Several consecutive days of steady downpours convinced me that I should build an ark and float away to the beaches of Brazil—with a layover in London, of course, to invite a certain eminent ectotherm suffering from comparably intolerable weather patterns—but finally, the sun has emerged from its cruel dormancy. (I can only hope that conditions across the pond are also improving similarly.)
I've been taking advantage of the splendid weather, of course, by burrowing down in a corner of the library and previewing class materials for the next two weeks. Or not. Actually, there hasn't been much need to—I'm somewhat unexpectedly ahead of schedule for schoolwork. There's nothing quite like a week of gloomy, wet weather for minimizing any motivation to leave the dorm. Fresh loads of laundry have been folded and put away, and even the floor has been Swiffered—twice.
And thus, in the name of world peace and vitamin D, I've been using every excuse to leave my room and enjoy the abundant sunshine outside. On Thursday, for example, several friends and I walked to the local movie theater to watch Mother, a film by Korean director Bong Joon-ho. Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle describes the movie as, "an alluring piece of work, an artful whodunit that melds shrewd plotting with resourceful camera work and sympathetic characters that are fascinatingly, morbidly off." A review by the Chicago Sun-Times reads, "The film is labyrinthine and deceptive, and not in a way we anticipate. It becomes a pleasure for the mind."
On Friday evening, I went to watch "Para Ti," the spring show by Oye, Yale's Latino spoken word group. I honestly don't think any other student performance has had a greater immediate emotional impact on me. Confession: I left during intermission, not because any element of the show was poor, but because I was somewhat stunned by how heartfelt and powerful spoken word could be. I realize that may sound selfish, especially considering the amount of hard work the performers had clearly invested in the show, but at least I became a new convert.
