mass email originally sent on 22 September 2007

Hello far and wide.
I am writing from my new home where I can feel the drone of the turbine in my bone marrow. I am at Cerveny Mlyn (Red Mill) in Southern Bohemia, in the middle of nowhere. No telephone lines come here. I walk twenty-five minutes in one direction to the closet-sized store and the other direction to the bus stop. At the end of this year, I hope to still sometimes romanticize the countryside. But right now, pulling weeds and working in isolation, it is a little difficult. There is always so much to do and an unexpected event always interrupts the day's plan. But, like this summer, I always make a list of the day's tasks.
Since I wrote last (about 3 months ago), I adjusted to post-graduation life in Chicago, tap danced every Sunday at the Maxwell Street Market, planted a garden, participated in the Goat Island Summer School, made new friends, boxed my belongings in my parent's house, and left with two bags and a one-way ticket back to the Czech Republic.
Now I am here, there, and adjusting to a whole new lifestyle. I work as the assistant to an artist-mother-farmer-teacher-curator-person of many other interests. My work touches all of these titles. We've created a schedule of diverse activities for me, though my actual schedule is driven more by the diverse deadlines (exhibitions, seasons, school programs, funding applications, etc.). Thus far I've focused on the looming winter by pulling weeds, harvesting potatoes, canning salsa, drying herbs, and cleaning out the gallery. It is a lot of tedious, physical work that is sometimes made more pleasant with the Chicago arts podcast, Bad at Sports. Now that I have left the city I have time to keep up with all its activities. So it goes…
I feel like I have a good group of active and interesting friends in this country, but it takes a lot of work and energy to get anywhere from the mill, and after a day of digging potatoes, walking to the bus stop is the last thing I want to do. But when I've made plans, I've kept to them, and I'm always happy to spend time with people my age.
I am making time to dance every day, morning and night. I need it everyday, morning and night. The other day I met a man who asked me how my work at the mill relates to what I studied in school and I responded that it all relates through the body. I was surprised by my own answer, but I guess that was the first time I put the feeling into words.
I am going to close for now. I thank you for all of your responses, please understand if it takes me weeks to return the gesture, as my internet connection is difficult at best. I hope this finds you well and warm and wearing bright colored socks.

Have the best time ever, often,
Annie…