You can't help wasting time on a sunday

I should be... practicing, doing music theory homework, and learning the words to all the swedish christmas songs!

I have been...doing laundry (at least I did that), eating, drinking tea, reading and watching a 60 minute interview with Barack Obama. I think he's a nice man.

Anyway, news is I bought a swiss cheese plant for my room, and called it Damien (Barber). Perks up my room. Some company.

Cath I've just been trying out the swiss throat sweets - tell helm: 'yes, they are nice.'

I'm gonna practice now, here's some pictures of outside my window from the other day:

Love Anna

XXX

p.s. oh and advent starts tomorrow! thanks for the calendar cath! i put it up but it fell down, i'll sort it out now!

Walk

I went on a walk today and fed the ducks the stale bread I found Rowan had left in the cupboard (thanks). I believe It was the coldest walk I've ever been on in my life.

Last night 4 of us did a concert at a cafe next to the garden centre type place. It was for some sort of private party with about 100 people sitting at tables and people giving speeches and prizes etc. Anyway, when they went to get food we played for about 50 mins (we were asked to do about 30). It was fun, and everybody said they enjoyed it, and when we came off stage we were told to tuck into the massive buffet. We had to sit on a separate table among the plants but free food, free beer, and then 500 kronors each which a man came over and gave us, who can complain!

Today, apart from my walk, I've been doing laundry, chilling out, reading, not practicing, and almost getting hit by trains. That was really quite scary.

Also, I found out just now (facebook) that Jonas Brandin (my teacher, and the best one in the world at that) has finally had his baby. This makes me a little sad as he won't be back to teach me for a long time. Maybe ever. :( Babies, who would have them. Today I don't like them, they seem to be everywhere.

Tomorrow is spelmanslag, and lots of practice. Perhaps swimming, I am in need of it, but that means I have to venture out into the snow (theres piles of it now)!

Love Anna

XXX

This is what it's like here at the moment

Outside my bedroom window:

Love Anna

XXX

up/down/up/down/up

is how i'm feeling lately! just about got over a bad chesty cough thing-it hurt to breath! And apart from that i've been entirely stressed out about alot of things to do with what i'm going to do with my life etc. It's a proper bummer that i'm english, the education system sucks and is ballsing my life up at the moment. Basically go to uni in september, or perhaps not get in ever again (because i will have forgotten stuff i did at a-level). If I don't go it means i basically wasted 2 years doing a-levels which were a living hell.

In sweden you can pretty much study anything, anytime. I feel like i'm forced to choose between music and a career or something. All I know is right now, I feel more free than I've ever felt and it's great to concentrate solely on the only thing I love doing. And I love being in Sweden. It just feels like I want to stay, therefore not go to university in england or scotland. But then comes money problems. I can't get funding for studying here unless, for example, I've officially lived here for 2 years, or I get married to someone here..
But I guess it still is an option. (studying I mean.)
And on top of that..things are still stressing me out, like concert tomorrow which 4 of us are doing, getting paid equivalent of around £50 EACH! For 30mins! In sweden they don't think that's alot...! But we just finished rehearsing for this evening and things look more positive. Then there's christmas concerts which are stressful now but they will probably be ok once we get into working on them.
One positive thing is I've been selected as 'Lucia' for the school christmas concert, which is like a saint and a really big thing in sweden. I have to have candles on my head and walk around with my hands in prayer. Wahoo! I've also decided to do more classical music here, so take some of those lessons too because I think it will be good for me. And I would like to.




So I'm gonna get an earlyish night, and go swimming tomorrow morning. (Not in the lake, obviously, it's frozen now)

Love Anna

XXX

p.s. I really wish I had some clogs.

In Recovery

Had an absolutely mad weekend back in Bollnäs, it was just a massive piss up the whole weekend for återvänderen fest, which means like reunion party (people from last year came back). On friday most people arrived and we all went to the Highlander for a session. Massivest session ever, all the folkmusik people came back. It was absolutely packed til about 2am. Then the next day there was fika and a kindof treasure hunt/games and then getting ready and then going to the big hall place for dinner and partying all night - i left at about 4am. So understandably I was a bit knackered. It was really fun though, but I hate days after parties, even when you don't feel particularly hungover you feel low. But we all had a chilled out pizza sunday afterwards and then me and Rowan watched Matilda and bastu'd (sauna) so it was ok really.

