Maybe I should just get myself a trumpet and do jazz.

Another day starts out well..

..and turns into poo. I think the combination of having a really bad cold, 2 violin lessons (classical/folk) in one morning, lots of boring classical practice with no breaks, then class lessons in the same room for about 3 hours, ensemble, food then more class lessons didn't turn out too well. I want to leave again. But I am going home in 2 days so that's a good thing. My teacher is arranging for me to visit malung to see what the course is like there, which could perhaps also be another option for me, who knows.

But yeah, I feel like the class lessons wasted alot of my time to practice etc today, as I feel frequently, it's very frustrating. But it's also frustrating that more often than not ensemble practice leaves me feeling shit and stopping me from practicing in my free time later. Basically ruins my day a little, like now I don't feel like doing anything, even laundry which I need to do. Jonas talked to me for ages (trying to make me feel better, worse, I don't actually know) about what's going wrong, but I didn't take much in i don't think, he's very cryptic, you would think that's impossible when speaking the simplest English. Regardless, felt shit anyway.

I'm getting increasingly sick of these bouts of lowness, and am starting to wonder if there is actually anything that will help, like moving courses etc. I'm starting to think it isn't because of where I am or what I am doing at all. That really sucks. This all sucks quite badly. What else sucks is that wednesday is party night in Bollnäs. I was actually going to have one, like a moving in party, but that's not going to happen now. I bet people will show up though, being how they are here.

So anyway there are literally concerts all the time, yesterday our choir had a lunchtime concert to some randomers, which was quite bad on my part because of my cold, my voice was wobbly like jelly, but also just generally coming in at the wrong places and singing wrong things because I should have been in bed really, I just like singing in choir it's fun. And last night was ok, I felt a bit better so went to the jazz club, was impressed by the main band but even more by the Bollnäs folkhögskola jazz pupils that played first.

Maybe I should just get myself a trumpet and do jazz.
Love Anna
xxx

p.s. reading back on this, maybe singer/songwriter would be more my scene.

Suprising Saturdays!

I woke up at like 1.30 today, feeling awfully snuskig (rough/gross) and my throat has been killing me all day, thanks to last night. But that was really a good night. So I wasn't sure what to do today, but I ended up going to Lisa's (which is the room i just moved out of, and she moved into) and making a zipwire from the kitchen window to her window because they are adjacent to each other. This was a genius plan well it was Anders' genius plan really, but he left and we decided to do it. It took us like an hour of me standing outside trying to throw a roll of selotape attached to wool up into the windows. But eventually, with some help from some boys, we did it, and it worked. We shall make some improvements on it at a later date (probably tomorrow as it's a sunday). So that was tremendously fun, and now i'm in my cosy cosy room waiting for people to come round and play some music maybe. Then we are going to cook dinner. Yum! I havn't eaten since breakfast actually, i've just noticed i was too busy.

Anyway, the reason I have moved rooms is basically because the guy in the room next door to me was kind of creepy, and wouldn't leave me alone. I could have perhaps put up with it, but Lisa was being forced out of her double room, as a couple sharing a single room needed it. This was slightly unfair I think but anyway I offered to move to house 11, which has less people in it that 5. That is the only downside as this room is so much better: it has internet, it is much bigger, has a telly and hairdryer (not that I am really bothered) and a sofa which folds into an extra bed. I will still hang out in 5 though I think, because I will miss the kitchen gang, and I am one of them anyway so it won't be weird, and it's only a few metres away...

So anyway lina and lisa are here now so I will leave you with some pictures, and I hope James is ok, apparently he is very hungover.

Love Anna
XXX

woah

WHAT a day i just had, it's now 1.30am and i just got back from serious sessioning at the highlander pub (half scottish/half turkish), serious fun had. There was like 5 of us playing, but the whole school came practically. But i am so so so so sooo tired now, after moving rooms today, which was very spontaneous, but a good idea as i have internet in my room now, obviously amongst many other good things. Anyway, i just can not wait to get into my new bed now and sleeep! Shall tell more about it in the morning. Night! Oh and it is so typically beautiful here right now, with a full moon shining on the lake etc blah blah, but it's hard to appreciate it, it just looks like a postcard!

