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
