Barcelona!!!!

A brilliant half-term holiday in Barcelona!!

Our journey began with a very very very long flight!! Our flight left London on its journey to Milan, where we had a lay-over time of 10 hours!! That was not a very good experience...... Then after our horrible night in Milan Linate Airport, we boarded our short flight to Barcelona. Once there, we got in a taxi and in broken English and Spanish, we eventually got to our apartment.

Throughout the entire week, we went around the city looking at all the major tourist sites, but for a lot of the time, we spent walking up and down Las Ramblas and doing some shopping. We also headed to the famous Barceloneta Beach a few times. I can now tick of a swim in the Mediterranean off the bucket list haha!!

Las Ramblas

Our trips to the beach were excellent! Beautiful sun and relatively warm weather kept us coming back to the famous Spanish beach. There were a few annoying things though....a lot of men and women were selling things on the beach and they kept annoying us, wanting us to buy things, but we never gave in to them....on a few occasions we got a bit aggressive!!
On one nice evening, we decided to go to a cocktail bar on the beach......haha!!

Beautiful beach weather

A "Sex on the Beach" cocktail

 Major tourist sites such as the Barcelona architecture and the Sagrada Familia were big sites on our visit.

I simply cannot go into every detail of our trip as it would make this blog exceptionally long!!! But I do want to say how enjoyable this entire holiday was. Thankyou to Rachel, Eliza and Ally for coming along with me. We had an absolute blast!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A SPECTACULAR HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!

Beginning of term 2!!

Hey there!!

I have begun my second term here at White Lodge!! So far, as I look back at this blog, the time I've spent here has been fantastic.

So far this term, I have seen two ballets! I went and saw Romeo and Juliet with Suzanne. It was a wonderful day, filled with great company. The performance was simply spectacular. It was at Sadler's Wells, with a live orchestra. The music was Prokofiev so I was very impressed seeing that I have played the famous number "Montagues and Capulets."

The second ballet I saw was only a few days ago. It was a performance of The Great Gatsby. Again, another spectacular performance!! I had no idea of the story before going into the theatre, and had no idea what was going on for most of the show, but the whole atmosphere of the place was pretty amazing! (Unfortunately ballets do not have any words in it so everything is portrayed via dance.)

I have been doing a few trips around London, going to see all the sights of this amazing city. The Globe Theatre was just one of the many things I have seen since the beginning of term 2.

The Globe

 
Despite seeing all these fantastic attractions and sights, I have also been very taken with the atmosphere of London. The city is such a vibrant place to live and I am very grateful for being here. At nigh, the city really does change. The lights and sights from the Thames is simply unbelievable.

Me on the Thames....St Pauls in the background

I am off to Barcelona for a week at half term, so I will write again after that with my Spanish experiences.

:)

Mum here!!!!!!! (end of first term)

At the end of first term, my mum came to visit me!!!! She arrived a few days before the end of term, which meant that she could come to school while the students were there to watch a few ballet classes. She loved it!!!

When she came, she brought with her the music for the Elgar cello concerto. We went up to the Salon and played it together with me on the cello and mum on piano. What a grand and historical room to be playing such a personal bit of music between mum and I. We played underneath all the great portraits of royalty!!! Quite fitting!!

Mum playing Elgar

 We stayed in a lovely apartment in Richmond while she was here and while I was on holidays. We decided to stay in the London area for the time that she was here, so we could do all the London attractions and go shopping......which we did quite a lot of. I think I visited every Fossil shop in the greater London area looking with mum for a handbag.....she ended up taking two home with her!!!!

We went to Greenwich one day as a little outing......it was freezing cold!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a great day though. We visited the Royal Observatory and watched the red orb drop to mark the time. We also found the sight of the Tudor palace (a little gem find). A walking tour made us familiar with the area and was very informative. We then headed further east towards the Thames barrier (which mum was determined to see for some reason). Despite a great fear of heights, mum and I went on the Emirates Sky Rail (a cable car) up high and over the river. Many excellent photo opportunities from up there.

Mum freezing at Greenwich

 We also traveled to Windsor Castle! We felt very special seeing the royal flag on the flag post, indicating that the Queen was in residence.....sadly we did not see her (haha!!) The staterooms and changing of the guard were quite spectacular. A guided audio tour filled us in on the vast history of the place.

A day trip to Cambridge was also included in our little tour of the London area. We decided to take an open top bus tour around Cambridge. It is such a beautiful place!! After seeing all the sights such as the colleges and finding out little facts such as the only degree offered at Cambridge other than medicine and veterinary science is Arts! Fancy that!!

