Although it's the beginning of my 5th week of school, it officially started last Monday. I spent two weeks making up an academic course, and one week integrating with last year's MFAers (and a lot of that time was spent cleaning and repairing the building).
There are ten people in my class (7 women, 3 men). We are from the US, Canada, Holland and Korea. There are 26 people in the PTP (12 men, 14 women). They are from the US, Israel, India, Italy, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. There are 7 people in the MFA 1st Year (3 women, 4 men). They are from the US, Korea, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
We go to school from 9am to 12:30, and then 2:00 to 5:00.
Our class has our own studio (the crib) away from the rest of the school. It is near the brewery and lumber mill, and we share a wall with some kind of construction place that uses loud machinery all day. The men there also listen to pop music (they are especially fond of Norah Jones). The light in the women's room doesn't work, so we all use the men's.
My homework assignments involve stuffed envelopes, a broom, and lip syncing a Portugese song.
We're making elemental masks for the 1st year students to use--not animal or human, but a study of shape and how it may inform movement in the body. (I dream about it).
On Sunday my roommate, Bindi Girl, and I stood in the Mad River while huge salmon whizzed through and around our legs.
It's the second week of October and I got a sunburn.
I'm the captain of "Tai Chi Club" every weekday morning at 8am on the cruddy tennis courts near my apartment building. (Teaching the new boys how it's done).
My neighbor's teaching me lots of dirty Spanish slang.
My other neighbor, Earnest Mike, is my veggie connection and gave us a pie pumpkin and a Jack O Lantern.
Every Friday my class goes to a gym and works on tumbling and trampoline!
We govern ourselves, and lead our own warmups.
We sweat. A lot.
I don't hurt as much this year.
I'm much more communal this time. Bindi and I eat most of our meals with others--she wanted to call our place "The Adoption Center" We might settle on "The Galley".
One more rain, and the waterfall should be gushing.
I have learned some naughty Spanish words, too. Perhaps sometime, if you're not too busy, we can compare notes.
Posted by: greatlizardking at October 13, 2004 09:52 PMthis is beautiful
Posted by: tj at October 14, 2004 09:24 PM