I know this is probably my most obscure blog title so far, but by the end of this post, you will understand.
Saturday, February 26
Improvisation performance en el Centro Historico. We were supposed to be there at 10:00. Hannah and I got off the Ecovia at like 9:55. We had called Daniel (our program director and Improvisation professor) on our way and thought we knew where we were going. We ended up heading in the wrong direction, called Daniel again, and headed further South like he told us. Hit a dead end, called Daniel again, and found out that he had meant to tell us North instead of South. Awesome. We finally arrive at the Plaza del Teatro at 10:30. Thankfully they waited for us to start. Ecuadorian time. You know, it all works out. It would take me FOREVER to explain all the activities we did, so I'm not going to try. At this plaza, though, we did a lot of activities based on movement, sounds, expression, and exploring the space. Apparently, a tourist stopped to watch us and made a comment to Daniel that "Boston isn't this cool." Haha. Chevere.
On our way to the next lugar (place) we had to interact with the public with an object. I brought an umbrella. I didn't say much to people, but I would walk up behind them until I was right next to them, shading them. One middle-aged man looked at me like I was crazy. Another older and much smaller gentleman beamed and thanked me profusely for the shade. Haha. Then I walked through the middle of the street twirling my umbrella. Yeah, that part was a little awkward. It was very entertaining, though, to watch Hector (who brought a police hat) stop traffic and wave us across the street. Sebastian, another guy in my glass pretended to be blind and actually got some money from people. Haha
We stopped at a smaller plaza and did two completely improvised activities that Daniel never warned us about. We did a slow motion race where the winner was the person who got last place, but you always had to be moving forward. I was in that race. The rest of my classmates who weren't racing were the audience, and they were also in slow-mo. I didn't win, but I didn't lose, if you know what I mean. The other race was a drunk race. Both the participants and the spectators had to act drunk. Entertaining for sure.
Then it was just a quarter of a block to our next "stage." We performed in the lobby of a burned theater. Here we did a lot more structured activities, less abstract. More talking, less walking. The audience laughed a lot more and my friends said this half of the program was more enjoyable. The audience wrote down objects, we split into groups, and then as a group we had to act out the object. Anteojos, glasses. Rata, rat. Huracan, hurricane. Mierda..."poop." We had a very creative audience. Haha. We stayed in these groups for most of the rest of the program. The audience also wrote down phrases. Each group was given six phrases and had to create a scene using only those phrases. No other palabras (words). While one group was working on a scene, the other group was doing "Open Scenes." We had basic conversation but with different scenarios.
The conversation:
A: Hola
B: Hola
A: Que hiciste anoche?
B: No hice mucho. Y tu?
A: Vi un poco de tele.
B: Algo de bueno.
A: Pues, no.
B: Nos vemos entonces.
A: OK
For those of you who are Spanish challenged:
A: Hi
B: Hi
A: What did you do last night?
B: Not much. You?
A: I watched some TV.
B: Anything good?
A: Nah
B: See you later, then.
A: OK
Notice the reference in my blog title. People say "Nos vemos entonces" a lot, so every time I hear that phrase in a normal conversation, all I can think of is improv. It has become a running joke among those of us BCA members who are either in the class, or came to this performance. Haha.
We each had to do two scenarios with different partners. My first: we both had to go to the bathroom really badly. The second: a hypochondriac at the doctor's office. Funny stuff.
We did some more activities, but that would take more explanation than I have the patience for. Overall it was a success. I had fun, and I think it was a good bonding experience for our class. We each had to invite a guest so that we would actually have an audience. Haha. Five BCAers came and there are only three of us in the class. Daniel was very impressed with the BCA turnout, and my friends enjoyed themselves, so it was definitely a success. Afterwards, we headed back to Quicentro (the mall), ate at a pretzel place and then finished up with some ice cream at Crepes and Waffles. Went home. Homework out the wazoo.
Sunday, February 27
Met at the Rio Coca station at 8:00 to head to Bomboli, the house of a couple who lives in the cloud forest. The cloud forest is in the process of being destroyed and this couple is doing what they can to protect and maintain at least a portion of it. When we arrived, on the side of the highway, there were some Bomboli workers in the process of slicing a tree trunk with which to make table tops. Chevere. Split into two groups because only half of us could fit into the pick-up truck that would take us up into the mountain. I was on the first shift up. Took a little tour of the house while we waited for the second group to come up. They had about nine dogs there and they were the most well-fed animals I had seen in this country so far. There were twins that had been puppies the last time Daniel saw them last semester. Now? You wouldn't have known they were so recently removed from puppyhood except for their immaturity. I guess that's how it works with college boys, too.
A volunteer there took us on a tour. He looked Ecuadorian and spoke English like he learned it in Ireland. Weird. Apparently he was born in California and moved to Ecuador when he was one. His mom is Californian. That doesn't explain the Irish accent, but we decided not to pry. When the other group arrived at the house, we went on the same tour. Basically. Kinda lame, but educational. They recycle the trees for everything there. The guest housing has mirrors mounted on sliced trunks, clocks mounted on smaller sliced branches, cabinetry, tables, and shelves all made out of trunks. They showed us their garden where they talked about a lot of the plants they were growing there. I found it actually somewhat interesting because I had just been on my Botany field trip so things were looking and sounding familiar. Chevere. There were a lot of beautiful orchids there. The main idea I drew from the experience was that all forms of life need agua, comida, amor, y un ambiente sano (water, food, love, and a healthy environment). The male half of the couple that owns this place really takes this to heart, and kisses the plants every time he plants them. Haha. Loquito (little crazy man). We hiked further into the cloud forest and saw a lot more plants I recognized from the Botany field trip. We were also shown how the couple uses natural fences. There was a cleared out circular cove in the forest where they train horses. The fence around the place was just a conjunction of trees, orchids, and ferns that all grow and thrive together.
Went back to the house to eat. This family makes their own cheeses and manjar (carmel spread). Their Parmesan cheese? Yeah they let it sit in their cupboard for a year and a half. No big deal. Just hardcore dedication right there. We had locro (potato soup) with mozzarella cheese and a looser cheese that I can't remember the name of. Then it was rice with chicken and veggies and salad. Then it was crepes with manjar on top and homemade chocolate sauce. So. Good. They offered more, so I had thirds. Haha. When it was time to go, the group that went up first (my group) went down first to check out a waterfall. By then it had started to rain. The ride was bumpy and peligroso (dangerous) if you weren't watching the branches that were dangling in front of your head. We passed the time by singing. Let me tell you, nothing beats spontaneous singing parties with some great friends. Nothing. I mean we covered everything. Backstreet Boys. Taylor Swift. Katy Perry. Big and Rich. Avril Lavigne. And I don't even remember what else. Time flew, though. Singing does that. The waterfall was pretty cool. It's right by the highway and had to have been at least 50 feet high. Then we hung out in the bus and did a lot more singing while we waited for the second group to make it down the mountain. That was Bomboli. That was the weekend.
Orchids:
No comments:
Post a Comment