The Mountain Classroom group spent last week alone in the hills nearby Cascabel, AZ. It was a unique opportunity to be on solo for four nights on a beautiful stretch of desert preserved by the Cascabel Conservation Association. We prepared for our introspection by studying neurons and the quantifiable benefits of mindfulness, reading Herman Hesse's Siddhartha set 2500 years ago, and discussing traditional Lakota ceremonies as written about by Albert White Hat in Zuya.
Monday morning, we hopped on the TGV high powered train, and started our adventure to Paris! We arrived at the Gare-de-Lyon train station at 12:30 and took our first steps into the City of Light and the City of Love.
My first impression of Spain was how small the spaces are. After arriving in Segovia, Mikaela took me to my host mom Marife’s apartment. In addition to the elevator that could only fit in three people at most, my shower is located in my room and the corridor can only have one person passing each time. Marife seemed like someone that knows exactly how to enjoy life, though; there are approximately more than ten kinds of glasses and cups in the kitchen and living room, and her narrow corridor is full of organised and delicate decorations. Knowing Marife and the daily schedule in Spain, which includes a siesta (a nap about two hours in the middle of the day) and a dinner that doesn’t start until 9:30, I slowly started to process the much more relaxed lifestyle in Spain.
(photo) Jacqui Morris
I have adjusted to life in Aix, and time is going by pretty fast. It’s hard to believe that two weeks has already gone by and that we are leaving for Paris tomorrow! With my excitement for the future, I want to reflect on yet another remarkable seven days in France.
Bahia de Kino in Sonora, Mexico was home to Mountain Classroom for the past week. These videos will give you a taste of our adventures as we spent our time in the water developing kayaking skills, snorkeling, and admiring dolphins and sea lions! Our reading for classes was varied and focused on the local Comcaac tribe, wild foods, diabetes in Mexico, and Steinbeck's The Pearl. Now we are heading out of communication for the next week on solo at the Cascabel Conservation Association.
Three years ago, when I was having hot chocolate at a café in France, enjoying the relaxed and romantic ambiance, I knew I wanted to come back. European Art Classroom definitely became one of the strongest reasons that I love Proctor.
