Chile: Well where did that time go, eh?

Two week ago since I left the UK- what!! I can't believe it...I'm borderline cross that this time has gone so quickly.

It seems like only yesterday I was biting my top lip in nervous anticipation of meeting my peer group, flying to Santiago and meeting my host family. Time flies- whoose. Or as I would say now (what with me being perfectly fluent in Spanish...) rrrrapido!

I've been keeping my instagram followers in no short supply of graffiti+stray dogs+sky pictures/timelapses. But for those of you who don't have instagram, here's some of my favourites from this last two weeks:

Tranquility // #Valparaiso bay #greenwichinchile

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 22, 2015 at 6:16pm PDT

#Valparaiso #greenwichinchile #geometric #graffiti 😍

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 22, 2015 at 6:22pm PDT

A very overcast day in vina del mar, but lovely company in @thatamericankid & @lagomsvensk

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 25, 2015 at 3:35pm PDT

Pooches everywhere #greenwichinchile #chile #santamaria #stray #dogs 

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 28, 2015 at 9:34am PDT

☁️☁️☁️ #chile #timelapse #clouds

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 29, 2015 at 10:28am PDT

I love that timelapse of Santa Maria university! Shout out to Emily for letting my rest my silly little phone against her fancy tripod. Oh! While we're at it, you really should check out Emily's blog (link here)- Emily is a photographer and budding videographer. Here's one of her videos, which stars mainly me. (Not really, but I am in it a bit, playing with dogs of course.)



Next I look to planning and finalising my trip south. I plan to visit Puerto Montt and Torres de Paine national Park, and if there is time- Punta Arenas, which I think is part of Antarctica, or shares the same climate and wildlife of there at least. Of course before I do all that- I'm going to the Andes with new pals- Rebecca, James and Anna. Dios mios!

It's the last day of university tomorrow...I dont know what to expect...but I do know there is a celebratory meal with the whole group tomorrow evening, including our Spanish teachers I believe! Looking forward to that. Anyway, buenos noches mi amigos! Take care

Chao!

Day.... in Chile (i give up with daily blogging)

Oh dear, I've been remiss haven't i?

Well, you missed a few days. I've had a cold, which I think I probably got from a sniffling Argentinian on the Amsterdam- Buenos Aires flight.....

Chile is gorgeous. The people are very kind, and really quite short on average. Learning Spanish is hard, but we're all progressing I think.

I'm going to give you a snapshot of a uni day.

In the mornings, I wake up around 07:00, lie there for 15 minutes, then I shower, dry off and put my (at first loathed) 'CHILE 2015' fleece on and have breakfast with my host mum and dad- Jaime (pronounced 'Hai-mer') and Claudia. Breakfast is usually bread with various spreads. I then get dressed and walk across the street to the bus stop...

Catching a bus in Chile is an unstructured art. In the early morning light you squint as hard as you can at the approaching buses, trying to read one of the twenty million little hanging signs in the windscreen which state varying destinations. You spot the sign you are looking for and so thrust your arm into the air, and hope that it wasnt too late...at this point the bus either stops or doesnt (in which case you squint again). You are now stepping onto the bus... oh!! what's that? the bus is moving despite one of your feet still being on the pavement? Well- welcome to Chile, mi amigo. As you hold onto the bus- shocked that the door is still open and the bus is going at 40mph now- you are presented with a probably grumpy Chilean bus driver with whom you now have to attempt simple Spanish phrases which will enable you to pay him and get a ticket.  Done all that? Go on then, sit down, you've earned it.

The university, Technical University Federico Santa María, is up a million steps- which at first felt pretty awful but after a couple of days weren't so bad. The days are split into two: in the morning we have Grammar + Vocab with Mariana, and in the afternoon we experience Conversation + Culture class with Felipe. Mariana is good natured, sweet tempered and patient, teaching us the bare bones of Spanish as we blink at her with our bleary morning eyes. Felipe is also patient, but a little bit more physical in his approach... tables are slapped, voices are raised, and his Chileno eyebrows rise a little as he listens to us stumble through common Spanish exchanges. Both teachers are kind, competent and are educating us thoroughly in their respective areas- if through very different teaching methods. My only critique of these lessons would be that due to Chile's predominantly (but not always, crucially)  hot climate,  the university does not have any heating facility, and the architecture of the building dictates that the distinction between indoor/outdoor is pretty fluid- I suppose this would be good in summer, when you would want lots of fresh air and ventilation.... However, in July/Aug (winter for southern hemisphere, remember) this means it's ruddy freezing indoors, distractingly so. Again, shout out to the Greenwich fleeces.

