Jacki's University of Delaware Blog

Little Miss Busy

WOW…my gosh I do not remember the last time I was this busy. It is rare for me to find a time to sit down, relax and do nothing, which explains me writing a blog post at 11pm on a Monday…

Anyway, I have some REALLY exciting news: I recently interviewed for an internship at the Philadelphia Orchestra. This is a HUGE deal because internship interviews definitely are not easy to obtain.  I was really nervous at first, but as I got more comfortable, I think that my interviewer could tell how passionate I was/am about working with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I can’t wait to hear back from them!

I have had class, tests, quizzes, rehearsals, Miss Delaware prep. etc., and I am really working hard to stay on top of everything.  I recently sprained my ankle, and since going to the gym is out of the question, I have spent time trying to get ahead of the material I am working on in my classes.

My class schedule may not be as crazy as it has been in the past, but I am surely finding ways to make myself crazy…I mean, keep myself busy. It’s all in preparation for the real world!

My Weekend in London

Oh man. I was doing so well blogging every day…until the weekend. Woops! Well, anyway, I have done some REALLY cool things I have done recently that I need to update my readers on.

On Saturday, a few of my girl friends and I went to Harrods.  I must say, that is one insanely crowded and expensive store.   It was really hard to find my way through the store, and thought that it was pretty wild that you shop there by designer.  We started at the top of Harrods, and worked our way down to the Harrods gift shop, which carries Harrods gifts and accessories that are more in my price range.  I bought myself a purse, a wallet and a Harrods watch.  Three wonderful items I will have to remember this incredible study abroad experience.

After Harrods, we walked around the block and found a restaurant to have lunch.  The restaurant way okay…I won’t be rushing back there any time soon to eat there again.  We then took the Tube home and relaxed and got some of our reading done for class (which we had today).

On Sunday, we woke up, got breakfast, did more of our reading for class, and then a few of us met for lunch.  After lunch, we went to Westminster Abbey to a service so that we could hear the choir sing in the Abbey.  I got the chills when the choir entered.  It sounded absolutely incredible.  The service was exactly an hour long (not too long, not too short), and then we went to eat dinner.  We stayed close to the Abbey because we were going back at 5L30pm for an organ concert.  The organ concert was breath taking.  The organ in the Abbey is gigantic.  The vibrations from the organ made the whole Westminster Abbey shake and vibrate, and it resonated through my body. It was AMAZING.  One of the most interesting observations I had at the concert: there were far more young/middle aged people at the organ concerts than there were older people.  Sounds quite different than America, doesn’t it? Hmm…

London Eye, Oh My!

I wrote out an entire blog about an hour ago and as it was loading to Tumblr, the website froze and my entire blog went away, except for one picture.  Our internet at the hotel is spotty like that…anyway, I had another amazing and busy day in London.  And I promise that I won’t say that again, because I am pretty sure that every day will be an amazing and busy day here in London.

I started my day bright and early this morning by going to the London Eye with my friends.  The London Eye is a gigantic ferris wheel (but don’t EVER call it a ferris wheel to the locals… they don’t like that very much) where you get into a large “pod” and slowly raise up to the top of the wheel, and on the way see the entire city of London.  The view from the top is absolutely incredible.  I could see everything.  If anyone reading this is planning a trip to London, and the wheel is running when you’re here, definitely pay the 15 pounds to ride the London Eye. It is SO worth it!

We got to the Eye early this morning because we knew we had class at 1pm this afternoon, and since we were done with the ride by 9:45am, we decided we would take our time, take in the sights of the city and walk back to the hotel.  We walked past Big Ben, the Westminster Abbey, through Piccadilly Circus, and went to see the changing of the guard.  Where else could you take a morning stroll and see all of those incredible pieces of history?! It was truly amazing.

We got so carried away during our walk that time flew by and we didn’t realize it was just about lunch time.  Instead of going back to the hotel before going to class, we stopped at a small restaurant known for their fish and chips (even though I don’t eat fish…I got a turkey sandwich).  Lunch was good!  I learned that “yellow mustard” in London is 100% different than “yellow mustard” in America.  I loaded my sandwich with mustard, bit into it and my sinuses cleared…it tasted like I was eating straight horse radish.  Definitely a surprise! Now I know…

After lunch, we went to our first day of class.  Our classes are in a beautiful building right down the street from our hotel in a small room that most definitely does not look like a classroom.  It is beautiful! I will take a picture of the classroom on Monday and post it on here.  We went over our final class schedule and I could not be more excited about taking classes here…there are so many opportunities to talk to very influential people in the music world.  One of the coolest things, I think, is that whenever we have a guest speaker come and talk to us, we also have the opportunity to join them for dinner after their lecture.  It will give us the opportunity to ask questions and get to know our lecturers in a more casual environment.  We are going to so many incredible concerts, and oh my gosh, there are just so many amazing opportunities for all of us studying here in London. 

Happy Weekend! =)