Tuesday, September 15, 2009

As Expected, This Shit is a Roller Coaster Ride

First, let me get a beer. Or perhaps just some nutella. I do have an Italian quiz tomorrow. I'll just settle for some pesca te (peach tea).

So. Week one of grad school has gone by, and I would say I enjoyed about 50% of class time more or less. The after class activities last week were great though. One night was spent watching films from my movement teacher's past work, another was dinner at the founding director's (from Little Rock) huge villa, and the last was a surprisingly enjoyable student "show-off-time" caberet.

Class though... is proving.... somewhat unpleasant sometimes. Now, I describe this to you from a decidedly pessimistic mood, so take it for what it's worth.

First of all, classes are loooong. At least two hours, sometimes four. Because of this, I have consistently reached a time during class where I say to myself, "how much longer?" I get bored. Or frustrated. But because I must continue and cannot leave, I generally fall back into things for a time before I again think, "is it over yet?" Plus, all of my teachers tend to run over for a few minutes. Very annoying.

Secondly, my faith in the institution has both strengthened and wavered. Strengthened in the sense that I am more sure than ever that the faculty are truly experts in their fields and well-versed in teaching their techniques. This does not mean that I am always interested in the topics of study, but I am sure that they are not making it up at least. Now, on the wavering front, the administrative side of things is constantly crumbling; unexpected meetings, costs, and requirements pop up every other day or so. For example, we owe the school some surprise security deposit for the spaces we are using. Also, the other student's housing has turned out to be less than satisfactory (thank god I'm not in that boat). One student quit before we began, and so the students living with him will have to cover the cost of his absence. Our study abroad in Torino is very complicated because we have an odd number of students, and so everyone wants a cheap room, but that isn't possible. So, unjustly, someone is just going to get stuck paying at least 130 euro more than they others to live in Torino. And so on and so forth...

Finally, I have come to suspect that the students chosen to study here for this first round of the MFA program were in some part chosen simply because they were interested. Some are so far behind in simple physical theatre technique that extra class time must regularly be spent solely on them, others are actually so out of tune with their body that they accidentally hurt other students. They are really sucky pretty much, and because of that I feel deceived. I trusted that they wouldn't allow any students into the program that wouldn't excel, but clearly that isn't the case. And about half of them are overweight. Not necessarily out of shape, but definitely not in shape. I fear that I might have been one of their top picks.... and to me, that doesn't speak well to the options they had at auditions. I actually despise one classmate so much that we he comes near me in class, I am repulsed. And I am forced to partner with him regularly! And because there is an odd number, I am often forced to be in a trio with him while the others get to spend more time practicing in their pairs...

I know I am being shallow, and that it is me who has the problem, but I am becoming increasingly judgemental of certain classmates seemingly out of my control! I can't seem to turn it off or view the positive things about these people (BC THEY HAVE NONE).

There are some classmates that are ok, but no one is really sticking out to me as cool. I am eternally grateful that my best friend is here. I can vent to him and that is great. Otherwise I would be venting to my classmates, and I don't want to bring my negativity into the mix.

Oh, also, last week the one classmate I despise (simply for his all around awkwardness, blandness, lack of sense of humor, and constant "tips") had to go to the hosipital in the middle of the night for "kidney stones" (that mysteriously have disappeared now), and Phil took the heat for not helping him get there more. Now, first of all Phil did exactly as he was instructed-- call Monica-- and just because she was unreachable, he was supposed to know what to do on his 5th day of work? Plus, the repulsive dude lives an hour away and right next to the hospital. Just. go. to. the. fucking. hospital. DUH. Do you need Phil's permission? Anyway, so there was a flurry of administrative bloopers the following day due to that. These people need extra staff to take care of the non-academic side of things.

The plus side of teletubby (my nickname for the repulsive one) going to the hospital in the middle of the night was his absence in class the following day. Ah... bliss. If only he would quit. Or someone would! This 13 things bothers me both because of its history as an unlucky number, and its constant awkwardness when we need to get into groups of two or three.

Anyway, I am not feeling super excited about anything right now. Except the delicious food that is served here three times a day! Spring rolls for lunch today was awesome.

So, I better put the pesca te back into the fridge, shower, and start on my plethora of Italian homework.

Ciao, bitches.

1 comment:

  1. Wow that sucks. Sorry about Teletubby. I will wish, pray, and hope for his death if that makes you feel better. Or perhaps that he would just go home. Whichever works better for you, but it sounds like it would be doing the whole planet a favor if he was hit by a bus.

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