Y2-15: Weeks 30 & 31, Mum visits Bath and Encore 2016!

Here I am, back with another post, this time about the last two intense but memorable two weeks of class from my second year.

Monday the 18^th was pretty busy, I went up to campus before my lessons to get some work done and basically did not stop until nine between classes, TEFL presentation group meetings, bootcamp and rehearsals. We had our presentation the following day and decided to go up to campus an hour earlier to practice and print out the summary. Turns out everybody was stressing about the individual assignment so we didn’t actually rehearse it but instead I got myself a coffee to wake me up while the others panicked with the hand-in procedure. We all managed in the end, which is what counts. The ELT class that day was quite short as it only involved us giving in the assignments and doing the group presentations. I think we did well and we were happy with ours, so all good. It was kind of sad though, thinking it was the last ELT class. I’ve really enjoyed the course. We then had an Italian grammar make-up session with Enrico and my usual writing class, before I headed to the library to do something worthwhile during the time to spare before my Django and Masquerade rehearsals that night. I actually got a phone call from mum, saying she was arriving on Saturday afternoon for a surprise visit! I couldn’t believe it! Everybody had known all along, even the landlady! It had been planned since Christmas and I had no clue, but she decided to tell me because with rehearsals and all she wasn’t sure if there would be someone at home to let her in… Such a great surprise xx

On Wednesday morning I did some work and then went to campus for my flyering slot. Honestly, flyering for musicals is really hard, but at least it was sunny! Then I headed to the University Hall for an Arab Culture Event organized by my teacher and the Arab Society in Bath. It was great! There was such a festive atmosphere with lots of food and interesting objects and live music! Many people were dancing and singing and I really enjoyed it. There were also a couple of talks, one about Arab Culture in general, one about the Arab heritage in Sciences and another about Women in the Arab countries. I really enjoyed them all and it was a pity that I had to leave before the last one finished, but I had to rush to CB for the Encore Band Call aka. Full run-through with band for the first time. The run-through went fine. Some songs were weird because we were missing the drummer for a portion of the evening, and then we started running late but that is to be expected. Aside from that, for three weeks of rehearsals it was pretty on point!

Thursday was a regular day aside from it being the last Thursday with class. I had the usual seminars and then in fencing we did a competition (ended up last but oh well haha). Then I showered quickly before Arabic lesson and an extra hour of rehearsals. Long day.

Friday was the last day of class of my second year. It felt quite strange, because I wanted classes to finish but at the same time it was weird to wrap my mind around the fact that I won’t have more classes in Bath until Autumn 2017, how scary is that? We had a fun quiz/trivial-style kind of game for French speaking which I totally sucked at and then for grammar we went over the exam. I was pretty happy with my mark actually. After that I had another flyering slot, this time with Holly. We were both on our own in the rain, not too successful.

On Saturday we had a morning of rehearsals for the chorus numbers and then Jack’s ppt on security measures for the show as per usual, before a complete run-through. It was great because although we weren’t in the ALT, we actually got to see all the numbers with the compere slots included, something we didn’t do in MTTA until we got our DVD’s. There were a couple of really amazing numbers, including Erin’s solo which actually made people tear up (yep, you’ll want to see the video when I get my hands on it, trust me!). After that I went back home and thought I’d get there before Mum as I’d finished earlier…turns out she had already arrived and was having tea with B! As we didn’t have much time left that day and I was super tired, I just showed her around Oldfield so she could get a feel for the area and figure out where the bus stops were. So nice to have her over! I thought she’d only make it to my graduation!

On Sunday we slept in and then headed to campus. Mum stayed in town to visit some museums and shops while I had tech rehearsals. It went pretty well, I got to try my new character shoes out so I could feel comfortable dancing with them. And aside from some bits and bobs to practice and some changes made, overall it was fairly productive (essay reading in slots in between…).

