20 october

Hi, friends!

Sorry I haven't posted in about a week. I can't say that things have been "busy" here, but I guess I've just been too brain-dead from practicing when blog-posting time comes around at night.

Well, now that I think about it, this past week has been rather eventful. Last Friday we went to Canterbury to see the cathedral and to do some shopping. Since I've been wearing my warmest jacket and it's only the middle of October, I had to get a "real" jacket, gloves, scarf, etc. The whole sha-bang. So bring on the cold!

(click here for more pictures)

On Friday night, we went to our first game of whist, a game that I wrote about a few posts back. It's a card game that happens once a month at the village hall. There were about 30 people there (I think?), some more serious players than others. Somehow - I don't know how - I won. Maybe it was luck or maybe I'm a whist genius.

Ok.... It was definitely luck.

All the winners got to choose a prize and I got a bottle of wine. Adrian got some Christmas cards... so I think it's safe to say my prize was way better ;) Although, I do like Christmas cards... but anyway...

On Saturday, the Boxall's took us to the Apple Fayre, a festival that happens once a year and celebrates the greatest fruit on the planet..... apples. And no, it's not an Apple Fair, but an Apple Fayre. (Ok, they're the same thing, but fayre is a much cooler way to say fair.) I got a couple jars of jam, some apple cider, and of course some delicious apples. I got try try about 10 different types of apples. Needless to say, I was in heaven. Apple heaven. (Note: I love apples. I really love apples. My nickname way-back-when was "apple girl" if that tells you how much I love apples. I'm going to stop explaining how much I love apples now, because I feel weird. Moving on...) (Another note: The Boxall's are the best people in the world.)

(click here for more pictures)

Oh, yes... after the Apple Fayre, we went to a shop that sells homemade apple cider and jams and other delicious apple-y things. The shop also had a petting zoo, complete with donkeys, emus, chickens with hairy feet (see picture below), maras (also, see picture), geese, pigs and cockerels. You know, the usual petting zoo.

(I'll have one of each, please.)

Maras. So cute.

Tomorrow we have a sonata class with pianist Juliet Edwards. I'm playing the Martinu Sonata, but we're all playing different sonatas for this class. I'm looking forward to it, but I have some work to do on the Martinu today.... better get on that.

On that note, I'm going to finish this cup of (delicious) coffee (I'm definitely addicted to caffeine now), and get to practicing. Cheerio! :)

13 october

Now I understand. Now I know why I need to have a "thick skin" for this class.

This day has been less than good, and I'm just glad to be back at the dairy, relaxing for a little bit. First, on the walk to Trevor's (in the rain), my boot broke. So I had to walk about 2 kilometers with the sole of my boot flapping about, while my sock got more soaked with every step.

And class is getting more difficult by the day. I feel like I have 1,000 things to improve, and remembering all of them at once when I'm playing in class is impossible. I've been working really hard the past week and can tell I'm improving, but it doesn't seem to be enough. So I need to work even harder. Trevor's criticisms can be quite harsh, but I need to remember that his being so demanding will make me better.

Today, after we finished working on the Handel Sonatas, we talked about the different metals that makers use when building flutes. It's all very fascinating. We talked about all the different silvers (sterling, Britannia, American, German, Scandinavian), nickel silver (which really isn't silver but an allow of copper, zinc, and nickel - Louis Lott flutes were made of nickel silver), and different types of gold. Which metal is the "best"? There really is no answer. It's best to try flutes without knowing what they're made of, because oftentimes makers will develop fancy metals just to raise the price of a flute. Guileless buyers will gladly dish out the extra couple thousand dollars simply because the company convinced them that their metal was superior for this reason or that. And I have to admit that I'm just as guilty as the next person on this one.

(I just ate a pickled onion that Adrian put on the table. Not too sure what I think about it. I've eaten so many weird things since I've been here.)

Last night we had a belated welcome dinner party at Trevor's and Dot's. Trevor bought a bunch of fresh seafood (north sea prawns, regular prawns, lobster, clams, crab... jellied eel) at Hythe so we had quite a feast. About the jellied eel... I tried it. I didn't want to, but I did it. The eel was alright, but the jelly was just too much for me. The eels are boiled in a pot of water and when cooled, the water turns into a clear jelly. Oh, we also had pickled herring. After the eel, I just couldn't do the herring. But the prawns, lobster, crab patee, and clams were delicious! Mmm mm mmm! :P

After the seafood, we had Trevor's version of a salad. You take a large leaf of butter lettice, place a slightly smaller one inside of it, then sprinkle about a teaspoon of finely chopped walnuts into the lettuce cup. Then, drizzle just a little bit of walnut oil on the lettuce, roll it up, and stuff it all in your mouth. SO GOOD. I want one right now.

And after the walnut salad, we had a fruit salad with lychee, apples, mango, bananas, oranges, and a couple different liqueurs. SO GOOD, TOO. At this point, I was completely stuffed, but then Trevor opened up the liquor cabinet. We tried about 7 or 8 different liqueurs, but to Trevor's disappointment, we all only wanted to have small tastes instead of a whole drink. After all, we had class in the morning ;)

Apparently there is an apple orchard nearby that has two trees of every apple species in the world. I MUST GO THERE. Trevor and Dot have a tree in their backyard from the orchard called peasgood nonesuch. I just think that's a funny name.

Well, Adrian just finished cooking dinner (cannelonni!), so I better go. Bye!

Oh, here is a picture from dinner last night :)

So Yun, Me, Dot, Trevor, Ko Yu, Jhen Wei, and Kristin