Erasmus Applications Advice

I know that its around about the time of Erasmus applications and trust me, I know what it's like. It is a complete nightmare. It will become the bane of your life for what feels like months on end.

However, it is totally worth all of the effort.

I thought I'd share some of my experiences and tips and tricks and what I did for those who feel a little stuck on what to do. Believe me, I wish I had had something/someone to guide me.

(This is going to be catered for the conservatoire students, as that's what I have experience in)

I think the Most Important Thing about undertaking a rigorous application process like this, is to remember why you're doing it. 
- If it's to improve your understanding and learning of your instrument, great!
- If you feel like you're not getting enough opportunities in college, perfect!
- If you just need to escape for a few months, fabulous!
- Knowing why you're going through with this will be what's driving you forward throughout everything.
Whatever your reasons are, they are your reasons, and no one can take that away from you. They may not be what other people considered the "right reasons". but they are yours.

Research
Oh my word, my ex-flatmates would be able to tell you the hours and hours I spent trawling the internet researching the endless amount of schools that were suddenly available to me. You're only given 3 choices. Use them wisely.
- Research the schools, the opportunities, the teachers, the style of teaching, past students, current students, anything and everything.
- Speak to people you know who applied/went to the schools you're looking at.
- Find the Erasmus groups for the city on Facebook. Believe me, they're there, and it's super useful to see what's going on in the city!
- Oh, and research the cost of living within the country. There was one point where I had a short-list of the Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland. I told my father and he said "I think you've managed to choose 4 of the most expensive places in Europe." After looking some more, I revised my list.
- Contact the school international department (usually the information is on the website) to say you're interested in applying and ask what the requirements are for your instrument.
- Also, be realistic with your choices. Don't go applying to the Paris Conservatoire or Vienna Conservatoire if your teacher doesn't think that you can do it. Try to aim for places that you feel are attainable and within your reach.

Learning Agreements and ECTS
Oh trust me, even after you've completed your application, these do not go away. I submitted my application 9 months ago, and been studying here for 6 weeks, and I'm still not convinced it's correct.
After you've made your decision on where to go, you print off a scary looking form, with scary looking words on it.Once you have your head around it, it's pretty simple.
- ECTS will become a thing that you hear far too often. ECTS stands for the European Credit Transfer System. Each school has a certain number of credits that every student has to gain in order to progress to the next year. The complicated thing is trying to match up the subjects available and the amount of credits that you need.
- Contact the school international department (again) and ask if you can have a breakdown of their modules and courses available, if its not available online.
- After you have found out how much each course is worth in credits, make sure you have your calculator handy, and write down enough subjects until you have 60 ECTS.

Recording
Man oh man, was this stressful. I booked a studio in college, got an accompanist, gathered my friends (one of whom is luckily a techie wizz with cameras and such), and videoed my audition. I played Handel's Concerto in C Minor, Britten's Pan and.....something else which I've forgotten. Sorry. But best stick to the standard 'two contrasting pieces'! My friend very generously edited it for me and then I burned it onto 3 DVDs and popped them into fancy plastic wallets with my learning agreements for RNCM to send to the other schools. OH! Don't forget to have your teacher validate the recording to make sure that it's actually you. 

After it's all submitted, it gets given the once-over from college, they let you know if there are any problems (there most likely will be.....!) and then send them off. Then the waiting game begins.

When I got my first offer, I was in such a state of shock I managed to make a plate explode by cooking it on the hob.

In my opinion, although the application was hard, confusing, and exhausting (I was running round like a headless chicken for most of the time), a few months of hard work will definitely pay off when you get there, and you're about to embark on the best/scariest/most exciting year of your life.

If you have any questions about applying, or want to find out more about why I applied to the places I did, then please don't hesitate to ask in the comments below or tweet me @angharadowen :)

Erasmus isn't a year of your life, it's your life in a year.

Socialising Antisocially?!

source: Pinterest

It has come to my attention recently, that many people feel the need to be on their phones at the same time as spending time with friends.

Let me give you an example:
A few years ago, I met up with a very close friend of mine for the day. I hadn't seen her for a while, so I was really looking forward to spending the day catching up and having a good gossip. She then spent the entire day texting her boyfriend. I felt really......what's the word...... put out. I had made the effort to put the whole day aside for her, but she couldn't do the same for me. What was the point of her even bothering to see me if she was glued to her phone the entire time?

I can't help but wonder, are phones more important to people than their friends?

I work as a waitress in a little seaside restaurant, in a small village in Pembrokeshire. I have noticed through the many hours I've spent there, that so many families sit in silence while they are all gazing at the little screens, that have taken over our lives. Not only that, but many of these families ask me "do you have wifi here?" Our wifi has a reputation of being a little temperamental, but what surprises me is the look of disappointment on the face of the asker at the thought of having to spend the entire evening speaking to their parents.

I mean, God forbid you have to have an actual conversation face-to-face while you're on a family holiday.

I know I have touched on this subject before, with my Look Up  post a few months back, but for some reason, this subject is very close to my heart, and I do not understand why people feel the need to spend the quality face-to-face time they should be having with one person, glued to the piece of plastic in their hands speaking to another.

