Where in the world are peterdianebeckystevesarah?: April 2010

I'm in San Francisco for my final interview for the Compton Mentor Fellowship. You all know how I like to keep things interesting, so I forgot my money/ID/everything important in my car. Luckily, Thrifty people were nice enough to deliver it to me at the terminal. Yes, I know…definitely a miracle.

It’s been wonderful, though. I’m sitting in the small Eden that is the Fort Mason community gardens, well-fed from a Moroccan lunch and a vanilla/peanut butter (obviously) frozen yogurt from a place called the Loving Cup (Chi O, anyone?). And I’m reading Philip Roth. Blissful and better than rainy Boston.

Fort Mason community gardens. I am sitting here!!

My interview was this morning. Having studied interviewing all year, I can say that the interviewers did some good things: they made me feel comfortable and they asked thoughtful questions that forced me to expand on both my idea and myself. I can only hope that I held up my end of the bargain.

If I don’t get the Fellowship, though, I’ll be content in knowing that whoever did deserves it. The other candidates are amazing. One kid, Nathan, is working to stop mountaintop removal. He’s from the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky—I’ve never met anyone from that area of the country so I’m fascinated and could listen to him talk for hours.

Laura is working on a documentary theater project with an organization called Seeds of Peace (http://www.seedsofpeace.org/). She’s an actress who did a thesis on modern adaptations of Medea. I think it might be the only senior thesis that I’ve voluntarily asked someone to send me. There are actually a lot of people here who feel the same way I do about the arts and specifically theater. If they get the Fellowship, I want to help with their projects too!

We visited the Exploratorium yesterday, which I enjoyed despite being deliriously tired. Highlights included the mind section of the museum, where there was an exhibit that scares you and then films your reaction. Enjoy: