Concerts, Concerts, and more Concerts!

This past weekend and the previous weekend were my performance weekends for both of the orchestras that I play in. Last weekend I performed with Southampton University Symphony Orchestra on both Saturday and Sunday. It went really well, except for our first piece, "Short Ride in a Fast Machine," by Adams. That was the only piece that we had a student conductor lead, and I think that was the root of the problem. If you're not familiar with the piece, it has a very complex orchestration of rhythms and can be quite difficult to put together. I am disappointed that it didn't go well, because the piece is absolutely brilliant and was our only representation of an American composer.

The other pieces that we played were: Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra and Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto. The soloist for the violin concerto was only seventeen years old, but she was amazing. I am fairly certain that one day in the not so distant future I'll be able to brag about playing with such a famous musician back when she was just getting started. The Bartok was played very well, but I can't say that it is my favorite. I tend to prefer music from the impressionistic period, specifically french music (my favorite composers are Ravel and Debussy).

Yesterday, I played with the Southampton University Sinfonietta (which is simply a smaller version of an orchestra, but not quite a chamber orchestra). The concert went extremely well, and I think we may have even had a better turn out than the SUSO concert (which is surprising, since last concert, they performed to an audience of about 10 people). I was pleased that so many people got to hear us play such beautiful and amazing music! We played Mozart, "Overature to Don Giovanni", Ravel, "Pavane pour une infante defunte", Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf", and Weber, "Clarient Concerto." My favorite piece was the Ravel, which if you've never heard it, you should definitely listen to--it is simply serene.

In upcoming musical news, I will be playing with the Southampton University Operatic Society in their production of Carmen (sung in English) in January. I'm really excited about this performance, because I love the opera and the music is incredible! I've been listening to a recording of it (although in French) for the past several weeks, and I'm starting to think I could play the whole thing by memory!

For the winter SUSO concert, we will be playing Shostakovich, "Symphony No. 7, 'Leningrad'" and Sibelius, "En Saga." I haven't been told the program for Sinfonietta yet, but I'm sure it will be great. I must say, that while I love playing with SUSO as a traditional orchestra with all of its ambitious music and challenging violin parts, I really do love playing with Sinfonietta. I've never been a part of an orchestra that small, and it reminds me of when I played in trios and quartets. It is nice to feel like your part is really critical to the whole group sounding amazing. When you are part of a violin section of 30 violins, it's difficult to feel that way sometimes!

I am told that I will be getting a recording of the SUSO concert, so I hope to have that up (or at least a small clip) once I get it!



Until next time,
Sarah

Snow Day!

I think it's been about seven years or so since I've had a day off because of snow, but I've just had two days off! The UK has been getting blasted with unusual winter weather the past several days, and now, Southampton is getting its share of it as well! We accumulated around 6 inches over night, and since Southampton rarely gets much more than a dusting, the University had to close. The picture above is the view from my room that morning.

So, my colleagues from my program and I took the opportunity to wander around the common areas (basically, parks) around the university and took some really pretty pictures! The first picture I took in one of the commons, and the "Christmas tree" in the picture is really enormous, possibly the biggest I've ever seen. It doesn't look that big in the picture, but standing next to it was rather impressive. The second picture is of a snowman that I made with my classmates. We would have made a bigger one, but I was not prepared for this kind of cold and snow when I came and so my rain boots weren't doing a good job of keeping my feet warm! Finally, the last picture is of me in the common.

A German Feast and Thanksgiving Celebration

After visiting Stonehenge, Lauren and I went to a dinner with our fellow international friends. They have a tradition of rotating preparing dinner for each other, making food specific to their home country and doing a little "presentation" about the food, their country, and some fun facts and things like that.

This week, we had a German feast which was something called quesospitzle (I'm not sure how to spell it, but I tried to write it how it sounds). It was basically home made pasta which came in thick spirals, made of flour, egg, and carbonated water, which was cooked with onions and cheese. It was very very good, and we all really enjoyed it. Then, for dessert, she prepared apples which she had cored and stuffed with a mixture of sugar and butter and egg and nuts and then baked. They were delicious. After dinner she told us a bit about where she comes from in Germany (Heidleburg), some popular dishes there and her favorite German music. It was a smaller dinner party including myself, Lauren, a girl from Finland, a girl from the Netherlands and two Germans. I seem to have a habit of forming friendships with people from the Nordic countries. I'm already looking forward to visiting there! My friend from Norway is going to help me find the Northern Lights when I go!

This past Saturday, a friend and I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for our international friends (which this time was a group of 16 people!) for our dinner with a USA theme. We made all the works: Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy. It really turned out well, and we were surprised that everyone seemed to like all the dishes we made. I really didn't think anyone would go for the cranberry sauce or green bean casserole that I had made, but I was plesantly surprised. After our dinner we talked a bit about the history of Thanksgiving, our hometowns and different cultural things that we thought our friends might not necessarily know.

It was interesting the questions that came up. They were very interested in what we thought about Mexican immigration and different issues like that. I was also surprised to know that everyone in attendance thought we had 52 states (I guess they figured the mainland had 50 and then Alaska and Hawaii made two more).

