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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Dancing Queen



I had several fun nights out this week, which is not the usual for me, but it definitely made for a nice change.

On Tuesday I went to the end of term meal for the Catholic Society at the Cรดte Brasserie. It was a lot of fun and the food was quite good, particularly the desert. It was, however, the first time I really noticed a difference in the way that Americans socialize versus the British. There were three Americans (myself, Maddy, and Malorie) seated next to each other and, when we reached the time period after the meal where everyone just talked, we got very enthusiastic in our conversation. I hadn't realized that this might not be the case everywhere, that people didn't always get loud and energetic in the middle of normal conversation when they started to get really into the topic (or even sometimes when they're not). I mean I knew intellectually that Americans do tend towards being louder when speaking than most others, but it was a little different to actually notice it. Also, it felt a bit like the difference was not so much in volume, but in temperament. I think perhaps we Americans just tend to be more likely to get really into a conversation and suddenly become very outgoing. Regardless I had a great time talking with everyone else as well, and I would definitely be interested in hearing other perspectives on the cultural gaps they've experienced.



On Friday I attended the A Cappella Awards Ball, for the Exeter A Capella Society (of which Take Note is a member). I spent a couple of hours getting ready, I put on make up for only the second time since I have been in Exeter, and took quite a few dorky photos of myself in the process (very few of which I am willing to ever let anyone else see, I still have at least that much dignity left). 

I had an amazing time though! The food was really good, again especially the desert (I'm noticing a trend here), and so was the company. One of the members of Take Note, Elsa-May, was recognized for her great work as a represetative for the group. After dinner and the awards we got down to the best part, the dancing! First there was a live band, Bridges, that was pretty enjoyable (even if I couldn't always understand what they were singing) and then we listened to a playlist of songs. I danced basically until I dropped, and literally until the event was over and we were told we had to leave. The walk home was basically torture, I was so hot from the dancing that I didn't wear my coat or my shawl the entire way back, and when I arrived at the Printworks I still had to take down my hair and remove my make up (I found a record, for me at least, twenty hairpins in my hair, although it felt like at least fifty).

Today Take Note had a performance at the Firehouse, and I think we sounded pretty great, especially considering the fact that we could hardly hear each other over the people in the crowd. Afterwards I finally got to try the Firehouse pizza, which I have been told several times is amazing, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. It was also really nice to get to know some the other girls in Take Note better, since there hasn't been a lot of time to socialize during practices. We talked about books we enjoyed (such as the Clockwork Orange), as well as crime dramas and movies (Bones, Luther, Minority Report) and bad babysitting experiences (apparently Robyn had a kid who tried to attack her with a knife...and another set who were creepily obedient and didn't talk).

I can't believe that it's already the last week of classes, and actually this Tuesday is the day we register for next semester's classes at home, it definitely doesn't feel as though I have been here that long. In only a little more than a week I'll be in Italy, and in fact I'll be on the go almost all of the next month. Can't wait for all the amazing stories!





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