Here comes
a pretty long update on my life in Bath. These past few weeks have been
absolutely hectic and I’ve barely had any time off, so I’m setting aside some
time during Reading Week to update the blog (although I should really be
reading, but oh well). Let’s dive right into it.
I’ve pretty
much mastered the arts of filling ‘empty’ slots between my lectures throughout
the day, be it working at the Library or by scheduling meetings. On Week 4,
right after my 9:15 seminar on Tuesday I met up with the mentees for a coffee
and catch-up. They seem to be doing well so I am glad. Then I had a meeting
with the Placements Officer to check on my application progress. I want to
finish up my CVs and most cover letters this week, so I will hopefully get
round to doing that this afternoon. Tuesday was pretty long because I was on
campus from 9am to 10pm, exhausting. I had Arabic class in the afternoon and
then, in the evening, the Italian department had organized some events to
celebrate the Week of Italian Language in the World, the theme being music.
There was a pizza and wine meeting right before a concert by Giacomo Lariccia.
I went to the pizza and wine event – although the pizza ran out pretty quick!
And then skipped the concert because I had to have proper dinner before
rehearsals at nine. Apparently it was a nice concert, I’m proud of the
Italianists for organizing this. There was another event for the Week on
Thursday (meaning that I didn’t get any time off at all that day) at lunchtime,
organized by Enrico with lots of different Italian songs that we sang to and
some food and drink. It was a lot of fun, particularly singing VOLAAAAREEEE
OHHH OHHH!
Concerning
the rehearsals for ‘Musicals Through the Ages’ (MTTA), I have decided to
participate in three of the four open chorus numbers: ‘Belle’ from Beauty and
the Beast, ‘Welcome to the 60s’ from Hairspray and ‘Here I Go Again’ from Rock
of Ages. It’s not much because I’m simply chorus and don’t have any solos or
lines, and it’s only three songs out of the nearly 20 of the whole show, but it
is enough for me. The time I have to dedicate to rehearsals is enough to work
around of and not get behind my work, and I definitely have tons of fun! So it
has been a great decision! Rehearsals have generally been Tuesday night and
Sundays (sometimes also Saturdays) for me, so I’ve been pretty busy with that
and sometimes it’s a pain to have to go to campus just for an hour but I enjoy
it so it is fine, and I just make the most of it by going to the Library
afterwards or before to get some more work done. I’ve met a lot of people and
have laughed a lot. I can’t believe the show has been set up in a month and
will be over soon! So much hard work!
During week
5 I had a couple more meetings about the Year Abroad placements, some workshops
on how to write and aim CVs and cover letters, or how to find job roles using
the Internet and contacts. I find them quite useful, both to brush up my skills
and to learn new tips. It is quite daunting to have to find a placement for
next year and I can certainly feel the pressure, but I think it is another
challenge that will be great towards my future, so definitely worth the time
and effort!
As expected
of being independent, I also had to run a couple of errands such as going to
the hairdresser’s to get my waxing done – I’ve decided it’s not worth it, it’s
so incredibly expensive and the job they do is not that great. Then I had to
phone/go to the Medical Centre a couple of times because I needed to get some
medicine sorted and, it doesn’t come as a surprise, it took ages to arrive and
sort out the prescriptions. I feel like the system here- at least at the
Medical Centre- appears organized but it actually a mess. Particularly because
appointments are given for two weeks later, by the time when you are either struggling
to survive or have got over the illness you needed care for… Useless.
On Wednesday
I had lunch on campus after my lessons and, since it was sunny for once, I
decided to walk down Bathwick Hill. The views are super pretty and it was
lovely to feel the sun on my skin (a sun which has since disappeared to leave
place to a soft and constant drizzle which is the worst thing ever…). Anyway, I
walked into town, first going down the main road where the bus goes, then
deciding to take one of the paths that stray from the route and go into the
side of the hill and the countryside. The trees were lovely, all golden and
orange and brown, just before all the leaves fell (literally, they fall from
one day to another- one day the trees are all autumnal and pretty, the other
they are bare and wiry). As I was saying, a lovely walk. I got to go next to
the channel I discovered with Dad the day I arrived in Bath, over a year ago,
which brought a lot of memories. Glad I decided to go for a walk instead of
taking the bus.