This upcoming week, I have a home volleyball game on Wednesday, which should be fun, especailly since it is our first home game. Then Saturday and Sunday are my concert days for the Southampton University Symphony Orchestra! I'm really excited. It's going to be a great concert, and bunches of my friends are going to come and support us. I hope that a recorded is made so that I can somehow post at least a clip of the performance.

Until next time,
Sarah

A Trip to Stonehenge!

This past weekend, I went with my friend Lauren to see Stonehenge and the town of Salisbury (which is the closest town to Stonehenge and also the home of Salisbury Cathedral). England has been bitterly cold for the past week or so, so it was a bit blustery out on the planes where the stones were. While at the market this morning the man whom I buy my eggs from told me that it hasn't been this cold for this long in England for at least 30 years. I'm guessing winter decided to follow me all the way from Michigan this year! Over the weekend the radiators weren't working in my dorm, so it was around 60 degrees in my apartment, which doesn't seem like that cold until you realize that it's around 14 degrees cooler than rooms normally are! Luckily it's fixed now, so I should start warming up!

The photo above is the Salisbury Cathedral which is quite old and also very impressive. The stone that was used to build it was donated from a woman in the community who owned a quarry and donated a certain number of years of harvesting from her quarry to the cause of building the Cathedral. As such, they built the church in an impressively few number of years (I'm guessing to take full advantage of the quarry). The photo below is of a bronze statue that was in front of the cathedral, which I thought was rather striking. The way that it was cast reminded me a bit of Giacometti, one of my favorite sculptors.

On the bus ride from Salisbury to Stonehenge, we got to hear a recording of a bit of history about the town and about Stonehenge. I have already mentioned that Southampton was bombed during WWII which is why it is less charming that it likely was at one time, but the tour taught me that after Southampton was bombed (since it was where most of the aircraft at the time was being manufactured, I believe the spitfire was mentioned specifically) those operations were moved to Salisbury. And it was lucky that they moved it there because Salisbury was being used as a landmark (due to the cathedral) to help the Germans find different targets. They would find the church, then follow the motorways and rivers to different cities of interest. This is why Salisbury was never bombed, because they so desperately needed it. I thought that was fascinating.

Additionally, Salisbury was the major site of training pilots from countries part the Allied Forces. The airport, which we drove past on our way to Stonehenge was also the site of the first airplane fatality in England. The memorial is most often covered in flowers even to this day.

Finally, we arrived at Stonehenge, which turned out to be smaller than I had thought it would be based on photos and such that I had seen before. It is also more impressive from an aerial view, because that way you can get a better idea of how they are in a very specific formation. It is hard to gather that from right on top of them. We got there about a half hour before sunset, which led to some really gorgeous photos! (See below.) There is so much mystery surrounding this ancient monument that it really gives cause to pause and think about how there is so much that we don't know even of our own pasts.

Wales and Essays

This past weekend, I traveled to Wales with the volleyball team for a tournament in Cardiff. Wales is a beautiful country, and I thought the landscape was really breath taking. I think it might be my favorite part of the UK so far, at least what I saw of it! It seemed like right as we crossed over the border from England to Wales, there were sheep everywhere! Apparently there are tons of jokes the English have about the Welsh involving sheep. I didn't hear any, but they really do have tons of sheep! It was also really cool to see all the signs in both English and Welsh--I had no idea how different the language would actually be!

I saw a castle on a hillside, but I was unable to get a good picture of it since it was foggy and dusk. If you look closely, you can see its two spires toward the top of the hill in the photo. It was really beautiful and grandiose, and I wish I could have done it justice in the picture.

In my courses, we are nearing the end of the first semester, so we are all beginning to think about our final projects. In my Art and Craft of Fiction, our assignment is to prepare a 6,000 word piece of fiction which has been inspired by one or more of the novels that we studied in class, followed by a 1,000 word critical commentary expounding on this inspiration.

I have already written my 6,000 and continued on to a little over 12,000 words as I am hoping to make the work novel length (which, is typically around 50,000 words). My story explores the fluidity of sexuality in modern society and the influence of past and present events in shaping the course of personal development and fulfillment. I have been inspired by Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and Vladimir Nabokov's "Laughter in the Dark." In my piece I have incorporated the use of very distinct and abrupt narrative flashbacks, as in "The Handmaid's Tale" however I have taken the Atwood-esque flashback and pushed it further, using not a distinct section of text, but also a change of perspective in the narrative. I chose this method over other methods such as that in Kazuo Ishiguro's "An Artist of the Floating World" which had very smooth discreate flashbacks. I found this technique confusing and prefer the stark contrast that Atwood employes. Secondly, I was influenced by the tone and minimalist style as in "Laughter in the Dark." I also attempted to incorporate humour and a narrative similar to everyday life.

In my Twentieth Century Body course, I am a bit nervous about our final assessment. We have to select any of the texts which we studied throughout the course, and we need to ask and answer a question about it in a 4,000 word essay. I am not sure which text I will select, but I am more uncertain about this essay due to its highly critical nature. Many of the texts we studied in class were rather difficult, and I am uneasy about selecting my own topic and question to discuss. My class instructor already offered to give advice on any issues that we had, so I am planning on narrowing down the text and question I will address this week and meeting with him to discuss. It will be challenging, but no doubt rewarding to complete it!

