Almost all the leaves have dropped

Dear Mr. Harvey Fancey Paws,
It's Sunday, of course. It's colder today. The leaves have mostly dropped off the trees. I'm absolutely in love with the view from my dorm window -- it overlooks the park, the one Marcin posted pictures of -- and the fruit stand. On a Sunday it's like a scene from a European art flick. Lots of yellow leaves, mothers with baby prams, tiny people bundled from head to foot chasing pigeons, people walking dogs, and lovers strolling.
It was a weird week. I think my body has finally started to feel the strain of never sleeping enough. Early in the week we saw "Woe from Wit" performed by the graduate students. They're a very impressive bunch. I was underwhelmed with the beginning of the show, not because the acting wasn't great -- mostly because I was just too sleep deprived to get excited about anything less than spectacular. Spectacular happened later on when the chorus got involved. I'm actually very curious about choruses; I don't know very much about it, but I've never seen a chorus I didn't like. There is something so incredibly powerful about a unified ensemble voice and body, and when you can marry that with a strong individual character, the end result is enthralling. Other than that, I didn't see any shows. It's my fault for not signing up to see any. Stupid me. Oh, except for last night. We saw one of our acting teachers in a farcical comedy about a play going horribly wrong. The show itself was okay; it was funny but nothing monumental. Sasha however, was extremely enjoyable to watch. Maybe I loved his performance because I love him so much, but either way, I enjoyed myself. I would like to explain my teachers better via this blog, but I feel like the only way to accurately describe them is through impressions. They are both such characters...with very different views on acting. Sometimes when Alex and Sasha start arguing in class, I feel like a little kid sitting at the top of the stairs listening to my parents fight -- and I don't know whose side to take. It's very confusing. Like everything in that class. I'm sure any actor reading this will know what I'm talking about when I say this -- I'm going through one of those phases when I feel like I know nothing, and I can't do anything. I'm not on a plateau; I'm getting worse. I've been journaling a lot, trying to figure out what is going on, trying to tell myself that I like the frustration because it means I'm being challenged. I've realized that Ithaca is actually very focused on training their actors physically. And I like that; I think it really works. But when you are doing a new etude every single day and you don't have a script to analyze...things get a little hazy. When I have a script, I can tear it apart and find the character, love them, pick out objectives, tactics, and write in my subtext; then I take my friends -- laban, rasas, bioenergetics, and so on and so on -- and make something cohesive. When I make an etude I function as writer, director, and actor...and without thinking I just start doing stuff, ussually physical stuff, as I try to "create" my etude. And in these instances I am not being vulnerable, and I'm not motivating everything in an organic way, I'm just throwing myself around on stage and it sucks. But obviously I know what the problem is...and in theory I know what I should do to fix it. But theories are bullshit, pardon my french. (I don't understand that idiom. There is nothing french about the word "bullshit," in fact, I can't really think of anything more American) I wish that someone could give me something tangible to focus on, because looking at everything from an intellectual standpoint is making me mildly suicidal. kidding. Was that in poor taste?
So yeah. Yesterday was a very hard day in Acting, so I wisely decided to take it easy and not go out last night. I ate my feelings and observed the drunks when they came back at curfew. I'm sure I've mentioned the Babuski before -- they let us in and out. In the dorms, the halls and kitches are all under survelance, and the babushki sit in front of the monitors. I know for a fact that many interesting things happen under the eyes of the babuski, specially on the weekends. I think that would be fascinating job. If acting doesn't work out, I'm coming back to Russia to be a Babuska. Kirsten's roomie was drunk, and because of her aversion to vomit, she slept in my room. Kenya was a very emotional drunk -- something about lost pasta was making her cry. So she ended up sleeping in my bed too, though she got up and vanished sometime around 7 am.
And ALL OF A SUDDEN it was after noon. So we woke up and went to brunch. This time Kenya, Sam and Lizzie came with us. And that was good, and so was our trip to the grocery store, and so was the junk food I ate, and now, so is sitting in my room typing on this blog, sipping green tea and observing the park outside.
ANY WAY. This was a poorly constructed blog, but I'm not going to edit it. If you're lucky, I might spell check it in a second. This concludes my rant. The end.
Hannah

Russian Fall

Laundry, Roomate, Mood Lighting




Buses at Rest After a Busy Week

Fall

:) здравтвуйте (hello),

Well I lost my Blog due to the awesome internet connection I sometime have here. So i'll just post this. Cuz its better than nothing right?
I saw Dimitri Krimov yesterday. It was a legendary day. He stood behind me. Let's just remember this moment--cuz this was a moment I'll never forget. Funny, when he stood behind me, I mistook him for an average human being. Then I saw his show...well..haha.
;)
sorry that it's short.

