I got here!

It's been a while since my last blog I know. Thats because things were moving so fast in August to get here. It took so long to prepare the boring things to do with moving, etc and also wrapping up my life and my freelance jobs in Sheffield. I had a leaving do which was great, but I really had a hard night the following night at my studio landlord's 40th birthday party. Great people. I hate goodbye. I had a bit of a cry.

But, moving on swiftly, I had a new fab haircut before I came away. If that counts for anything.

I came out with Dad and he stayed a week. He helped me to get things for my little prison cell here, like reading lamps, bedding, cutlery, crockery, ringbinders, toilet roll, iron & board, Levi 501s and a MacBook. After all that, I feel like I have everything to fit in. It was lovely to spend time with Dad and we had some great conversations. He got his head around why I was here and what I have come here to do, so mission accomplished. When we said goodbye, I had to dash off for my first two classes, so it felt very difficult. Saying goodbye to Dad is the hardest thing I have had to do. Really hard. But he's proud of me.



The other big goodbye was to the Husband. That was hard, in a different way, and the missing him comes in waves. Its just a feeling of wishing I could talk to him at the end of the day and get an at least weekly hug. I've spent some time talking to him on Skype, but it took a while to set up and I wasn't in contact for a bit. That was a bit bad.

Anyhoo... I bet start to talk about what its like here. I've just got back from a reception evening held by the MFA2 Art Program people and had a few beers, so I'm feeling verbose.



My room is a prison cell, but I mentioned that. I have 5 suite mates, there's 3 girls and 3 boys here. I've recently found out that 3 of them are pot-heads, and that is so not my thing. One girl is really friendly, an actor, she's an extrovert, very outgoing and bubbly. Thats not usually my bag, but she is fun and she does seem to have an on/off switch which is useful. When I pass her in the corridor she usually says something funny to me, and I answer her, then I hear her explain, as I waltz off, 'She's from England and she's my suite-mate'. Which makes me laugh.

On being English, yep, its a big hit. Its odd to be so exotic. But not unique. I have a dancer friend here for a term on the Dance MFA. And I heard a boy today, who is from Manchester, he is doing a film or something like that, but undergrad. He was a puppy. Immature shall we say. Legend has it of 2 other English people. Me and dancer-girl were considering setting up an English people's Tea Drinking Society.

On dancing: unfortunately, I was not able to get on the class for non-Dance students, 'Institute Dance' as it clashes with other things, so I got offered yoga, which I am taking with the sylph-like Dance students. Kinda odd. I seriously want to just do some ballet, even just bar work, and there are 3 different levels doing class 3 times a week each, you'd think someone would let me, but yet to find Faculty to discuss.



The classes I'm taking, I better tell you about them. The requirement is 15 credits, I'm doing 19. Yep, that means alotta reading. You can pick up classes from all over, which I sort of have. They are:
- After Archive with David Bunn, looking at how and why artists employ archiving techniques in their practice;
- Image & Text with Kaucila Brooke, which is a bit of a myth busting discussion class, on putting text into your work;
- Grad Crit class with Kaucila Brooke, where 2 people present their work per week, but then the following week they start the session off by disscussing how the crit went for them;
- Yoga;
- Freud & Lacan with Lesley Dick, a very cool woman who was educated in Britain and lived there for a long time, although and American, so that gives me a bit of heart;
- Arts Pedagogy with Betty Lee, which gives some discussion and context on teaching, particularly in the community;
- Globalisation with Allan Sekula, this class will be looking at Documenta and Istanbul. The 2nd years have gone on a trip there now so the class has not started yet, so not much to say at this point.

I also have 2 independent study contracts too, which I had to write a proposal for.

My class are composed of 8 girls and 2 boys, but everyone is really nice (first impressions) (but my first impressions are usually pretty accurate).

Phew! I think thats enough to report at this stage!