, too. It also has wooden coasters (like Magic Mountain). After that, I'd rate Disneyland, then California Adventure, and last Sea World. As I said, I can't remeber Universal Studios, and by the way, I'm rating them according to ROLLER COASTERS ONLY!!

But yesterday, friday july 22nd, 2005, was a special day. As a fortune cookie told me the night before: "the next full moon will bring you an enchanting evening", and although the full moon was that same day, I think yesterday was as enchanting as the moon itself.

Yesterday I went to Disneyland with my dad. This year the park's celebrating it's 50th anniversary. Yep! From 1955 to 2005! That's 50 years! And it was exactly 50 on the 17th!

But, okay, let me tell you how my day started...

I woke up -unusually early- at 6:30am, and with and hour drive, we got to the park at about 9:30am.

Our first -and clever- stop was Space Mountain, which was closed for two years, and recently reopened the past july 16th.

From there on, everything was just rides. Rides, rides, rides, and more rides. By the way, did I mention rides? And let me add some rides to that!

We stopped once to eat a slice of pizza. The rest of our "meals" (so-called, quoted "meals") were: a cup of frozen lemonade (gee! really frozen! you couldn't even get the spoon in it because it would break!), and some popcorn at the end. Oh, well, and of course, water (drink it before it evaporates!).

I've kinda learned that if you want to ride, you have to walk nonstop. That's what we've done the last two times that we've gone to Disneyland. Nonstop walking for about 15 hours... last time I recall riding 17 rides, THIS TIME WE MADE IT 22!!! Yep, that's right, 22 rides. Don't believe it?

T-W-E-N-T-Y -- T-W-O
V-E-I-N-T-I-D-O-S
V-E-I-N-G-T -- E-T -- U-N
22
!!

Let me list them for you (I know you probably don't care about the list, but I want to look back and remember, so do me a favor; make me happy and read this):

Indiana Jones (x3)
Space Mountain (x2)
Spash Mountain (x2)
Big Thunder Mountain (x2)
Space Tours
Matterhorn
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Car-toon spin
Autopia
Alice in Wonderland
Pinocchio
Peter Pan
Snow White's
Winnie the Pooh
Jungle Cruise

So, I'm so glad our first stop was Space Mountain, because it was only a half-hour wait. As for the second time we got on... the line lasted for 80 whole and complete minutes! But it was worth the wait, because I actually enjoyed the second ride more than the first.

Sort of like what happened with Inidana Jones (which we rode three times, thanks to 2 fastpasses), Splash Mountain (we got a fastpass as soon as we got out of it the first time), and Thunder Mountain.

I was really happy to see Thunder Mountain had opened again. It had been closed since a person -chilean, by the way- died there in 2003, while he celebrated his 30th birthday... And I got really sad, but accidents can happen, and... TODO PASA POR ALGO, right? =)

Splash Mountain broke down while we were on it the first time... that same time, I started to rock my log from side to side (it was sooo fun!!), and a voice comes out from the middle of nowhere saying: "DO NOT ROCK YOUR LOG... AGAIN, DO NOT ROCK YOUR LOG!" Then we discovered they even had a camera hidden inside a birdhouse! And a speaker between a barrel! (Good thinking, anyway).

I got a couple of souvenirs, and took PLENTY of pictures (soon to be in my fotolog, I hope), but it was just great to be one of the lucky 2005 guests who got to celebrate Disneyland's 50th anniversary!

After all...

...IT'S THE HAPPIEST HOMECOMING ON EARTH!

(8) WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY TIME, WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY TIME! (8) WELCOME!!!
(main song on the anniversary parade, which I watched... it only lasted 15 minutes, though!)

-Raquel S.
THE ROLLER COASTER GIRL

SuNsHiNe DaIsY

- ¿El número de su dirección es 3298? –preguntó la secretaria por teléfono.
- 3298 – A –corregí yo.
- Ah ya, el móvil ya está afuera.
- Muchas gracias –y colgué.
- Estamos listas –dijo mi mamá
- ¡Mami! ¡Quedan tres maletas arriba todavía!
- ¡Verdad! –y subimos a buscarlas.

Me despedí de Sandy y del tío Fernando y partimos. Llegamos al aeropuerto, chequeamos las maletas, y nos fuimos a sentar.

- Vuelo 501 con destino Antofagasta y Santiago, favor embarcar por puerta número cuatro.

[No recuerdo el número del vuelo, y mi tarjeta de embarque no la encuentro, pero había que escribir un número, ¿no?]

- ¡Carmen! –gritó mi tío, y fuimos hacia allá.

Venía con mi prima, la Cristel, y nos sentamos a comer.

[En verdad no comí, no teníamos hambre, así que esperamos a que mi tío y mi prima terminaran de comer… pero suena más lindo escribir ‘nos sentamos a comer’ que ‘nos sentamos a mirarlos comer’, ¿cierto?]

