Y2-14: Weeks 28 & 29, rehearsals!

These past two weeks have left me absolutely knackered. I mean, I knew they were going to be intense, but oh boy! So much stuff going on! And still two weeks to go!

On the Monday in Week 28 I decided to go up to campus early in the morning to get some work done. Big mistake because the library was absolutely crowded. Apparently, everybody had deadlines that first week, so the lack of space was to be expected but it didn’t even cross my mind… Anyhow, I also had a Cultural Awareness workshop for Italy which made me realize how similar and different Italy is from Spain, and then two Italian lessons before a short break before bootcamp. I had missed doing proper exercise like squats and burpees, and the sore muscles that followed lasted a few days…

On Tuesday I had ELT and then decided to use my break to figure out where to get the DBS. My employer in France had asked me for the certificate and it took me ages and a lot of walking from place to place and asking for people until I finally found the right place and person. I got an appointment for the following Wednesday to fill in the form. So far, so good. After that I had an Italian writing exam which went alright and then I went back home and decided to check the charity shops to see if they had anything useful for the costumes. I managed to find two tops and put together four out of the five outfits I will need (I just joined ‘Freedom’ this past week so now I also have to look for that one). It was a pretty nice trip, I just love dressing up!

On Wednesday morning I got up early and was efficient until midday or so. I did all my laundry, the groceries and cooking. And then I switched off and my break lasted way too long and involved watching some Orange Is The New Black… In the evening I read about a third of ‘Donna in guerra’, one of the novels I’m writing my essay on. Honestly, it took me quite a long time to finish it and despite it not being a bad novel, I expected it to be more interesting.

On Thursday I went up to campus a bit before my lessons to check out a couple of books and then had my usual lessons. Fencing was cancelled so I got to go back home and have dinner before Arabic, which never happens. I then had Charlie rehearsals for an hour before we were allowed to go home. Pretty long day but I’m getting used to having quite long days now with all these rehearsals taking place.

On Friday I again had class as usual. The good thing was that it was my last French politics lecture and we actually finished half an hour earlier, which I was so grateful for! I spent the afternoon cooking and watching Orange Is The New Black again. I’m actually really into the series now and I’m trying to avoid wasting the episodes from season two that I’m watching. I have to stop myself from binging on them and keep away from the series during revision #thetemptationisreal

On Saturday I spent the morning reading the novel and then came up to campus for Does Your Mother Know rehearsals. It is such a fun number! We get to be all sassy and flirty and Maria the choreographer is quite bossy but in a fun way so we all had a great time. And at night I finally managed to finish the novel, even if it took me longer than expected. Hooray!

On Sunday morning the ELT seminar group met at Nicola’s to share the ideas we had and sort of figure out what we were doing. And then I grabbed a quick lunch and headed to campus for America rehearsals. The song is great but the dance is a bit tricky. Tons of fun though!

[Literally need to find a better way of saying what I’ve been up to that doesn’t involve ‘On …day, I… Then,….’ Any ideas?]

Week 29 was just as stressful. Monday again followed the routine as I didn’t have rehearsals. I had the YA meeting, this time concerning the Year Abroad Essay I have to write to compliment my placement. I feel like I need to try and start thinking about an appropriate topic but honestly have no idea of what I could do. And then I had my usual lessons and bootcamp with Amélie and Will. He made us run outside and get all muddy, which I wasn’t too happy about. I am looking forward to the weather getting warmer though. Today it was actually really nice outside and if I hadn’t had rehearsals I would have definitely gone out for a run!

Tuesday was mayhem. I had classes straight from nine to four with literally no break, not even for lunch! An Italian two-hour seminar had to be rescheduled so they moved it from Thursday to Tuesday and I ended up with no pause for lunch. In addition, I had my last French politics seminar that exact day to add to the long morning of classes… And to top it off, two hour break for some Library work and dinner before Masquerade rehearsals for two hours. It literally killed me. Fortunately, they called off America rehearsals for that day and I managed to go back home earlier than expected.

