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
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
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
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.
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
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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
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
Friday, October 8, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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
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
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