Coming full circle

Allow me to wax a bit nostalgic today. Tomorrow morning I leave for my six weeks of study in Santa Fe, and so I have been packing, reading, thinking, preparing.

I started this grand adventure of a masters degree back in June of 2004--in Santa Fe no less. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. My friend J was also in the program and so we traveled together, shared a dorm, and traversed the terrain of New Mexico as well as the terrain of some native american literature and memoir. It was a summer to remember, and we made a grand adventure of it.

So now four years later I return. Much has changed. J graduated three years ago and now has two kids. I'm married when I never imagined I would be those years ago. This summer I am taking Shakespeare and the Bible, so the genres are far different than my heavy American emphasis of that first summer.

But Bread Loaf is always an adventure. The courses are challenging, the students are intense, and locales invite exploration. If you've never been to the Santa fe area, I would suggest a trip. The landscape and varied cultures are fascinating. I took trips to Bandalier National Park, the Palace of the Governors, the pueblo at Taos, listened to opera at the famed amphitheater there. I also heard Sandra Cisneros speak and read in a truly vivid experience. I have such fond memories.


I wonder what will await me this time—besides graduation at the end of it??? ;)

PS. The photos are a few from my 04 trip. Stay tuned for the 2008 edition.