Until next time,
Sarah

Being American and Abroad

Before traveling abroad, I like to think that I had a pretty good idea about the attitude of the rest of the world toward the US--not especially positive. I realize that the US is a world power that has a tendency in getting involved, but before actually living abroad, I really didn't know the full extent of international feelings toward me and/or my country.

Yesterday, as every Thursday, I spent the hour between my two lectures grabbing a cup of coffee with my classmates and discussing a wide array of topics, one of which somehow feel on America. The people that I was sitting with included myself, one other American, a Canadian, and several British. I was surprised that the most vicious and passionate attacks on America and Americans came from my Canadian friend. Of the group of us, I'd have thought that the British would have had more to be upset over.

The Canadian told an impassioned story about a US soldier that she had a run in with in Korea. The soldier apparently pushed her away from a taxi she had gotten and demanded that he have the cab, since he was American. He carried on with swearing and yelling and demanding all sorts of privilege, while at the same time being upset that that taxi driver could not speak English. The story did seem a bit exaggerated, I thought, she tends to be over dramatic. But never the less, you cannot make generalizations about an entire group of people based on one person. That is completely illogical and ridiculous. So, I told her that just because one American was a selfish, self-important jerk, doesn't mean that we all are. I also pointed out that there are jerks in every country, including Canada. My British colleagues agreed, piping in that they know of many people that are from England that are just as nasty.

She also stated that Americans never leave the country and live in a bubble thinking that we're the greatest thing to happen to the world. I bit my tongue because I have to work with this woman for the rest of the year, but I wish I could have said that not everyone has the opportunity to travel the world. If it weren't for my fellowship, I would not have been able to have the experience that I have had. I know that before I came, I didn't have quite the same international view point, but I think that I was far from ignorant before I was here. That comment also got under my skin because I happen to know that she is here on her family's wealth. And she wants to talk about privilege and self importance? Criticizing someone because they haven't been able to travel and have a more well rounded international view point, is just as self-important and close minded as the soldier she ran into in Korea.

I recognize that every country has bits of its past that it isn't necessarily proud of, every person and every country has that experience. I didn't think of it in time, but if I had, I would have told them that whichever country has made no mistakes in its history, that country can criticize me for the mistakes my country has made. But, last time I checked, no one can stand in that position.

Another little bit that just made the whole conversation even more bothersome, is the overwhelming amount of adoption of US culture. If we are so despised, perhaps they should stop wearing Holister California shirts, or I heart NY shirts, or stop listening to US music and watching US television shows and movies. I find it overwhelmingly hypocritical.

After this heated discussion, the American insults didn't stop, not even in my next lecture! The topic of discussion was the role of literature in AIDS and how the diseased body is viewed in society. During the course of discussion it came up that the majority of the English (at least in my class) are of the opinion that the US developed AIDS as a biological weapon against Africa. I had never heard of this and was thoroughly offended, who wouldn't be? I asked why we would ever do such a thing, what would our motivation be? And the class simply responded: White Supremacy. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that this absurd theory would have survived for so long. I wanted to point out that we were against White Supremacy in WWII, that we combated against those ideas with England itself. Did they conveniently forget?

Yesterday was a trying day, and the experience was all but positive. But all the same, I have come away with a sobering understanding of the difficulties of being part of a world power. That is something that would have never experienced at home, and I think it has changed me and my world view forever.

On a lighter note, I am traveling with the volleyball team to Cardiff, Wales tonight for a small tournament tomorrow. I don't anticipate playing in the games much, but my dear friend from Norway will be there, and we're determined to see as much of Cardiff tonight as possible! I found a picture of a castle there online, and I'm hoping we can see it while we're there. Also, on Sunday, I'm going with some friends to see Much Ado About Nothing. I'm quite excited! I'm sure it will inspire me to plan my trip to Avon and the Globe Theater. :)

Until next time,
Sarah

A Weekend of Volleyball

This past weekend, I traveled with my volleyball team to Bath (to support the men's team) and then to Leeds (to play in the Student Cup qualifying tournament). The Student Cup is a tournament that all universities in England compete in, and this was the first tournament to determine which teams would continue on to the semi-finals. The highlight of my trip was seeing Stonehenge from the window when we drove past. (See photo below, all those little dots around it are people looking at it on foot) It was incredible to see such a historic site so close to the motorway--I absolutely cannot wait to see it next week! I had read that people were petitioning to have the motorway moved further away as to not disturb the site as well as to make it a more serene experience for those who visit it. But until now I had no idea how close the cars actually got to it! I tend to agree with the movement to move the freeway further away.


Other than Stonehenge, the scenery was beautiful, especially with the Autumn leaves finally turning! It was tough to get a good picture going so fast and having to take it from a window out the bus, but I think the following picture gives you an idea. There were rolling hills, quaint little farm houses, and beautiful green pastures (The grass here is green, almost like in springtime at home, but I suppose it does rain quiet a lot.)

The first leg of our journey consisted of supporting the men's volleyball team at a tournament they had at the University of Bath. I didn't get to see any of bath during the few hours we were there (which was disappointing), but what I did see made me excited to come back!


