Monday the 30th

Things are going ok...I'm sick but actually enjoying being back at Grinnell, finally. I seem to be back on track with the productivity thing again too, which is a big relief! Yesterday I wrote 2 papers, worked all afternoon, practiced, AND cooked a nice supper : ) Anyways here are some pictures from our hike by the beach while I was at home. I've been meaning to post them for a while. We were between Montara and Pillar Point (Half Moon Bay), where they have the Mavericks surf competition.


Tide pools for the daring

10/25

This is just my typical procrastinatory post. I think break was too fun because I'm not enjoying being back at all. Its cold, I have a million things to do, I'm probably going to get sick any day now, whine whine whine.

We're having a South American harp specialist (Ortiz) come on Saturday to do master classes and concerts which is exciting. It means though one more thing to worry about since I'm playing the main part in a 5-harp piece and Jeannie assigned me a solo to learn for that on just Tuesday. Plus I have to move work from Saturday to Sunday so both days are filled up.

Our house has not been doing well lately, since LA is sick, Tyler is overworked, and Jaime is having some intense academic-stress-breakdowns. It has not been pleasant.

I applied to 6 jobs yesterday. Even if I don't get any interviews, which I know would be entirely possible, its been good to learn how to do resumes and coverletters and actually apply for things. Stressful, though.

Well I should get back to some thankless reading of Uncle Vanya.

Portland visit

I just got back from visiting Lewis & Clark, where I saw Carla, Mariah, and Jessica. It was an amazing trip, and almost a complete Chile reunion...if only Kristin could have been there!!!

I'd been through Portland lots of times before but had never spent much time actually there and appreciating it, so it was pretty cool to be able to wander around downtown and see the sights. We went to the biggest independently owned bookstore in the US! We also had coffee again and again and again which was good since it was really cold and rainy!

The first night there I stayed at Carla's, and the second, at Jessica's. They both had beautiful places. I didn't get to see Mariah's house since she lives half an hour by bike from campus. As for the campus itself...wow. It is really beautiful, green, and covered in trees. Walking around campus feels like being in the woods. I mean I like how compact Grinnell's campus is because it feels more like a campus and a community, but this was really beautiful and I could see how you could fall in love with walking to class every day along a mossy, misty forest path.

It was really great seeing everyone after 10 months of just the occasional email. I think all the time that passed could have detracted from other friendships, but the fact that we all met in Chile and shared life-changing experiences there made a strong enough bond that we could see each other pretty much whenever and have things to talk about.

Who would be up for a Buenos Aires reunion, in, say, 2015?

10/11

We're supposed to get snow flurries tomorrow. I am so mentally unprepared for this horrible coldness and grayness. I wanted a nice long fall with pretty leaves changing...and the leaves are practically off the trees and its 35 degrees out and we're supposed to get SNOW FLURRIES???! Noooooooo.

I should be studying but I'm bundled up in my room drinking like my 4th cup of hot tea & writing emails instead....

I'll be home on Friday : D

Almost the weekend

Its been the kind of week where I leave the house at 9 o'clock in the morning and come back at 10 o'clock at night to start my homework. I usually really don't like that, but lately its been ok since I've been busy for good reasons. Like this week is the Rosenfield Symposium on Russian Politics and Popular Culture. I had lunch with 17 Russian professors on Tuesday, which was intense. Every day there have been 2-3 talks.

For my Russian Film midsem we had to watch 10 silent pre- and post-revolutionary clips from films we'd never seen before and then determine which director it was. We'd studied Bauer, Protazanov, Kuleshev, Dziga Vertov, Trauberg & Kozintsev, Eisenstein, Dovzhenko, & Pudovkin. I thought I would be able to identify their styles pretty well. On the exam I wasn't totally sure with most of them, but I could come up with reasonable explanations and convince at least myself. After the class this guy and I talked with the teacher though, and I figured out that I'd answered basically every single one wrong. Ummm...oh well?

Its starting to get chilly, and people occasionally accuse me and Jaime of "dressing like snowmen." Clearly the question ought not be why we are dressed like snowmen, but why everyone else is wearing t shirts and sandals in 50 degree weather.


Here's a picture of our living room, from when Nora was visiting.

Friday night

Akili's new camera + one photo every 12 seconds for 3 hours = endless fun. We're so easily entertained!