Houston Texans – Blog

Ariana recounts Curacao excursion

We are back! If I could summarize our trip in one word it would be UNBELIEVABLE!

Just as I imagined, we were in great company!

We arrived early Thursday evening in Curacao and were quickly briefed on the rules of the island – as Americans visiting our military that is- and given our itinerary for the next day.

We were up early Friday and began immediately rotating through the stations on base with Theo and Jay, Tomoko from the Bucs, and Stefanie and Alyson from the Titans. Following this tight schedule ensured that we had enough time to see everything and learn as much as possible about the daily duties of our troops on the island as well as the tasks they perform off base.

We found that the majority of the men and women stationed there were from the Air Force and the Navy.

At our first location, we were introduced to some of the men from the Air Force. I say “some” because it was a no-fly day, meaning that on these days they are not required to come to work. But because they had been expecting us, they were more than happy to be able to show us around.

They did this the entire day with each group that visited during the valued time there are given off, the time they could have spent resting, and the time they could have spent doing anything other than giving us “tours.”

That is just a small example of the kindness we were shown throughout our stay.

After seeing the entire base, we had just a few hours to rest before Theo and Jay’s show. The guys that had been escorting us since our arrival to the airport offered to show us the island and we immediately jumped on the opportunity. To our advantage, Q, as he asked us to call him, had been stationed there two years! He knew just about every inch of the island!

After a thirty minute drive, some unpaved trails, and a short walk, we found ourselves at the west point of the island. It was stunning! Bashing against the rocks and shooting up through a blowhole, the water looked as if it had been filled with blue and turquoise dye!

Had it not been for his familiarity with the island, we would have never seen let alone have heard of this place!

I’m sure most the battery from my camera was drained while we were there!

After leaving, we took a different route back to the base, the scenic route. I laughed when I heard this and said, “scenic route?” As if everything we hadn’t already seen wasn’t “scenic!”

Q then made a pit stop at a local restaurant where you can actually cliff dive straight into the crystal clear water!

Jay and Julius, another one of the men that had been escorting us, took advantage of being men, and needing only five minutes to do their hair and dove in!

Quite entertaining I must say!

As nervous as they were they said it was well worth it!

By then of course, we had to head back to get ready for Theo and Jay’s comedy show.

By 7 pm we were sitting beachside with most of the men and women stationed there listening to Theo and Jay put their talent to use.

Not only did my abs get a workout, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that had to wipe my eyes from laughing so hard. They were absolutely hilarious. If you haven’t heard of either of them you definitely should!

As Theo was about to go off stage, he said something that I am sure I had not considered. If it weren’t for these men and women fighting everyday for our rights as Americans, and for things such as the freedom of speech, he would not have a job. He was especially thankful for that right and said even though the show was for them, had it not been for what they do, he would never have had the opportunity to do so.

Again, unbelievable.

I am reminded every second during these military appreciation tours of how blessed I am to be a part of this country.

I always thank Armed Forces Entertainment for this experience, and I will do so again but now I see that any opportunity I am given is also a right. These tours are always a choice. I am allowed to choose whether or not I go and it is because of our troops that I have this freedom.

I especially thank the troops for WHAT they fight for.

Once again, on behalf of myself and the Houston Texans Cheerleaders, Thank You!

-Ariana

Ariana set for trip to Curacao

Good Evening Texans Fans! The opportunity has once again made itself present! Andrea and I are headed on yet another military tour in the morning!

Armed Forces Entertainment has given us the honor of joining them on their tour to the tiny island of Curacao.

Sitting just above Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, Curacao is rich with culture! What could be better than experiencing it like this?

I can’t forget to mention that we will also be joined in our expression of thanks by Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders! It is always exciting to be able to meet cheerleaders from other NFL teams and being able to work alongside them under these circumstances is incredible!

But that’s not it, Theo Von, recognized comedian and reality show star, as well as Jay Davis from Stand-Up, will be joining us as well!

This trip is bound to be quite entertaining.

Although we will be there a short three days, and half of our time is allotted to traveling, Andrea and I will do our best to make sure Texans will not soon be forgotten.

Armed Forces Entertainment is allowing us to leave our mark and with pride! All that’s left is for us to go to sleep and wake- up again and we are on our way. 

Andrea- don’t forget your passport!

-Ariana

Photos from Texans Cheerleaders’ visit to Korea

If you’ve been reading our blogs, then you already know that a group of Houston Texans Cheerleaders recently traveled to South Korea to visit U.S. military troops.

Here are some photos from their trip:

Ariana grateful for time in Korea with troops

An nyong ha se yo!

That means ‘hello’ in Korean!

As you can see we are safe! We arrived Wednesday night and had just enough time to go straight to our rooms to prepare for our first day “on duty.”

Traveling via Blackhawk and van, we spent the day visiting with men and women in the Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force.

While on the Blackhawk, our captain shared one of his war stories. It was tough just listening to him and I can’t imagine having experienced it. Being able to hear what these men and women deal with firsthand and being able to thank them personally is worth more than I can express in just a few short lines.

