Whirlwind

Hi everyone!

I am sorry it has taken forever and a day to put up my next post. After I returned from my amazing trip to Spain and Paris I was thrown immediately into rehearsals for my show at BADA, which will be performing in the middle of December in London. Like I said, the show is Widows, by Ariel Dorfman, a play portraying Chile's "disappeared" during the reign of Augusto Pinochet, the men and women who were arrested, taken away from their families, and tortured and killed, and those that were left behind to grieve their absences. I have been having an amazing time working on this play. It is beautifully written and with such conviction and a need to tell the truths and horrors of what happened in the playwright's country, during and after he was exiled. I would suggest reading it if you can, and other works by Dorfman, especially Death and the Maiden, another show with similar content.

So! Valencia was great. A bit off the beaten path of cities in the world to see, but beautiful and cultural in its own right. I went and stayed with my friend Jose, someone I met this past summer working as a camp counselor. He lives in Valencia, and is part of the Valencia City Orchestra, as well as other orchestras throughout Spain, playing the tuba. I stayed with him and his lovely roommate Maggie, a woman from San Francisco living and working in Valencia as an English teacher, while simultaneously getting her masters degree in translation. It was an incredibly cultural apartment to be staying in, as they made me traditional Spanish food, explained to me all about the culture of Valencia, spoke the specific Valencian language somewhat different then Spanish, and ate at the traditional Spanish meal times -- lunch around 3 pm, dinner around 10 pm.

Jose and I had a great time bashing around the city, but most days I was there he had rehearsal at some point in the day, leaving me to explore the city on my own. I did not complain! It was an adventure though, me not speaking an ounce of Spanish let alone a whole other version of Spanish (Valencian), and next to no one in Valencia speaks English at all. This was no matter though, I got around just fine. You don't realize how much we really depend on what we say instead of body language until there is that intensive language barrier, so I had a fun time indicating what I wanted on a menu, or asking how much a dress was, etc. It was interesting, but very educational. Valencia is a really interesting city, in that half of the city is still older, beautiful architecture that is hundreds of years old with older neighborhoods that are steeped in culture, and the other half is super new, modern architecture with suave, sleek new buildings. For example, the center for arts and sciences, where the Valencia Opera House is where Jose played a few performances where I was there, looked like a Space Ship!



Other parts of the center for Arts and Sciences, in the middle of the city:







We also went to the Valencia zoo, or "bio-parc" as they call it, went to a famous restaurant throughout Spain and drank Orchata, a traditional Spanish drink, a sweet milk served with pastries, and went to the beautiful beach in 75 degree weather. We almost went to a bull fight, but none happened to be going on when I was there. I had an amazing time experiencing Spanish culture for the first time, and want to go back.

Traveling by myself was an interesting, and rewarding experience. It was incredibly mind-clearing, and got me excited and ready to come back to London and start working on the show. I missed the program and missed the people in it, and made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to be here. Ill be back in the states for the winter break to get my visa, which will be both stressful and nice. I miss the states and my family. But for now, I love my show, my cast, and especially this crazy, beautiful, amazing city called London.

Pictures from Paris:





From the second story of the eiffel tower:





Notre Dame: