ABQ = FUN

Our week in Albuquerque had some really incredible opportunities!

We toured Acoma Sky City, a Native American community that sits atop a mesa on a reservation north of ABQ, and the oldest buildings are carbon dated back to 1150. Our tour guide was an engaging and mysterious storyteller, and wandering through this town which is still inhabited with no running water and no electricity (though many families have generators, because as our guide said, even they can't live without Deal or No Deal and Monday Night Football.) We were shuttled up to the little town, but got to climb down an ancient steep stairway to get off the mesa and back to the museum and welcome center. I highly recommend visiting this community if you are in New Mexico.

ABQ was our environment city, where the cast does one of my very favorite activities, carrying our trash for the week. We had a few meals with excess packaging, and it is fun to see how people handle the challenge. We had a few who tried to eat things they would normally discard- someone ate her whole watermelon rind, and another tried to choke down a banana peel (but gave up after just a few bites). This activity is always a realization in how much we use and waste- especially when our trash also includes any unfinished food on our plates. My hope is that the lessons transfer to less waste for the rest of the semester.

Our show in Albuquerque was at the amphitheatre at the Rio Grande Zoo. We performed literally in the duck pond- there was a moat complete with a huge white swan between the stage and the grassy lawn where the audience brought blankets and lawn chairs. It was a lovely evening and a great crowd- the only downside was that our generator was having problems and the power to the lights kept going out. Scott can add another line to his job description: his task for the evening was to sit next to the generator and every time it shut off unexpectedly, he was there to turn it back on. So now, in addition to being the assistant cast manager and the truck driver, he is also the generator monitor. Hopefully that will come with a pay bump.