The following picture is one I took of the men's team during a match. Southampton is the team with the red jerseys on the opposite side of the net. They are really quite good, much better than the women's team, I must say. And from what I've experienced, volleyball is a much bigger men's sport in the UK than it is in the US, where it's generally a women's sport. I was surprised to watch them play with such incredible enthusiasm! Their team had more cheers than the women's team. One of the cheers I found particularly entertaining: If the opposing team served or spiked the ball over and it was out of bounds, the men's team huddled up and then chanted: "That ball was out! How far out? This far out! (And then extended their arms widely.)" They would do this even if the ball was just a centimeter out of bounds.


After watching the men's team, we headed off to Leeds where our tournament was held the following day. The van ride was around 5 hours long, and it was a tiring day. Our tournament, which was on Sunday, was a particularly disappointing and frustrating day for me. Southampton decided to bring two teams to the tournament. They called us Team 1 and Team 2, but it was fairly obvious that we were the A team and B team. I was placed on the B team, after a week of the coach not putting me on a team and telling me that he "hadn't decided which to put me on yet." Which was a little disappointing, but I figured I would have fun traveling around England with the team and getting practice.

After we arrived in Leeds, I learned that the tournament was divided into two pools, a highly competitive pool and a less competitive pool. To my surprise, my coach had signed up the B team for the competitive pool and the A team for the less competitive pool, "in order to insure that the A team would have a better chance of winning." Last time I checked, that was unsportsman-like and also border line cheating, so needless to say I was a little bit frustrated by this. On top of that, since there were two teams and only one coach and our games were necessarily going on at the same time, we didn't even get a coach for our games. The entire B team felt like the reject team, and we lost every game, completely demoralized. Needless to say, I was a little bit happy when I learned that the A team got second place and likely didn't qualify. To me, that was a perfect example of karma.

I'm trying to not be upset by the whole situation, because I did have a good time getting closer with my friends from Norway and Cyprus, but it is still a bit discouraging to know that that is the way my team and university apparently operates. There is another game this coming weekend in Wales, but I think I might opt to not go and travel somewhere else on my own so that I can actually see the city, culture, and arts there rather than sit on a bench and on a bus for a weekend.

I apologize that this post isn't as light hearted as others, it was a tough weekend for me! Hopefully much happier posts are in store for the future! :)

A Rainy Day in England

Today is by far the most dreadful day in terms of weather that I've had in England so far. It is raining in buckets, and the wind is incredible. It is about 30-40 mph sustained with 50-60 mph gusts! And on top of that, I ride my bike to get everywhere, so it feels even stronger. This morning I felt like a weather channel correspondent. (The picture is the view from my apartment window.)


Tomorrow I am going to see the Rober Glasper Trio at the theater on campus, which is a jazz trio with piano, drums, and bass. It should be a great concert, and I'm hoping to gather a group of my friends to come with me!

I've also made plans to finally visit Stonehenge in the next couple of weeks, which should be incredible, I'm excited to see it. In addition, I have made plans to attend a campus performance of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" with some of my course mates. And finally, I planned out a trip with a bunch of friends to visit Oxford the weekend before I return home for Christmas (with spending the last day in London so I'm there for my flight). I'm hoping we can find a way to get into Oxford University, but we've heard rumors that you can't get in unless you're a current student. Maybe it has something to do with the Harry Potter craze since a lot of the film was shot there. I anticipate that both Oxford and London will be beautifully decorated for the holidays, and I'm really excited for the trip.

On a different note, I have been working on some drawings, and once they're more complete, I'll post some pictures! :)

My orchestras are drawing ever nearer to our concerts, only three more rehearsals until the big day! :) Hopefully I'll be able to snag a recording to put up on the blog for anyone who is interested, but I think they are both going to be great performances!

Until next time,
Sarah

Happy (belated) Guy Fawkes Day!

This weekend, I had my first opportunity to celebrate a British Holiday--Guy Fawkes Day! It was very much like our Forth of July, complete with lots of fireworks, sparklers and huge crowds. Last night, I went with some friends to the firework display in downtown Southampton. The fireworks were blasted off of a platform in the water (between us and the Isle of Wight), and luckily we had good weather (although, a bit chilly!) so it was a really great night!

We got there before sunset, so I got the opportunity to take some really neat shots right before the sun set over the water. My favorite is the one of the chips (i.e. French Fries) stand. The clouds look so cool!


Today, I'm getting ready for a volleyball game in Portsmouth, it's national league, so it should be a tough game. National league is usually to a bit of a higher playing standard than most other leagues.

Also, I forgot to put up a gorgeous picture that I took of some moss in London. :) I tend to be focused on little details (I guess that's the writer in me?), so I have all kinds of pictures of moss and spiders and snails and things like that... I'm starting to get better at doing landscapes and such since they're so beautiful here. :) But, here it is, I hope you like it!


Talk to you soon,
Sarah

Poet in Residence!

Hello!

