This title refers to one of my favorite colloquialisms that I’ve stumbled on here in London. And that is exactly what this post will be about: random things that I have meant to share that I haven’t been able to yet. So I apologize for the lack of cohesiveness that is about to ensue.
First off, I guess I’ll talk about a recent revelation I’ve had: study abroad is like a relationship. London is my boyfriend. You see, it was love at first sight and we had this whirlwind of a time for the first month but now the honeymoon stage is over. Whilst I still am very much in love with London, certain things are starting to get under my skin a bit. Everything isn’t as perfect as it used to be. Well now that that super lame reference is done with, you get the point. You never really appreciate the conveniences you have in the US, but when they’re gone, you definitely notice. I basically can do two or three things a day here, like class and a concert, or rehearsal and a lesson, because things just take much longer. A few weeks ago it took me 5 hours to get from my flat to my lesson, have my lesson, and come back. I also cannot wait to sleep in a real bed with a real pillow. But I still very much love London and am enjoying my stay here so I hope this doesn’t sound like me complaining. I think it’s actually pretty cool to be able to live in another country for long enough that you start to get sick of it just a tiny little bit.
Remember, remember, the 5th of November. Hey! Being in London for the 5th was pretty cool. I learned a bit about Guy Fawkes in my history class and saw fireworks that night in Southwark. It was a really great show and it was free! Free in London is very special. I kinda think of the 5th as a day to celebrate that one time that London didn’t completely burn to the ground. And boy do they celebrate- I kept hearing fireworks for about a week after the 5th.
I’m not sure if I’ve written much about my cello teacher yet. She and Rich met at school in Indiana and she moved out to London to study with du Pre and just never went back! (hmm, planting some ideas in my head, Alice) Well Alice has been a bit like a mom, ahem, mum, to me over here. She’s always above and beyond accommodating for me which has just added so much to my experience here. If I studied with some random teacher through my school, I’m sure the relationship wouldn’t be as personal and I’m so grateful to study with her here! Oh yeah, she’s a great teacher and cellist, guess I should mention that too but I mean she studied with Starker and du Pre, it's pretty self-explanitory ;) I also joined the orchestra she’s in over here called the Bromley Symphony Orchestra. The conductor’s brilliant and the ensemble is really quite high quality so there’s another thing to be thankful for.
Speaking of thanks, today is Thanksgiving! It was a bit sad to not be spending today with family but I still had a wonderful day. I had my Middle Eastern Music class this morning and we had a workshop with an Iraqi musician named Khya Mallami. I think it was a testament to how awesome the study abroad experience is that I spent my Thanksgiving learning about and improvising Arab art music. I just can't get over how cool that is. After that, my friend Toria and I (tried to) make Thanksgiving dinner. I think we did alright- no major disasters, everything tasted good. Just not as good as a mom making it of course. Or Grandpa’s mashed potatoes :)
The last bit (or is it bob?) that I’ll write about for now is my experience playing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. I got to read through Dvorak ‘New World’ with some members of the BBCSO as part of a community outreach program. It was quite a hike to their studios but a really lovely experience. I particularly enjoyed the conductor’s style and rehearsal technique. It was also cool to see lots of members from the community show up and see how excited they were. And why wouldn't you be? BBC Symphony? Come on, that's pretty awesome.
Alright enough procrasti-blogging. Time to get some sleep and motivate myself to finish the massive amount of work I have left here.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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