praise God from whom all blessings flow

i know it's been about a month since my last post, but the end of the term right after the play (my last post) really hit my hard with research and papers. i mean hard! this was probably my hardest summer, of course, i'm not in the master's program anymore.

in the past week two weeks since the end of the term, i've been on some serious R&R. i went to boston one of my future roomies in order to pick up my passport w/student visa from the spanish consulate. once i got it, i looked at it about 3 times just to make it was there & for real, and i've been very protective of it since i got home. i had a blast in boston, aside from the consulate! nate showed me his hometown--the local's guide to boston. that's what i like most about going to a new city: doing what the locals do rather than follow a tourist guide because i feel like i actually get to know the city as a whole. of course, when i went to boston in mid-july for the consulate, i was only there for a couple of hours, so i didn't get to do any sightseeing. other than sightseeing, we did a lot of sleeping in boston, too. that first night, i was so tired, i was in bed by 11. this may seem trivial, but considering the fact that due to studying i hadn't really gone to bed before 1, i was really glad to be out of the dorm and in bed before midnight.

in the past week and a half, i've been back home for some vacation, and for the first two days, i pretty much slept all day. in addition, i've been getting together with friends, catching up from over the summer, and gearing up to leaving the country. and when i say leaving the country, i mean moving to spain. as many of you know, i'm moving to madrid to continue studying for my doctorate. it's been a wild ride since four years ago when i first went to madrid, got really ill, came back, and started my life all over again. since i've gotten back to augusta two weeks ago, it's funny because a lot of people have been saying how healthy & strong i look. the good news is it's true; they're not just being nice. (though we are in the south.) i started running again over the summer, and i am feeling stronger everyday.

this next week is going to be a great adventure, and to look back at the past four years, the adventure is continuing, not beginning again. it's all been one great adventure, so i can't really mark a new starting point.

praise God from whom all blessings flow. praise him all creatures here below. praise him above the heavenly hosts. praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. amen.

premiere

tonight is the u.s. premiere of the play muy leal (very loyal) written and directed by one of the professors here, pepo delgado costa, and i must say, it's a great pleasure working with him. i've worked with him on three plays now, and this is the most demanding role i've had to date, anywhere. one of the things that makes it so demanding is that i'm playing pepo, so i have to be faithful to the character as he's watching my every move, but try to meld it with my own style. i've acted more here at middlebury in spanish than i have in augusta in english. funny how that happens, isn't it? when we did dress rehearsal yesterday, it was kind of odd because i was the least dressed up--a short sleeve button shirt untucked, khakis & chuck taylors. well, that's what pepo wears. i felt comofortable up there, probably because my wardrobe is from my own closet.

the play is about a playwright wanting to commemorate the tricentennial (1702-2002) of the english attack on the city of arecibo, puerto rico, in which a handful of peasants at the command of capitan antonio de los reyes correa defeated admiral whetstone and his men. peponcio, the playwright, is trying to explain his idea to the director of the teatro oliver, doña olmo, but both the director and her secretary, zoraida, are trying to iron out the details with peponcio, and after the scenes in the office with the three of them, the following scene is the actors' portrayal of peponcio's idea.

it's an amazing play and the cast is terrific! we've put together a whole play, with all that that entails, in 3 1/2 weeks! in comparison, a play on broadway takes at least 6 weeks from first reading to dress rehearsal. so, take that, broadway!

the best part is that my mom, who grew up three towns away from arecibo, knows all about the village of capitan correa, as arecibo is known locally. even though i had told my family i was in a play, when i told her that it specifically took place in arecibo, she was so excited! i hope to get a dvd before i leave; i really want to see everything calmly...and with popcorn.

**chuchi