Today is Friday, and that means I get a break from the business of the week. This past week, on Tuesday, my Creative Workshop Class hosted a poet in residence: Lavinia Greenlaw, who is a professor of poetry and Creative Writing at East Anglia University, which for Creative Writing and poetry in England, is a more prestigious university to attend than Oxford or Cambridge. She gave my class (which only has 12 students in it) a lecture on using imagery in poetry and also on utilizing those skills in larger pieces of prose. I must say, I think I learned more in that two-hour lecture than I have in the entire week! She was absolutely inspiring. One of the poems we discussed that I particularly admired was a poem called "Her Little Turquoise Scarf" by Selmia Hill:

When I found her little turquoise scarf
I got a pair of scissors from the drawer,
split her little turquoise jungles open
and sent her parrots screeching to the floor.

On first read, the language sounds so natural, it's almost conversational in form. But when you look at it closer, you realize that it indeed has a regular meter, and even a rhyme! (drawer/floor) The tone I think is incredibly effective at conveying the anger of a discovered affair, and the metaphors are striking. I also learned from Lavinia's discussion of this piece that the use of an image or metaphor does a better job of communicating a complex emotion rather than actually describing it.

During her talk she also had us do a really interesting activity where we considered a place connected with our past or childhood. We then wrote down words to describe this place, but then set those words aside. Then instead of just describing the place as we normally would, she had us consider the actual sound of the place's name. We mapped out the sound in a graph, indicating how sharp and emphasized the syllables were etc. Then, we had a free write period in which we described the place based on the shape and sound of the word. It really created a much more colorful, textured description than we would have necessarily written on our own. Below is the bit I wrote, about my childhood cottage at Big Star Lake in Northern Michigan:

Undulation is in the name--Big Star Lake. It pulls, it pushes. It swallows you up and spits you back out. A factory, punching out buttons: one blue, three red, another yellow. Vacationers come here, little buttons themselves, wielding bottles of tanning oil, grocery store novels, and noisy maritime contraptions. A week or maybe two later, they go home, a bit sandy, a lot burned, but not as different as they had hoped. If you lie amongst the grass blades struggling out of the sand, you can hear it pulse: the whirring of boats, the gurgle of wake, the screeching of children: the pushings and pullings of summer.

In my Art and Craft of Fiction class, I had the opportunity to read to the class a piece which I have just begun work on, which I will likely shape into my dissertation at the end. I am really excited at the response it got in class, and I'm encouraged to keep going. I thought it was funny that after class, several of my British friends in the class came up to me and told me how they thought my accent made it even that much better. I have been experiencing the reverse as well! Whenever one of my classmates reads something aloud, I wish they'd read my work too, because I have the feeling it might sound more distinguished! :)

I don't want to speak too soon, but I might be taking a painting or drawing course in the art school next semester! I'm really excited, and I'm hoping that it works out with my schedule. The art school is in Winchester, which is the next town north of Southampton, so I'd have to take the train there, but I think it would be completely worth it! That and, I love Winchester. It is the stereotypical quaint little English town. And I hear, it is somehow connected to King Arther, but I have to investigate that.

This weekend, I am traveling with the women's volleyball team to Portsmouth for a National League Volleyball game. It is only one match, so I'm not sure how much playing time I will get, but it's always fun to travel and compete with the team. I'm hoping that my jumping training program will start to improve my hitting skills soon! Next weekend, the volleyball team has a tournament in Leeds, and we will be spending Saturday in Bath on the way to Leeds. I'm really excited!

Until Next Time,
Sarah

A Big Upcoming Week

Happy Halloween!

I can hardly believe that today marks the end of October, the time seems to be flying by! I have had a great week this past week, and this next week will be just as exciting, but a bit more stressful. This week I am giving a presentation in my "Twentieth Century Body" class on the novel "African Psycho" by Alain Mabanckou. I haven't yet made up my presentation, and I'm a little bit nervous--I haven't given done a literary analysis presentation in a while. But I'm starting to get used to the switch from objective to subjective coursework, and it's refreshing to undertake an assignment where there are no concrete "real answers."

This past weekend I had my first seven hour long orchestra rehearsal (that's right, seven straight hours except for a lunch break)! I think it is the longest time to date that I have played my violin. It was fun and productive, but by the end, I thought my arms might disown me. :) We focused mainly on the Bartok Concerto that we will be performing in our concert in December. The whole piece is extraordinary and very long--it takes almost 45 minutes to play through all the movements. It is also quite difficult, and I think that this comes from the fact that Bartok is rather modern and plays with eccentric rhythms and almost atonal tunings. I didn't quite like the piece when we first started playing it, but I think that I'm starting to warm up to it, and as the orchestra gets better at playing it, it's sounding better and better. I'm pretty sure by the time the concert rolls around, it will be incredible.

I also celebrated halloween with the campus Erasmus Society and my friends last night, which was a great relief from the hours of violin playing! :) Halloween isn't quite as big as it is in the US and here most of the costumes focus on being scary, rather than, well, other things, which I found refreshing and rather fun. I went as a scary fairy (I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to rhyme) and my friends went as a witch, a vampire, and a devil.

On Friday this week, I got to play two volleyball matches with a smaller team, so I got more playing time, which was awesome, and I got to know the girls that came a lot better as well, which was even more awesome! So far, I'm good friends with girls on the team from Germany, Norway, Greece, France, and of course, the UK. I love how global the student culture is here. I'm starting to think it's going to feel strange to go back home and not be the minority.