En Santiago hacía mucho, mucho frío (me recuerda a una canción de Juanes…). En la casa de mi abuelita, ¡peor! A la noche recuerdo haber andado con:

3 pares de calcetines
2 pares de pantalones
4 poleras
2 chalecos
1 abrigo
1 par de guantes

Y aún así, ¡no me sentía los pies! Mi mamá me dijo al oído:

- He pensado todo el día en las víctimas de Antuco, ¡imagínate el frío que hacía allá!

Mientras nos descongelábamos, o mejor dicho, tratábamos, frente a la estufa con mi prima, no paraba de repetir:

- Me gusta Iquique, me gusta Iquique, me gusta Iquique…

[Ahora, claro, me ENCANTA Iquique, solo que en ese momento lo echaba MUCHO de menos]

El próximo día, a las ocho de la noche partió el avión a Atlanta, Georgia. Mostraron “Robots” (una película animada, para los que no la conocen), así que ahí me entretuve un rato (la encontré buena). Me desperté a las tres de la mañana, y ya no pude dormir más. Casi a las seis trajeron el desayuno, y pasadas las seis y media aterrizamos (la hora allá es la misma que en Chile en esta época del año).

Teníamos que hacer tiempo en el aeropuerto hasta las 12:50, que era cuando partía el avión a Los Ángeles, así que comimos algo, paseamos, nos sentamos a mirarnos las caras… y finalmente publicaron el vuelo en las pantallas.

Nos dirigimos a la puerta A18, a sacarle la película a la gente que pasaba… y yo me dediqué a escribir un rato. Pero la hora se acercaba y la puerta mostraba OTRO vuelo. Me paré y fui a ver a las pantallas. NUESTRO vuelo venía con un atraso de 50 minutos, y lo habían cambiado a la puerta A19.

La A18 y la A19 no quedaban precisamente una al lado de la otra… así que ahí caminamos y… tal como esperan, la A19 estaba LLENA. Por suerte encontramos tres asientos juntos (venía mi tía-abuela también) y ahí esperamos.

Luego anunciaron que no iban a dar comida a bordo. El vuelo duraría unas cinco horas, así que fuimos a comprar unos sándwiches.

Finalmente pudimos embarcar, como a las 13:40. Detrás de nosotros venían unos tipos altísimos, que por lo visto eran jugadores de algún equipo de basketball, porque venían en primera clase, y una azafata les pidió un autógrafo.

¿Cómo lo supe? Pues ellos venían en la última fila de primera clase, y yo en la primera fila de turista (no alcanzó el bolsillo, ¡lo siento! XD) Y no tenían cortinas… tan solo una cuerda con un nudo… ¡bien fino, te diré! Así que, bueno, los observé mientras se tragaban unas cuántas botellas de whisky y ¡quizás qué más!

Y es que esto no puede ser más estafador… mostraban a bordo “Miss Simpatía 2”, ¡pero tenías que comprar los audífonos! Ahora, generalmente, cuando venden audífonos a bordo, puedes usar los mismos que tu discman (si es que tienes), pues bien, esta vez ¡NO! Tenías que comprarlos, o te quedas sin película (Raqui prefirió ahorrarse la plata y ¡dormir!)

Por fin llegamos a Los Ángeles, donde eran las tres de la tarde (tres horas menos que en Chile). Arrendamos un auto, y nos vinimos al hotel. Al consultar por el precio del Internet que ofrecen en el lobby… nos contestaron sin escrúpulos:

- It’s sixty cents a minute.

¡Qué horror! ¡Hasta dónde hemos llegado, por favor! ¡Qué tipo de estafa es esta! ¿¡En qué lugar de Chile se ha visto esto!? ¿Saben a lo que se traduce eso? ¡MÁS DE CINCO LUCAS CADA QUINCE MINUTOS! ¿Precisamente? ¡360 pesos el minuto! (calculando el dólar a $600). Verdaderamente increíble…

Pero bueno, anoche llegó mi papá (estaba en Salt Lake City, con su mamá), así que él averiguó que el hotel tenía Internet inalámbrico ¡gratis! Así que aquí estamos, en el hotel, disfrutando de todo lo que es “ondas”, jeje…

¿Mis planes? Mañana iremos a Disneyland, que este 2005 celebra su “50th anniversary”. El lunes (o quizás el martes) nos vamos a Salt Lake City, a pasar unos días, y el sábado me devuelvo a Los Ángeles, unas pocas horas antes de que salga mi avión de vuelta a… Chile ¬¬

¡A disfrutar la semana que queda! ¡Aún estamos a jueves!

¿Escribo mucho? El silencio me dice que sí… pero yo tengo la esperanza de que algún día alguien leerá todo esto y mucho más…

¡Ojalá sea pronto! XD

-Raquel S.

SuNsHiNe DaIsY