Do you know the way to Santa Fe?

I'm here and Santa Fe is beautiful. I got here on Tuesday (a little later in the day than planned). The road was slower than I thought, but the country through Durango and Southern Colorado was great to see. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and my book on audio.

First impressions:
The city is beautiful. My gps took me through the central plaza of town and this glorious cathedral greeted my entry to Santa Fe. Bread Loaf Santa Fe coordinates with St. John's College to use their dorms and classrooms and cafeteria as a conference type thing. The school is small but beautiful. I haven't left the campus much, but all I have to do is walk out the door of my dorm and there is this great court yard with trees and tables and benches. Who needs a library when I can I sit in the shade or sun and listen to the wind in the trees and watch birds flutter while I read? Not me.

The weather is crazy cool . . . Many of my friends and family commented that I would die of heat while here, but the opposite is actually true. It's been about 80 degrees everyday with cooler mornings and lovely evenings and great cool breezes almost all day long. I sleep with my window open and find no need for the AC (which I don't have anyway). I guess I can thank the 7,000 feet of elevation for the cool weather.

I am going to learn an incredible amount. I had both my classes on Thursday and both my professors blew me out of the water. I am taking two classes. One on the Rhetoric of Silence (basically how silence plays as significant a role in communication as spoken language and how that silence is used in literature), and the other is on Thomas Hardy. I was not very excited about the Thomas Hardy course initially, but after the first day I am stoked to get to pick my prof's brain about Hardy and his life and purpose as a writer. There are only four people in that class so it will just be an awesome small class discussion all the time. YAY!

I will see a lot. Every morning a man from Santa Fe who teaches and was once a Bread Loaf student, I think, hosts a thing called Dawn Patrol. Anyone who wants gets up at 6:00 and goes on an hour long hike some where in the mountains near by. Our campus is actually on/near the trail heads of several hikes. I went Friday morning and walked up a wash (arroyo here). Alfredo (our guide) explained plants and interesting things along the way. Super fun!
Also today was the first of our school excursions. It seems like every weekend day (Friday there are no classes, so Friday Saturday and Sunday) Alfredo rents a van through the school and we go on trips around the area. Today we went to Bandelier National Monument. It is the site of Anasazi pueblo dwellings that have been uncovered and sort of preserved or restored. The hike wasn't bad-two or so miles round trip. We hiked into the dwellings and up ladders. There was one Alcove house that I had to climb up 140 ft. mostly by wood ladders to get to. It was quite the experience. I am not afraid of heights, but several people were terrified. It is interesting to witness people confronting their fears. Neat experience all around. I'll post pictures in the slide show above of the trip. The girl I am with mostly is Maia. She's a super cool girl I've met here and have bonded with.. We were restless and didn't get into the testosterone filled fight about maps and trails, so we left most of the group behind and did our own thing. I mean really guys; it's a national park. The trail is probably paved. . . and it was . . . just sayin' :)

Is this overkill? Maybe I'll blog more often to keep the length down. Friday night was a pretty chill night. A bunch of us got together and went to a brewery downtown. The water tasted great and was free :) but I really like hanging out with friends from last summer and some new fast friends I've made here. I love Bread Loaf and will keep you posted. I'm going back to SLC Saturday for yearbook camp (I know how nerdy that sounds) until Wednesday. I'll miss a class which sucks, but whatever. I'll be back in time to go on a walking mural tour and hike to a lake :) Not bad right? Oh, I guess I'll do some homework too . . . hehehe . . .

Hasta Luego!