This week I'm staring a jumping training program with my friend on volleyball who is from Germany (although, her English is so good, I thought she was from the UK! I was really surprised when I found out she is from Heidleburg). I play the 3,4 position (which is outside attacker) so I need to be able to jump high and hit the ball hard. I'm really excited to get started, and it will be nice to get to know her even better while we train.

I've also decided on some performances to attend on campus for the upcoming weeks! Here they are:

1) Nov 12: Robert Glasper Trio
2) Nov 13: Blazing Fiddles
3) Nov 19: Christian Scott

I am also in the process of planning a trip to either Scotland and Ireland or to Paris for an upcoming weekend. I also hope to travel to the Netherlands and Spain before the Christmas holiday, but we'll see how ambitious that turns out to be!

Cheers and Happy Halloween!
Sarah

London!

This past weekend I spent in London. It was a whirlwind trip, and it was an amazing experience. I knew before I got there that London was a huge city, but until I started walking around and seeing the sites, I really had no perception of how expansive it actually is. I saw a great number of sights, but at the same time, I still have so much more to see. I am really looking forward to going back again to see the rest.

During this trip, I had the pleasure of seeing a musical "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" which was a tale about a group of cross dressers venturing through the Australian Outback to find the main character's son. It was an interesting, and at times humorous commentary on gender roles, sexuality, and the modern family's values and boundaries. The costumes were nothing short of incredible, and the music was amazing. The photo below is of the entrance to the theatre where the musical was held.

The following day, I toured around the city and got to see Big Ben for the first time. Just the sight of it was staggering. It was simply magnificent! I was very happy that the weather was also beautiful, such that I was able to take several gorgeous photos of it. Unfortunately Parliament is being restored, so I ended up with bunches of unsightly scaffolding in my photos which needed to be cropped out. Hopefully when I go next, the construction will be over!


After seeing Big Ben, we went to the National Gallery (Art Museum, paintings only). We weren't allowed photos inside, but I took the following pictures outside of the museum which had a large fountain surrounded by statues and street performers. I only got to see a few of the galleries inside before my feet gave out (it was the end of the day by then), so I am hoping to go back to see the rest.
This is a photo of a statue which is situated at the top of a really tall column. I thought the way the clouds looked made it look especially epic.

This photo turned out really well. I love how it looks like the lion is protecting the city.

This is a photo of one of the fountains in front of the gallery. It was amazing to me how everyway I turned there seemed to be another piece of artwork. Everything in the city is so cultural and so inspired. It was almost overwhelming how much there was to see.

While walking to my next destination, I found a building that was called "Institute of Mechanical Engineers," and I just had to take a picture next to it!

While in London I got to take advantage of the copious amounts of parks and gardens available to the public. They were are all immaculate--which I was impressed by for a city of its size. I don't think I saw a single piece of litter my entire trip! The following are some photos I snapped of the gardens and parks that I visited.


My last highlight of my weekend trip was a trip to the British Museum which holds a wide variety of historical artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone (used as a key to understanding the hieroglyphics), mummies, and Greek and Roman marbles. I was informed while I was there that the marbles had been rescued from their original location due to the fact that they were being mistreated and were due to be torn down and destroyed. I can't even imagine why anyone would want to destroy such an extraordinary piece of history and art! But I am really glad that they were saved and that I got to see them. The photos below are from the museum. I was especially attracted to the marbles, since most of the subject matter is human subject in dramatic and interesting poses. These types of subjects are those which I prefer to paint and draw, and I probably could have spent hours just examining the detail in each one.



Overall, London was one of my favorite cities that I've ever visited! It was full of interesting artistic and cultural opportunities (all of which I have yet to discover) and the amount of history around every corner was staggering. I was really happy to have visited a place which I feel is more of what I was expecting England to be. I love Southampton, but the city was badly damaged in WWII and was never built back up to its full glory. So it was especially nice to tap into some of the history that I haven't found where I live here.

Cheers,
Sarah

Isle of Wight Pictures

This post has been long in coming, but I've gotten the pictures from my friend, so I will just take you on a photo journey to the Isle of Wight, at least my first journey to the Isle of Wight (photos courtesy of my friend and fellow Southampton student, Lauren Rice).

This first photo is of me (orange Southampton sweatshirt) and my friend Gusta from the Netherlands. We are standing next to our bikes on the ferry on our way over to the island. We were the only people on the boat that were brave (or perhaps naive) enough to bike the island!


This next photo is of a garden/park that is connected to a quaint house that I believe the queen and other royalty used to stay at while visiting the island. As it turned out, we weren't supposed to be there and we weren't supposed to have our bikes there (there were no signs, though!), but fortunately we got to snap this photo before we had to leave.


While biking through the island, we captured the following two pictures, one of a farm which was just beautiful and one of a harbor off the English Channel, which was also quite lovely. Unfortunately we couldn't find a view without the powerlines in the way of the shot. But I think you can still get a good feel of the beauty of it all.

