For those technologically inclined, here is how the blog works: everything runs off my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S. The software is WordPress for Android, and that brings everything together: camera, text, hyperlinks, etc. The thing I wish I could figure out would be to have a map I could put “pins” on as I go along. There you have it.
Oh, I am having a coffee break somewhere in Virginia.
After a great NYC breakfast with Mark Miller, and blessed with a sunny day, I hit the road. Advice to claustrophobes: Do not take the Lincoln Tunnel in August in a traffic jam. I planned to blast through NJ, so I took 95 South, only to realize that once you clear the metro area it is beautiful. Since it was early I decided to press on to University of Maryland, my first visit.
Five boring hours later (sorry Delaware and Baltimore). I got to the hallowed Jimenez Hall at U. Maryland. This is were the great Spanish writer and 1956 Nobel Prize winner taught during his exile.
The problem with visiting universities in the summer is that logically there are not many people around. So I did not get an appointment at UM. I did however have a very nice chat with David Wilson, the Graduate Coordinator and he let me walk around the building to soak it all in, I loved it! Late lunch was at the beautiful Student Union. The campus is expansive and pretty.
From there it was a nice short ride to Georgetown U. Where Spencer Daum, Walnut Hill ’09 was hosting me. He’s working for the university so I’m staying in his dorm, which I confess is strangely refreshing.
Spencer gave me the insider’s tour of the school and of beautiful Georgetown, which I rewarded him for with a juicy rib-eye steak and a nice cigar sitting by the river, gracias amigo.
Wow, wow, wow!! Thank you soo much Bonnie and Jenny Spicola for the best Broadway experience ever. Tour of the set, backstage, special effects and of course the show. As a longtime U2 fan, I was very curious to see and listen to this show, and then, voila! here I am sitting next to one of Spiderman’s landing platforms. Listening to music that could only come from Bono and The Edge, and enjoying the show like the comic book, but even more amazing.
Aaaaand if that was not enough, we then had dinner at the delicious Veselka Ukranian deli in the East Village, followed by dessert at Veniero’s. Truly an excellent experience. Thank you so much girls, I loved it!
The start, as usual, was delayed. I decided to go to the gym, still had to pack, clean up the house, etc. So I got a late start. The weather was overcast but warm enough for a T shirt. I rode a solid two hours until past Hartford CT for my first break. My refueling stop was in beautiful Westport. Then the rain started for an hour and a half. I had to stop under as bridge to put on my rain jacket. But my average was obviously shot. When I pulled into Manhattan, the rain stopped in a sly wink from the higher ups.
After changing my soaking clothes and hanging out w Mark and his business partner The Turtle. Mark and I went to the Belgian restaurant around the corner for mussels and Belgian beer. The epilogue for the day was a fun nightcap at Ouest, discussing Garcia Lorca, Buñuel and Dalí with Seth, the best barman in the Upper West Side.
Enough talk, enough preparation, enough dreaming, enough dilly-dallying.
It´s time to hit the road. Leg 1 Boston to NYC to hang out with the great Mark Miller and maybe check out what is new in his gallery, then on Sunday meet the great Spicolas for Spiderman, the most talked about show on Broadway.
Vamos!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4HRP10F_Rk
A lot of you have asked what reading I will take on this trip. (Actually nobody has asked, but it did sound good, don’t you think?). Ideally of course I would take a Quijote, but space being of the essence I will revisit Vargas Llosa’s Pantaleon y las visitadoras
The plan: To visit 11 universities covering 5.000 miles and 18 states in three weeks. Visit campuses (campii?), talk to people, see towns, eat the local foods, and get a feeling for the lay of the land.
The philosophy: Minimalist, carry only the stuff I can carry in my duffle bag. Not buying any new or special equipment. I did have to purchase some safety equipment: small flashlight, glow sticks, first aid kit,and a puncture repair kit (more on that later).
The equipment: Rocinante, a five year old Harley Davidson 883, which pisses oil from the air intake.
The universities:
As my brother Theo would say, I’m a bit of a late bloomer. It wasn’t until my senior year at the American School in London that Soledad Sprackling and Mr. McGovern introduced me to Borges and Hemingway respectively. My mind was blown and I haven’t stopped reading since.
Then I went to business school, but that was not a deterrent. Thanks to Silvia Velez and the afore mentioned Theo I discovered García Márquez, Fuentes, Auster, Amis, etc. Then I spent the next fifteen years in the business world, happy to just comment my readings with Paco Navarro.
My final approach to turning pro in the world of academia and literature came in 2004. After closing my company, my then wife, Tracy said: “Try teaching you are a natural, you’ll love it”. And I tried it, and I loved it.
I started teaching at the high school level, and after the initial jitters, I thrived in sharing my passion for language, literature and culture with my students. I wanted more so I got my masters at Simmons. That was a fantastic experience, I loved reading and writing and discussing, I felt at home, I realized I needed and wanted more of that. After five years at a prestigious arts high school (you can see some of my work on Youtube), I have decided to “crank it up a notch” and go for my PhD.
Poor Rocinante lived with this screw in the rear tire for weeks and she didn’t complain!
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