For the next couple of days, our time in Korea consisted of more traveling and more visits to each base. The rest of the girls and I along with Adam Hayward, linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were divided into two groups in order to be able to cover as much ground as possible.

Being honored with coins at the end of each visit, I am sure I can speak for us all when I say that the value of these coins is beyond measurable.

I have discovered through trips like these that the strength that our troops have is more than physical. Leaving their families behind for months, even years, they undergo conditions that most of us will never have to encounter. It is because of their sacrifices that we are able to live as freely as we do in the United States.

I could say thank you everyday for the rest of my life and even then I do not feel that it would be enough!

But for what it’s worth and on behalf of myself and the Houston Texans Cheerleaders…thank you!

~Ariana

Andrea recounts trip to North Korea border

These past couple days have been amazing!

Our first day here most of what we did was travel, which was fine with us because we rode in style!

We spent half of our day in a Blackhawk flying from base-to-base performing for troops all over South Korea! Ariana even got to start the Blackhawk and we sat in front with the two pilots. We have already preformed our 45-minute show twice for two different bases and are heading to another base right now where we will dance our last show for the troops!

It’s beautiful here in Korea. Snow is covering the mountains everywhere! It is definitely not as cold as we anticipated, but still cold enough for a pair of gloves!

Some of us were brave enough to try some Korean food, but squid on a stick was easy to pass up! Most of the group ended up getting instant noodles, (yes real, outside-the-base, Korean food) which was basically Ramen noodle soup

Sunday was easily the best day so far! We started out this morning taking a tour of Camp Bonifas, which is a demilitarized (DMZ). This is the closest base that you can get to North Korea! It actually crosses over in some places. They gave us a briefing of history of North and South Korea and what we should or should not do.

Some rules to follow: do NOT make any gestures at the ROK police, which are hand selected soldiers from North Korea, don’t point, wave, and definitely do not touch! Do not cross the furthest ROK soldier which was actually standing in North Korea in the same room with us! He was a grand master of Tae-Kwan-Do, standing in a ready position to take down anyone who crossed his path. It was safe to say that keeping our hands in our pockets was our best bet! We actually got to cross into of North Korea, keeping in mind a couple more steps and we would have been forcefully taken to the ground as the US troops told us! You are only allowed so far!

Our tour of Camp Bonifas was amazing, we only wish the fog would have let up a little so we could have had the chance to see the bridge of no return and a couple more important points of interest. As our tour ended we had lunch with the troops, took pictures, and listened to their personal stories!

We also performed our last 45-minute show for another base close to North Korea’s border. We went from Camp Bonifas to Camp Casey, about an hour drive and didn’t even know that we were still only 11 miles from the border of North and South Korea! On this base every troop is front line! It was such a good feeling to be with the people who are literally in danger every single day! Our last show went out with a bang and the soldiers loved it! Today was such a good reminder of how blessed we really are to have these men and women fighting for us EVERY SINGLE DAY!

The Twins, HTC are in Korea

Well, we finally made it to Korea and it was definitely a very long plane ride.

We had so much to pack:  dance gear, cold weather gear, Texas gear…can’t forget those hats and boots, but unfortunately almost all our suitcases were over the weight limit. We have flown often, but we must say, we have never been on such a long flight. It seemed like it went on forever.

Don’t get us wrong. We really enjoyed sitting around doing much of nothing, because we knew when we arrived in South Korea, we would be running non-stop and would need all the rest we could get. Before arriving in Tokyo we actually got to catch up on watching lots of movies. We watched 8 movies and even had two hours to spare of extra time. If you can imagine sitting and watching movies for about 16 hours, then you can imagine how the trip was for us.

We hear it is cold in Texas, but it is really cold in Korea too. I guess we picked a good time to be gone. We were thinking we would be leaving temperatures in the 50′s to come to below zero, but we hear Texas is in the teens and twenties. Ya’ll stay warm and we will too.

We are so fortunate to have gotten chosen to represent the HTC on this tour. We hope to meet and get to know some of the people who are sacrificing time with the friends and families to serve our country. I know those we meet will be an inspiration to us and we will work really, really hard to bring some “home” to them. So far, we have met about our responsibilities and duties and it sounds like we are gonna be really, really busy, but at the same time really, really exciting.

Next time you hear from us, we will tell ya’ll some some new words we have learned in Korean. Wish us luck!!! Talk to everyone later.

Schuy and Dres The Twins

Ariana: HTC to bring “The Dougie” overseas

Three loads of laundry, two large suitcases, a duffel bag and a backpack later, I am officially DONE packing for South Korea!

Jessica and Amanda were kind enough to give us each a packing list. Even after checking it more than twice, I can’t help but think I am going to forget something.

The temperature in South Korea is currently 27.2 degrees! Compared to today’s 76 degrees, that’s just a little colder than what most of us are used to so we are fully prepared with oversize winter coats, thermals, scarves, gloves, and hand warmers. Our official Texans winter coat might just be the largest one I have ever owned!