'These next photos are of an old church (St. Mildreds) we stumbled upon while biking around a cycling path which we were happy to find after a fair amount of time on the roads (which were rather scary!). It was incredible to see such history and such an exquisite cemetery. I had the pleasure of snapping the photo on the right and on the bottom (with Lauren's very expensive, very amazing camera). The bottom photo is of my bike, which was possibly the best purchase I have ever made! I not only feel more effecient, I also feel much more European, which is great.

In the island's city centre we found another historic church which was also beautiful. It is in the process of being restored, so the top of the church should look a bit better than the lower bit.


I hope that this has given a glimpse into the Isle of Wight. It was pretty, but there was far too much to see from a bike. I'm hoping to go back again soon, but with the intention of taking the bus so that I can see more of the island. I still need to check out the famous Needles, some castles and other various historic landmarks.

Until next time,
Sarah

Isle of Wight

My deepest apologies for the delay in this post, I have been horribly ill this past week, but without further ado, please let me catch up.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Isle of Wight in the English Channel just off the coast of Southampton. My two new friends and I went across on the ferry, equipped with our bicycles, ready to tackle the island. We should have had some indication of the level of difficulty of biking on the island as we were the only cyclists on the entire ferry boat, and in addition, one of the ferry workers told us to have fun biking uphill as he bid us farewell on our journey.

But even though it was at times strenuous (and indeed mostly uphill), the scenery was breathtaking at parts, and the historical bits were incredible. I was slightly taken aback, however, when we first arrived. The isle was far more developed and populated than the visitor's brochures had indicated, and I had gotten onto the ferry expecting a quaint, quiet, island village full of history and charm. Instead, we got off the boat, and peddled uphill for what seemed like miles in grueling and unrelenting traffic amongst suburbs and grocery stores. But once we found a cycling path to follow, we were relieved of the traffic (which doesn't seem to mind coming within inches of cyclists) and surrounded by more rustic views.

Most of the pathways were surrounded by shrubs, so it was the occasional break in the dense foliage that we got our best photo opts. At one point, I had stopped to take a breather from a particularly steep hill, and I cow mooing right next to me (behind the shrubbery) scared me half to death, which was, I'll admit, a little embarrassing! I would have posted tons of pictures of my journey with this post, but as fate would have it, my camera battery died just as we got onto the ferry. So I'm awaiting my friend's photos, and I'll have them up just as soon as I get them!

On Sunday last weekend, I played in my first national league match with the volleyball team. I didn't get to play much, but it was still nice to be a part of the team. I've missed going to practice all this week, but my fever prevented me from toughing it out.

I'm also quite excited about my two orchestras (which I've resolved to play in both, I just can't choose one, plus the pieces for both are just so phenomenal!). My favorite pieces from the orchestras are: "A Short Ride in a Fast Machine" by John Adams and "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev. Have a listen to the links!

This week I got a good dose of homesickness. I think this may have stemmed from being cooped up and sick all week all alone, but I'm hoping that once I get back on my feet, I'll be feeling better. It can be tough to be different from everyone else and not necessarily know what the socially appropriate response in each situation is. But I'm learning!

In class this week, I read "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and Virgina Woolf's "The Waves." I absolutely adored "Handmaid's Tale" and recommend it to everyone reading this post. She is originally a poet, and it shows in the language of the novel, which was continually beautiful and striking. The juxtaposition of horribly violent and depressing plot with the elegance of her phrasing and descriptions was addictive. I read the entire novel in one sitting, and I don't normally do that sort of thing. "The Waves" on the other hand, was a considerably more difficult read, as Woolf tends to be. It was an experimental novel toying with the idea of sanity through telling a narrative strictly through 7 different narrative voices. While it was tough to read, it was rather interesting to consider that the seven voices could possibly be just inner monologues of the same larger person. And after learning that Woolf herself struggled with some of these issues, the novel became that much more complex and interesting.

I am quite excited for next weekend, as one of my new friends and I will be spending the weekend in London. She's going to be running a 5K on one of the days (I was only convinced to cheer her on; I'm not a runner!), and the rest of the days I'm looking forward to going to museums and historical spots and hopefully either a play or musical one evening. I just have to decide which I want to see this time!

Until next time,
Sarah

Getting the Ball Rolling

Good morning!

I've successfully finished my first week of classes, and boy, has it been a whirl! For the rest of the term, I will be reading approximately two to three novels per week and doing various essay assignments for my three classes. I went to two volleyball practices this week, which was great fun! And I was selected to play with the team in their National League matches. The first one is this Sunday in Portsmouth, I'm quite excited! :) I have been becoming more aware of the transition from engineering to literature. I thought it would be quite easy, since I love literature and writing, but switching my brain from left to right thinking has been quite difficult! I'm getting the hang of it, but at first, it almost felt strange to not be working on equations all day (and all night) long!

I have also been to both of the first rehearsals for the Symphony Orchestra as well as the Sinfonietta. I am not entirely sure if I will have time to play in both of them (both include a 3 hour rehearsal on a weekly basis) when taking into account my coursework, volleyball, and the various cultural performances and exhibits I want to see while I am here. I'll hopefully have a decision as to which I want to play in by the end of the weekend. It'll be a tough choice to make, since I'd love to play in both.

