Home, New (York) Home

I've now been in NY for almost a week and, you've guessed it, pretty much all I did was apartment hunt. It's been an exhausting, at times frustrating and at times exiting ordeal. However, I ended up signing a two-month lease for a place very close to school. That lease can be extended, but I only signed a minimum to see how I got along with my roommates, and if I get better value for money somewhere else. School starts Monday, and moving in before classes started mattered to me. So, for now, mission accomplished.

I can barely begin to explain the relief it is not to be glued to my computer screen all day long checking padmapper and answering ads. My mind is at peace! I can now focus on rehearsing my monologue, and enjoying a short vacation of sorts, before I move in this weekend.

Of course, more happened this week than just the apts (including seeing John Gabriel Borkman at BAM, which I recommend), but I really can't get myself to blog about them right now. I'll get back to more New York impressions in future posts!

2011: The Beginning

Happy belated New Year, everyone! Once again, thank you for reading my posts, following this blog, or merely dropping by on occasion.

My much needed vacation is now over. I returned from the mountains on Monday, and have been doing nothing but running errands, visiting doctors, saying good-byes and the like ever since.

A few weeks ago, I still managed to pretend that I had plenty of time before travelling. I could answer, "I'm leaving in January", and if someone pointed out that January was just a few days away, I would meet the comment with, "No, no, January won't be here for a long time". Needless to say, as soon as I got back home and opened my new agenda, the illusion (or the capacity for self-delusion) was over.

Unable to do otherwise, I faced reality and got busy. As I rolled up clothes in an attempt to fit my wardrobe in one suitcase and a duffel, I was thinking what I fabulous opportunity I now have. Scary, too, but fabulous. I get the chance to start anew, from scratch (or almost), something I had craved for years. New year, new life. Lots of new people to meet, lots to stay in touch with, new house, new classmates, new teachers, new routines, and I could go on forever listing the many new things to come. It's a privilege, and definitely a challenge, and I certainly hope to rise to the occasion. So, since baby steps is the only way to accomplish big things, I will now move on to the next task: more cloth rolling. May 2011 be amazing.

Holidays approaching

First off, a quick review of my latest adventures:

1) Booked room for my first days in New York. I also already have a ticket to the theater for the day after my arrival. I'm going with Emily.

2) Dentist. Not fun. Two more appointments till the crown is ready.

3) Had last (very productive) singing lesson. Also saw my teacher sing in a concert. Goes without saying, she was awesome. Delivered two Mozarts (lovely, very touching performance of the first one), habanera from Carmen and a Spanish song. Amazing.

4) Explored Alexander technique again. Only 3 sessions (lack of time), but my back needed it. Learned some stuff I can practice on my own.

5) Goodbye party for fellow blogger Natalie, who goes back to Florida. I'm meeting her tomorrow. I also have a dinner meeting with my high school friends that very day. And I might see another teacher today. So, too many goodbyes this week. Knot in stomach, exitement, sadness... weird emotional state.

6) Vacation getting closer. I'll go unwind in the South for the holidays. Sad to say they'll be interupted by a visit to the dentist, but a girl can't have it all.

Brief review of my crazy lifestyle over.

Before I leave you guys, I want to wish the happiest of happy holidays to my readers! And a wonderful, adventure-filled 2011! May the new year be awesome. Cheers!

Help Adler

If any artistic project deserves a grant, that's the Stella Adler Outreach Division. Education is a right, even if in practice it ends up being more of a privilege. By providing quality education to underserved NYC youth for free, the Studio makes its contribution to a more fair world. It also opens new posibilities to the teens that attend, making a positive impact on their lives.

You can find out more about the Outreach Division, their work, and the experiences of their students on their website and blog.

So, if I have convinced you, do take a minute and vote using the widget on the right. Or find the link on the Studio's Facebook page. Vote daily through December and help spread the word!

Where am I now again?

Hhhhmmmm... where to begin? The past few weeks have been, well, intense. To put it in a nutshell, my most recent achievements are: 1) writing a presentation for a scholarship and handing it in, 2) cashing in from my translations and 3) buying my plane ticket. I'm definitely burnt out, but finally things seem to be falling into place. It's all starting to take shape, and boy am I grateful for it. It's defenitely helping my peace of mind.

Now that I'm temporarily away from the burocratic madness, I can go back to my routines and brush up my speech (which I'll show on my first day of class). I can also look for a place to stay. The actual search will of course start once I'm in New York again, but I'm already asking everyone I know if they know someone looking for a roommate.

It's a strange life, being at home for the last weeks. I want to be in the moment as much as I can, and yet I must think about (and plan for) the near future. I squeeze meetings with friends I won't see for months among preparations for January. I also keep in touch with my friends in New York, some of whom give a hand with various things. I try to be around for everyone here, and still my head seems to be partly there already. The most similar thing to being in two places at the same time is probably this.

Hey folks!

See the lovely widget floating on the right?

Stella Adler's Outreach Division needs daily votes to qualify for a $50,000 grant from Pespsi. The grant will allow them to continue training low-income teenagers for free :) It's the school's way to making education, in this case in the arts, available to everyone.

Voting is on till December 31! To learn more about the Outreach Division, click here. It takes less than a minute!

Some Thanksgiving Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!!

My country is Catholic, so we don't celebrate it. Nonetheless, I figured that when it comes down to gratefulness, today is as good a day as any.

Lately, my life feels more like a secretary's than like an actress's. All I do most of the time is write emails, write for scholarships, research online, ask questions over the phone... I'm not complaining, but why deny it, moving countries is A LOT of work. And in the midst of the burocratic whirlwind, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of the objective, and start wondering why I'm doing it all in the first place.

Luckily, when writing about the school for one of my scholarships, I found a reminder. "The need of a young actor to act is stronger than an intelligent nonprofessional can comprehend. (...) The theatre is different from most other professions because it requires its dedicated practitioners to struggle toward a brutally honest, creative way of life." In so many words, Stella Adler brought me back to my objective. The words wrung so true within me that I was deeply moved. I strongly recommend reading the whole article in the school's About, which you can find here.

So among many other things, I'm grateful for the inspiration, and for having found an artistic home, even if on the other end of the continent. I'm of course grateful for my health, my wonderful and ever supportive friends and family, and for the chance of pursuing a profession I love. Last but not least I'm also very grateful for the success encountered by my loved ones. I could quote many examples, but I'll just leave a shoutout to my sister, who is starting to pursue her own career as an animated film director. You can view her lovely designs here.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!