On Wednesday morning I went to my DBS appointment and filled in the form. It was alright, only that they told me that since I have lived in Spain for a portion of the last five years, I would have to get some further papers. They gave me a link and I checked it and basically they asked me to provide a Spanish Certificate of Convictions which would take ages for me to get. After going back and forth and many calls and texts and emails, I met up with the Placement Officer on Friday and explained him what was going on and we decided the easiest way out was to message my employer and ask for an alternative to the Spanish papers. So now I can provide some reference letters instead, which is fantastic! Anyway, off the point, on Wednesday I had a nice lunch with the girls and caught up with them. And then headed to an Erasmus Mobility meeting with Amélie. Nothing new really, I’m managing to keep on top of the paperwork so for now I’m doing alright. I then went back home and did some work and Skyped Sara. Five calls out of ten compulsory ones thus far.

On Thursday the ELT team met before lessons to go through our presentation and keep working on it. We have it on Tuesday and it’s the last one I have to do fortunately, so tomorrow we’ll be meeting for the finishing touches and summary we have to give in. I also handed in my individual assignment on the Thursday. I can’t believe next week is actually my last week of class! Where has time gone? I’m going to miss my lectures in Bath, won’t be back until 2017!

Then I had class and an Italian grammar assessment which could have definitely gone a lot better… Dreading my mark next week… I then headed to the Library and did some work and met with Enrico for a tutor meeting before fencing. Fencing was fun, except for my sore legs from bootcamp still killing me. I honestly thought I would have forgotten a lot more that I actually had. I think I did pretty well and I don’t suck as much as I think (still believe some good hits are due to sheer luck though…). I also ended with a massive bruise on my leg after my opponent’s foil lashed onto it. I bruise like a prune but it was pretty hard nonetheless, so it wasn’t all my fault. And then Arabic to finish my long Thursdays. The lesson was alright. The group has definitely decreased and I now have an exam on May 2^nd. Not ideal because it’s right after the show and I feel like I won’t have much time to study. Fortunately, the last week of April I don’t have class so I will have to work hard and finish my essay and study Arabic. All about the timing but I’m also missing a lot of motivation here…

On Friday I just had class in the morning so I went back home after that and did some work and cleaning before heading into town to watch ‘Anna’, which was an adaptation of ‘Carrie’ by Stephen King set up by BUST which is the student theatre society. Honestly, the production was amazing! It surprised me how good it was; with such few resources they made a great performance and some of the acting was superb. Really enjoyed that! Congrats to everyone who took part in it!

Then on Saturday I cooked in the morning and then came up to campus for rehearsals. I first had DYMK, with the fault that the choreographer wasn’t there and we were also missing half of the people. We did have to make the most of it though because we barely have more rehearsals before the actual show, so we came up with some cheesy moves and got another part of the song together. We are still missing some bits but for now it’s looking good. I then had a break for lunch and did some reading before Charlie rehearsals. It was pretty demanding but we managed to finish the whole choreo and end up with back and neck pain because of the moves involved. You’ll see. It is by far my favourite song of the five I’m doing!

And finally, today. Pretty intense rehearsal day. We had four hours this morning, for America and Masquerade, and then we popped to the Lake for lunch being harassed by the ducks. I have since then been in the Library doing some work and I will be around here until my Freedom rehearsal at seven. I haven’t been to any of them yet because I’ve just joined but the video of it looks pretty easy so I think I’ll catch up quite easily… We’ll see.

Rehearsals are ton of fun and I love them! I enjoy them a lot and they make me laugh and forget about the degree stress so they are an amazing way to unwind. However they take all that’s in you and at the end of the day you realize how exhausted you are! I’ve never regretted them though; I always look forward to them! And the show is looking great so if you are around Bath on the 29^th or 30^th of April, please do come and watch! https://www.facebook.com/events/177517562641437/

I’m looking forward to the next few weeks left. Both because of the show and the things to come: Arabic Culture Event, flyering, Encore, the end of the lessons… I’ll keep you posted! x

Y2-13: Easter break!