Peace, Love and Frustration,
Marcin

Da. Het.

Kapustnick

Tverskya -- The street outside of the school
Dear Mr. Harvey Fancey Paws,
It's Sunday again! The only time I get to write on this thing. Kapustnick happend. I've decided to change my spelling of it. It was fun. It was totally weird going into this new, very tight community and participating as an outsider. I'm still not caught up on sleep from this crazy week.
On Monday I saw Tartuffe. I think I might be the only one who liked it...it made zero sense and was totally weird. For the first act I sat there with my mouth hanging open feeling a bit violated...but by the second act I warmed up. Imagine if Lady Gaga decided to direct Tartuffe without reading it first while trying to incoperate some softcore porn. But I love weird things...I even love unwarranted weird things. And I would just like to point out that no one fell asleep during that show, even though we were all extremely tired.
I did not get to see Pillow Man yesterday...the tickets were unavailable. I was extremely disapointed. My other big bummer is that I've somehow reawakend my back injury. Movement is probably my favorite class, and my back is the most flexible part of my body, but because of my current state, I can't participate fully and it's driving me INSANE. I hope I've just bruised it and that I haven't seriously hurt myself.
On Friday I saw a show that I hated. It was some odd version of Ivanov that basically just upset me. They tried to make some sort of slapstick farce out of it. I left at intermission.
Then, just now, I saw a dance show called "Carmen." It was more movement than dance, but I loved every second. It was very sensual, and very engaging. I'm feeling rather inspired right now actually...I would love to do something like that for an etude.
I'm telling you about my week all out of order. Okay. So Monday I saw Tartuffe, and then we rehearsed for Kapustnick all week. Thursday was the actual Kapusti Party. Friday I saw stupid Ivanov. Saturday night I tried and failed to see Pillowman and ended up coming home instead. THEN I went out with a small group to a bar called Vinograd...or something like that. I danced almost the entire time I was there, and then two cosmos and one vodka shot later, made my way home...where the fun continued. I made an unfortunate discovery around 4 am, however. To prevent fires, the Babushkas cut the power to all the stoves and ovens. I wanted eggs, but niet. couldn't make eggs.
Now we are on Sunday. Kirsten woke me up. We have decided to go out to brunch ever sunday, so I showered and we took off to find coffee and other such goodies. It was an absolutely beautiful day...cold fall air, yellow leaves, and a perfect blue sky. I ran little errands and bought fruit from a wonderfully kind lady on the street. I can see her fruit stand from my window...it's one of my favorite things. The colors of the produce strike me as incredibly beautiful. I wonder if I will still see her when the winter sets in.
And THEN! I COOKED! and it was delicious. I'm bringing it for lunch tomorrow. AND THEN! I went to see Carmen. And that was delicious too. And Now, I'm home, writing a blog. Soon, I will be feeling very frustrated along with the rest of the ensemble as we try to construct tomorrow's etude.
Love, love.
Hannah

Secretary of State of Mind

Dear Charlotte,

This week was JAM PACKED with amazing things, but sadly I can never write a blog long enough to go into the amount of detail needed to attain their full effect. So let's start with the big things that have happened that were mind altering.

First off, we all attended a production of King Lear at MXAT's Mainstage directed by the Movement Master Tadashi Suzuki. I've never seen Suzuki Movement incorporated into a show before, so i was interested and eager to see it's full effect. I have never seen such a beautiful piece of theater. Watching this show I was blown away by how much control each actor maintained over their bodies, voice and especially, their character. The show flowed seamlessly from one scene to the next and held my attention with a Darth Vader death grip. The show itself was only an hour and a half long, but I felt as though it went by so quickly, which left me wanting to see so much more! It was by far the best thing I've seen since being here, and one of the best things I've seen in my life.