Concerning
fencing, I think I’m slowly improving. I kind of feel dumb at times because I’m
a slow learner, it takes time to get used to the movements, to do them
naturally, but I enjoy the trainings a lot and most weeks they give me sore
muscles, which means they are doing their job! The kit is a pain to put on, but
certainly necessary. Particularly the breastplate, it looks so stupid when you
put it on before you cover it with the jackets, but you have to protect those
boobies! On the 30th of October I went to the Fencing Social for
Halloween. The theme was Pirates of the Caribbean (talk about original!), so I
managed to pull together a makeshift costume and headed to meet the others and
walk to The Cork for pres. It was a lot of fun. I mean, for me it’s a bit weird
at the beginning because most Brits drink so much and I don’t really like
drinking games, but over the course of the night it got a lot better. Lots of
things happened, including the fall of the coffee machine to the floor and the following
escape. Let’s not get into details. We then headed to Komedia for the Big
Cheese and had a lot of fun there. I like Komedia because it’s not an
underground club and so it doesn’t get so incredibly hot inside. The ceiling is
super tall and Georgian, which was a surprising contrast. The music was a mix
of pop classics and British hits, and I put my childhood PopParty3 and Dance Party
CD knowledge to good use- thanks Josie! We had a lot of fun and danced all
night long until the club closed. The remaining fencers and I went to McDonald’s
to cater for the munchies before walking home. Great night, I’m looking forward
to the next social!
On the
actual Halloween Night, I didn’t go out. I was super tired and decided to stay
in and watch some Orange is the New Black. I’m really getting into the series;
it’s hilarious but realistic at the same time which I love!
And so we
come to Reading Week. Just as last year, I decided I would get a lot done
during the week, and it turns out I haven’t really. I mean, I knew my to-do
list was not realistic, but I have procrastinated slightly (definitely not as
much as last year though). I’m pretty happy with what I’ve managed to get done,
but I still have quite a few bits to get over and done with, particularly
reading for my presentations in the following weeks. I’ve kind of set my aims
daily, to try and finish things as I go and not get stressed out. On Monday I
went up to the Library, did some work there and took out La Haine which I
watched while I had dinner at Lime Tree. It was a pretty productive day.
Tuesday was, again, another long day. As it’s only two weeks until MTTA, we
have to do flyering every weekday from 12 to 2pm on the Parade (and publicity
everywhere to get as many people as possible to come and enjoy a great show we’ve
put a lot of effort into- that means on Facebook as many of you might have seen
>EVENT HERE>: https://www.facebook.com/events/947947638595086/
and on campus). I had my slot for the week on Thursday but I swapped it with
Kimberley and did it on Tuesday. So, first I returned the film and bought some
lunch, and then headed to the Parade. It was raining so there weren’t a lot of
people around and at the beginning it was kind of awkward to approach the people
passing by, but once I put my mind and effort into it I aced it. I ran out of
flyers like 5 times within an hour, handing them over to everybody. I’m pretty
proud of myself. It reminded me of the bucket collecting I did in Cardiff last
year, but far easier. I actually had a lot of fun doing it. Then I had Arabic
class- it’s kind of hard and easy at the same time. I think it’s easy to
understand the language when explained but needs work and study at home, which
I haven’t been able to do (the study part) so I am a bit behind and struggling
in that sense. Without my notes I’m a bit lost, but hopefully I’ll manage to
sort that out. I filled in my free slots after class studying in LimeTree and
then had two hours of rehearsals.
On
Wednesday I did some work and laundry at home and, after lunch, packed the
small suitcase with my bedlinen and headed to Dolly Tub Launderette behind the
Royal Crescent to wash the linen. Because we don’t have a drier at home and it
rains all the time, I basically have to go there every certain amount of weeks
to wash all the sheets and stuff and dry them, otherwise it would take ages.
For the fourth year, I’m definitely getting a house with a drier or near a
launderette. It didn’t take me that long though, the longest was the drying
because I had to figure out the temperature and amount of time I needed, but I
go round to it in the end. Then I did some shopping and came back home and
spent the rest of the day reading ‘Le gone du Chaâba’ for French class until I
finished it. It was an ok read, made me feel glad I chose to study Arabic
actually, a good combo with French!
On Thursday
I stayed in my PJs pretty much all day, working at home until I had to get
changed to go to fencing. I was really lazy and nearly gave up because it was
cold and raining outside and I didn’t fancy having to go all the way to campus
to get sore muscles, but I forced myself to do it. It was actually good and
since I can’t come to training next week then at least I’ll have less to catch
up on. At the start of the training I always feel super tired but then
afterwards I feel great so it’s worth the effort, and always a lot of fun! I
was going to write the blog update yesterday but I was so tired I gave up and
went to bed.
Then today
I have written the post – long, huh?
I’ll make lunch after I’m done and this afternoon I’m going into town to buy a
couple of things I need- including black shoes for the show, they didn’t have my
size when I went on Wednesday… And the
plan is to go to a Café with Amélie and work there for a while. I will focus on
my CVs and letters today.
This
weekend is quite packed with rehearsals, as will be next week. We have costume
checks, full run-throughs and tech checks, so I will be quite busy. I just hope
I can fit in some study/reading between the numbers so I can get my things
done. Only a week to go! I can’t wait for the show! It’s going to be great!
