Blue Ridge Mountains

This post, I think, will be mainly bits and pieces from the last few weeks. It’s been, as always, a total whirlwind of chaotic jumbles. It’s been selectively written at multiple times so, please bear with me!

Pic of (most of) Wada 4 after obtaining the MUWCIlymics trophy

A couple of weeks back I went on my first Musical Hike, up to Great Canyon (its true name unknown yet that’s its MUWIan one). The last time I was there it was green with monsoon and now: the waterfalls have disappeared, the grass cracks underfoot, and every wind feels as if the landscape will spontaneously combust.

Being a musical hike I of course I brought the ukulele. Once at the plateau we moved our tent to a more scenic location, started gathering firewood and ate (if you could bear it) the dreaded aloo paratha and Amol ‘cheese’. There was so much beautiful music. We were also treated to some spoken word poetry performed by Callahan, the newly arrived partner of my theatre teacher Chu. It was such a beautiful weekend, it was perfect just to change the pace of MUWCian life, and we even returned in time for Sunday Brunch.

post farmer’s market goods

Since returning to campus I’ve been lucky enough to be cooking a tad more than last term. Namely with Gaby and Jesse, we’ve made banana pancakes, waffles, poached eggs, caramelised roasted vegetables, mac and cheese, and (because Gaby is legitimately a baker extraordinaire) bread. I also had an amazing dinner of vegetables (all from the amazing weekly on-campus farmer’s market), pasta and pancakes with Læke (Denmark) and Marie (Belgium) .

 

Theatre Season has started up [*edit* just come to a close]. It’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone in the community to try their had a being dramatic – anyone can write, direct, act, design any kind of performance art. Amidst rehearsals for my theatre class play (Friedrich Durrenmatt’s The Visit), in which I have a staring role as a chain smoker and a bench, it’s been incredible to see the immense talent from my classmates.

Though (or maybe because) the rehearsals were constant and strenuous, I really grew close to the members of the cast, especially Victoria (Italy/Auroville), Lara (France) and Manuela (Colombia) who, along with myself, made up the four men.

All the plays have been amazing. So many people havebeen involved and the variety of different genres and styles is astounding. We’ve had everything from ‘Waiting For Godot’ to a comedic ‘Macbeth’ to ‘Hillary – A Modern Greek Tragedy’ with much in between.

The Project Based Diploma (the alternative to the IB that I’m currently involved in) had an interesting week when we were visited by a  documentary maker, Amrit Vatsa. He has a series called 3 Minute Stories that he intended to feature the PBD crew in. Kate (Canada), Oscar (England) and I were followed to class, to the villages, to rehearsals, and to meetings. It was such a strange experience. Everything suddenly felt incredibly orchestrated even when spontaneous. He had previously been to MUWCI (two years ago?) to film something slightly similar about a woman’s initiative, Seema, created by Alisha Fredriksson  (MUWCI’14) who help shape the way the PBD looks now.

I’m about to head off on ‘Experience India’ week tomorrow – me and three others are travelling up to Rajasthan. It’s all going to be quite an adventure through deserts, trains, temples, and cheap hostels. To end the trip I am flying down to Bangalore for a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop at the Centre for Community Dialogue and Change. Super exciting. I will try to provide a full write up.

And please comment! I love hearing from the phantom eyes that read this blog!

all my love,

anna

xx

 

 

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