This past couple of weeks have been quite laid-back but I’ve also done a fair bit of work in preparation for the turmoil of rehearsal and show week coming up over the next month.

On Monday I didn’t do much. I did some reading for class and enjoyed some ‘arroz a la cubana’ without having to cook anything myself (yippee!). I went for a run in the afternoon and then met up with Erin, Lara and Katya to go to Melita for the ‘merienda’. The sun was setting and looking lovely so we sat outside to enjoy our frappes and pieces of cake (got to balance all that running, huh?). In the night I watched ‘Into the Wild’ with my parents. I actually really liked the film. The ending is a bit sad but the film itself was great, made me want to go on an adventure. You should check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek I also found out a couple of days later that you can actually go to the Magic Bus. How cool would that be?

On Tuesday I had my hair cut, finally, chopped off to shoulder length. My hair grows incredibly fast so I doubt it will last long but it is a lot easier to manage for now. And in the evening I went to La Laguna. First I met with Lara because we wanted to pick up a new leash for the surfboard, but we totally failed. Then we realized we were super early for the date with the girls and we had a couple of hours to kill (didn’t help that they also arrived late…). Anyhow, once we were all there we went to the 100 Montaditos and had some drinks and food, and then Skyped Sofi from my phone. We also got to watch one an Easter procession. Not my thing, but fair enough.

On Wednesday Mum drove Erin and me to El Teide. I hadn’t been to the volcano since I was in primary school, so for a good seven or eight years! It’s crazy, I used to think it took ages to get there so I was never really up for going but now that I’ve lived abroad, distances have become more relative… The day was really grey and foggy so the whole drive up we were surrounded by mist and doubting we’d see anything. There was still some snow left in the pine forest at the bottom of the valley, nothing too incredible. Fortunately, once we got to the last buildings before the actual National Park, the mist disappeared and the sun was strong and shining (no snow to be seen though). It was fantastic to be able to see everything again; it was a bit like I remembered, but definitely not the same as I had pictured it in my head. We saw Ucanca, the Roque Cinchado, El Teide,… It was pretty windy but I didn’t care. Thanks Mum for taking us!

On Thursday morning we went to Decathlon and I finally got my hands on some new sports gear. I really want to go running in Bath but I needed some new trainers and now I have them! We also went to IKEA for lunch (of course!) and then to Alcampo with Erin to have a look around the shops. Didn’t find much, but I did manage to get ‘Mockingjay 2’, so now the cycle is complete! In the afternoon, like the day before, I did some more coursework. I really had to get my TEFL individual assignment finished before the end of the holidays, and that took ages!

On Friday I got up early with the intention of going for a run but wasn’t feeling great so I went back to sleep. And the rest of the weekend I spent pretty much working on coursework and Year Abroad stuff, we didn’t even have Easter eggs on the Sunday this time... On Saturday Marina and Katya came over for paella and we had a Monopoly fight after lunch like in the old days. I’m definitely out of practice because Katya built a massive empire and I nearly got bankrupt… In the night I got my family to finally watch ‘Mockingjay 2’. I absolutely love the series and think they’ve done a pretty good job adapting the books, but nothing beats the written story.

On Monday I spent the day either sleeping or again working and reviewing Italian. Not much fun but I already knew I was going to have to work quite a bit over the holidays. All my friends and Mum and sister had started classes again so it wasn’t like I could make a lot of plans to meet with people, and I was happy to get the work done and not stress out once I got back to Bath… In the evening I went out for a long walk to the lighthouse in La Punta with Katya, and then watched ‘Mamma Mia’ when I came back. I’d forgotten how much I love that musical!

