I love not having television or even a radio here.

My screen is so rich, the density so high: I walk out into the city and look. Something great is on every night, for free.  On Wednesday I attended a reading/talk by Oscar Hijuelos. He had the look of prosperity about him, as D would say (via his track coach).

Someone asked him about writing about places to which one has never actually been and Oscar said “My visions about places I have never been have turned out to be true because literature is true.” He read about Ireland, wrote about it, and then when he went there, saw just what he’d seen in his mind’s eye.

Having found my way into the real world by reading, reading, reading, I really liked his confidence and faith in literature.

I hate to admit this, but my favorite part of the night might have been walking down that great spiral staircase (Hijuelos calls it a “robber baron” staircase) in that beautiful building.  Really astoundingly great stairs, with a mirror so vast in the great hall that you can see the affect you are having on yourself—a kind of wealthy impossible floating on air. Really great stairs.

“I like the art. I want the art to transcend politics.”  –OH

So the high point is learning Spanish. The days have been hard and the Spanish has been a kind of raft for me. My tutor, Laura, is patient and sweet. She doesn’t really get my jokes in Spanish, but they aren’t funny, so I respect her for not laughing. (But I am really very funny in Spanish. Verdad.)

A high point: in Martha Miller Center for Global Communication (the name of the swanky pretty new building on our campus) I was waiting for the Arabic class to finish–they always run over, which makes sense. Arabic looks very time-consuming to learn! Very hard. We always have to wait for them. We are poets. We do not mind.  The last student finally came out–they’d been taking an Arabic test. The last student: It was my tutor! Laura! Because of face blindness, I didn’t figure it out for awhile. But this beautiful woman was speaking to me in Spanish and finally I figured it out. Laura!

In Spanish, in the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication, I asked my tutor, in SPANISH, how she did on her Arabic test.  (Later I realize I said “was it test?” when I meant to say “how was your test?” but she rolled with it…. vale la pena…)

That is just a really cool thing. My friend from Morelia, taking Arabic and speaking to me in Spanish. Nos vemos!

I love everything about the Spanish. Love love love.   Hello, Spain! I am coming back to you!

Runners up:

watching the college students run down Tenth St with the giant thick Pull rope in their hands, chanting, as they have chanted for a century, I love this tradition, our school’s famous tug-of-war over the Black River….(I cried, seeing the rope carried down the street)

my friend Tee called me and was so so so so nice to me regarding The Troubles

I finished my Spanish homework finally

my friend Annie called and left a message, she was delighted to receieve the green corduroy lizard I sent her and was wearing green corduroy (as I knew she would be) when she opened up the pretty gift…..

and a triumverate of student high points……………….

M. is using her voice more….

J submitted her work to Opus!

C is doing her chapbook in DVD format…

B. loves the class, the teaching……..B makes life good.