More photos! This time with decidedly less imminent rain.
So I went to Bern to meet up with le grandmother, hang out away from my computer, and generally toodle about a new city for a bit. It was fab, and I managed to get more work done there than I had in the week previous, so that was a bit of a relief. Bern is lovely, exceedingly accessible and almost obsessively clean, and it was balmy and bright for three out of the four days I was there, which was fantastic. With no further ado, to the photos! (Sorry, there are a lot of them. I was a total tourist. In fact, these should probably go under a cut.)
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Playing Rachmaninoff in the Tate
So I went to London for a couple of days to take a break from editing, and it was fabulous! I stayed with my friend Marie, who is lovely and very connected with the cultural scene of London, which I benefited from immensely. When I first arrived in the evening, she took me to see some avant garde immersion theatre by the Arbonauts, which was based on Italo Calvino's 1957 fantasy novel, The Baron in the Trees. It was very strange, and I definitely didn't even begin to understand it until I went and googled the novel later, but it was very fun nonetheless, with some gorgeous music and minimalist set pieces, which were all set up in Nunhead Cemetery. I highly recommend people go and see the cemetery itself, by the way, as it's a bit outside the centre of London, and incredibly beautiful, affording a fantastic view of the city. The show was performed as the sun set, so that it started out outside while it was light out, and ended inside the roofless central chapel lit by candlelight as the sky went dark. Even if the content of the performance was fairly opaque, the aesthetic was very effective.
The following morning, we went and saw the 'David Bowie Is...' exhibition at the V&A, aka my favourite museum of all time, and it was also fabulous--full of amazing stage costumes and massive video installations, and lots of really excellent commentary on Bowie as a cultural critic and his interactions with surrealism and various other artists and art movements.
(Did I manage to relate it to my thesis? Of course I did. Commentary on the space age and the isolation of the modern condition! Machine culture! It was rad.)
Also, I bought a t-shirt that says 'David Bowie is Watching You' on the back, because of reasons.
After that, we went and grabbed sushi for lunch on the south bank, and as we had some hours free before I had to catch my train back to Durham, we headed over to the Tate Modern. Marie has a membership, which meant I actually got to look around the temporary exhibitions as well as the permanent collections, which was great fun! Some really interesting international artists, including an installation which was pretty much an interactive museum inside the museum--various rooms of exhibitions, plus several 'classrooms' with activities for children, like building blocks and a playable piano. As a result, Marie and I built an awesome fort, and then waited out a mob of Japanese students for a chance to play the piano.
And that's how I ended up playing Rachmaninoff at the Tate on a Friday afternoon. For a 24-hour trip, I'd say it was a resounding success.
The following morning, we went and saw the 'David Bowie Is...' exhibition at the V&A, aka my favourite museum of all time, and it was also fabulous--full of amazing stage costumes and massive video installations, and lots of really excellent commentary on Bowie as a cultural critic and his interactions with surrealism and various other artists and art movements.
(Did I manage to relate it to my thesis? Of course I did. Commentary on the space age and the isolation of the modern condition! Machine culture! It was rad.)
Also, I bought a t-shirt that says 'David Bowie is Watching You' on the back, because of reasons.
After that, we went and grabbed sushi for lunch on the south bank, and as we had some hours free before I had to catch my train back to Durham, we headed over to the Tate Modern. Marie has a membership, which meant I actually got to look around the temporary exhibitions as well as the permanent collections, which was great fun! Some really interesting international artists, including an installation which was pretty much an interactive museum inside the museum--various rooms of exhibitions, plus several 'classrooms' with activities for children, like building blocks and a playable piano. As a result, Marie and I built an awesome fort, and then waited out a mob of Japanese students for a chance to play the piano.
And that's how I ended up playing Rachmaninoff at the Tate on a Friday afternoon. For a 24-hour trip, I'd say it was a resounding success.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Roma! Choir Tour 2012
A somewhat late round up of my week in Rome with the choir, because the week back has been a little hectic!
Firstly, Rome was lovely, and the group was surprisingly congenial, given its size. I think there were about thirty of us in all, but as far as I know we managed to escape most forms of drama, which was excellent. We all had to trundle over to Leeds Bradford at five in the morning, which was just lovely, and then queue for forever due to the airport being under construction, but other than that, our travel was mostly smooth.
