Tourist Season

It's tourist season here at NWU, time for students from high schools in the area to visit campuses and think about where they want to go to college.

I was on my way to get my parking permit and ran into a threesome, middle-aged couple, younger woman, looking at a map, so I pointed them the direction they needed to go. It's really nice to know my way around. I mean, it's not unusual or anything; someone should know their way around a campus after a couple years (heck, after a couple months for most campuses), but it's still nice to feel like I belong somewhat.

I remember when I started feeling at home on my own undergraduate campus; it took a while, and then I just was pretty much there. I didn't know where everything was (it was and is, a HUGE campus), but I knew where I mostly needed to get. And I was happy there. I hope the students looking at campuses all around find a place they enjoy as much, and learn even more than I did.

(And then I jumped the parking permit hoop! Yay me! One down!)

The Shakespeare camp students have been working with a stage combat person, mostly outside, with fake swords, spread out big over the central lawn area. I watched for a bit before my session was to start today, and they looked pretty cool. And I watched the tour groups watch as they went by.

Yes, prospective college students, you, too, can learn to pretend to whack people with really big dowels! What's more, you could be learning even now! (Now, now, very now.)

I taught my session outside today, too. Later this evening, at an Olympics opening ceremony potluck and party, my friends said they'd seen me teaching. Teaching is a performance in all sorts of ways, but usually it's to a more closed audience. I'm pretty aware of the students I'm teaching, but I didn't notice my friends going by, and once I was going, I didn't notice the tour groups, either.

But this Shakespeare guy we were working with? Dang, he's really good. I mean, there are just some killer bits in Macbeth.

Today, we worked through the bit where Duncan's talking about his recent discovery that it's hard to tell what people are thinking or like (refering to the recently treasonous Thane of Cawdor), and then he greets Macbeth. You notice those reading, but they really jump out when you think about how to stage things.