I've made a good friend recently who is also interested in traveling while she is here (although, I'll have to find a new travel partner when she leaves after the first term)! We are hoping to take weekend trips to various parts of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as tour around France, Spain, and Amsterdam. We haven't laid it all out in stone yet, but I'm really excited. We think our first adventure might be renting bikes and cycling around the Isle of Write--it's just a short ferry ride from Southampton.

Cheers,
Sarah

Getting Connected

Hello!

Today is my first day of class, and I am quite excited! I only have one of my classes today, though, and it is called "The Creative Workshop." All I know for now is that I just need to bring paper and a pen to class, but I have a feeling it's going to be fun, interesting, and exciting! :)

For my other two classes (Twentieth Century Body and Literature and The Art and Craft of Fiction), I'm already working on the following readings: "Illness as a Metaphor" and "The Handmaid's Tale"

But aside from classes, I have most exciting news! Over the weekend I auditioned for the Southampton University Symphony Orchestra and the Southampton University Sinfonietta, and I was selected for both orchestras! In the Symphony Orchestra I will be playing the fist violin part and for the Sinfonietta I will be playing second violin. I am really excited about the friends that I will make, the music we will play, and the tours that both orchestras go on after the second term ends! In past seasons they have gone to places like Croatia and Prague!

And if that news isn't exciting enough, I have even more exciting news! I also tried out for the women's volleyball team this weekend, and I was invited to play on the BUCS team, which is the highest level of university competitive sports! I'll get a jersey and get to travel with the team to various competitions and everything!

In another more somber note, some of my travel plans have been put on hold for the time being due to the terrorist threat alert in Europe right now. But luckily the campus is home to the Nuffield Theatre and the Turner Sims Music Hall which put on world class performances on a regular basis. So I'm sure I will have plenty to explore here before venturing out! :)

Cheers,
Sarah

New Beginnings

Today marks the end of my first week in the United Kingdom, and the beginning of my solo adventure in England. Over the past week, I have flown in, settled into my uni accommodations, and gone exploring campus, downtown Southampton and everywhere in between.

When I arrived at London, I was greeted by students at Southampton and was taken on a coach to the campus. I got to meet one of the students who had been assisting me via email over the past few months, and we've since become friends. Below is a picture of the coach picking up the international students at the airport.


When I got to campus, I was taken aback by how lovely it was! The entire campus is very green and filled with gorgeous landscapping. The picture I snapped, below, reminds me of a Monet painting (to the left, below). I'm sure I'll not be lacking for inspiration during my stay here!


This next photo shows some views of a lovely cobblestone path nested inside the main campus. I've already scoped it out as a great place to reflect and do some poetry writing (if it's not raining, that is!).


On a few day trips to the town (about a 20 minute bus ride from my dormitory), I got to see the harbor, the old walls of Southampton, and an old church which was burned down and now stands as a ruin memorial. It was fascinating to see the archaic walls meshed in with the modern developments around it, and it was sobering to imagine what the city looked like before it's ruin in World War II compared to how it stands now--an oddly paired juxtaposition of old and new.



In addition to exploring campus and downtown, I've started practicing with the BUCS women's volleyball team. Although I am not officially on the team as of date, I am hoping that I will make the cut come trials this weekend! If I do get to play on the team, I will get to travel around southern England and see the sites as we travel to the different games as well as make lots of new friends from all over the world (as of now, I'm the only American playing on the team--which is excited to meet all new people from around the world).

Tomorrow I will go to the university's "bun fight" (which curiously has nothing to do with buns or fighting) where all the student societies have tables set up, much like UM's Festifall. I'm hoping to get a better idea about which societies I'd like to get involved with, but right now, I'm really excited about the theatre society, the art society, the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra.

Thursday I have my first academic meeting of the term, and I will get to meet my colleagues in my program (as well as the rest of the students in humanities) and my professors. I am quite excited!

Finally, I just wanted to add two pictures that I thought were really neat. I took a photo of what I can only presume is a British lady bug, bottom (although it looks much more menacing than the American lady bug) and a picture of a tree snail that I nearly stepped on on my way out this morning. I tried to move him to safer ground, but he was pretty stubbornly suctioned to the ground!



Cheers,
Sarah

And so it begins!

Hello!

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Sarah Verner, I graduated from the University of Michigan, department of Mechanical Engineering this past spring, and I am the Roger M. Jones fellow for 2010-2011. I will be studying at the University of Southampton, which is located on the southern coast of England, near the English Channel (Fun Fact: Southampton is where both the May Flower and Titanic set sail!).

While I am at Soton (as it is called, although I still don't have the pronunciation down), I will be working towards an MFA (Master's of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing as well as immersing myself in British culture, specifically humanities and the arts, and exploring the country and its people--much like Roger M. Jones did years ago. I am already planning on joining a campus orchestra (I haven't decided which yet, and auditions are upcoming), trying out for the Soton volleyball team, and attending the various theatre and art events at the school and around the UK.

I will be posting twice a week about my adventures, and additionally, I am hoping to upload one interesting picture (and its description) from each day that will help share my experience with all of you! :)

Cheers,

Sarah