my address in el paso

so, it's feeling very official! i have an address and everything, and i leave in a week!

my new address (as of august 28th):
514 corto
el paso, tx 79902

phone: 505-635-9452

i'm home right now. well, actually, i'm at work with my mom. i haven't done much translating today, but i'm trying to work on my fulbright application. eeks! i'm pretty overwhelmed, but i think i work best that way.

holden was spectacular! i loved being back there so much. it's wonderful to go back, but a little confusing at the same time. it's a place that is always mine and never mine at the same time. i kept catching glimpses of winter-holden. but it's a different place in the summertime. it know it though, like i know how to ride a bike. it feels a little shakey at first, but soon i realize that i know what i'm doing. i know corners that i had forgetten existed. there really weren't that many people i know left there, and at first that was a little sad for me. but how can i be sad when i can visit holly in seattle and email with melissa and katie, and hear all about zim's work in isreal/palestine, and meet new and wonderful people during my trips back there??! it's so easy to want to hold on to holden, but that's not how it works. you have to keep your grip loose and just trust that even as it slides through your fingers, it doesn't ever stop.

so many things about holden re-fuel me. but on the top of that list i would have to place the MOUNTAINS! oh, the glorious mountains. i love them so! i had a conversation at holden about particular ties to a certain place or time-- and i find that often i'm not tied to the place, i'm tied to the people. but, there are certain places, and holden is definitely one of them, to which i am tied purely to the geography. i love those mountains from the depths of my soul, and i miss them when i am away.

i had another good conversation there (sooo many good conversations!) with my friend, the village artist. we were discussing holden's role in the world-- what is its job? what is it for? and i had just described how hard it had been for me to adjust to the thoughtlessness and waste of the real world when i left... and she said that she imagined discontent was part of holden's mission. we SHOULD feel discontent with the rest of the world when we leave there, and that should fuel us to enact change.
YES!

salsa at the lake

salsa at the lake
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

the night before i left, abriendo caminos was also coming to a close. we had a fiesta with live music and i had a chance to salsa dance!!! this photo was taken the next day, as we left holden.

mariachi on the ark

mariachi on the ark
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

i was at holden for a week of spanish programing called "abriendo caminos." a mariachi band came up for a couple days and treated us to their great music.

hiking down to lower lyman

hiking down to lower lyman
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

the glacier-blue of the lake is even more striking in real life!

upper lyman lake

upper lyman lake
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

artistic eyes or not, the glacial valley of upper lyman is spectacular!

yoga on the mount

yoga one the mount
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

the next weekend at holden, i took off on another hike. i was with the village artist and i felt like i was seeing everything through artistic eyes.

sparks

sparks
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

one night after vespers, we had a drum circle out in the woods and sat around a campfire. it was magical.

holden hilarity at its finest

holden hilarity at its finest
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

harry shaved his beard off and decided that before he let it grow back again, he needed to wear his dress with smooth cheeks. ooooh, holden!

snowballs in july

snowballs in july
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

imelda and i hiked up to the glacier and played in the snow before packing up and hiking back to the village.

glacier view campsite

glacier view campsite
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

my first weekend back at holden, imelda and i took off for a hike. we camped at holden pass and listened to the glacier rumbling as the sun set.

dancers

dancers
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

a true dancing spirit-- carrie couldn't sit still on the beach. she and katrine make up a routine and performed as the sun set.

are you two sisters?

are you two sisters?
Originally uploaded by josefina1.

before i went to holden, i was in seattle for a week visiting my old roommate carrie. we always got mistaken for sisters in urbana, and it happened again in seattle. i think 3 people asked us in one day if we were sisters.