Nonfiction Guru Dinty Moore Writes about Immersion and Exploration
The following was sent to me by Dinty Moore, three time UNO Creative Nonfiction Workshop leader. He’s one of nearest and dearest, and these are some of his words about witing and exploring with UNO. Also included are some of Dinty’s majestic photos from our first year in San Miguel:
I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in three of the University of New Orleans Low-Res MFA Summer Programs – two in Madrid and the most recent in San Miguel de Allende.
There is so much good to say about the program and the workshops – but I’ll leave that to the students. (Hopefully, even a few of my students.) But I wanted to say a few words about living in a foreign city for the full month, which is a part of the experience that I truly value.
Most tourists are lucky to spend three days in a new city, or maybe a week if time allows, but the full month experience is a wonderful opportunity. Yes, as part of that month, you will see the tourist sites and eat at the usual restaurants that are listed in the usual guidebooks, but for me the simple pleasures of going grocery shopping in an unfamiliar culture, of cooking my own meals, of getting to know the people who sell you fruit, of trying unknown vegetables and cheeses and wines, of seeing the city wake up, go to bed, move through the day-to-day transitions of work and weekend and weather, of negotiating laundry and haircuts and other personal needs, is what becomes the most fascinating.
You don’t know a city until you live in that city, and though a month is not like moving abroad for a full year or two, it certainly shows you a lot more than you might see if you breezed through over three days. Because you live there – you don’t just take pictures.
I call it immersion, and it fascinates me each time.
Dinty W. Moore
you are trying get money from abroad. Do yourself a favor and talk to your bank before leaving - sometimes banks can waive certain international fees for a limited period if you talk to them in advance. And also, make sure you let your credit card companies know you will be abroad. Many of them now have theft protection plans where they monitor your spending, and if they see (or if the computer sees) spending out of the ordinary, they will close the card. I’ve known a number of people this has happened to, and it really is simple to fix ahead of time by letting them know. Also, make sure you have numbers you can call FROM your destination (ie a US 1-800 number probably isn’t helpful) in case your card gets lost or stolen…. Although these numbers are readily available on the internet, sometimes it takes some surfing ot find the right one, and you don’t want to be having to surf the net while you’re in panic mode because your wallet or purse has just been stolen.
From internationally acclaimed author Joseph Boyden comes an astonishingly powerful novel of contemporary aboriginal life, full of the dangers and harsh beauty of both forest and city. When beautiful Suzanne Bird disappears, her sister Annie, a loner and hunter, is compelled to search for her, leaving behind their uncle Will, a man haunted by loss.While Annie travels from Toronto to New York, from modelling studios to A-list parties,Will encounters dire troubles at home. Both eventually come to painful discoveries about the inescapable ties of family. Through Black Spruce is an utterly unforgettable consideration of how we discover who we really are.
and his fiancee. Of the two articles, I like this one better. This one also made me hungry talking about some of the food - I am going down to San Miguel (I think) later this month, and I will be sure to do my best to rate as many more restaurants as I can!
