Wednesday-Classes!

So Wednesday morning at 6:15 I woke up to do the spinning class that I mentioned before. I think I was a little bit scared to challenge myself because I was afraid that while biking super-fast I would somehow lock my knees and hurt something. I was also worried about being sore all day and having jelly-like legs all day, which happened anyway.
So basically it was biking to different speeds as the music changed. Different mixes of music, too. I was impressed how the leader kept a good range of hip hop, alternative, top 10 stuff, etc. Not bad. I'd do that class again. I didn't even feel out of place at all. Although there were the hard-core people in front of me to shield me from the instructor. I didn't want to go up front and make a spectical of myself. So maybe biking shoes would make me bike faster....hmm..
I found that my hips can't stay in place when I bike fast. As much as I tried to keep them in one spot, they just had to move.

My first class was at 8, so I had only 10-15 minutes to get ready after the class. I walked over to the train station and met up with Bain, Dusty and a few others. The train was right there and I was wondering why they didn't get on...then Bain showed us his cell phone down in the tracks! It was in his pocket and slipped between the cracks when he tried to get into the train the first time. He had to quickly get someone before the next train. The security guy hopped down and got Bain's cell phone and everything was good again. The world was saved...I don't know what we would do without our cell phones...it's very sad actually. Another best friend of technology.

My first class was Values and Vocations. We're going through a book called "9 ways of working." It'll be about the best ways in which people work themselves and the best combinations of working styles to get things completed the best, etc. Psychological stuff like that. I'm very interested in it. We found out in the class that everyone has a completely different learning style in the class. Not many were the same or emphasized the same things in each category.
I was a type 1. The Achiever. Yep, I already knew that, but I thought there might be a slight chance I was something else this time. Oh well, it fits. I'm the only #1 in the class which is too bad.
Our next class was Arts in the City. Since there are so many of us, we have to split into groups to actually get something done. So we split into three groups: Improv, Puppets, and Dance. I'm glad I wasn't in improv because there was no way that I could be creative that early in the morning. Dance would have been fun..but I was in the puppet group. We saw and learned a little bit about puppets from a woman named Cynthia Vol Orthal, Artistic Director. She has her own puppet company and everything. She has also been on a few episodes of RoseAnne, the TV show. yah, pretty cool. She played DJ's teacher. The puppets were really interesting to work with. They were a japanese type of puppet, Bunraku/Hand/Rod Puppets and when there is a show, the ones "running" the puppets are right there beside them moving and speaking for them. The people wear black so that they don't take any attention from the colorful puppet.

Here's Cynthia's website: http://www.vonorthalpuppets.com/

We played with one of the puppets right there on the first page...the green old man in the black robe. Really neat.
After puppets we had a lunch break and then met in our practicum groups to give our autobiographies and talk more about our internships.
I volunteered at the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation making some phone calls in the afternoon. I helped update their database of volunteers a bit. Felt much more productive than just sitting through a class, so I enjoyed the change of pace from class to the informal CBF office. Awesome people there too.
Supper was deep dish pizza at the CS office and then we came back to our apartment to change for our arts event at night. It was held at the Victory Gardens Theater a bit north of us.
The play is called I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a
Young Lady from Rwanda by Sonja Linden. This will be my journal entry for this arts event:

I remember hearing a lot about the wars in Rwanda and Bosnia a while ago. Years ago. They happened in 1994, when I was in grade 4. Class differences caused the massacre between the Tutsis, the upper class and minorty, and Hutus, lowe class and majority. Most of the Tutsis were driven out or killed. For such a political issure, the play was not focused on that at all. I was also surprised that they had so much humor in a play of this sort. I expected to hear horrible stories, horrible endings and gruesome details. I guess a way for people to get through their memories of Rwanda would be to focus on the positives...they humorous things they remember. We don't do that with the Jews and Nazis...
"Art is a lie that tells the truth is prominent in this play. I can tell that Simon was trying to really get the personal stories out of Juliette and all those little details that make her story personal and memorable. Writing was Juliette's way of coping, getting those memories/thoughts out of her head and only paper and getting rid of those horrible nightmares she had. Simon wanted to make hre factual writing into Art and challenged Juliette to remember the color in the scenery, the flowers waving at her, the personality within her.
The one things I found very interesting when reading about the play beforehand is that the long title of the play is a challenge to our short attention span where Rwanda is concerned. It's true. We seem to only focus on other countries and other wars for such a short time. Whereas, if something difficult happens in US or Canada, it's around in the media for weeks and months!
During the play I also made a few notes to myself. I was very intrigued by the dance the two actors played in their lines and their stories and thoughts. They were very awkward together at first, and still were towards the end, but the script is ingenious first of all that there are only two actors, but also that they didn'y really talk to each other much. We still knew what was goin gon because of their aside comments and monologues. There was also only one stage with different sections. The lights go on only where the scene takes place...ic, her bedroom, or only the office, or both if he's talking from his shed and she's talking from her bedroom. There is excellent descriptive dialogue in the play and an amazing story of Juliette's recovery. The moments where Simon and Juliette begin to see each other differently are beautiful a well. Under the lilac tree, the poetry reading, their initial impressions of each other, and then their father/daughter-like relationship at the end. Amazing. I was expecting a sad ending, but our American culture enjoys a happy ending so I'm glad it was a happy ending. I'm glad to hear that Art therapy worked for Juliette.
I liked this play better than Shakespeare just because it was a lot craftier with just the two actrs and no set changes, no costume changes. It kepy me the whole time. It wasn't emotional for me, but I did hear a few people crying it he audience. Some day I'll get to that point where I can be completely taken in by the play.

After the play I stayed for a discussion and then went back with Shaha, Dave, and Abby.