This week we had an unusual performance in front of all the faculty and students of MXAT called Kapusnik. Hannah mentioned it a while back, so I'll refresh your memory a bit and save you some scrolling down. Kapusnik, translated it means Cabbage, started when Stanislavski and his wife would invite all of the MXAT company members over to their house and put on a little cabaret of sorts. After performing each performer would receive a little cabbage pastry type thing from Stanislavski. This tradition has lasted since then, but has grown to be an initiation of sorts for the incoming freshmen. Each class does a little skit spoofing teachers, their auditions, or other general things. So the Americans were asked to create a little sketch. For one reason or another I was put in charge of directing our Kapusnik. SIDE NOTE: Directors, I love you. You're job is hard. In general, Kapusnik was bad this year according to everyone who speaks Russian, however, they LOVED the Americans. It just goes to show that when you end a show with Don't Stop Believin' in 4 part harmony, everyone goes home happy.

Finally, and by far the coolest, our Russian Theatre History lecturer Anatoly Smeliansky, who is also the Head of the MXAT Theatre School...no big deal, was asked to sit in the Tsar's Box with the US Ambassador, the Ambassador's wife and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Bolshoi Theatre. That's how big of a deal MXAT is in Russia. When President Obama came to Russia to meet with Medvedev they created a committee to bring our nations closer together. The committee was made up of people from all kinds of cultural aspects and Smelianksy was the Theatre Arts representative fro Russia, while the US sent a bureaucrat.... ANYWAY, He told us that he spoke in great length about all 43 of the Americans that are currently studying at MXAT, which is one of the highest number of Americans studying abroad in Russia in the same field. After Smeliansky told us about the show and the Secretary, he smiled and said, "so I was sent here with a warm 'Hello' from Secretary Clinton."

Faithfully,

Justin

I walk more than six miles a day in heels

Dear Mr. Harvey Fancy Paws,

Blogging is stressful.  There are too many things that I want to document and end up forgetting before I can get it all out.  Today is a Sunday, our one day off.  We are in the rehearsal studio in the basement waiting for everyone to arrive so we can work on Capusti party.  Capusti Party is similar to freshmen party – it’s a big drunken gathering to welcome the first years, and every class does a small show that lasts about ten minutes or less.  Apparently it’s a new thing that the Americans are included in this, and it's a huge honor…so here we are.  

Yesterday the Russian soccer team played Germany in an important match; Germany won, and everyone was all riled up.  We followed our Angels on an unreasonable trek to find a nightclub.  It ended with a very bad strawberry margarita for me.  It was basically just pink tequila.

Kirsten and I went to breakfast this morning.  I’ve told her like fifty times, but I think I’ll write it in the blog too; I’m so glad we both came to Russia.  We’ve been in such close proximity for so long, but we still probably would have never gotten to know each other had we not come to Moscow. I love her, she is the best. I love all my Ithacans. I love our ensemble.  Kenya deserves some mention too.  Love her, love her.

Did I write about Suzuki King Lear and Three Penny Opera? I can’t remember.  Three Penny Opera was perfect.  Obsessed.  What’s the point of me describing it? I can’t. It was just so, so good.  The cast was brilliant.

            Then there’s the Suzuki production of King Lear set in a mental institution.  I’ve never seen Suzuki Theater before.  It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen on stage, it made me cry three separate times.  When I wasn’t crying about it, I was sitting on the edge of my seat all prickly with goose-bumps.  

            Yesterday morning we toured the MXT museum.  I stood in Stanislavski’s dressing room.  I saw the makeup he put on his face.  I stood in Nemerovich-Danchenka’s office.  Holy crap.  Our guide began the tour with a brief lecture; she told us (in Russian) how pleased she was that we had decided to study acting, but also how sorry she was for us.  It's interesting that in Russia, if you tell someone that you are an actor, they don't look at you like a crazy person or ask if you have a backup plan...they look at you with admiration.  If they pity you, it is not because you won't get work, it is because you have chosen to bare your soul on stage for the greater good every day of your life.  I chose the path I did, because I believe art can change the world.  I believe that theater serves a higher purpose, and it's so refreshing to finally be in a culture where people share this perspective.  