(As it would turn out, Leeds Bradford apparently hates me, but more on that later.)
Rome was ridiculously warm, and getting warmer, which was initially entirely welcome because Durham when we left it was cold and miserable. On the other hand, however, it was really, really warm. I got a bit sunburnt initially, then tanned, and then just oppressed by the heat, which was up in the very high 90s by the time we left, such that the Durham weather now seems, while not precisely nice, at least a bit more comfortable.
I am really happy with the tan, though. I forgot my skin could turn this colour.
Our first rehearsal was in a Jesuit meetinghouse that had been restored to its former glory after being forgotten for some time, and it was resplendent with the usual Italian aesthetic of coloured marble and gold festooned in every direction. It was a pleasure to sing in, and pleasantly cool in contrast to the outdoors. We ended up doing an evensong service in there at the end of the week, which was attended apparently by some bigwigs from the Anglican church, among others--all in all, it was a surprisingly good crowd.
In fact, we got quite good audiences for nearly all performances, probably in part due to some impromptu performances in St. Peter's Square, the Spanish steps, and various street corners.
Incidentally, I should mention that we were practically staying on the Vatican's doorstep. We were hosted by four very kind nuns with very limited English and were able to mostly come and go as we pleased, with the exception of a curfew. This was the view from my window:
Pretty crazy. We saw the pope drive up in a motorcade the first evening, complete with tinted windowed town cars and circling helicopter.
Anyway, other than the Jesuit venue, we also did a concert in a small medieval church near the Forum, San Giorgio, and couple of services in the only Anglican church in Rome, All Saints, which was also lovely, but which I resent due to the fact that I blame its warm central hall and chilly basement for my cold, which developed half-way through the week. It wasn't long after that I lost my voice completely and therefore failed to contribute all that much to performances, which was more than somewhat irritating.
Nevertheless, I did manage to continue to have fun and socialise, albeit while apologising profusely for having to blow my nose every fifteen seconds. I went with one group of people to the Coliseum, and another to the Spanish steps and the Pantheon, and got some shopping in as well. Roman fashion seemed all about the nicely cut pencil dresses and suiting, which was good for me and bad for my wallet, and I only barely managed to restrain myself from acquiring many nautical dresses and comfy shoes. Overall, it was a very fun trip with very good company.
The only hiccup luckily/unluckily occurred at the very end of the trip when we arrived back at Leeds Bradford, at which point I was questioned yet again about my visa, only this time they didn't simply ask me about my past failtasticness at paperwork; instead, they decided to not tell me what was going on, pull me aside for questioning while handing me a sheet of paper that says they're "withholding my right to remain in the UK" (thereby inducing panic in me while several more plane-loads of people went past me in line), search my bags, question me again, and then finally ask me about my visa trouble, which I suspect would have prevented all of that hullabaloo in the first place. So it seems that despite the fact that I've now had three customs officers tell me they're going to clear this nonsense from my record, it still hasn't been cleared, so I'm going to have to call/make an appointment with the US Embassy to basically ask, "WTF, mate?" and have them deal with it. Oy.
Oh, and of course this was all taking place while everyone else in the choir had already gone through and was waiting in the bus on the other end of things, causing me to tell them to leave without me, which they would have...had the bus not gotten stuck behind some ridiculous barrier, therefore delaying them long enough for me to emerge, searched but unscathed.
It was a bit of a mess. There was a lot of trash talking about Yorkshire on the way back.
But anyway, that was the only hiccup, and it was my hiccup alone! So all in all, a good trip indeed.
Firstly, Rome was lovely, and the group was surprisingly congenial, given its size. I think there were about thirty of us in all, but as far as I know we managed to escape most forms of drama, which was excellent. We all had to trundle over to Leeds Bradford at five in the morning, which was just lovely, and then queue for forever due to the airport being under construction, but other than that, our travel was mostly smooth.
(As it would turn out, Leeds Bradford apparently hates me, but more on that later.)
Rome was ridiculously warm, and getting warmer, which was initially entirely welcome because Durham when we left it was cold and miserable. On the other hand, however, it was really, really warm. I got a bit sunburnt initially, then tanned, and then just oppressed by the heat, which was up in the very high 90s by the time we left, such that the Durham weather now seems, while not precisely nice, at least a bit more comfortable.
I am really happy with the tan, though. I forgot my skin could turn this colour.