At lunch/break time, all twenty-odd of us ascend to the roof top, where we get cups of tea and natter to the backdrop of a spectacular panorama of Valparaíso. It's a nice time of day and I look forward to next week where we have a three and a half hour break for lunch, we're planning to pop into Valpo for lunch.

Anyway, I'm tired now and we're going sandboarding in the morning so.... Buenos noches.

Day 2 of Chile

Ok, so first I will round off Day 1. On Sunday, my Chilean family had a party to celebrate Tomas's 13th birthday- it was so fun and lovely to have all these aunties, uncles and cousins descend upon the house. I was quickly pulled into the kitchen to sit with the girls of the family- they couldn't believe how 'simpatico' (nice, friendly) I am. Apparently most foreign students are shy and don't talk to the families when they stay, which is a shame. The whole point is to muddle through the language barrier and communicate, through shared jokes, or asking where the loo is.

At the party they fed me and fed me and gave me so much Chilean wine. At one point, one of my adopted Aunties came out with a tray of steaming mugs, I took one and to my surprise it was lovely mulled wine- sweet and orangey. I said we drink this at Navidad (Christmas) in the UK and between us we worked out it must be a cold weather drink, as it is winter here in the southern hemisphere. It's funny how many common food and drinks you can find across the world. Por ejemplo (for example), here in Chile, and in a lot of Spanish speaking countries, empanandas are the go-to lunch/snack. They are pastry parcels filled with cheese, or meat and potato, or whatever... my point is that they are pretty identical to the Cornish or Devonshire Pasty (which isnt far off the Indian Samosa). People are people wherever, and putting things in pastry not only is delicious but also keeps the content fresh, so it makes sense that places across the world would come up with similar snacks. The same for hot wine in winter- it makes sense! 

SO, anyway. Yesterday (Monday 20th July), was our First Day.

The morning consisted of orientation, a quick tour of the glorious university campus and a short conversation in Spanish to identify which classes we should attend. In the afternoon we attended our first conversation and culture class, which was exciting and odd- the tutor told us to learn like babies, through necessity- not through study. I like his approach, but I may study a little--- the verbs in Spanish take some getting used to and aren't the kind of thing you inherently know.

This university is so gorgeous #greenwichinchile

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 20, 2015 at 9:25am PDT

Universidad Tecnica Federico es sensacional! #greenwichinchile

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 21, 2015 at 4:00am PDT

As you can see, the uni is pretty spectacular- I cant wait to study there daily. In fact, it's 08:03 and I need to get going. I'll catch you up on the first full day of classes later. Chau!

A Chilean Adventure, Day 1

Well, it is Day 1 (Sunday 19th July) of this trip of mine and I'm feeling good. I slept a solid 15 hours last night, going to bed at 5pm and waking this morning to my host-mum, Claudia, boiling a kettle and asking is a would like tea (of course I would).

The journey here was long, I won't lie. The short plane journey to Amsterdam plus 4 hour wait there felt counterproductive as we were flying further away from our final destination, but hey! that's international flights for you. P.s Amsterdam airport is expensive: £6 for mints, a bottle of water and popcorn. The really long part (the fifteen-maybe more) hour flight to Buenos Aires (brief kiss with Argentinian soil) was killer- I barely slept and the nose end of the plane felt very hot to me. I watched rubbish blockbuster-y films and willed the plane go faster. Then a short 1hr45min flight to Santiago Chile, which was a breeze. We arrived in Santiago, and what a relief! Our bags made it with us, despite all the touchdowns, refuels and transfers. Santiago-an air is crisp and fresh, especially after 24+ hours of recycled plane air.  Many, many terribly jokes about Chile being chilly were made as we walked to our transfer bus, and many many more will be made throughout the trip I am sure.

This is the view from my room in my host family's home. Chile is... Beautiful and bit cold at night so far #greenwichinchile

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on Jul 19, 2015 at 8:02am PDT

I am currently sat in my bedroom at my host family's home in Vina del Mar. I have a big window and ensuite, which is just ideal for me. It is my Chilean little brother's thirteenth birthday today so family is coming over shortly for lunch. My home has a lovely balcony and is several stories up so I have a wonderful view of the town. There is a funicular at one end of my street and the main road (which all bus routes travel) at the other. I am very happy with my family and home. Later we (the group of Greenwich students in Chile) are meeting at a hotel to check in with our point-of-contact, Roberto at his hotel on the beach.

I best be off now, but please feel free to follow me on Instagram at: https://instagram.com/fifinicholls/, where I'll be posting using the trip's hashtag, #GreenwichInChile

Chau!