Our guide spoke briefly about what happened to MXT during the cold war, particularly during the time of Stalin.  I’ve heard the stories from my parents about their experiences during the cold war in America…but it is nothing, absolutely nothing compared to what went on here.  It almost makes me angry that America made such enemies out of the Russians when they were the ones suffering the most.   It’s impressive that the Moscow Art Theater endured.  Our guide told us a story: A young girl was asked what she wanted to with her life, to which she responded, “I want to be an actress.” As soon as she said it, two voices from heaven spoke to her.  One said, “You are a fool,” and the other said, “You are a saint.”  During the cold war, artists were easy targets.  People literally risked their lives to perform their duty as actors.  I can’t pretend that I have any idea what that means.  Obviously I’m not Russian and there is nothing in my life that is comparable to what artists went through during the Cold War.  But it makes me proud to call myself an artist.  

            I feel like I should tell you about Mariana. Mariana is the woman who is basically in charge of us.  I don’t think I’ve ever loved a person so instantly she.  Has a Russian face.  She looks angry, and when she actually is angry it’s the most terrifying thing in the world.  I wrote about how Mariana gracefully pulled me out of my shell within the first week; she’s full of wisdom and a desire to help her students, but also more sass than you would expect from her.  The other days she looked Justin in the eye and said, “I don’t know about you Ithaca boys. You all Liars. Too many waterfalls.”

            Oh, and the Starbucks girl! There is a Starbucks (of course) across from the school.  There is a pretty redhead named Anastasia, but she prefers to be called Amber.  She is brilliant…she speaks something like 8 different languages even thou she has never left Russia.  I’ve been consuming enough coffee to build some kind of friendship with her…even though she thinks my name is Lizzy.

So anyway, this coming week will involve lots of rehearsal and little sleep.  Tomorrow I am going to see Tartuffe. Yay! I think I'm also seeing Pillow Man this week. Da.

G'night

Hannah

Blog #2

Hey Hey,

Above are three more picture from miscellaneous spots from Russia. The top picture is from my Ballet Studio in the MXAT school. I love pictures with reflections and I like how I look in my long over-coat. :) The second one is of these huge doors that we encountered on the way up to the Kremlin--I'm sure that these doors have some sort of historical significance...but unfortunately i was to overwhelmed by the size of the doors to figure why they actually were there. The third is the same story, I'm not really sure where I am but I thought the picture was pretty and hopefully you can gleen and absorb the mood of Russia from it.

So where to begin. I feel that there is so much to say so I'll try to keep the pertinent, memory inspiring and emotional evoking stuff at the beggining, and historical acting stuff at the end. Stuff what a great word. :)

Imagine this: I finish my 25-30 minute walk to school bright and early in the morning and after I get off Tverskaya street I turn left into the plaza of which is MXAT domain. On this street I encounter McDonalds, Starbucks, Five Star, and Three Different Theatres that belong to MXAT school. Usually later in the evening I walk by several guitarists who seemingly always attempt and sometimes succeed, at playing Beetles songs (She loves you YEAH YEAH YEAH) in their heavy russian accents, the thought that russians are learning Beetles music is always an endearing thought.

But here's a new feeling for you. You know when you intellectually know something and you know you knew it but you didn't really know you it until you actually experienced it? :) For example, I knew I studied at MXAT but I dont think I fully experienced and understood the sensation of what it meant walking into MXAT. So I take a left and enter the American studio building and all of a sudden I felt enlightened, I felt as if I felt my footsteps on the floor for the first time, I saw the high ceilings for the first time, and I felt that I understood the black and white pictures on the wall for the first time. It hit me, Konstantin Stanislavsky hung his coat in this room and probably leaned against this wall. Tolstoy heavily trudged this floor contemplated the amorality the Chekhov's The Seagull--or he thought of War and Peace. He actually probably sat down right next to Stanislavky and had a serious discussion about the state of Russia, or they drank vodka at this table to my left. Anton Chekhov probably got an idea for a short story sitting in one of the seats in the Main Stage, Maxim Gorki ate a sandwhich in the lobby while thinking of how to finish The Lower Depths, and Meyerhold probably watched a production of Richard the 3rd thinking that Stanislavsky's approach to the art of acting was completely wrong. OH MY GOSH. I was walking in history. I was walking in a building where if these people hadn't existed I know I probably would not have been here now, I wouldn't have chosen to be an actor, I would never have found the passion and love that I did. These people, these tiny people aimed to do something extraordinary, and they all affected the entire world--right from this spot--the very spot I was standing in that moment.