Our first rehearsal was in a Jesuit meetinghouse that had been restored to its former glory after being forgotten for some time, and it was resplendent with the usual Italian aesthetic of coloured marble and gold festooned in every direction. It was a pleasure to sing in, and pleasantly cool in contrast to the outdoors. We ended up doing an evensong service in there at the end of the week, which was attended apparently by some bigwigs from the Anglican church, among others--all in all, it was a surprisingly good crowd.
In fact, we got quite good audiences for nearly all performances, probably in part due to some impromptu performances in St. Peter's Square, the Spanish steps, and various street corners.
Incidentally, I should mention that we were practically staying on the Vatican's doorstep. We were hosted by four very kind nuns with very limited English and were able to mostly come and go as we pleased, with the exception of a curfew. This was the view from my window:
Pretty crazy. We saw the pope drive up in a motorcade the first evening, complete with tinted windowed town cars and circling helicopter.
Anyway, other than the Jesuit venue, we also did a concert in a small medieval church near the Forum, San Giorgio, and couple of services in the only Anglican church in Rome, All Saints, which was also lovely, but which I resent due to the fact that I blame its warm central hall and chilly basement for my cold, which developed half-way through the week. It wasn't long after that I lost my voice completely and therefore failed to contribute all that much to performances, which was more than somewhat irritating.
Nevertheless, I did manage to continue to have fun and socialise, albeit while apologising profusely for having to blow my nose every fifteen seconds. I went with one group of people to the Coliseum, and another to the Spanish steps and the Pantheon, and got some shopping in as well. Roman fashion seemed all about the nicely cut pencil dresses and suiting, which was good for me and bad for my wallet, and I only barely managed to restrain myself from acquiring many nautical dresses and comfy shoes. Overall, it was a very fun trip with very good company.
The only hiccup luckily/unluckily occurred at the very end of the trip when we arrived back at Leeds Bradford, at which point I was questioned yet again about my visa, only this time they didn't simply ask me about my past failtasticness at paperwork; instead, they decided to not tell me what was going on, pull me aside for questioning while handing me a sheet of paper that says they're "withholding my right to remain in the UK" (thereby inducing panic in me while several more plane-loads of people went past me in line), search my bags, question me again, and then finally ask me about my visa trouble, which I suspect would have prevented all of that hullabaloo in the first place. So it seems that despite the fact that I've now had three customs officers tell me they're going to clear this nonsense from my record, it still hasn't been cleared, so I'm going to have to call/make an appointment with the US Embassy to basically ask, "WTF, mate?" and have them deal with it. Oy.
Oh, and of course this was all taking place while everyone else in the choir had already gone through and was waiting in the bus on the other end of things, causing me to tell them to leave without me, which they would have...had the bus not gotten stuck behind some ridiculous barrier, therefore delaying them long enough for me to emerge, searched but unscathed.
It was a bit of a mess. There was a lot of trash talking about Yorkshire on the way back.
But anyway, that was the only hiccup, and it was my hiccup alone! So all in all, a good trip indeed.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Life Update: Epiphany Term Edition
I have been terribly remiss, once again, about updating, so I shall try and piece together latest news in the order of what I remember first!
Holidays at home went splendidly, and were desperately needed after a hectic end of term. It was wonderful to see everyone, and meet the kitties! It's probably a good thing I don't live with them all the time though, because I would never get anything done; I'd be far too busy dangling ribbons in front of their faces.
This term has been going well so far--I was able to meet with all of my students about their essays, which seemed to go well, and then their tutorial on Bleak House was quite successful, it seemed to me. The novel itself was enjoyable, once again beating out Great Expectations, which I'm pretty sure I will never like, although Bleak House didn't grab me until about halfway through, which is a lot of pages to invest in. Nevertheless, I was hooked for the last four hundred pages, even when I couldn't keep all of the character names straight. Seriously, it's a cast of at least twenty secondary characters, let alone the central ones, and that is a lot to remember. I nearly brought a chart to class.
Choir is going well; I think I've finally hit a groove where I can learn music fast and keep track of the order of services so that I'm not always scrambling for different pieces of sheet music. We're going on a short field trip on Sunday to sing a service in Ripon, which is somewhere south of Durham. And then in a couple weeks were going to Great Ayton to sing a proper concert, so that should be fun as well.
