Monday, July 5, 2010

Santa Fe Opera/Rafting/July Fourth

Well as usual things are crazy. I am halfway through my time here in Santa Fe and I have no idea how to get all my homework done with all the playing I'm doing (hehehe just kidding, sorta). I turned in my first papers for each of my classes last week and am happy to report that I got an A on one and an A- on the other. Not too shabby.

I also had fun this week. I'll try to keep it brief:

1. I went to the Santa Fe Opera on Friday night. It was opening night of the season and the show was Madame Butterfly. Tragically beautiful. It was a gorgeous venue because it is partially open to the environment. There was a ceiling, but no sides or back to the stage. The whole production we could see the sun set, and even cooler, the thunder/lightening/torrential down pore going on during the show. Madame Butterfly was amazingly performed, but I will never forget the storm as it raged on outside and around us. It perfectly accentuated the performances as the wind blew across stage and wrapped Butterfly in Awe-ful power. It was awesome. I wasn't allowed to take photos. Sorry. But we had a tailgate before the production. It is a Santa Fe tradition. People brought tables, themed spreads (mostly sushi and Asian type dishes), and plenty of wine. It was definitely not your average football player's tailgate. Very classy.

2. I went river rafting with two of my girlfriends on Saturday. We put in just south of Taos on the Rio Grande and floated 5 miles of the river. Our river guide Ben was freaking amazing. He used to be a metal work artist in Washington until he sold his business and traveled the country rock climbing for 3 years (yes, he spent plenty of that time in Moab). This winter was the first time he's worked in those three years. He was a ski instructor at Ski Santa Fe and now he's a river guide. What a life! Anyway, the rapids were fun and the company even better. Definitely an experience I want to have again.

3. I studied all day Sunday, except for church and fireworks. At duskish the crew hiked the mountain nearby and watched all the fireworks in the valley, but the major show happened about 10:00. It was beautiful. Again, good company, good view, equals good times. I missed Gunnison and all its celebrations. I can't believe it will be another 3 summers before I can spend a 4th with family again. But don't worry, I'm not homesick, not at all . . . maybe a little . . . but only sometimes. . . :)

Things are good. I submitted a design to the t-shirt contest here on campus for our summer shirt. We'll see how that goes. Voting is going on now until Wednesday when the winners will be announced. I'll keep you posted.

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