It's amazing to feel that these were people who were doing the very thing I am doing right now. Doubting, exploring, crying, fighting, debating--any active 'ing' you can find. I walked up to the museum and I saw the very room Stanislavky prepared his make-up before he walked on stage! I SAW HIS MAKE-UP. HIS ROOM. HE touched this brush, He wore this costume, and he looked at his own reflection in this mirror thinking of god knows what. It seems so long ago, however he's right next to me in this room, he's very much alive. I could feel my tears swell up in my eyes. Thanks K. Stanislavksy. At the end of the day I walk outside of the building and I know that they all stood out in this plaza, looked up into the sky and slowly took in one breath of the freezing, nose-chilling moscow air...aaaaaaaand Exhale. They saw their own misty condesned smoke and thought-- "I would like some champagne"--and walked home.

History of Stanislavky: (if you are interested)

As you may or may not know already, that the school that we Ithacans are currently attending is the school Stanislavsky founded along with Nimorovich-Danchenko. For those who do not know who Stanislavsky is (I don't know why you wouldn't know but...) he is the father or realism in theatre. He is one of the greatest teachers in the craft of acting the world has ever known. Without him we of the acting world would never have had Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov... and many more to add to this list. With his persistence and passion for the art of acting he worked until his dying day to find the best way to bring human beings to life on the stage--his goal was not so that we could act well, but so that we could live fully. One of the most interesting facts and misconceptions we Americans have come to believe is that Stanislavsky gave the world a system-- a method-- that could, in a fullproof manner, make us a better actor. In a sense that is true--but in another we couldn't be more wrong. What happened was that Stanislavky was DEVELOPING a system. This system however was never meant to be "THE WAY"--and acting bible if you will. When the american gurues of acting heard of his system, they proclaimed it as finished and offered their own spin of the Stanislavsky "system" or "method". However, Stanislavky never finished his work in developing the "method" to acting. He worked day and night, almost neurotically, until his dying day for the appropriate way to live fully on stage. We in America learned of his approach to acting only halfway through his life, and WE proclaimed and published it as the "method"--a finished product--when it really is a progressive and ever changing art form. So as the American gurues gained fame as wonderful teachers of the Stanislavsky method, Stanislavky came back to Russia and decided that his approach to acting was unfinished and even wrong. Imagine that. So he kept searching for better ways to approach this art form. What we in America know as "the method" is all based on only half of Stanislavky's life research. Stanislavky never defined his method, he was never finished learning--and such is the Russian mentality. In Russia we continue in the never ending process of defining what acting is and we work from Stanislavsky's dying material. An artists will never be satisfied with his work because there is no limit to the amount we can unconver.

Anatoly Smeliansky(the head of MXAT) said one of the saddest yet most beautiful things about the acting profession. "An artist should read the story of Sysiphus three times every morning when he gets up and three times every night before he goes to sleep. Such is the life of an artist, every day we must push the boulder to the top of the mountain and every day for the rest of our lives we will never get it to the top--but our mentality is always set on attaining our freedom."

Well Goodnight Russia. Goodnight friends. Talk to you soon I hope.

With Admiration,

Marcin

There's a Moment You Know... You're Foreign.

Dear Charlotte,

Moscow is indescribable. The city, the culture, the language, the art, the history, all so rich and fascinating. It has been a whirlwind of a week with my horizons expanding and my life slowly changing before my eyes. I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity to study in such a unparalleled setting. Not a day goes by that I don't wake up and thank god for placing me at exactly the right place at the exact right time in my life. I can ask for anything more.

The training is rigorous, physical, brutal and eye opening. Our classes range from mentally stimulating lectures in Russian Theatre History, Russian Language and Russian Cinema History to physically brutal classes like Ballet, Russian Movement and Stage Combat. But most interesting and invigorating is our Acting Class. I am lucky enough to be studying with Sergei Zemstov, the Dean of the Acting School at MXAT, an amazing honor and privilege. MXAT focuses primarily on Stanislavki's System, and why shouldn't they? I mean he did establish the theatre with Nimerovich-Danchenko, so his way of doing things would probably be a nice way of doing things.

Moscow is beautiful, Charlotte. Around each corner is something wonderfully historic and strikingly beautiful. However, in the same way, everything is strangely tragic. The old communist relics that once stood for the people now give an erie atmosphere to some of the most beautiful parts of Moscow. Take St. Basil's for example. Red Square is breathtaking with it's vast and serene design, but with St. Basil's on one end and Lenin's Tomb guarding the Kremlin wall on the other, the clash between Tsarist Russia, Communist Russia and the now present Post-Communtistic Russian Federation is strikingly off-putting. This city is full of some many pretty things that once stood for something so ugly and vile, that the beauty is tainted in a way.