I had another singing lesson, and hilariously have been informed that my American accent is getting in the way! It was the first time I'd sang something in English for my teacher, and my diphthongs are apparently not to be borne. I must learn to say "Lord" and "for" more poshly. I'd probably be told the same thing in the States, actually--I remember someone else telling me that I swallowed my vowels, so it's probably the same sort of problem. In any case, I was amused, and shall adjust my accent accordingly.
In other news, I have decided to put myself on a more consistent study schedule that will keep me motivated while not causing me to burn out. I'm aiming to spend full days in the library or the postgrad room ever Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with a steady rotation of books getting covered each day. It will hopefully make me significantly more productive, and also save me from library late fees. So far it's been working well, but I'm only a week in, so we shall see. I have managed to cover a fair amount of reading, though, so I have high hopes.
I'm reading up on the life of Goethe as well as various critical readings of Faust in order to flesh out the writing I've already done on him, and it's been quite engaging. It's been particularly interesting to explore the background of the original myth and its variations during the medieval period, pre-Marlowe. The original guy who Faust was named for seems not to have been considered by anyone to be even close to a redeemable character, or even tragic. Epithets leveled at him by his contemporaries include devil-worshipper, braggart, rogue, and pederast. Fun times! Definitely needed those centuries in between of distortion and political turmoil to transform him into a tragic hero.
In any case, I'll get to talk about Goethe as well as begin to incorporate him into my work from previous chapters next week, when I'm leading discussion at NENC's monthly reading group. I'm definitely looking forward to it--I was sad to have missed the last couple of meetings due to being away and then jetlagged, so it will be good to see everyone in the group again and get some new perspectives on the stuff I've been buried in.
I think that basically covers everything. We finally got snow and it stuck around for about eight hours before melting, but it's remained cold and damp, as per usual. I shall remain shrouded in cardigans and tweed, feeling more and more like a woolly academic, until spring arrives.
Holidays at home went splendidly, and were desperately needed after a hectic end of term. It was wonderful to see everyone, and meet the kitties! It's probably a good thing I don't live with them all the time though, because I would never get anything done; I'd be far too busy dangling ribbons in front of their faces.
This term has been going well so far--I was able to meet with all of my students about their essays, which seemed to go well, and then their tutorial on Bleak House was quite successful, it seemed to me. The novel itself was enjoyable, once again beating out Great Expectations, which I'm pretty sure I will never like, although Bleak House didn't grab me until about halfway through, which is a lot of pages to invest in. Nevertheless, I was hooked for the last four hundred pages, even when I couldn't keep all of the character names straight. Seriously, it's a cast of at least twenty secondary characters, let alone the central ones, and that is a lot to remember. I nearly brought a chart to class.
Choir is going well; I think I've finally hit a groove where I can learn music fast and keep track of the order of services so that I'm not always scrambling for different pieces of sheet music. We're going on a short field trip on Sunday to sing a service in Ripon, which is somewhere south of Durham. And then in a couple weeks were going to Great Ayton to sing a proper concert, so that should be fun as well.
I had another singing lesson, and hilariously have been informed that my American accent is getting in the way! It was the first time I'd sang something in English for my teacher, and my diphthongs are apparently not to be borne. I must learn to say "Lord" and "for" more poshly. I'd probably be told the same thing in the States, actually--I remember someone else telling me that I swallowed my vowels, so it's probably the same sort of problem. In any case, I was amused, and shall adjust my accent accordingly.
In other news, I have decided to put myself on a more consistent study schedule that will keep me motivated while not causing me to burn out. I'm aiming to spend full days in the library or the postgrad room ever Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with a steady rotation of books getting covered each day. It will hopefully make me significantly more productive, and also save me from library late fees. So far it's been working well, but I'm only a week in, so we shall see. I have managed to cover a fair amount of reading, though, so I have high hopes.
I'm reading up on the life of Goethe as well as various critical readings of Faust in order to flesh out the writing I've already done on him, and it's been quite engaging. It's been particularly interesting to explore the background of the original myth and its variations during the medieval period, pre-Marlowe. The original guy who Faust was named for seems not to have been considered by anyone to be even close to a redeemable character, or even tragic. Epithets leveled at him by his contemporaries include devil-worshipper, braggart, rogue, and pederast. Fun times! Definitely needed those centuries in between of distortion and political turmoil to transform him into a tragic hero.
