As we finished our last week in Vauvenargues and Aix we are starting to realize that the term is coming to an end. A scary thought appeared in our minds and reality slapped us in the face: Even though we as a group are still going to talk, we are not going to see each other everyday.
I’ve called these places soul corners in the past, the pockets where energy coalesces in a particular way to reveal something of a community’s heartbeat, its delight, its potential. They are not often manicured spaces, prim and dolled up. They have an aura of work surrounding them, of student effort expended and adults guiding. Slocumb is one of those spaces. The tech lab, the woodshop, the machine shop, the forge - all soul spaces. So, too, is the Norris Theater with its paneling, the wooden beams that hold up the grid, the scene shop. It’s one of those spaces that invites lingering. It’s calming and energizing. It’s a place of music, of singing, of acting and set magic, of students making birthday announcements and game recaps. It’s a place of laughter and sometimes somber talks. It’s one of those places that makes Proctor…well, Proctor.
As the year winds down, things are just heating up in Proctor’s Drama department. Opening night of the spring musical is fast approaching (Friday at 7:00 PM is the first show), and the hard work that students and faculty have put into this show will finally be on display.
As mid-term quietly passes, we had a special guest coming from Proctor-- Jill! As Dave jokes “New Hampshire people always bring New Hampshire weather with them…” Jill arrived on a cloudy day in Provence.
Life is unpredictable in this world, but everyone does what they need to do to keep moving forward. Andrea was leader this week and she took it upon herself to make breakfast for everyone - every morning.
From the language, to the food, to the architecture, Vienna was vastly different from our normal stomping grounds of Aix-en-Provence.
This week in Vauvenargues/Aix zoomed by quicker than a frequent rider of Provence’s public bus system could warble out a “merci, au revoir”, whilst flinging themselves off the bus and out onto the street.
The first day we arrived, we were driving up this beautiful hill and when we saw an apricot colored house at the end of the road. Dave did not hesitate to play a joke on us and say that the house belonged to two grumpy old people that we should be careful not to anger.
