She's Coming Soon!

Greetings dear readers!

 As the title suggests, a certain somebody is going to be arriving in London in a matter of days now. That somebody is of course my girlfriend Vanessa, who will be flying out of Melbourne on Wednesday and arriving at Heathrow on Thursday. I will be taking the day off work to meet her upon arrival, escort her to her hotel and then take her sightseeing. Thankfully, working out a sightseeing itinerary for London didn't take me very long, and I look forward to showing Vanessa around.

Barcelona trip review 

 This time last week I was walking around Barcelona with my local friend Txell, who I met when I was doing my intensive French course in Lyon last year. Much like my Roman holiday, I had a fabulous time in Barcelona: the scenery was stunning, the weather was amazing, the food was splendid, and I made some new friends. The highlights of my trip included: 

• A personal guided tour of the El Born neighbourhood with Alberto, during which I purchased a companion for Mimi - a toy duck whom I named Jordi (see picture above).
• Seeing the amazing and artistic architecture of places like the Palau de la Música Catalana and Gaudí's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia. 
• Seeing Barcelona beat Getafe 6-0 at the Camp Nou. Barça did not field a full-strength team because they were due to face Arsenal in the Champions League later in the week, but even so, over 87,000 people turned up for the game.   
• Catching up with Txell, doing more sightseeing with her and enjoying a proper tapas lunch, the mussels in particular will stay long in the memory.   

A new school

 After arriving back from Barcelona, I started at a new school, Queen Elizabeth Girls School in Barnet. Although I said last time after my Acton High experience that I would probably not teach anywhere longer than a week, I have changed my mind after my time so far at QEGS. 
 Like at Acton High, I am teaching French and Spanish, but this time covering for a teacher who is on maternity leave. The headteacher (the British equivalent of the principal in Australia) sat in on one of my classes on my first day at the school and afterwards she offered me the cover position for the remainder of the school year. At the time, I said I would think about it, but now, having thought things through, I would be a fool to turn down the offer.

Choir stuff 

 Just over two weeks ago, the London Philharmonic Choir were involved in their first concert for this year at the Royal Festival Hall. The piece we were performing, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was Karol Szymanowski's Polish setting of the Stabat Mater, as part of a concert celebrating the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland. 
 The music, although quite strange sounding at first, gradually grew on us I think and thankfully we had the assistance of two wonderful "language coaches" - Natalya and Susannah - to help us get our mouths around the Polish text. It wasn't surprising therefore that a significant number of the Polish community in London turned up for the concert, and apparently even the Vice-President of Poland was in the audience!
 Our next concert is on April 9 at the same venue, and we will be performing a piece that is very dear to my heart, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem.

Blessed Palm Sunday!

Jesus enters Jerusalem by Giotto

 For Christians, today is of course Palm Sunday, a day which marks a key point in the Easter period. For those of you unaware, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem to public adulation, which would later turn to scorn at his crucifixion when he didn't arrive as the liberator they expected. This event is deemed an important enough in Jesus' life and ministry to be mentioned in all four Gospels (Matthew ch. 21, Mark ch. 11, Luke ch. 19 and John ch. 12). The "Triumphal Entry" as the event is also known, documents how Jesus, starting at the Mount of Olives, made his way down to Jerusalem on a donkey which had never been ridden. 
 There is much symbolism in this action as well as fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 9:9). The next time Jesus descends from the Mount of Olives and comes to Jerusalem, it will not be in peace (which is what the donkey symbolized) but a white horse, to slay his enemies and judge righteously. While I look forward to Christ's Second Coming, it is also a humbling reminder to pray for those of my friends who do not yet know Christ, that they will recognize him and submit to his lordship before it's too late.  

 Cheers and God bless!

March madness!