In any case, I'll get to talk about Goethe as well as begin to incorporate him into my work from previous chapters next week, when I'm leading discussion at NENC's monthly reading group. I'm definitely looking forward to it--I was sad to have missed the last couple of meetings due to being away and then jetlagged, so it will be good to see everyone in the group again and get some new perspectives on the stuff I've been buried in.
I think that basically covers everything. We finally got snow and it stuck around for about eight hours before melting, but it's remained cold and damp, as per usual. I shall remain shrouded in cardigans and tweed, feeling more and more like a woolly academic, until spring arrives.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
I am in the Rachmaninov groove.
Well, after a very dysfunctional Christmas in which my visa came three days late, causing me to nearly give myself an ulcer, and then I caught my third case of the flu this season, things seem to be getting back to normal. I have one last thing to do with this frigging thesis chapter, and then I can print it and send my computer off to be rehabilitated. Oy.
And if that can happen by the end of tomorrow, then I won't have to worry about it when Maggie and her boyfriend and I all go up to Edinburgh for the ridiculous New Year's street fair. It's going to be fun times! I'm going to wear fifty sweaters.
In other news...guys, my Rachmaninov Etude-Tableaux are going to be so badass! The first one's nearly up to tempo, the second one's finished completely, and I've started learning the third one, which is turning out not as hard as I was expecting it to be. I mean, it's still hard, and he still expects me to have hands the size of small dinosaurs, but I'm totally going to finish these pieces by spring. They are fun. Fun and dark and very, very Russian. I approve!
I've noticed that good things are happening to my form too. I'm having a much easier time relaxing my hands and being fast without being tense. I'm playing a bit more the way Tom Sauer wanted me to, I think. In any case, it's definitely paying off in terms of retaining stamina through fast passages full of large intervals and such which is, you know, useful with Rachmaninov.
And after that, I will actually finish bringing Ravel's Sonatine back. I started to a while ago and then stopped halfway through. And then I shall have a nice working repertoire. Ooo, and also that Schubert sonata from forever ago! I found the sheet music to that on my hard drive for some reason and now I want to relearn that. So many good pieces! They are putting me in a good mood.
Okay, H.G. Wells. You and I have a date with Marx.
And if that can happen by the end of tomorrow, then I won't have to worry about it when Maggie and her boyfriend and I all go up to Edinburgh for the ridiculous New Year's street fair. It's going to be fun times! I'm going to wear fifty sweaters.
In other news...guys, my Rachmaninov Etude-Tableaux are going to be so badass! The first one's nearly up to tempo, the second one's finished completely, and I've started learning the third one, which is turning out not as hard as I was expecting it to be. I mean, it's still hard, and he still expects me to have hands the size of small dinosaurs, but I'm totally going to finish these pieces by spring. They are fun. Fun and dark and very, very Russian. I approve!
I've noticed that good things are happening to my form too. I'm having a much easier time relaxing my hands and being fast without being tense. I'm playing a bit more the way Tom Sauer wanted me to, I think. In any case, it's definitely paying off in terms of retaining stamina through fast passages full of large intervals and such which is, you know, useful with Rachmaninov.
And after that, I will actually finish bringing Ravel's Sonatine back. I started to a while ago and then stopped halfway through. And then I shall have a nice working repertoire. Ooo, and also that Schubert sonata from forever ago! I found the sheet music to that on my hard drive for some reason and now I want to relearn that. So many good pieces! They are putting me in a good mood.
Okay, H.G. Wells. You and I have a date with Marx.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Surprise Snow-pocalypse!
Holy crap, it snowed all weekend and then some. We've got about a foot here, which isn't all that much on the New England scale of snowfall, but considering how England doesn't believe in shoveling sidewalks or ploughing any roads except the really major ones, it was definitely considerable.
And considering how I was struck down by the flu again (damn you, Maggie!) this was not great weather to have to go out in. Nonetheless, it is really exceptionally pretty, and I got a fair amount of exercise tromping to and from the train station and such. Most of the sidewalks that aren't completely cleared due to warmth and sheer use are either super compacted, which is fine, or filled with about three inches of slushy, soft snow, so it's like walking on a beach except, you know, cold and wet and not beach-y. Which is less fine. More exhausting, especially uphill.
