A Trip of Firsts...

Wow! I don't even know where to begin. I have been in Suchitoto for a week and it has been absolutely fantastic. The sights, the sounds (minus the deathly-sounding rooster crowing all night long of course) and the people are wonderful. Working at Es Artes has been great so far. All the students are so inspiring - they are incredibly dedicated to this project and it's so good to see.

I say this is a trip of firsts, as even though I have done some travelling, it has been nothing like this. I have never gotten to explain what I do in the field of Stage Management. My shadow, Raquel is very interested and we talk every day about what needs to be done, how there can be different interpretations for paperwork and how it is important to find a way that suits her. I do think I scared her a bit when I explained all the paperwork Stage Management does (daily and weekly schedules, contact lists, preset lists, etc.) - her eyes went wide and she said "Mucho Trabajo!", but she has jumped in whole heartedly and asks for direction when she needs it. We've already had a day of fittings and she made sure the next student was at their fitting on time...I was so pleased that Raquel took the initiative. Raquel and I will be getting progressively busier as time goes on. At least one fitting will be scheduled for each student by the end of this week. Ed gets here on Saturday, so we will be starting daily schedules next Monday, as well as blocking rehearsals! It's so exciting!

Yesterday was the first day I've had off since getting here and we kept busy. Melissa, Katherine and I attended mass at noon. In the afternoon the three of us, along with Mike and our interpreter Koky, walked down to Lake Suchitlan (man made lake Suchitoto is right beside) and had a boat ride. We met up with Bonnie, Alec and Jeff at Harlequin for a delicious supper. We all want to see as much as we can while we're here, so will always be on the go!

I said to Melissa earlier today that I really hope the next 5 weeks go very slowly. We're getting better with our Spanish, we're loving the warm, sunny weather and we're focusing our energy on such an outstanding project - I don't want it to end!

I've spent the morning doing work, writing this, watching Melissa entertain little Fabrizio and listening to the students rehearse the music for Fuente Ovejuna. They've stopped now as it's almost lunchtime, so better will wrap up this posting...another first!

Hasta la proxima!