Greetings, dear friends!
  There is much to share, so I'm getting straight to it. Today happens to be Mother's Day in the UK, which is a bit different because in Australia of course we celebrate it in May. However, it is a poignant reminder of home; I do miss my mum, and I am grateful whenever she skypes me to ask how I'm going. It's good to know that I won't have long to go before I see her again. More on that later.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

  My last post as you may remember was written while I was on mid-term holiday in Rome. Overall, barring a few dodgy incidents, it was the perfect Roman holiday. The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious as expected, the views were stunning, and I even made a few new friends. One of my favourite symphonic pieces is Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome, and having now been there and seen the iconic umbrella pine trees dotted around the city, I can now listen to the piece with the vivid imagery of the trees and places in my mind. The other thing I loved about Rome was the drinking water, freely available from the public fountains called nasoni (literally, big noses). The water is sourced from mountains outside the city and in my opinion is comparable to Melbourne's water. Bottled water really is the one thing you should not buy when in Rome! 
  Besides immersing myself in the history of the place and eating the food, my main reason for coming to Rome was to see my favourite Serie A team, Roma, play at the Stadio Olimpico against Palermo, a game which, to my delight, the Giallorossi won 5-0. 
  After returning from that wonderful adventure, it was back into work at Acton High. Initially, my stint there was only supposed to be until the middle of last week, but then it got extended twice. I think after this experience, for the rest of my time in London I will not do any cover stint longer than one week. I'm now about enter my fourth week at Acton High, and while I appreciate the continuity and the chance to work like a "real" teacher, I am sick and tired of the behaviour and antics I've had to endure from some of the students, and I feel for those in the class who do behave and want to learn. 
  On a more positive note with regards to teaching, I have finally signed up my first client for French and German language sessions. This is something I look forward to and also is far less stressful because I already have the notes planned and don't need to do any marking whatsoever. I hope to get more clients before I return to Melbourne, where I intend to expand this into a freelance teaching business. If you are interested, please find the link to my Gumtree ad here.
  As mentioned in the previous post, I am going on a mini-holiday to Barcelona from this Thursday until next Monday. In some ways, I view this as my reward for having endured my stint at Acton High. The interesting thing is that K

(C) xlibber. Taken from Flickr, used with CC 2.0 

aren, the lady through whom I booked my AirBnB accommodation, will be here in London, so her mum, who lives with her, will be looking after me. Karen has told me her mum doesn't speak English, which means I'll have ample chance to practice my Spanish! 
  As much as I'm looking forward to checking out the city, tasting the food and making new friends, as in Rome, my main reason for going to Barcelona is the football. Of all the European teams I follow - Everton, Dortmund, Roma and Barcelona - Barcelona is my favourite, and I've booked tickets to see them play against Getafe at the Nou Camp. Even though Barca are well on top in La Liga and Getafe are facing relegation, I'm wise enough to not assume victory. For me, the main thing will be to see the MSN trio (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) in action!
  As I hinted earlier, I finally have a good idea of when I'll be back in Melbourne. While in Rome, I booked the first leg of my trip home; on August 22 I'll be flying from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Singapore, where I will stay for about six days to catch up with friends and family. I have also let my landlady know that I intend to move out on July 20, the last day of the school year. This is partly to avoid having to pay an extra month of rent, but also, I must admit, because I don't really get along with my housemates. 
  Shortly after my return from Barcelona is Easter holiday, which means I will be reunited with Vanessa for the first time in seven months! I've already given you a basic rundown of our itinerary, but I'll need to sort out an itinerary for the things Vanessa wants to see in London!
  Before I finish this post, I want to pay my respects to the family and friends of two great sportsmen who passed away recently: Former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe (who was of course Russell's cousin) and former Geelong footballer Paul Couch. Both were in their 50's (Crowe 53, Couch 51) but went differently: Crowe gradually from a relapse of lymphoma, and Couch suddenly of a heart attack while cycling with friends. I guess it's a reminder that death does not discriminate, and even though I'm approaching 30 and feeling healthy, I should not take it for granted that I will live to a ripe old age, but rather use the time given to me to serve Jesus better.
  Cheers and God bless!