Thursday, July 14, 2011

Home and a Musical

Okay, I've changed my mind. I want to go home.

I love it here. I love this city, and this class. But I'm getting addicted. Today, I went outside in 70 degree weather and shivered. Shivered! As if I was cold! I've stopped using the air conditioning in my dorm. If I was here too much longer I might actually start to like the heat.

And I miss home. Everything is so damned green here. And wet. Even in this hot summer, the parks are all emerald and lush, covered in stately trees and moss. I miss rolling hills flaming in the sun. I miss gnarled oaks providing shade for yellowed grasses. I miss breathing in and not drinking at the same time. I miss the sprawling lawns in Berkeley that just invite you to lie down and have a nap. I miss California.

Its funny, how differently people react to things. I know when we got here, I wasn't homesick at all. The thought that, eventually, I would have to go home wasn't much more than a hypothetical situation. I was so busy with the now that I forgot, just plain forgot what it was like. Others in the ILC group were homesick, I'm sure, and some of my suite-mates definitely felt the same way. But for me, now that actually being back in California is only about 48 hours away, I realize I want to head home.

I even miss my dog.

I'm sure everyone else's blog tonight talked about the college fair we had on campus today, which was quite the experience: I stopped by at some booths, wandered about for a bit, wrote down my name for any and all schools I'm thinking of applying for, and got some nice practice pushing through crowds. That certainly helped tonight!

After class today I just lounged about with friends here (one of our suite-mates had left earlier in the morning, so we were all feeling a little incomplete) before heading off with Beilul and my RA to see “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” which is a mighty funny musical. While it wasn't as good as Billy Elliot, the show was really great, with a gorgeous set, funny writing, a good plot, and brilliant casting. For those who didn't know already, this is the Broadway show that Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe stars in, and he was really quite good. Not at all Potter-esque, and he certainly wasn't trying to coast on his fame, which is what I had been afraid of before going to see the show. Sidenote: Radcliffe is actually a terrific dancer. After the show finished, everyone rushed outside to wait by the stage door for Radcliffe to come out: while everyone else wanted to be right by the railing, I opted for a scenic spot across the street, giving up my prime real estate four feet away from the guy for less pushing and fewer girls screeching right in my ear. Even though there was a car in the way, I did get a few brief glimpses of Radcliffe, although I was plenty happy just seeing him on stage.

I must be brief tonight because I'm in the middle of my research for tomorrow's (erm, today's) debate. Again my side is incredibly hard to argue: I'm on the side of the United States government in a Guantanamo case. Right. Because that's a totally logical avenue for an absolutist stance. Anyways, I must get back to that if I want to get any sleep today... Good night!

1 comment:

  1. Irene,

    I'm always amazed how a stage production can be revisited time and time again and still be a success.

    This particular play was written nearly 60 years ago, was a huge hit on Broadway 50 years ago, was a successful movie a few years later, was a moderate success 15 years ago and is a huge success on Broadway once more.

    And each time there's a whole new audience that somehow believe that they're seeing something new.

    But tonight's story is that you went, saw a god show and had a good time. And that's what it's all about, isn't it.

    I don't envy your debate today. Some people can argue for the sake of argument but sometimes you have to have convictions. It's tough to argue in support for an idea when your own convictions demand that you argue on the other side.

    Let us know how it goes.

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