(when did I feel like an Other? What does Swiss culture view as Other?)
Language- The number one time I felt like an outsider and very different, isolated, and alone, was being an English and non-French speaking person around not only French speakers, but French speakers who also know 2 other languages. Knowing limited Spanish helped me get around, and I did manage to learn a bit of French, but I always felt very uncomfortable because I wasn’t ever confident I knew what was going on. Other English speakers, and people whose first language was not French, also felt this way. English actually ended up being the common thread, the connection between all of us non-Swiss French.
Artist among Scientists- Logic/Rules vs. feeling and art –
I happened to meet many Scientists; people my age working on their PhDs. It was an interesting learning experience to be a person on an entirely different OTHER life path- to be an artist among scientists. I felt like I was constantly defending what I am doing with my life. But really people just wanted to understand. When I say performance art, what does that mean? It was actually really strengthening to have to explain that. And the question of what I wanted to do after my trip kept coming up. I have ideas, and I have dreams, and that’s what I can tell them. But the question of “how?” kept repeating itself- how are you going to start a theatre company? How are you going to travel around the world? The “how”- you can ask any artist- isn’t really the point. We have these idealistic dreams, and we follow them. Someone called me idealistic. Well, I take that as a compliment. I realized that as an artist, I have to be idealistic in order to get anything done. If I was realistic, logical- I would still be a teacher. I wouldn’t be trying to create this piece, I wouldn’t be trying to travel around the world, I would not have gone to Switzerland, and probably wouldn’t have left San Francisco. I think and act with my heart, not with my head. Being an artist among scientists has helped me to really define myself and reflect on why I am doing what I’m doing. And it feels very scary, but I feel stronger than ever, and my conviction to follow my dreams has been driven forward, full force.
Art Brut-
There is an art museum in Lausanne called Musee de l’Art Brut, that had a strong effect on me. Art Brut is a term coined by a local Swiss that collects artwork made by people who do not consider themselves artists, who never intended their art to be in a museum, many of whom were prisoners, in mental institutions, or live a reclusive life. These people have made art because they were called to, because it was stuck inside them, because they were driven by a force completely unkown to the audience. Their art was not intended to be looked at, to go, “hmm” at, to try to be interpreted, and definitely not to be in a museum. I felt, looking at this artwork, that I was prying into someone’s mind, staring at someone naked, a very unwelcome exhibition. I felt a bit like I was in a human-mind zoo. Animals in a zoo do not choose to be looked at by humans, as if they were artwork, and neither did these people want tourists and intellectuals to be staring into the deepest, darkest caverns of their soul. And by looking at these scratchings, wall coverings of millions of little circles, sculptures made out of rags, blood, and clay, paintings of magical creatures that came to someone in a vision- I felt like we as a society were making these people into OTHERS.
30 August 2009
29 August 2009
SACRED
(Things that I/Swiss find SACRED)
Family dinners, Dinner parties- every night we had a big and special family dinner. It seemed that people were always having dinner parties in their outdoor spaces.
Cheese, wine, chocolate- savoring and indulging in amazing Food
The Cathedral, Le Cite- I loved this quiet medieval area of Lausanne that was built on the original site of the first Roman settlement in Lausanne. It sits royally on the top of the hill overlooking the city. I found this area to have a special old energy. I ran into people I knew there, had a lot of great experiences around the area, and spent a lot of time sitting against the grand Cathedral, feeling it’s energy, and “just be”- ing.
“Salte!” (what Swiss French say when you “cheers”)- And it was always important to make eye contact with everyone who was clinking, otherwise you would have bad luck for seven years.
The mountains, the lake, the natural landscape, all the beauty it emits, and the peaceful quiet stillness it inspires.
Going to the Plage (beach) on a hot day- Lutry Plage was always packed with people!
Extreme sports (skiing, hiking)- people in Switzerland love their sports. In the summer, sailing, water skiing, sky diving, water rafting, hiking, badminton, tennis, swimming, and in the winter, skiing, snowboarding, etc.
Family dinners, Dinner parties- every night we had a big and special family dinner. It seemed that people were always having dinner parties in their outdoor spaces.
Cheese, wine, chocolate- savoring and indulging in amazing Food
The Cathedral, Le Cite- I loved this quiet medieval area of Lausanne that was built on the original site of the first Roman settlement in Lausanne. It sits royally on the top of the hill overlooking the city. I found this area to have a special old energy. I ran into people I knew there, had a lot of great experiences around the area, and spent a lot of time sitting against the grand Cathedral, feeling it’s energy, and “just be”- ing.
“Salte!” (what Swiss French say when you “cheers”)- And it was always important to make eye contact with everyone who was clinking, otherwise you would have bad luck for seven years.
The mountains, the lake, the natural landscape, all the beauty it emits, and the peaceful quiet stillness it inspires.
Going to the Plage (beach) on a hot day- Lutry Plage was always packed with people!
Extreme sports (skiing, hiking)- people in Switzerland love their sports. In the summer, sailing, water skiing, sky diving, water rafting, hiking, badminton, tennis, swimming, and in the winter, skiing, snowboarding, etc.
28 August 2009
The first of the Switzerland Series
Bonjour!
It is 6am in New York City. I am only awake at an hour like this because I couldn’t sleep any longer- I am jetlagged and exhausted from my final days in Switzerland.