If I had a boyfriend, and I was spending the day with people that I loved, I would tell him that and if he doesn't understand that, then frankly, he shouldn't be in my life. I think it's controlling, unhealthy and possibly damaging the relationship to be in a constant conversation for all hours of the day. What left do you have to talk about when you see each other?

Obviously, I do see the benefits of mobile phones and being able to reach someone instantaneously. Emergencies, for example. "Help, can you get this spider out of my room please?!" (A genuine text I have sent....)

Does anyone else agree with me here? Am I the only one?

Daily Diaries | Sun, Sea and Injuries

I began this week by doing an 8 mile hike from Tenby to Manorbier along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. Mother and I are attempting to walk all 812 miles of the Wales coastline.

Tenby

Monday-Thursday was spent on holiday in Malta with my bestest and oldest friend. I'm not going to write too much about this, because it was our holiday and we went to escape the real world, so if you guys don't mind, I'll keep it that way for now. 

However, Valletta is absolutely gorgeous. If you ever find yourself on the little island of Malta, take a day just to wander the picturesque streets of the medieval capital city.

We took the ferry to Gozo for a beach day. It was so windy we basically in the midsts of a sandstorm on the stunning Ramla Bay.

We watched the beautiful sunset from a bus stop at the ferry port. (Not exactly what we had in mind, which made it more memorable!!!)

On the final evening, I managed to injure my foot. I hobbled my way to the airport to go home, when we landed I limped my way onto a train all the way home. I went to the doctors, was sent to the hospital for an X-ray, but luckily nothing is broken. So I'm just limping around the place in a lot of pain. But hey, at least I have something to remember my little break away, right!?

What did you guys do this week? :)

Returning from the Undead

I know this title is a little exaggerated....but that's what it feels like!

I mentioned over a MONTH ago that I wanted to blog more..... that totally happened didn't it.

Life happened. Life got in the way. I've been away on orchestra. I've been working. I've been exhausted. I've been sorting my life out before I pack it all up and move to Prague.

It's been difficult. And scary.

I've been coping in the usual ways; you know, eating lots of ice cream, going to the gym and burying my head in the sand and pretending nothing is happening. All very healthy ways of coping with stress (not). But seriously though, things are beginning to come together. I have a flat to live, I'm speaking to people who are also going, and I'm slowly but surely learning the language.

I'm scared, but it's ok to be scared. Good things happen when one pushes themselves out of their comfort zone. And that's what I'm doing. Good things will happen and I will learn a lot.

I've missed writing on here, and I actually wrote when I was feeling at my most down and most stressed out, but I decided against it. I strive for positivity on here, in my writing and in my life. I was feeling anything but, HOWEVER, I feel like I've come out the other side feeling stronger and more determined for a challenge than ever.

Lots of love to you all and thanks for being so patient with me. xxx

Monty Python Live!!!

Man oh man, I can't believe I haven't shared this with you guys yet!

If anyone from college was sat in the refectory on the 25th of November at approximately 10am, you would have heard a scream. That scream was me getting my hands on tickets for the only night that Monty Python were re-uniting in the O2. (they released more shows that day, but I had the original day!) I had been sat hunched over about 4 different electronical devices since the morning, and had been in about 2 queues for around an hour and a half, but I did it. I later found out that the tickets had sold out within 45 seconds of them being released. I was so shocked that I managed to get them that I cried. Then rang my Dad to tell him that I managed to get them!

After 8 months of waiting, July 1st arrived. Me, my dad and my friend, Mia, all headed down to the O2 (which was humongous). I'd never been there before, it's amazing! The show was so incredible. I saw people dressed as various knights, and walking around with Gumby handkerchiefs on their heads. We walked in, and the stage looked incredible! My photo completely doesn't do it justice. We were sat right at the top as I just wanted to get the cheapest tickets, but they weren't bad at all!

When they walked out it was amazing, and I was laughing from start of the show right through to the end! The songs, the choreography, the humour, everything was just right! They even paid a little tribute to Graham Chapman (RIP) by having his sketches on a big screen. So wonderful. I can't actually put into words how much I enjoyed the evening! Think of all your favourite MP sketches... they were in it. The camp army march, the argument clinic, the silly walk had a dance of it's own, and of course, the Dead Parrot Sketch.

The five of them were clearly having a such a great time performing all their old sketches, and their improvisation is incredible. At one point, John Cleese had to walk off the stage because he was laughing so much. He also spoke to the audience and said "I'm not impressed with Argentina's performance tonight" to which Michael Palin just said "Are you talking to the audience? Section 24 B of the Comdey Sketch act clearly states no talking to the audience." So excellent. They also had a couple of celebrity guests! During the Galaxy Song, Prof. Brian Cox rudely interrupted and began to prove that the song was scientifically incorrect, to which Prof. Steven Hawking (!!!!) then ran him over and went flying off into a spaceship singing it. Steven Fry also made an appearance, he came on stage with a paper bag over his head during the spoof TV show, Blackmail.

I'm very glad to have seen them, it was a wonderful experience and I did not regret a single penny that was spent on those tickets.