Kings College Cambridge (shot from tour bus)

The rest of the week was made up of long walks, resting, eating and shopping.
I had a simply amazing time with my mum and it was great to see her for the first time in a few months. I can't wait for August when both my parents come to visit me.

A beautiful shot of my beautiful mum

Turbulent times at White Lodge... (second half of first term)

After the half term trip to Ireland, the remaining weeks of the first term were quite a difficult few for the seniors at White Lodge. They were busy doing auditions and filling out application forms for various schools across the country and the world.
As the term progressed, the big "Upper school" audition came and went with as much nerves as anticipated. After seeing all the year 11's work so hard for this, I decided to get them all a little sweet treat so I bought some very decorated cupcakes. Not many complaints about those coming from the common room!!

A day after their final Upper School Audition, they found out the results. I can't imagine what they went through.....the stress and anxiety would have crushed any other person....but these kids are ready for it. They have been ready for events like this for their entire lives as it takes a certain kind of person to reach this stage in the dancing world. Their determination, courage and love for ballet will never change, regardless of the result of their auditions.

After a very stressful two hour wait, they all had the results for Upper school. Some were teary, others were joyous and some were just like normal.

After only knowing these kids for a few weeks, I know that they will do well no matter where they continue their dance studies.

I wish all year 11 the best of luck with your future dance studies!!!! I look forward to seeing a few names in future ballets.

:)  

Ireland!!!! Half term holiday

The half term holiday finally came around and that meant my trip to Ireland on a Paddy Wagon tour!! I would highly recommend the Paddy Wagon tour people. It was such a fun and exciting tour and certainly well worth the cost.

I got the train to Hemel Hempstead and was met by Ally and Eliza. I stayed at their school that night then we got the plane from Luton to Dublin later that afternoon.

After arriving in Dublin we stayed 1 night in the hostel and then the next morning we joined the tour group.

We were on one of the smaller buses (about 35 people on it) but it turned out to be the best bus on the tour! Our tour guide Gab was fantastic. He was hilarious!! He would sing little Irish songs and tell us all about the sights we were seeing. After the first day, Gab named the bus Nicki, and played "Starships" every time we set off in the morning.

I won't go into incredible detail about each day, because we did soooo much!!! But I'll add the link to the Paddy Wagon website which has a nice itinerary.   

http://www.paddywagontours.com/tourView.php?id=160

The tour was sooo much fun!!! I was incredibly tired by the end of it, but I had some very fun times on the tour.

I met about 14 people who I am still in contact with. We called ourselves the awesome 15!! Haha!!

After returning from Ireland, I certainly have some funny stories and fond memories :)

A massive catch-up!!!!

I'm very sorry for the lack of posts lately, but it has been extremely busy at the school for the last month.

I'll write a some posts to catch-up on everything, and title them as approximate dates....

The pavlova for the seniors

A tense time...

Life at The Royal Ballet School has been amzing for me so far. I have had a wonderful time working here, meeting new people and all that jazz...but at the moment, the students are quite stressed out. They have their appraisals this week! The year 11s have a different sort of appraisal...they have to do a dance for the director of the entire school. I believe (although I'm not certain on these facts) that this performance is like a first audition for the Upper School. Living in the year 11 dorm has ceratinly given me an incite into how they are feeling. They are acting so differenty. Some are keeping quiet and not talking whereas others are acting out a bit.
I have planned to bake them a cake for tomorrow, just as a present for them to enjoy after a very stressful day. I'm going to make a pavlova.....not sure how that is going to go!!! I have been given the details on how to prepare the best pavlova by none other than a New Zealander!!!!! Even the notion!!!!! HAHAHA!!

The rest of the school is certainly tense at the moment. The other year groups are doing their own appraisals but the outcome of their appraisals will be whether they have a position at the school after half term or not.

It certainly is a harsh world for such young people to be in....but its a world that they love so who can tell them otherwise.


In other news...I am extremely excited about going to Ireland at half term! I think it will be a great week. I'm planning on getting a train from Euston to Ali's and Eliza's school (the two people I am going to Ireland with) and then staying overnight there, then in the morning we will head off to the airport to catch our flight. I'm going on RyanAir.....I've certainly had some mixed reviews about them to put it simply....

Anyways....thats about it for me at the moment. I've been in contact with home quite a bit, organising things to do when family comes to visit...although basic dates are proving to be quite difficult to find!!

Deer in the park....

