Saturday 29 September 2012

Settling in.


This week I was officially introduced to the music department at Oxford Brookes. I auditioned for the Chamber Choir here and made it in, my first rehearsal is tonight! I was also offered the opportunity to perform in a short recital. A music student became unavailable at the last minute, so the head of the department asked me if I was able to perform a set of musical theater songs. I’ve been practicing my pieces, (4 solos and 2 duets with my friend Melanie) religiously this week and hope to represent the HPU music department well. I also went to a meeting of the Opera Society which was fun.
Christ's Church in Oxford

It’s kind of funny to see Oxford Brookes advertise clubs and drinking to university students. Since the drinking age is 18 here, it’s not a big deal. Oxford Brookes sponsors club nights on weekends and even through the week. I’ve also noticed that while students drink here, it’s not as big of a deal. Going out to pubs and casually having a pint is a nice past time here. While people still get drunk, I’ve met more young people here who drink responsibly.
Pub crawl with my new friends in Oxford.

In other news, my housemates and I have befriended a posse of Englishmen. They’ve helped us get used to the English lingo (leading to more than one battle over pronunciation) and even taught us a questionable hand motion or two. We have fun making fun of how the Americans have ‘polluted’ the English language. Along with the English, our housing building contains students from Thailand, China, Hungary, Italy, France, Poland, Australia, and Germany, so I’ve had the opportunity to meet with people from all over the world.

I am always impressed by the fact that people from other countries have a basic understanding of the geography of the U.S. Most people are able to recognize where North Carolina and Tennessee are when I tell them where I am from and go to school. The people I meet also tend to be interested in U.S.  politics. I suppose that with such different candidates up at the plate, it’s hard not to be interested in what direction the U.S. is headed. The English that I’ve met so far have been more liberal than people the U.S.  That may not be saying much, considering I’ve live in the south my whole life, but it’s interesting to hear a new perspective on some issues.

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