Another
trip!? Why?
So, I had
one more trip before going back home. It was a very important trip because it
was the trip to Cape Cod. Last year, when I interviewed the author that I
study, Marge Piercy, she mentioned she gave a workshop every year. It was
called Intensive Poetry Workshop. She said many people applied but she would
take 12 students – which is not very common, this type of event normally
accepts dozens of people – to spend a week with her, learning about poetry and
improving their craft. In December, she posted on Facebook that people could
already submit their applications. To apply all you had to do was send her five
poems. She would select the people based on a selection of their work. I had 5
poems in English. One was about her. So, if I really wanted her to read without
having to impose on her, that was my chance. I thought it would be an honor to
be read and rejected by a poet of that caliber.
She
accepted me. Even though she identified some of my flaws (some of which I was
well aware), she stated I had things to say and that she felt she could help me
improve. So, from an academic studying her novels, I was a fellow-poet, a student
who would have the chance of spending a week with her. She asked me if I wanted
to participate. I answered immediately I was in! The group was formed and we
had a page on facebook to introduce ourselves and discuss details.
Going north
Living a
life as a researcher and student, it was not so easy to make ends meet. I would
have to try the
cheapest ways for transportation and accommodation. The
planning started early and I decided I was going to fly from Tampa, FL to
Boston, MA. They are major cities and the ticket prices would be more
affordable. There was a problem: getting from Gainesville to Tampa. I ended up
talking to a good friend who could drive me there, even though he never wakes
up so early. We had a nice time, talking and listening to music and I am very
thankful to Donavaun. People from Tampa airport were very polite, more than
usual. Even people that worked on the security checks were super nice. I made a
friend while I waited for my flight. One connection in Cleveland, I made another
friend. I had interesting conversations.
From Logan
Airport, I got a shuttle then the subway and after crossing the town and
getting to the green line, there I was, in Waltham, a city just around the
corner from Boston.
I was
supposed to couchsurf there, with a guy named Will. He was a very nice host,
respectful and eager to know me and my stories. We talked for some time, had a
good time at a bar. On the next day we visited a place he had never been to
before, Spectacle Island in the Harbor Area. We explored the island and the
weather was perfect. After that, we had lunch at a pub and walked to the
Freedom Trail, a red brick way taking us to many historic sites. We saw an old
cemetery, and there were many people in the park. We saw one wedding happening
and some other couple and their party were looking for places to take pictures.
We walked through Boylston Street, Back Bay, and along the Charles River. Our last
stop was Boston College, where he studies. We saw the buildings and entered the
stadium. Then, I went to the city library to wait for my friend Nefyn. I was very
happy about the chance of hanging out with him and it was a lovely evening
talking about life. After that, I went back to a bar where Will was with
friends watching the hockey game. Boston won and it was very nice to see all
the happiness filling that crammed space. Back to his house, I started packing
because we would leave early the next morning. He would give me a ride to get the
bus to Cape Cod and to the next part of my great adventures.
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