But anyway, my biometrics are in the system, and now here's hoping that everything processes properly and I get my visa back in time to fly around Christmas. Sheffield, where I had to get the stuff done, is not a particularly nice town, but they do have an H&M, so I took the opportunity to pick up cheap sweaters because I'm cold all the time now. MORE SWEATERS ALL THE TIME OMNOMNOM.
Also the Border Agency has you go through a metal detector and take the battery out of your phone, but doesn't need you to take off your watch and/or shoes. The struggle against terrorism continues to appear arbitrary and confusing to this layperson's eyes.
And that's basically it. Thanksgiving was a blast, though--we had twelve people in the house, we ate and drank lots, I improvised how to carve a turkey (which worked eventually but I definitely mangled it quite a bit in the process), and we all had a lot of fun! It was a nice mix of people; several English girls from Maggie's archaeology classes, and some international students whom Doris knows, and everyone got along well. So it was definitely a good time. I managed to hold off illness through strategic drugs until the end of the evening, at which point I passed out and then was in a fever coma for the next twenty-four hours, but it was totally worth it. Have a silly picture:
P.S.: I should probably add at this point that, due to hills and awareness of weather like the stuff we're having right now (thunder AND snow! Just for funsies!) I have not bought impractical shoes in at least five months. I'm starting to go through withdrawal.
And considering how I was struck down by the flu again (damn you, Maggie!) this was not great weather to have to go out in. Nonetheless, it is really exceptionally pretty, and I got a fair amount of exercise tromping to and from the train station and such. Most of the sidewalks that aren't completely cleared due to warmth and sheer use are either super compacted, which is fine, or filled with about three inches of slushy, soft snow, so it's like walking on a beach except, you know, cold and wet and not beach-y. Which is less fine. More exhausting, especially uphill.
But anyway, my biometrics are in the system, and now here's hoping that everything processes properly and I get my visa back in time to fly around Christmas. Sheffield, where I had to get the stuff done, is not a particularly nice town, but they do have an H&M, so I took the opportunity to pick up cheap sweaters because I'm cold all the time now. MORE SWEATERS ALL THE TIME OMNOMNOM.
Also the Border Agency has you go through a metal detector and take the battery out of your phone, but doesn't need you to take off your watch and/or shoes. The struggle against terrorism continues to appear arbitrary and confusing to this layperson's eyes.
And that's basically it. Thanksgiving was a blast, though--we had twelve people in the house, we ate and drank lots, I improvised how to carve a turkey (which worked eventually but I definitely mangled it quite a bit in the process), and we all had a lot of fun! It was a nice mix of people; several English girls from Maggie's archaeology classes, and some international students whom Doris knows, and everyone got along well. So it was definitely a good time. I managed to hold off illness through strategic drugs until the end of the evening, at which point I passed out and then was in a fever coma for the next twenty-four hours, but it was totally worth it. Have a silly picture:
P.S.: I should probably add at this point that, due to hills and awareness of weather like the stuff we're having right now (thunder AND snow! Just for funsies!) I have not bought impractical shoes in at least five months. I'm starting to go through withdrawal.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Clubs, Language, and Holidays
Having still not started classes, because it seems a universal fact that all English Departments see fit to delay everything for as long as possible and have as little to do in the mornings as possible, today shaped up to be mainly social, which was quite pleasant. I headed over to the Union first to sign up for some clubs, and ended up on the mailing lists of FOCAM (Forum of Composers and Musicians) and the Opera Club. I was not meaning to sign up for the Opera Club, but the two tables were side by side, and somehow I ended up giving them my email address. As I understand it, I may end up in the chorus of Cosi fan tutte. I'm not averse to the idea!
Unfortunately, however, such participation still does not grant me access to the practice rooms in the department, and no one has heard of the one piano in the Union, so my last chance may be to talk my way into lessons. The instrumental instructors are hired out by the university, so I have to wait for all the majors to get placed before I can ask, and I'm crossing my fingers that there will be some extra slots. Until then, I at least have the assurance that with FOCAM, I might be able to get my own works performed, as well as collaborate with others to do theirs. It should be interesting at least.
