1/3rd done!
Hellooooo.
So, the first out of 3 hellish weeks is nearly over.
The trip to London was very stressful, but also very very rewarding. I had troubles with the Eurostar to London - apparently there was some kind of problem with the electric power supply in Paris, which lead to several trains being delayed for an hour... and it also lead to the London Hall (which is the boarding hall at Paris Gare du Nord) being hopelessly choked with people, so we were queueing till the exit of the train station, seeing as they were letting people in in small groups, and then closing the check-in area off again at intervals of about 15 minutes. Took me over an hour to get from the exit to the actual check-in... And for most of that I was scared I'd miss my train and have to buy a new set of tickets for the cello and myself.
But all's well that ends well - apart from a knackered shoulder, I arrived in London on my designated train about an hour late, tired but in one piece. Got to spend time with Fern and Sky too, which made my day infinitely better. <333333333333333333333333333333
And all else would've been well too, if I hadn't gotten incredibly sick Sunday night. Not as bad as during the meetup, but nearly. I hardly slept that night, and I felt terrible for being alone in a hotel with no one near to help me should I need it. Well, not no one - but all of them strangers.
In any case, nothing happened... I was just shattered the next morning, which was a bit of a disadvantage, seeing as Monday morning was the appointment I'd come to London for.
Which was to test-play for a tutor who teaches at RNCM in Manchester! Philip Higham, young Scottish cellist. He's got a homepage, and I really liked the samples he's got on there... And I have to say that he's a really lovely guy. I enjoyed the way he worked with me a lot, it was a great kind of bouncing ideas off each other, and he makes me look at the details, which I tend not to do XD. And by the end of the test/counselling lesson, he said that he would happily accept me into his class.
:')
WHat that means for me is the following: I have someone at RNCM who wants me. If I were to apply for an entrance exam, I'd get in. And if I now go an submit my application for an exchange year for the study year of 2015/16... I'd most certainly get in.
Which means... the likelihood of me actually living and studying/working in Manchester sooner rather than later has increased to about... 80%. I think from here on out, it's just formalities. With the application for ERASMUS (exchange programme), I have to send in things like my IELTS certificate, a recording, my achievements I got during my Bachelor degree... And well. I know that my Bachelor final recital was stellar, so I'll be using recordings from that. I had really good grades all throughout my Bachelor. My IELTS (English test) certificate is high ranking too. Plus, I can eloquently tell people why I want to study in Manchester of all places (which is a requirement too - letter of motivation).
So really, there should be nothing standing in the way of a year abroad in 2015/16.
I didn't want to talk about this again until I knew the result for sure - Philip could just as well have said no, after all - but now that the outcome was like that.... Guys. I am so happy. The last half year has been terrible for me since the failure of my application for 2014/15 - at first it was obvious, but it was weighing me down even later. But now, it looks like things really are getting better again. <3
And it's good I had this great experience - it's really given me strength to get through the next couple weeks. XD I've got 3 concerts within 5 days next week (I'll post up a detailed schedule later, mostly for myself so that I can tick stuff off heheh), another one the week after that, and then another one. And then June will be nearly over. XD Plus, I've got my very first actual driving lesson on Tuesday... I'm nervous about it. XD
Soooo yes... that's that from me. I have a full day of rehearsing tomorrow, so I'll miss the chat, sorry. I should be with you guys next week, though. <3 Hope you all are doing ok!
So, the first out of 3 hellish weeks is nearly over.
The trip to London was very stressful, but also very very rewarding. I had troubles with the Eurostar to London - apparently there was some kind of problem with the electric power supply in Paris, which lead to several trains being delayed for an hour... and it also lead to the London Hall (which is the boarding hall at Paris Gare du Nord) being hopelessly choked with people, so we were queueing till the exit of the train station, seeing as they were letting people in in small groups, and then closing the check-in area off again at intervals of about 15 minutes. Took me over an hour to get from the exit to the actual check-in... And for most of that I was scared I'd miss my train and have to buy a new set of tickets for the cello and myself.
But all's well that ends well - apart from a knackered shoulder, I arrived in London on my designated train about an hour late, tired but in one piece. Got to spend time with Fern and Sky too, which made my day infinitely better. <333333333333333333333333333333
And all else would've been well too, if I hadn't gotten incredibly sick Sunday night. Not as bad as during the meetup, but nearly. I hardly slept that night, and I felt terrible for being alone in a hotel with no one near to help me should I need it. Well, not no one - but all of them strangers.
In any case, nothing happened... I was just shattered the next morning, which was a bit of a disadvantage, seeing as Monday morning was the appointment I'd come to London for.
Which was to test-play for a tutor who teaches at RNCM in Manchester! Philip Higham, young Scottish cellist. He's got a homepage, and I really liked the samples he's got on there... And I have to say that he's a really lovely guy. I enjoyed the way he worked with me a lot, it was a great kind of bouncing ideas off each other, and he makes me look at the details, which I tend not to do XD. And by the end of the test/counselling lesson, he said that he would happily accept me into his class.
:')
WHat that means for me is the following: I have someone at RNCM who wants me. If I were to apply for an entrance exam, I'd get in. And if I now go an submit my application for an exchange year for the study year of 2015/16... I'd most certainly get in.
Which means... the likelihood of me actually living and studying/working in Manchester sooner rather than later has increased to about... 80%. I think from here on out, it's just formalities. With the application for ERASMUS (exchange programme), I have to send in things like my IELTS certificate, a recording, my achievements I got during my Bachelor degree... And well. I know that my Bachelor final recital was stellar, so I'll be using recordings from that. I had really good grades all throughout my Bachelor. My IELTS (English test) certificate is high ranking too. Plus, I can eloquently tell people why I want to study in Manchester of all places (which is a requirement too - letter of motivation).
So really, there should be nothing standing in the way of a year abroad in 2015/16.
I didn't want to talk about this again until I knew the result for sure - Philip could just as well have said no, after all - but now that the outcome was like that.... Guys. I am so happy. The last half year has been terrible for me since the failure of my application for 2014/15 - at first it was obvious, but it was weighing me down even later. But now, it looks like things really are getting better again. <3
And it's good I had this great experience - it's really given me strength to get through the next couple weeks. XD I've got 3 concerts within 5 days next week (I'll post up a detailed schedule later, mostly for myself so that I can tick stuff off heheh), another one the week after that, and then another one. And then June will be nearly over. XD Plus, I've got my very first actual driving lesson on Tuesday... I'm nervous about it. XD
Soooo yes... that's that from me. I have a full day of rehearsing tomorrow, so I'll miss the chat, sorry. I should be with you guys next week, though. <3 Hope you all are doing ok!