Love Anna
XXX

Concerts and goings on...

It's concert central round here, last night we (literally, there were 3 stages set up in the same big hall and we had to move from one to the other) concert hopped from bertil's magnificent saxohphone solo Joel's beautiful songs, to weird and unexpected (and very loud) suprise jazz. So that was really nice, then massive parties of course as it's wednesday night...and some other weird goings on.
Tonight I performed in a big concert in the church with the spelmanslag and a choir, but I wasn't expecting the whole shabang of eating little paper things/jesus' body and drinking holy wine/blood....but I should have known. I am really not good at those moments of silence and prayers (in swedish),and trying so hard not to laugh or something, and hymns in swedish, though that was slightly better, I could see the words written down. At one point I even got in the way when the priest was trying to get through...when we got off stage it was relieving.
Anyway, now I am in my friend Lina's room, with Elsa and Jonas, they are playing music. Lina has started playing the fiddle this summer and she is stupidly good at it, like seriously it's hard to believe! I give her lessons on sundays sometimes. Maybe we'll toast some marshmallows later...
My brain is a bit like a marshmallow after today, I learned 5 new difficult tunes from a guy called Haidy(?) who came to teach instead of Jonas who was ill (he is always ill). I was a bit dissapointed (besviken, word of today) that Jonas wouldn't come because last week we talked about loads of stuff and I don't want to wait another week to find out if he's managed to sort anything out. But maybe I will just ring/email him or something. And i'm coming home next saturday! I really se fram emot det, look forward to it.

God Natt!
Love Anna
xxx

Yaay

Home here I come...I finally managed to buy my flight home on the 25th of october with ryanair, who is a bastard, but was ok in the end. I have not yet booked a return flight as I am not sure about that right now...
I also talked to Jonas finally about all the things that have been bothering me the entire time i've been here, and it took up most of our hour lesson but it was worth it and I feel so much better now.
In the meantime, me and Martin from classical just went on youtube for about an hour and a half and fell in love with this man, who has given us several ideas about what we could do with stuff in the fridge:



he is insane




Love Anna
XXX

gahhh

i got the dates of our october break really wrong, so i have to start all over again. and i just practiced alot and my fingers feel like they are about to fall off. hopefully not before big rehearsal in the church tonight.
also i can't decide whether to go to linköping festival this weekend, it is like 6 hours drive away, i don't know if i can be arsed and it's quite expensive too. but it would be alot of fun...and me and a friend ended up not going to rättvik to visit my friend tobias this weekend. not that that has anything to do with that. anyway i got a really nice postcard from my parents in italy/switzerland/germany the other day. and i made the best curry ever last night. and i am going to knit a sock. one day. i'm just going to look for some flights first. ooh and i'm talking only swedish now, unless i need 1 or 2 words now and then. but it's really good.

love Anna

xxx

So just for updates (cath) it's been a good week/weekend really, practiced alot, had nice times, went swimming, went to a really nice concert last night in a venue which is like a very big version of someones house, very cosy, bit expensive and miles to walk but was worth it. The weeks here disappear so fast now I've got used to everything, and I almost forget everything that has happened.
Tomorrow the spelmanslag is in a different place, I think we're rehearsing for some concert perhaps? But I don't know where it is yet..I borrowed a bike of my friend to cycle there last monday because i was running late, but it was a bit big and I almost fell off several times which was embarrassing, so I might try and borrow one off a shorter friend tomorrow.
Today I have started (only just, because I accidentally watched swedish idol, which is awful, with everyone in the living room for ages) arranging my trip home in about 2 weeks, which is exciting. I only hope I will get to see everyone I would like to...
My future plans so far are to learn how to knit a sock, and maybe start applying for something at a university somewhere for next year. But I wonder for how long I can put off the latter...
Now I am going to practice for a bit, then maybe cook some dinner.

Love Anna

xxx