I Could See For Miles

It's been 5 days since I last blogged - doesn't seem like long but so much has been happening that Saturday feels like forever ago.

Sunday I woke up and went right into school - spending a long time on the internet just being social with people at home rather than getting my work done. I eventually DID get my work done and went home around 4. I went down one floor to Meg's apartment and we had breakfast for dinner (including BACON!) and did some arts and crafts. Meg's the new art teacher - she was a great host.

Preface: If you're not interested in orchestra grades 2-12, this might not be the most entertaining post.

Monday: School day No. 2. I had grade 5 for the first time. Most of these students had been playing in orchestra last year, but I had 3 new students who had not played in orchestra at my school last year (including my ONLY violist grades 2-12). Because it was our first class time together, we just did the usual (locker assignments, syllabi, get to know you time, etc). I also saw my second section of grades 6-8 orchestra on Monday - same drill. This group of 6-8th grade has two cellos! My other section as only violins, so a little diversity in instrumentation is exciting! I heard my high school group for the first time (the first day we didn't play), and I was seriously impressed. I chose an arrangement of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Minor that was programmed last year. They did pretty well but mentioned that their orchestra teacher last year didn't have them perform this because they weren't good enough at it - a last minute cancellation, because it was in the programs the previous orchestra teacher sent me... anyway - good playing.

That night I decided to put my big girl pants on and go exploring on my own. I didn't go far - I wanted to get a little more of an understanding of my neighborhood. I went to the 1st floor and basement floors of my apartment building which is more like a shopping center. I found a yoga studio, virtual golfing, lots of food, tons of sparkly things for sale, and clothing. When I came out of the building Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch" was playing outside of the cell phone store. That was a shocker. I moved on, crossing the park towards the apartment building where a lot of my coworkers live. I went into "the pink building" and decided to go up and see what was around. I found a lot of furniture and bedding, but what I was looking for was FOOD! I was hungry! After going up three floors, I found what I thought would be a great idea. Turns out its a really ritzy buffet - the school takes us there for holidays usually (I found out later). It's an international chain called Todai (go ahead and google it). Didn't really intend to pay 35 dollars for dinner but WHATEVER. YOLO. It was my mom's birthday back home, so I told myself I celebrated it without her? Cause that made me feel better about going to a place where people normally would stare at you for being alone, and then add on that I'm the only foreigner. I had a hard time not laughing at myself for getting into that situation.

Tuesday: School Day No. 3
I (re)arranged a fiddle tune for my grade 6-8 group - turned out being way too easy for them. Woops! I saw my second grade group for the first time on Tuesday and man was that an eye opener! I was surprised at their behavior - I think they get away with more because they're such small classes. The entire second grade at my school is 8 students. They can blurt out much more easily because their actions only affect 7 other kids instead of 20. Anyway - these little ones are SUPER excited about playing violin. And they're SUPER cute to boot. We're gonna have some fun... once they show me their musicianship skills and improve their behavior. :) The high school ensemble finished up reading Bach and we moved on to a piece arranged by one of my college professors (La Sortija). I was jacked about it - the kids thought it was fun, but too easy for them. Until our playing test on Monday, I told them we're just gonna sight read so I can learn more about my school's library and they get good practice! Anyway, I'm excited about that piece for middle schoolers.

Tuesday after school, I asked Sharon to go with me to a yoga studio for a class. We got there and it turns out you can't just go to one class - you're required to buy a 3 or 6 month membership (about $420). I was not prepared to drop that... so we went over to a previously organized "ladies night". I picked up mandu on the way and ate almost allllll of it. So yummy - I tried gogi AND kimchi mandu.

Wednesday: School Day No 4.
I feel like such a weirdo recounting every school day to you - but I've been taking notes so I can at least have a shred of memory next year when I do this all over again. I think the most notable thing that happened in school on Wednesday was that my middle schoolers played an arrangement of The Great Gate Of Kiev. They weren't so into it, and I didn't LOVE the arrangement, but it was fun to realize that my job - my life - my future - will be centered on classical music that I LOVE! I went out for some coffee during one of my free periods and ended up getting what was essentially an oreo milkshake. It was a nice break in the day - got some great sunshine and my sugar fix :) That day, we continued on La Sortija, working on counting some of the more challenging rhythms. It came together well right at the end of class, conveniently as I was being observed by one of my administrators.

After school Meg, Meg (yes there are two!), Becky and I headed off to start our weekly "subway roulette". We chose a subway line in advance, so it would be easy to get home, but once we got on we just waited until we felt like it and got off the subway. We ended up by Korea University (which looks like Hogwarts?), and had a great time. We had sashimi, and by "we" I meant they. I've been dipping my toe into the world that is consuming sea food... but I haven't gotten to the point where I'm comfortable just eating a slice of raw fish. Maybe throw in some rice and I'm good! Sooooo we found a coffee shop afterwards that sold "honey bread" and had alcohol AND SWINGS! We made our way home and I fell asleep super quick.

Thursday: School Day No. 5
Today has been the first day I felt like I get it; like I'm actually a teacher and not someone managing many crises. I'm starting to sort out students' ability levels and get an idea for what I should have ordered for ensembles to be playing (woops!). We worked on Newbold's "Iditarod". I'm just gonna keep being a nerd and tell you that that piece rocks. I'm really excited about it. It's too easy for some of my students, but I think that's alright. I have some stellar players, and I also have a couple kids who are coming back to the violin after not playing for a couple years. It's a challenge to balance those needs within one ensemble.

Tonight I'm going home to clean up my apartment, cause it's a giant mess, and cook dinner for Jen and I. Get excited.

As I write this, its after school on Thursday which pretty much means ITS FRIDAY!