Back in the hot hot desert!
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2010
1
Trip End
Ongoing
Tucson, Arizona
Monday, September 27, 2010
I arrived in Tucson Arizona on August 10th and two weeks later I began my Masters in Landscape Architecture. Am I happy? OH MY GOODNESS YES!
Basically things have just worked out so well here from scoring a really wonderful living space and two fabulous roommates who take me to great concerts and mountain biking and tell me about really great hiking trails, to having "insta-friends" because there are so many returned Peace Corps Volunteers doing the Peace Corps Fellowship like me. Also my program....aw....have you every loved going to school? Or loved doing homework?! Its the strangest sensation to love what you do...not that I haven't done things I love before but this is different in a way that just makes me excited to have maybe found a career??!!! What!?? Who said that "a career"....
Ok so I could just be jumping the gun but so far...the program, my teachers, my classes, my classmates....all really awesome! I have a drawing class, site engineering class, site analysis, Studio with Photoshop, autocad and Sketchup, a history class, and a plant materials class. Its the right amount of hands on and reading oh and there's lots of presenting!
Also Tucson is just cool....I mean I heard it was pretty neat before coming out here but what strikes me the most about this sprawled out town is that people are just really nice and the nooks and crannies are fun to explore especially when someone who loves the town is showing you where they are.
I've been getting to do a lot of outdoor stuff despite the intense heat from camping to hiking, biking, waterfall swimming (if you can believe it, they've had an pretty sizable monsoon season here) The plants are so bizarre and cool here. I've also started an internship with the girl scouts as an environmental educator and on Saturday I had my first gig and I went to Gate's pass to an Arthropod Institute and by golly....I think bugs are super cool now! Then I went salsa dancing and even though I can't get the "swing" out of me, people actually asked me to dance!?
So besides wishing you all were here with me, I am doing very well. Here is a fun poem I wrote for one of my presentations. Its using the Cremation of Sam Mcgee by Robert Service as a backbone. It went along with a presentation I did on Design principles where we also had to create a 3-D sculpture and my sculpture was reminiscent of Mountains in memory of Denali and in reverence for the many new and lovely mountains I have surrounding me now.
There are strange things done in Design Studio 1
By the first years who toil for praise
Will Oscar like what they put in his sight?
Will they pass on to the next phase?
Do they understand Math Magic Land?
The Golden Phi and 1,2,3,5…
Those poor shmoes, God only knows
If they'll make it out alive
So may we all find proportion, balance, and unity
And also some emphasis, rhythm and variety
Design principles are fun when all said is done
And though future assignments are yet to come
At least this project’s course has finally run…
Have a great day everyone and be in touch ok!!?
love Desneige
