im in aaafrika!! and the internet blowws! wait did i say that already?

oh looking forward to the time where i can sit down and tell you all the wonderful things happening in this continent. until then..

african besos,
c

It is so fantastic to be able to catch up with friends, sit down and have a leisurely lunch and not have the dooming deadline of a pbl assignment or upcoming test circling your brain.

Just came from a delicious lunch with Julia, in a deceivingly sunny Chicago [although I will miss all the fun things to be done in Chicago I will not miss the cold... for that I am thankful to be far far away!] I wish I had my camera to snap some pictures of the sunny gorgeousness outside. I'm suddenly all sunny myself, but I am sure that has less to do with the weather and more to do with hanging out with a dear friend!

I also had the pleasure of listening to the presentation of one of our graduating MA students. A nurse for a number of years [not sure if she is still practicing] she rediscovered the art of drawing and channels her thoughts and ideas in... comics! Her presentation I think was named 'Shut up and Draw' which aptly summarizes her point: drawing is a fun and therapeutic way to express emotions that 5 year olds master, yet grown-ups forget - well, they shouldn't! By drawing we allow our creative side of the brain to take the ideas that mar our minds and playfully rearrange them so as to offer up new alternatives, new solutions and so on. With comics in particular the artist takes a story and condenses it into its most powerful points which are rendered in their respective rectangles. Just by spending time drawing in that rectangle the mind focuses on that finite point in space, meditates on the instant being captured. Suddenly the story takes on far more meaning for the artist. It is fantastic! Not only that but as adults we need to admit the need for a play-space [Prof. Watson's idea] a place where we are beginners again, where failure is part of the game and loses the weight we put on it in our day-to-day lives. I'm ready to build my play-space, I want to be in that responsibility-free environment where mistakes are funny jokes and successes mean a brighter rainbow over a pretty unicorn!

She knows what I'm talking about....

From Road trip - New York New York!

Oh my! First year is over.... I'm still not quiet capable of wrapping my mind around this concept but these few days of idlness have started to convince me that, indeed first year is over.

We've been celebrating left and right the end of this year.... 

From First year done!

From Ricky's party

From Ricky's party

I'll miss these lovely folks this summer! alas, new exciting things are in store for me...

stay tuned for an excruciatingly detailed expose about my packing adventures to come soon!