I spent the last month in Lausanne, Switzerland, a French-speaking city full of university students, professionals, coiffuers (hair salons), cheese, crepes, and wine. A month of living in one place is a long time, and yet not long enough, to really get a sense of the life and culture. I felt by the end of the month that I really lived in a European city, but I never quite felt like I belonged, for a few reasons.
I spent the month working and living with the Hanahans- a family I knew from San Francisco. They moved there because the father had a new job opening a cancer research center at EPFL- Ecole Polytechnique Federation Lausanne (or something like that) It’s a Polytechnical University. The kids have started school at ISL, The International School of Lausanne, which is an English speaking private school that follows a very different, holistic approach to teaching and learning, rather than the strict, test-taking approach that most Swiss- French schools follow in the Vaud Canton. (Cantons are the reigons of Switzerland- like states- and Lausanne is in the Vaud Canton)
I spent the month taking the kids from place to place, exploring the city with them, trying to get around with our combined French- speaking efforts, taking care of business around the house, like grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning. I also spent a fair amount of time by myself, exploring on my own, meeting people my age (mostly in bars), traveling to nearby Swiss areas, and doing some of my own reflection and relaxing as I didn’t have the usual sweep of social activity and appointments that I usually do in San Francisco and New York.
I have a lot to say, and I have been writing about it all in my own personal journal, so I will break down my blog entries for you. I will write a new entry for the next few days in a few categories.
As you may or may not know, The Other Side (the performance piece) is based on many things, but one lens is a group of words: “Sacred”, “Other”, “Land”, “Connect”, “Side”. I will write a blog entry for each, in its relationship to Switzerland or my experience. (for example- what did I find Sacred in Lausanne? What to Lausannois find Sacred? Or when did I Connect? When did I feel like an Other?) This is the way I might break down many of my blog entries. I’ll try it out this time and see if it works.
I also will have an entry called, “Cultural Observations of Lausanne” and “What I gained from Switzerland.”
The next four months in New York will be devoted to putting together a New York City fundraiser performance of The Other Side, as well as finalizing my travel plans, booking the Ediburgh trip, and getting ready to go!
If you want to make a donation, my chip in drive will close on August 31st, but I think I’ll open another one. Please donate, if you can!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Also, look for photos from Switzerland soon!
It is 6am in New York City. I am only awake at an hour like this because I couldn’t sleep any longer- I am jetlagged and exhausted from my final days in Switzerland.
I spent the last month in Lausanne, Switzerland, a French-speaking city full of university students, professionals, coiffuers (hair salons), cheese, crepes, and wine. A month of living in one place is a long time, and yet not long enough, to really get a sense of the life and culture. I felt by the end of the month that I really lived in a European city, but I never quite felt like I belonged, for a few reasons.
I spent the month working and living with the Hanahans- a family I knew from San Francisco. They moved there because the father had a new job opening a cancer research center at EPFL- Ecole Polytechnique Federation Lausanne (or something like that) It’s a Polytechnical University. The kids have started school at ISL, The International School of Lausanne, which is an English speaking private school that follows a very different, holistic approach to teaching and learning, rather than the strict, test-taking approach that most Swiss- French schools follow in the Vaud Canton. (Cantons are the reigons of Switzerland- like states- and Lausanne is in the Vaud Canton)
I spent the month taking the kids from place to place, exploring the city with them, trying to get around with our combined French- speaking efforts, taking care of business around the house, like grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning. I also spent a fair amount of time by myself, exploring on my own, meeting people my age (mostly in bars), traveling to nearby Swiss areas, and doing some of my own reflection and relaxing as I didn’t have the usual sweep of social activity and appointments that I usually do in San Francisco and New York.
I have a lot to say, and I have been writing about it all in my own personal journal, so I will break down my blog entries for you. I will write a new entry for the next few days in a few categories.
As you may or may not know, The Other Side (the performance piece) is based on many things, but one lens is a group of words: “Sacred”, “Other”, “Land”, “Connect”, “Side”. I will write a blog entry for each, in its relationship to Switzerland or my experience. (for example- what did I find Sacred in Lausanne? What to Lausannois find Sacred? Or when did I Connect? When did I feel like an Other?) This is the way I might break down many of my blog entries. I’ll try it out this time and see if it works.
I also will have an entry called, “Cultural Observations of Lausanne” and “What I gained from Switzerland.”
The next four months in New York will be devoted to putting together a New York City fundraiser performance of The Other Side, as well as finalizing my travel plans, booking the Ediburgh trip, and getting ready to go!
If you want to make a donation, my chip in drive will close on August 31st, but I think I’ll open another one. Please donate, if you can!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Also, look for photos from Switzerland soon!
09 August 2009
Photos from The Other Side video project New York City
Photos courtesy of Numidas Prasarn and Omar Robinson.
Featuring:
Melanie Closs
Sophie Kaplan
Maxine Kaplan
Megan Jacoby
Becca Schall
Becca Hackett
Ilana Becker
Filmed by Samantha Cornwell- video coming soon!
Special guest viewers: My parents
Featuring:
Melanie Closs
Sophie Kaplan
Maxine Kaplan
Megan Jacoby
Becca Schall
Becca Hackett
Ilana Becker
Filmed by Samantha Cornwell- video coming soon!
Special guest viewers: My parents
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