Let’s just say it takes up a LOT of suitcase space.

Then there’s our field uniforms, our boots, and our cover-ups.

But as a special segment in our show, our director Alto Gary included a country section. The rest of our luggage space has been filled with cowboy boots and cowboy hats! After all, what’s Texas without a little country? And what’s a little country without a “good looking Texas woman?” As an added bonus, after each performance one lucky audience member will receive a hat from Amanda!

There’s one more surprise though! Being the DEFENDING DANCE CHAMPIONS OF THE NFL, we also thought it might be fun to have a little crowd interaction. As Vanessa’s instructions say, “sway to the left, sway to the right.”

Any ideas yet?

If not then “add your hand.” If you don’t get the picture then I will just tell you: that is the Texans Cheerleaders teaching you how to “Dougie!”

YUP! HTC will be having a dance-off with our troops overseas. I hope they are ready!

We have to make it there before that can happen though!

We are scheduled for more than 13 hours of flying tomorrow! My plans for this evening will consist of homework and trying as hard as possible to stay awake all night. The ultimate goal is to be SO TIRED that I sleep the entire way there! I am DETERMINED to make it happen!

This is where the nerves and excitement kick in!

~Ariana

Andrea’s birthday in 2011 to be a memorable one

Andrea and nine other Houston Texans Cheerleaders can't wait to perform a Super Bowl dance routine for troops stationed in South Korea.

My birthday is Super Bowl weekend. How lucky am I?

Growing up I never had a typical pink birthday party. That was never me. It always consisted of family and friends, finger foods, and football!!! Never did I think that one day I would be a Houston Texans Cheerleader, traveling the world for a military tour and performing for our troops across the world on Super Bowl weekend!

My first reaction to being selected for this trip was overwhelming excitement! I get to go to South Korea for my second military tour!!! What an experience getting to know the troops there and being able to see this part of the world. Second reaction: I can’t wait to perform for the troops and see the difference we make in the soldiers’ lives just for being there a week! We may not change their life, but we do get to be that little piece of home they have been missing for so long! Finally, how blessed I have been on this team and I get to spend yet another year overseas for my birthday! How can that thought NOT cross my mind!!

Time is ticking before we load up on that plane and travel. Over 14 hours of sitting in the same spot, ten cheerleaders, four bags a piece. The amount of jackets we have to keep ourselves warm in 1-degree weather is quite interesting! Not to mention all of our costume changes for our 45-minute show we have been practicing for the last couple weeks. All of our hard work is about to pay off! Just a day away from our 2011 Tour to South Korea and our bags are finally packed!!! We just have to get through Monday at work before our long journey. I can hardly stand it!

Go Texans!

Andrea

Megan C. excited about Korea trip

Megan C. is one of 10 Houston Texans Cheerleaders headed to South Korea to entertain U.S. troops stationed abroad.

Hey Texans fans!  Tomorrow is the big day for our loooonnnnggg flight to Korea. I am so excited!  I am still packing, of course.

Tonight I plan on eating a huge, juicy, rare steak since the meals consist of a lot of veggies. I ate Mexican food for lunch so all of my favorites have been accounted for before I leave.  Don’t worry: I will work it all off when we do our fabulous performances!

Well, I will be sleeping in tomorrow   until 5:00am!  However, I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight.

Ten of us are going to Korea with Armed Forced Entertainment to perform an amazing, fun, and exhausting 45-mintue show for the troops! I am so honored to have been selected to go on this once in a lifetime trip! The experience has already been unforgettable! Right now I am packing for the eight day trip, and of course, nothing fits. I am working on a plan of how to make my clothes and uniforms as small as possible. If anyone has any ideas on how to down-size winter clothes let me know! I will be keeping you guys informed of ALL that we are doing while we are in Korea and up until we leave

Go Texans!

Megan C.

Ariana preps for South Korea trip

Ariana and the Houston Texans Cheerleaders are headed to South Korea soon to visit troops stationed overseas.

Okay Texans Fans,

According to some, the season ended for us the first week in January. WRONG.

Surprise surprise, your Cheerleaders have still been hard at work. WHAT OFF SEASON?

A very lucky few of us are traveling to South Korea along with Armed Forces Entertainment to show our appreciation for the troops overseas. I cannot explain how honored I am to have been chosen to represent the Houston Texans and Houston Texans Cheerleaders on this 2011 Military Tour. With weeks of hard work, hard practices, and extreme determination, we have wound down to just ONE left before our departure! 

We had a very supportive audience in the locker room today (our fellow teammates) as we ran our 45-minute show for practice. Wardrobe malfunctions and all (I MUST ADMIT THEY WERE A GOOD LAUGH) they said they thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Quick changes call for quick brains!

Let me tell you being organized is the key factor here. So, before our uniforms and costumes can be put in the BIG suitcase, they have to run through the show right along with us!

Now to get this LAST practice done with! Then I can start packing! 

Goodnight (or good morning) whichever it may be

<3 Ariana