We took her to the station this morning and waved her off back to Newcastle, I wasn't that sad because I will see her in about 5 weeks at christmas! The rest of today I planned to do lots of classical practice but bumped into Emma Reid at lunch (bizarre) and found out her band was giving a concert and workshop all afternooon, so I went to that which was really good. I managed to practice anyway, in my room this evening, it's really good being able to practice in my new room! And I am proud that I managed to practice actually, because I really had no motivation. But thinking about it an hour a day (which I have been told I should do by my teacher) is not really much to ask. But I think I still have the blues slightly and am a bit achey, and now I find myself watching a programme about eating disorders! It's the only thing in English, oh dear! But I think my swedish is actually coming on, suprisingly today I found it easy to talk swedish most of the time. It is strange that some days I find it very hard. Usually I am good on mondays though. Tonight there was also no spelmanslag, which is annoying as I was looking forward to getting back into it, so I'll have to wait another week! Oh well.
I think I'll get an early night and finish this belgian chocolate that Oona left for me for letting her stay in my room, and hopefully I'll feel a bit better tomorrow.

Love Anna
XXX

Other than ucassing, I've been busy...

...teaching Notso how to polska...and reeeally wishing I had a name which, if i supposedly was to perhaps get married one day and get a double barreled name, would turn out as something highly amusing.
You know, Harriet Nob, Harry Head - Harriet Nob-Head kinda thing. Rheingans? How unfortunate. Anyway, made myself a couple of hats and a tortoise out of crochet also. Also paid a visit to school which was disturbingly pointless. Oh well!

love Anna

XXX

My classical exercises make me cry.

I've been back in England for quite a while now, almost 2 weeks and I havn't blogged at all though I've been meaning to. It feels like I never went to Sweden, very strange.

So before I left it was (early) halloween in Bollnäs, we had a big fancy dress party, and unlike me I actually made an effort for once, which paid off as I was the scariest! Got a bit too drunk though, and had to get up for a lesson at 9 with Jens Comen from Hoven Droven on friday. But I managed and it was good. Then I packed and gradually saw people leaving, and there were about 12 people left at dinner, which felt quite sad really, although I knew it was only for the holiday.

Then had an interesting journey home on saturday, well I often find long journeys interesting (things you see, people you meet). This journey was comprised of 3 trains, a bus, a plane, 3 more trains and a car journey. I got home at about 11pm to find mended drawers (thanks helm), and all my clothes piled up on my bed. The next day we went for a nice walk up padley gorge and a cream tea at the top which was nice.

The next day I caught the train up to newcastle to visit Rowan, Marit, Lucy and everyone else there. As soon as I got there I went to the sage for a coffee and listened to fiddle band (with Catriona Macdonald!) rehearsing. Saw Matty who was suitably shocked to see me in newcastle and then Rowan and Marit came and we went for a drink with Catriona afterwards. It was really nice to catch up after all these years. We then went to rapper practice at the Egypt Cottage where Lucy and Tom were and I hugged Lucy for about 15 minutes. The rest of the week was spent Bowling with Rowan's new university friends, scandinavian sessioning at the Cumberland Arms, going to the music student's weekly concert (with fidola), going to the university choir (free wine), sessioning at the egypt and occasionally watching Jeremy Kyle with Tom (he doesn't have a job yet), and neighbours! I've really missed that. Oh, I forgot we also had a secret garden themed party where people were supposed to dress up as all the characters and speak in quotes, but only Lucy put any effort into that.

On friday me, Rowan and Marit travelled to Sheffield for the folk festival where they were performing, and just about got there due to Rowan's reading incapability. Spent way too much time at doncaster train station - the worst place in the world - in the past week for my liking. Though you can get name numberplates from the shop there, Rowan got 'Ryan' and I looked for 'Brian' but they didn't have it. Apparently people in Doncaster aren't called 'Brian' anymore. Anyway, James finally arrived in grindleford at 11pm for the weekend, and we saw Jack on saturday, then went to Padley Bonfire which was cosy, and played some very very cold music. All the neighbours were impressed, as they are. Best weekend ever! But then James had to go on Sunday because of his course in Edinburgh, which is too far away, and also £60 to get to, which is why I won't be there this weekend. :( Then me and Rowan had some Rowan and Anna time, watching Little House on the Prairie. Then she went home.

Since then, I have mostly been doing ucas ucas ucas, trying to make some definitive decisions, occasionaly baking, going to the hairdressers with Cath and staying up all night watching the US election which was very exciting. I am currently considering Edinburgh (I've spent all morning looking through the prospectus which came through the door today, and suddenly it was 2pm and i still wasn't dressed). Though at the same time I feel very lazy and go out for a walk, but then the weather gets shitty. I suppose I should make an effort to see my school friends, but something is holding me back. I'm about to start crocheting some wrist warmers for my next door neighbour's birthday which was yesterday.

At the moment I want to do Neuroscience.

Love Anna

xxx

Wahoo!