My Room is an Anechoic Chamber

I forgot how loud the silence is here.

All my ears pick up are my heartbeat, and my breaths.

The silence is so strong it is like a singing bowl is being played.

I cannot see my hand in front of my face.

My senses are so used to the lights and sounds of the city that their adjustment is slow.

But once I fall asleep, my sleep is that of a traveler returning to the warm embrace of home.

<3

NY Week 7

This week was definitely an adventure.

One of my friends from high school drove into the city to visit, but due to the traffic and weather, I ended up directing her to the dorm at 2AM. We then went out and got gummy bears, almost pulled an all-nighter, and then decided that would be a bad idea. Bed at 5, up at 9.

I also bought groceries this week! Switched from my meal plan to a stipend, and so felt like an adult as I got my food for a week. Peanut butter and jelly is oddly comforting in the city.

The feelings of adult-ness carried over as I saw my face in a mirror. You know how you look in the mirror and see who you've been, who you always see? Well I saw me, but a me that is growing up, moving towards becoming an adult.

S'mac's birthday was this week. Which meant amazing $1 mac n' cheese. Enough said.

I discovered this game server called Steam. My friend had Binding of Isaac on his computer, and the day I happened to look on the website it was on sale for less than $2. I have played this game way too much.

Saw Newsies. It was fun, but still Broadway. I have become disillusioned and cynical - as soon as the first set piece moved, before the first song, I was reminded that this is a spectacle. A fun spectacle, but a spectacle nonetheless.

Contrasted with the powerful work that Theater Mitu is embarking on right now, it is hard to see Broadway as anything other than pure entertainment, with no weight or impact behind it.

And then to end the week, my mom came down to the city to visit. I took her out to dinner, and she got to meet some of my friends, and one of my professors. Some people wouldn't be excited about this, but my mom sees so little of my day to day life I was excited for her to meet the people I spend my time with.

Week 8 is technically not in NY - it is in NJ, and VT. There probably won't be a formal post about those travels, but more sporadic ideas.

Here for a bit, then back to NYC.

<3

Who Needs a Neti Pot When You Have the Ocean?

Also, who needs fancy exfoliating scrubs when you have the beach?

There was rain as well. But not normal rain, where there is a cloud overhead, a simple case of cause-and-effect. Instead, this rain just happened.

A gull was trying to fly forward but couldn't because the wind was keeping him immobile in flight. Philosophical thoughts might emerge from this. But I am on vacation.

I think I fell asleep at one point in my beach chair.

<3

Reverse Culture Shock in NJ

I have always had a perspective on suburbs - I don't understand them. Driving down a street, seeing identical houses lined up always reminds me of A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle:


"Below them the town was laid out in harsh angular patterns. The houses in the outskirts were all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray. Each had a small, rectangular plot of lawn in front, with a straight line of dull-looking flowers edging the path to the door. Meg had a feeling that if she could count the flowers there would be exactly the same number for each house. In front of all the houses children were playing. Some were skipping rope, some were bounding balls. Meg felt vaguely that something was wrong with their play... As the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball. As the rope curved over the head of the jumping child, the child with the ball caught the ball. Down came the ropes. Down came the balls. Over and over again. Up. Down. All in rhythm. All identical. Like the houses. Like the paths. Like the flowers." (pg. 98-99)


Fun fact: A Wrinkle in Time was first published in 1962. 


This passage has stuck with me through the years.


It speaks to some of the fears I have, the same that stir when I see an office filled with cubicles. 


Suburbs have always been unsettling to me, (I don't know exactly why, it has something to do with the passage above, and the fact that I am a country girl). That unease/confusion is stronger now.


I see the huge houses and wonder how one family can fill them.


I go to the grocery store and am overwhelmed by the choices and the lights. 


I see family for the first time, and am beginning to see some of the ways I have changed through their eyes. 


I think this is what they call reverse culture shock. 


<3

Coming Home

I am not a fan of all of his writing, but in this paragraph, Mark Manson speaks the truth on traveling and coming home. 

"Which I guess is what the paradox resolves into: a devaluing of superficial pleasures and a greater appreciation for simple, authentic ones. I don’t really enjoy the presents at Christmas anymore, the fireworks at fourth of July, or even the parties on New Year’s Eve. I’ve seen bigger parties, been to more beautiful places, and already own everything I’ll ever want in this life. But unlike before, I appreciate every day spent with those who mean a lot to me. A quiet [soda] on a patio. Watching a basketball game together. Going to a birthday party or a barbecue. These are the events I look forward to now and get excited about, days and weeks ahead of time… And that’s probably the way it should be." http://postmasculine.com/international-lifestyle

<3

NY Week 4, 5, & 6

So again, I am a bit behind on my blog. But I am in the city that never sleeps, which then means that I am busy.

Week 4: Rehearsals are still going on, and going well.

For my other internship Cleo and I went way uptown to pick up costumes, and then brought them down to the Brooklyn storage space. This was made into an adventure due to the fact we didn't read the website well enough, and so showed up after storage was closed, which meant another trip.

Palladium has a lot of fire drills/alarms. The one this week caused me to be walking around NYC in my plaid pj pants and a plaid shirt. The plaids did not match.

2 of my aunts came down this weekend, so it was nice to catch up with them.

I had to ask tourists where Times Square was in order to find them. It shows I am living an anti-tourist lifestyle. Ask me to find a whole in the wall restaurant - can do. Times Square? Not so much. We also went to South Street Seaport and a boat circle around part of the island.

Week 5: It was the 4th of July. Yay! I edited and submitted my Government and Religion paper. Which ended up being 27-pages long. I am now done with that class.

I also went to the Met. Went to go see the Islamic art exhibit, ended up in the Modern Art section, and saw the Buddhism on the Silk Road statues. You can spend a whole week getting lost in that place.

And of course, rehearsal and internship stuff.

Week 6: The Week of Theater!

I went and saw Sleep No More on Monday. It is a really interesting concept - there is a building renovated to be like an old hotel, and you explore as you are following different characters in a loose adaptation of Macbeth. I thought there were moments that were really strong and powerful, but at times there were just too many people in an area.

Wednesday I went to see Fuerza Bruta. Which was brilliant - vibrant, intense, a beautiful aesthetic, engaging, and interactive. Go see it. We went to rush tickets 45 minutes before the show opened on a Wednesday, and we had no problems getting tickets. Go. Again, awesome moments, and an awesome experience. It's a show I would see again. Although due to the staging and visuals, it is a mix of performance, dance, and theater.

I don't want to write much here about either show, because I think they are best experienced with fresh eyes and not much previous knowledge.

Also this week was frantic prep for a workshop Theater Mitu is hosting. Amazingly, we got everything done that we needed too.

Adventures happened at the end of the week, but it is technically Week 7. So y'all will have to wait until next week to hear about them.

<3