“only when they spread their wings are they wakers of a wind”
When I heard Maria Louisa’s voice coming from my roommate’s computer, I couldn’t believe it. I know my generation is supposed to be wildly techno-savvy, but the idea of video conferencing over the internet with friends halfway around the world still seems like science fiction to me. Maria Louisa, one of the Colombian students who joined us on the Orvieto study abroad semester, is one seriously funny girl, and hearing from her last Sunday made my entire week at least five times better. She’s in her first year of college and loves it. In Melagine, where she lives, it’s 80 degrees and the college students are in the midst of their long break from school. She had a webcam, so although she couldn’t see us, clustered around Elena’s computer in our on-campus apartment avoiding the cold, we could get a mini-tour of her grandparents’ study and garden. We could even hear birds singing outside!
Oh, it made me miss the people I studied with. Immediately afterwards, my roommates and I watched clips from our favorite Italian movie, even though we didn’t have subtitles. And shed a few tears.
But, as Dr. John Skillen, the director of our program, keeps urging us — don’t give in to nostalgia! The past is important, but it’s most important as it affects the way we make our future. What matters is how we take those experiences and actively use them to continually enrich our lives and work.
Dr. Skillen came to campus this week to do an informational meeting about the Orvieto semester, too, and graciously agreed to go out to dinner with us on Thursday. Talking to him about adjusting and about the Orvieto program’s evolution was really wonderful. We we took him out to enjoy some Japanese food at Tokyo Diner (there are actually a lot of good sushi places only 15-20 minutes from campus, and Tokyo Diner is one of them). Dr. Skillen led us by the hand through the difficult first few days in Orvieto, and I missed having his guidance and parenthetical lecture style during the transition back to the United States.
Dr. Skillen is also treating us more like adults now that we’re alumni of the program! Calling him John seemed absurd at first, but I like the thought that soon we’re going to be adults.
We’re going to be adults soon? If video-phone-calling via the internet seems like science fiction, so does the idea that we’ll be grown-ups soon! I feel ready for it, certainly, thanks to college. I just also remember very clearly being nine years old and hiding under my stuffed animals at night so that if my nightmares came true the aliens would take them first and leave me alone.
Filed under general, Italian experiences, Dr. Skillen, Orvieto | Comment (0)eleven more days of freedom
I cannot wait for my roommates to arrive. I moved into my on-campus apartment last Friday. . . and while I love having space which is solely mine, on some level I feel a little lost without roommates. My roommates next year, Katie and Elena, were in Italy last spring with me (that’s us on a field trip in that picture! It’s Katie’s photo, and from left to right it’s me, Katie, and Elena). They’re stimulating, challenging people, with whom I just have a whole lot of fun. Artistically, I value their judgments highly (I took wood-block printing and stone-carving with both of them in Italy) and conversationally, I value their wit. With them, any remotely interesting topic results in debate and hilarity. (The weekend trip to Sardinia pictured below definitely resulted in hilarity!)
And we’re all art majors, so we have plans afoot to decorate our apartment. Posters are key, as are photographs of Orvieto and our travels. And, since we are art majors, we decided to exploit the sketching process to decorate our apartment; we plan to hang huge sheets of paper on our walls and use them as giant sketchbooks. I’m jazzed. I think it will be heck of rocking.
Yes, we’re mildly art obsessed. Because at college, your major eats your soul (in the best way possible). I’ve never lived with art majors before, but I’m excited. I’m excited to live with people who really have an appreciation of what it takes to be an art major, the hours of work required, the all-nighters before projects are due, the delight in finally getting something you can be proud of. Also, I think it will be great to have other artists always around to bounce ideas off of – and not just artists, but artists for whom I have a solid respect.
In Italy, Elena and I ran together before class in the morning. I think I’m going to have to start running early in the mornings again, even before Elena moves in. My body has finally settled into a regular sleep pattern, one that wakes me up briefly at 6:30 a.m before I roll over and tell myself sternly not to wake up for another hour. In Orvieto, running provided me with a chance to see the landscape waking up – to soak in the new light pouring over the edge of the cliff and into the valley. If I could force myself to open my eyes as regularly here at Messiah, I think that I might find enough inspiration to carry me through my senior show.
Speaking of senior show? Yesterday I saw one of my favorite professors ever. His name is Daniel Finch, and talking to him is like drinking three cups of espresso. I’m lucky enough to be working with him for my advanced two-dimensional studies course next semester, and already he’s prompting me to consider senior show questions. What makes me make images rather than turning to any other form of self-expression? What do I lack that I try to supply through image-making?
I’ll admit, after talking to Daniel my stomach is doing nervous, excited flips. I’m a senior now, and I have to prove myself by making senior-level work! And there are so many fascinating, difficult, delving questions that I’ll spend the next year trying to answer. . . .
Countdown: 11 days to the start of classes
Filed under general, reflections, lollipops, Italian experiences, photography, vitality | Comment (1)