On Tuesday morning I went with Dad to La Laguna to book all my driving lessons for when I’m back in the summer. I’m adamant to get my license this summer, or Christmas at the latest, so I needed to book the days if I didn’t want to find myself with not enough time. The PAU finishes before I return, so I would have had to deal with fighting for slots if I hadn’t booked in advance. Fingers crossed I’ll manage to pass! We also popped into Mercadona to get some food for Sebas and Sol who were arriving on Thursday, and I got myself some cans of olives. You’ll laugh, but I’m an olive-lover and the ones they sell in the UK are quite pitiful, so I just take some with me when I come back from the holidays! In the afternoon I decided to sunbathe and, as lucky as I am, right when I got myself out to the garden a massive cloud came out of nowhere and there was no more sun to be seen… Just great. I will be white as milk for the rest of my days. And in the evening I decided to watch ‘Chicago’, another one of my favourite musicals. I think I’m starting to see a trend here.

On Wednesday morning I slept in and did some work. A huge storm arrived out of nowhere with rain and wind and fog. Not the kind of weather you’d expect from the Islands of eternal spring. I went up to La Laguna after lunch to have a coffee with Lara and meet two of her Italian friends and just about managed not to get soaked. I’ve learnt to deal with rain since I live in the UK, but that doesn’t mean I’ve learnt to like it. The afternoon was nice, I got to speak a bit of Italian and we went out for a walk around La Laguna before heading back. In the evening I was going to go with Katya to eat fish in La Punta, but the weather was so gross there was a change of plans and instead we ordered some Chinese take-away and watched ‘Cry-Baby’. Another hilarious film. It was so old-school to have a movie night with Katya. I’d missed her a lot! That night Perico, the canary Dad found in the garden about two years ago and we adopted, passed away which was very sad, but he did have a happy life while he was with us.

On Thursday I slept in and chilled at home. Sebas called to say his flight had been delayed because of the weather, so Sol and he didn’t arrive in time for the yummy pizzas for lunch (satisfying my cravings). I then had a nap because when can you nap if it’s not during the holidays? When I woke up they had already arrived. It was great to see them, even if it was swiftly as I had to get ready and head to La Laguna because I was meeting some friends. Once I got to La Laguna, I met Cris and María first and we had some tea in Palmelita while we waited for the others. Rainer and Moni got there first and then we moved to a Mexican food place for dinner, where Claudia, Gema and Alba joined us. The dinner was pretty good, I had a chicken and chocolate burrito, weird combo but very tasty! We then headed to El Rincón de Tintín because there was a jam session. I missed live music! The atmosphere was great and Cristina even took over the vocals for a bit! In the end, it was just Cris, Rainer and I left so we headed to the bars to make time while David came to pick us up. It was a different but great night out.

@CristinaMahelo https://www.facebook.com/cristinamahelo/info/?tab=page_info

On Friday I slept in and spent the morning with Sebas, Sol and Dad. Sol told me about their awesome trip to Africa, such amazing places! It just makes me want to travel even more! We had paella for lunch and then after that they left. Lara and Katya came over in the afternoon to say goodbye. They were going to La Laguna for a concert and asked if I’d come. At this point, I hadn’t even packed but I managed to finish in time to join them. It was a jazz concert but it was full by the time we arrived so we just roamed around instead.

Today I woke up early to leave for the airport. Mum and Sebas drove me there. The trip was alright, I got to see the Teide as we flew away and watched ‘Fury’ during the flight. I also got back in time to catch the 4pm bus in sunny Somerset (yes, sunnier than Tenerife) and arrived with plenty of time to do the groceries, clean, unpack etc. Pretty decent and adulty day, but note to self (and anybody interested), Easyjet anytime over Ryanair.

Tomorrow I have to get up early again because I have a long day of rehearsals for Encore and then have to get back home and cook and clean the house. It will be a long day, but I am looking forward to the show so I don’t really mind! Let’s get some sleep now; I’ll keep you posted on how the next few weeks get on!

Zoe x

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