Week 31 was the last week of lessons at a University level, but no more for PoLIS students because it was the final year oral exam week, meaning no class for the rest of us yippee! On Monday morning I did some work at home before heading up to campus for the YA meeting and then came back home to wait for Mum, who’d been out and about visiting a couple more museums. I then took her to Alexandra Park, because where else to get great views of Bath? And on our way back we stopped at a charity shop and I actually found two books by Maggie Stiefvater: The Dream Thieves and a signed copy of Linger – only 2 quid in total, such a steal! We then did some work at home (and Mum cooked – omg I hate cooking and couldn’t have been happier that she was doing it for me). And we finished the day off in style by watching the new Game of Thrones episode. Honestly, the new season comes out right before the exams, not the best timing – got to keep up with them to avoid spoilers!

On Tuesday we went into town to do some shopping and had lunch at the Real Italian Pizza Co. Then we went home as it looked like it was going to rain (actually hailed by the way) and used the afternoon to work, chill and sort out some stuff and paperwork at home for Mum to take back to Tenerife with her.

On Wednesday I took her to Uni and showed her around, including walking down to Sham Castle under the Spring sun. She loved the University and we were discussing how it had been a good choice in the end. I’m really happy I chose Bath over Bristol to be honest. We had lunch at the STV and then she left to go into town while I had an extra Charlie rehearsal. I then took the bus home and happened to find Luke so we had a chat while we went back. And then studying, hella work on the essay and helping Mum with her suitcase because she was leaving so incredibly early on Thursday (literally, alarm at 2:30am and I woke up with her to wave good-by; she was exhausted when she got home).

On Thursday afternoon I went up to campus to get my Italian grammar test, which went surprisingly well, I genuinely thought it had been a lot worse on the day I did it. And after that I had dinner and headed to The Edge for dress rehearsal (also the day when they took the professional pictures). It went pretty well; I couldn’t believe the following day was the actual show, time had flown by. Saturday sold out and Friday nearly did as far as I knew, with only seven seats left! Such a hit!

On Friday the 29^th I did some more work on my essay and nearly managed to finish it, and then went up to campus for the show. The first night went really well. Amélie, Bego, David and Joel came to watch and they really enjoyed it. Everybody was buzzing and nervous because it was the first night and we didn’t know how the audience would react, but safe to say it was a success! After the show, I ran with Lelia to her place and quickly got changed and barely made it in time to catch the U1 into town and make in to the Bridge guestlist! It was Vidushi’s birthday the day after so I told her I’d try to come. I ended up hanging out with Lelia and not V in the end though haha

Saturday was the last show night of Encore. I spent the morning and afternoon finishing the essay and then went up to campus (met Imogen at the bus stop, coming to watch the show too). The show was amazing, everybody had a great time and because we were just relaxed and enjoying the show it went better than ever! Lots of emotional people at the end, as it was the last show for the leavers (and my last show until 2017… right when I get addicted to musicals, I have to stop. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like in my final year…). There was a problem with the camera equipment and we had to re-do some numbers after the show, which was a bit of an anti-climax but the crowd was made of BUSTers and BUSMers so the cheers were terrific! After that Lyana, Lelia and I went to leave my stuff at Lelia’s again before stopping at good ol’ King’s Kebab for some chips before the after-show. Aftershow was amazing like always – we drank, danced, sung (full rendition of ‘Let It Go’ included, of course) and celebrated all night! Such a night to remember… We had a blast because we ended up arriving home at 5am as the sun was coming out.

On Sunday there was the BUSMS brunch but I slept in and didn’t go in the end because I really had to review for Arabic as my test was this morning and I hadn’t studied at all. I really tried, but in the end just sort of gave up. Let’s be real, I wasn’t going to fit the vocabulary of 10 weeks in my head in eight hours… I decided to watch a film instead.

Today I got up and went grocery shopping and then headed to campus for my exam. It was alright in the end, Khalil is a very nice teacher and he was quite reassuring. I know I made mistakes but I’m pretty happy with how it went, surprisingly well actually! And then I waited for Lelia to get my bag back and came back home and did some cleaning. It was Amélie’s birthday today so they went out to the cinema but I really had to get on with work. And now I’m typing up this post, not much else to say.

These past few weeks have been amazing and Encore 2016 has been a show to remember. Now it’s time to focus on studying for revision week, but I must say I still have a couple of fun things coming up: the Erasmus Leavers’ Party tomorrow, BUSMS End of Year Meal on Thursday… got to balance out the studying, right?