A frosty morning in the park...

Life at White Lodge...

So far everything has been amazing here at White Lodge. I've completely settled in to the routine of work I have. Each day is pretty relaxed but there is plenty to keep me occupied.
I went into Sheen today (as it was my day off) and bought a few bits and pieces. Sebastian left the Gap student's bike at Mortlake station and I had the brilliant idea to just "pop down" and get it....little did I know it was going to be such an ordeal.....
I got to the station an there were millions of bikes there!! Sebastian told me it was black and orange so I began my search for a black and orange bike, but was not successful. People probably thought I was looking for a bike to steal! Very suspicious. I then had a few phone calls back and forth with Suzanne at reception and with Sebastian. Eventually I found the bike......it was silver.....
I rode it back to find the reception staff laughing their heads off about this little ordeal. It was quite funny!

I've been talking to Suzanne a lot recently. She offered to see a movie on any weekend which is nice. I can't imagine going to the cinema alone for some reason....what would you do with your popcorn if you needed the toilet during the movie?? If you left it in the cinema it would be a bit odd and someone might take it, but it would be very strange to take it to the toilet with you!! I might take her up on the offer. I'd love to see a movie some time as there are a lot of good ones out at the moment.

Other than these little anecdotes from around White Lodge, nothing much has happened here. It's quite a stressful time for the students as they have appraisals next week.

I've been a bit homesick lately, but I've been managing it quite well. I suppose it would happen eventually, so I'm a bit glad I'm going though it now rather than when I first arrived.

Anyways.....not much else to say at the moment....just living it up in London!!!

"Live your life to the fullest"........I know I certainly am :)

White Lodge in the snow.

Catching up....

Hello there!!!

Apologies for not writing for the last few weeks. I have been rather busy settling in to my placement at The Royal Ballet School. So far, the school is amazing. Absolutely everyone is really nice and always say 'hello' or things like that when I see them. When I first arrived, Simon (my mentor) introduced me to everyone......although I'm still a bit vague on the names. I received my timetable/roster sheet. I mainly do supervision of the Junior Boys when they are on breaks and around bed time. Throughout the day, I am helping with academic classes. I've been doing quite a bit for the Expressive Arts class which is basically a mixture of art, music and dram. The kids also use their amazing dance skills in their projects for this subject. I also do reception work. Suzanne, Jan and Sheila (the receptionists) have been soooo nice to me. They have always answered any questions that I've had and been a face to talk to when ever I need to.
I introduced myself to Diane (the head ballet teacher) and I attended the year 11 boys and girls' ballet classes. I haven't really seen any sort of ballet before and I was blown away at their skill. This school truly is for the talented ballerinas in the world. During the class, Diane asked if I'd seen any ballet before and I obviously said no, then she jumped up out of her seat and made a quick phone call outside the room. She came back in and announced that I had been given a ticket to see the Royal Ballet perform The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House. I went to the show the following night with Tania (a ballet teacher) and we sat in a box!! The show was phenomenal. I can't think of many words that can describe how amazing everything was, from the dancing to the music, to the costumes and set. It was a fantastic night and a night that I won't easily forget.
Later in the week, I was offered another ticket to see a ballet performance of Sleeping Beauty. Of course I took up this generous offer and was once again blown away. Imagine that....been here for only 2 weeks and already seen two fantastic ballet performances.
Other than these awesome little events, I have been settling in to my timetable. I spend most of the evening with the Junior Boys (putting them to bed etc.) but then I go back to my room, which is in the year 11 boys boarding house. I usually socialise with the year 11 boys for a bit then head off to bed.

To pretty much sum up this entry......I have had the most amazing time here at the Royal Ballet School. It has only been just under 3 weeks and I've loved absolutely every second of it.

I will force myself to be organised enough to write an entry on this blog at least once a week.....

 

Transit....

Currently in Singapore Airport in transit, waiting about 8 hours until my final flight to London. I am extremely tired (as I didn't sleep at all on the first flight) but I am very happy and excited. the flight to Singapore was good.....but there was quite a bit of turbulence. Food was what could be expected from plane food; just a mixture of Asian and Western foods.
All the people I'm with on the flights (about 14 or 15) are really nice. They all seem happy and excited although I think the whole thing will hit them (and me) when we arrive in London and are at orientation.
But I don't want to get all sad thinking about getting sad!! (That didn't really make sense.....oh well)
Ill finish up this quick post now and get back to relaxing before the next epic flight. Thinking of getting a massage....Ill see how things go.