Advise about Hotel Living from I-8 class

We've had all kinds of living set-ups for our eight previous Institute Summer Residencies.  Last year, as this year, the students and some of the staff lived in a hotel.  The hotel in Fowler was just two blocks from our home-base / "Nest" location, rather than 14 miles away which is what our situation is in Arvin.

I asked last year's folks if they had any advise for you about living in a hotel while doing the Institute.  Here are the responses:

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TOM C:  TURN THE A/C UP!  +1

BIRDIE J:  hotel laundry is expensive. go elsewhere. also, laundromats are full of town characters.  +2

SABRINA S-T:   bring a few pictures or trinkets to make it feel more like home - hotels can feel a little sterile sometimes.  +2

CHRISTOPHER D:  Live the moment, be present then and now, don't over think things, you truly will only remotely begin to value what you're doing after your done. I make discoveries about my time in Fowler all the time. My time at I-8 and with Cornerstone has proved an invaluable life tool as an artist and a person. It was invaluable in completing and articulating my thesis. 

DANIEL P:  Use the hotel to re-energize and focus. its great to have a place where you know you'll have your own bed and an AC when youre ready to unwind. My suggestion would be to not let it be a place that shelters you from the rest of the experience. Find some way to make the hotel communal, a place where you can unpack the experience with the rest of the group. some of us would meet outside around the pool in the evenings. It was a great time to unwind and share with the group outside of what was happening during the institute. If you have the opportunity to shower in the showers that they built outside, do it! it was amazing. I feel part of the institute experience is to spend time with people that have similar and differing ideas about something that is important in your life, don't let the hotels be a place that can make you miss out on these conversations and experiences. It goes by quick and you'll have a lot of time away from these people, take advantage of the time that you do have to share with them. But no lie, the AC is great.

   *We are not building outdoor showers this summer for anyone so you won't be able to take Danny's advise on that...

MARY T:  try to pack everything you need for that day so you don't have to make trips back to the hotel throughout the day. going back there during the day will just waste time you could be using to focus or spend time with other institute members. Also, it will inevitably take longer to make the trip back than you think, because the nice cold, dark rooms can be very beguiling on a hot summer day.

  *Mary's advise about taking what you need for the whole day when you leave hotel in the morning is absolutely true and necessary this year, because you can't just walk back whenever you want this year.

While he didn't respond to this inquiry, Brent G made the hotel room television into a big of decorative art so as to resist ever turning it on.  I think my advise would definitely include to try never turn on the television in your hotel room while you are in residence.