As I was leaving the Union by elbowing my way out of some massive crowds (the rest of campus has arrived at last, accompanied by considerable chaos), I ran into Erin and her flatmate, Marta, who I had ended up hanging out with Sunday night. Marta is Polish, and curious about Erin and I employing our various English colloquialisms, and so we ended up talking a lot over lunch about how ridiculous the English language actually is. It's particularly enlightening for us to hear her questions, because so often we can't explain why we favor one phrase over another, or why, for example, we use the word "random" to describe something "weird". As Marta said, at least German has proper structure that everyone employs. With us, not so much. We're constantly making stuff up, abbreviating and recycling words in completely different capacities, infinitely variable by what company we keep, where we come from, etc. Even comparing notes between my New England turns-of-phrase and Erin's New Brunswick-isms shows the miles between our respective language styles. The sheer volume of slang employed daily by English speakers is astounding, and I find myself really feeling for and admiring the students who have learned English as their second language and are doing such a great job of communicating with us. We don't make it easy for them at all.
In any case, we ended up continuing our conversation all the way to Erin and Marta's flat, which is conveniently located on campus. The living situation is quite different from mine--while the setup of narrow hallway lined with doors for bedrooms and kitchen is the same, there are ten people living there altogether, and they all tend to gravitate towards socializing in the kitchen, where there's a cute sitting area for all of them. It's a far more mixed bunch too--four guys and six girls I believe, and several of them are undergrads. Those that I met seemed very friendly and fun, and one of the British undergrads shares my love of the movie "Face/Off", so there will definitely be some movie nights over there in the future. Also in the works between Erin and I is a proper Thanksgiving, which will be celebrated mid-November, as compromise between Canadian and American Thanksgivings. And finally, I've been assured that Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night, as it's referred to around here, is definitely taken seriously. So my birthday should be quite a bit more exciting than usual this year, complete with fires and effigies and fireworks. All in all, good times for everyone!
And now, I'm off. Thursday will be my first department meeting, and until then I'll be kept busy doing some preliminary reading for my Brontes seminar.
Unfortunately, however, such participation still does not grant me access to the practice rooms in the department, and no one has heard of the one piano in the Union, so my last chance may be to talk my way into lessons. The instrumental instructors are hired out by the university, so I have to wait for all the majors to get placed before I can ask, and I'm crossing my fingers that there will be some extra slots. Until then, I at least have the assurance that with FOCAM, I might be able to get my own works performed, as well as collaborate with others to do theirs. It should be interesting at least.
As I was leaving the Union by elbowing my way out of some massive crowds (the rest of campus has arrived at last, accompanied by considerable chaos), I ran into Erin and her flatmate, Marta, who I had ended up hanging out with Sunday night. Marta is Polish, and curious about Erin and I employing our various English colloquialisms, and so we ended up talking a lot over lunch about how ridiculous the English language actually is. It's particularly enlightening for us to hear her questions, because so often we can't explain why we favor one phrase over another, or why, for example, we use the word "random" to describe something "weird". As Marta said, at least German has proper structure that everyone employs. With us, not so much. We're constantly making stuff up, abbreviating and recycling words in completely different capacities, infinitely variable by what company we keep, where we come from, etc. Even comparing notes between my New England turns-of-phrase and Erin's New Brunswick-isms shows the miles between our respective language styles. The sheer volume of slang employed daily by English speakers is astounding, and I find myself really feeling for and admiring the students who have learned English as their second language and are doing such a great job of communicating with us. We don't make it easy for them at all.
In any case, we ended up continuing our conversation all the way to Erin and Marta's flat, which is conveniently located on campus. The living situation is quite different from mine--while the setup of narrow hallway lined with doors for bedrooms and kitchen is the same, there are ten people living there altogether, and they all tend to gravitate towards socializing in the kitchen, where there's a cute sitting area for all of them. It's a far more mixed bunch too--four guys and six girls I believe, and several of them are undergrads. Those that I met seemed very friendly and fun, and one of the British undergrads shares my love of the movie "Face/Off", so there will definitely be some movie nights over there in the future. Also in the works between Erin and I is a proper Thanksgiving, which will be celebrated mid-November, as compromise between Canadian and American Thanksgivings. And finally, I've been assured that Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night, as it's referred to around here, is definitely taken seriously. So my birthday should be quite a bit more exciting than usual this year, complete with fires and effigies and fireworks. All in all, good times for everyone!
And now, I'm off. Thursday will be my first department meeting, and until then I'll be kept busy doing some preliminary reading for my Brontes seminar.
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