MXAT itself is amazing. With it's signature Seagull and famed font welcoming us everyday to Kamergersky St., it is beginning to feel like home. I can't tell you how much I love this place already, Charlotte. Mostly of that love is thanks to the 29 wonderful scholastic adventurers. Initially we were all shy and timid around each other, but sharing a fridge together does wonders in terms of ice breaking. All 30 of us "O'Neills" as the Russians calls us are really beginning to gel as a collective group, which at this stage of the process is a wonderful, necessary thing. Besides the four of us on this blog, who i know you all think are great little actors, the rest of the MXAT Americans are fantastically talented. From all different kinds of academic institutions, we come together to create this unstoppable force of artistic beauty that is unlike any other I've experienced.

One thing that I've found very refreshing about the MXAT life we've been leading, is that actors here are treated as artists. I feel as though in the States (how "study abroad" of me) actors are seen as a lower class artist, merely a spare part in the process that can be changed on whim. However, in the theater community here in Moscow, everyone from designers to actors to stagehands to directors are all treated as equal artists with equal artistic opinions. That's something that I find amazingly refreshing and inspiring to here.

Forever Yours,

Justin

Too many thoughts

Дорогие лапки га-н Харви Fancey,

I have completed my first week in Russia. Amazing. There are not words... except amazing, as you just saw. I'm in love with this city, this culture, this school, the theater culture, and the group with whome I am sharing this experience. I'm learning to embrace being permenantly frustrated in acting class, enjoying the "special pleasure" we endure in movement class, and slowly, slowly learning Russian. My feet are dead from walking more than five miles every day in heals on cobbled streets, standing in "fIE POSEESS!" in Russian class, and running up the walls in movement.

Ugh. I'm so overwhelmed trying to explaine everythin I've experienced, even in just one week. Okay. So. All of the studio and language classes consist of fourteen people for me, with sixteen in the other group. Every morning, monday through Saturday, I wake up at around seven o'clock, shower, get pretty, pack everything I need for my day which goes from sweaty intense to formal wear for the theater at night. I make breakfast and start walking to school at about 9 am. It's colder for the season than ithaca is, but I always arrive at school sweaty at about 9:35 or 9:40. I've taken to getting a shot of esspresso before going up to the American studio since it's considered rude to bring food or drinks other than water into classes. I'm pleased to inform you that I absolutely adore every single class I am taking. They are as follows: Acting, Movement, Ballet, Stage Combat, Singing, History of Russian Theater, History of Russian Cinema, Stage Design, and Russian Language. All the movent classes are crazy nuts, and I fully expect to come home looking hot. Get ready. Russians think that drinking water during excerecise will give you a heart complication... so that's been an adjustment. I'm doing things that I never thought I could...because when you are used to seeing yourself one way and everyone else sees you one way, you limit yourself. Here, people are meeting me for the first time and there are no preconcieved notions holding me back. Who would have ever thought that Singing and Ballet would be two of my favorite classes here. I've also realized that I don't know how to act. And I'm happy about this. I'm more than willing to go back to the beginning every day for the sake of the thing I love.

Anyway, last night we celebrated our first week in Russia with a party at Shauna's house (Shauna is the one who chaperoned us here). I understand more than ever the need to play hard after working hard. I've been a very happy girl lately, so throwing a party into the mix was a good choice. So Saturday became a 20 hour day, every moment of which was enjoyable.

We just finished prepping our group etude for tomorrow. At some point I'm going to write about our acting teachers in more detail. For now, I'll just say that I can't get enough of either of them. Alex and Sasha. Alex is a crazy awesome film (as well as stage actor) and Sasha is apparantly an important stage actor. They argue about acting theory a lot in class. I liken it to watching two kung fu masters doing battle crouching tiger hidden dragon style....but they aren't trying to kill each other. I think they like each other. I also need to write about my other teachers, but this blog is getting silly long. I'm actually still writing only because I came back to my room to go to sleep and discovered friends sitting in here, occupying my bed. strange. But I love that too. I love everything if you haven't noticed. I'm dying to tell everything, and everytime I write something, I'm reminded of something else I need to document. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Goodnight.

Hannah