Author: Emilia
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Samedi Soir a Paris
Despite its cozy appearance (and ‘cozy’ may be an understatement), this little French pub is freezing. Paris is the worst kind of cold tonight: windy, hovering just above freezing, and throwing biting little raindrops every which way. But this tiny corner bar is staffed by a young woman wearing cat-eyed liquid liner and a hoodie. Read more
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On Process
Fall in love with a Questing Beast— Face of a pageant queen Bones of road cases and caravans Body of a dancer and bawdy like a punk band Tree roots for feet and the heart, a hearthfire. With a partner, pursue.Turn your back to give the knife a broader target. Bleed out go blind get Read more
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A Week in the Haus
A classmate was out of the country at a conference last week, so I sent them daily updates about what we did in class. I thought you might enjoy this insider view the first week of the Poetic Embodiment module. MONDAY Today Instructor M brought in a bunch of different objects for us to play Read more
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Self-Revelation Again
We wrapped up the Neutral Mask a week ago, and last week was our second Foundations Week. I’m beginning to appreciate the wisdom of our schedule, because after Neutral Mask I really needed that week to process and digest. Without further ado, and with equal parts generosity (yes, mine), curiosity, and masochism (also mine), here Read more
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We Are Not Alone
It was strange today to be so weighed down. When our warm-up began this morning and my professor said, as she does, while we moved through the space, “You are here, you are present, you are ready to work,” I knew that I was not, and I left to let my body feel what it Read more
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Some Small Irritations
While we all wait for polls to close and votes to be counted and fates to be decided, here are some small irritations about living in Germany: Laundry is an epic. My washer has a 20 minute half-load cycle. The next-shortest cycle takes over two hours. Then laundry takes two days to dry on the Read more
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About the Election
I’m embarrassed to say that I’m not particularly attuned to German media yet, nor do I talk to a lot of Germans, so I don’t know much of what’s being reported here. But everyone knows the election is coming up, and everyone here quite openly hopes Harris wins—and presumes that I do, too. A Frenchman Read more
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Goodbye to Playfulness
I have been in Berlin for over a month now. Our first module in school, focused on playfulness, has ended, and last week was our first “Foundation Week,” in which we have a little more spaciousness in our schedule and take the time to integrate the things we’ve learned in the previous module. This seems Read more
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Saturday Night Womb
It’s my first Saturday evening in Berlin out from under the cloud of jet lag. I’ve found a gorgeous little spot called Rhinoceros, a small, dark, candle-lit cocktail bar spinning jazz on vinyl. It’s one of a handful of English-forward places I’ve found—anywhere that calls itself a cocktail bar is liable to be, I think—and Read more
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A Failure to Communicate
The irony is not lost on me, going from my job as “The Communicator” to a place where I, mostly, cannot communicate. I’ve been here a week and a day. In the last weeks before my departure, I spent my churning anxiety steeling myself against the gnawing loneliness of these ten days, between landing and Read more