International Women's Day at the BBC

 

On International Women's Day (08.03.15) I snagged myself, and my gorgeous friend Amy, tickets for BBC Radio 3's Coffee Concert. The music was beautiful, all composed and performed by women. Female composers, I learnt, have been long been atrociously treated by the Classical Music World, largely forgotten, suppressed and underexposed. 

My personal highlight from the concert was a piece by Caroline Shaw called 'Limestone and Felt' for cello and viola. I am one thousand percent ignorant about classical music, limited to my Ludovico Einaudi spotify playlist for studying, but 'Limestone and Felt' was really very different from that. A piece inspire by contrast, as indicated by the name, it was a joy to watch the two musicians make eye contact as the piece became less conventional and increasingly intricate, strange and beautiful. 

Check out this short video that I tweeted on the day: 

Great little moment from @OdalineMartinez (founder of @LontanoEnsemble) from today's concert @BBCRadio3 #WomensDay pic.twitter.com/RbnCtng6aJ
— Fiona Nicholls (@fifinicholls) March 8, 2015

It was a lovely concert, though there was a very definite lack of coffee...

I think it's great that BBC 3 took the opportunity that International Women's Day presents to celebrate and showcase female composers, though it is sad that an event such as this is needed... it seems that every other day is dedicated to the work of male composers. I hope that the BBC Radio 3's listeners enjoyed listening to the performance and start insisting upon hearing more women composers' work. 

----

After the event, Amy and I grabbed lunch at the nearest Wagamamas, in Soho. We sat with our green tea (which is free!) for hours, reading lines for Amy's upcoming role in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and just having a proper chinwag. As we left, we both noticed the most wonderfully lit little nook in the wall of the restaurant. Luckily I had my camera with me and I am so, so pleased to have caught this lighting on film. So lovely. 

THIRD YEAR (aka. crying in the library)

THIRD YEAR of UNIVERSITY

third YEAR of UNI versity

thir year OF uni

turd yer of universatYYY

fird yah og booniburtitty

The above is a semantic illustration of what has happened to my brain box from September 2014, to the present, March 2015. *

People keep saying I'm on the home straight. So for the moment, I'm going to pretend that all that matters is finishing this degree, whilst ignoring the inconceivable and terrifying cliff edge that I then have to face once I've done all the essays, presentations, portfolios, extended essays and exams. Cue teeth grinding and night terrors. 

Through this degree I have discovered the tactical side of my personality. Each year I've come up with some sort of document which helps my visualise an end point and what I have to do to get there.

I recently went through the notebook that I kept during first year and I came across a really funny version of one of these game plan type things. In this one apparently I was worrying about exams, and hypothesising what would happen if i were to...say....not turn up to any exams?

(I went to all my exams for the record, even earn a first in one of them!)

This year I've upped the tactical board to A3 size:

Here you can see my ambitious intentions to earn a first overall for my degree. 

If you're around my age, 23, then you'll remember the incessant attempts of teachers trying to nail you down as a 'visual learner', or an 'audio learner', or 'kinaesthetic learner' during primary and secondary school. I remember finding it very frustrating being instructed to always "make a mind map" at the beginning of every project. But here I am... making a mind map.

Sometimes I find images helpful, though I think in this case it was more the process of working everything out, and writing it down that made me feel calmer about the whole thing, rather than looking at the image after it was done.

If you are studying and get baffled about how you are doing, and what you need to do in order get an outcome that you are happy with. I recommend making a chart like this. 

The website I use is so simple, and for that reason it's perfect. You have total control over all the inputs and so can come up with lots of hypotheticals. For example I discovered the other day that even if I get a lower grade than I want for my dissertation (which I really should start soon**), I should still come out with a 2:1. 

Here's a link to the grade calculator site I use, I'm sure there are others but I have used this since day one of my degree. 

http://www.benegg.net/grade_calculator.html

Ben Eggleston, I love you and I love typing "ben egg" into my browser bar. 

Seriously, give it a go. It might make you feel less like crying and more like the empowered autonomous babe that you are. 

*It took three attempts to type 2015, rather than 2014.... further illustrating my point that I AM SO DONE

**had to take a crying break 

Oh... you're still here. That's good

This is no time to redirect my energy back into this blog. Anyway here I am. Hello.

It's my third year of university, which is hard...
I've done some interesting things lately. I didn't stop doing interesting things, I just forgot that I had a blog, I think. So, I am here, and if you are there too, you can take a look at some things that I've been up to. How does that sound eh?