Of Owls, Poetry, and Plays

Globe to Globe festival timeline

I have not been updating this blog as often as I'd like to.. These last few weeks have been crazy busy - new job, exam preparation, writing and sending off coursework.. I sat my first exam today, one down, one to go. I am not sure about how well I did, only time will tell. However this does not mean I have more free time, as I now have to get prepared for the next one, which will be harder and for which I feel much more baffled. As well as college work, I now seem to be living at work, who delight in giving me long night shifts. I fear I shall turn into an owl soon - though this wouldn't be so bad if I had the eyesight to go with it, and I quite like owls - however I now have no more life, social or otherwise. I can't even socialise with myself any longer, something I greatly love doing.. I suppose it will take time before I get used to this change, and find a way of managing it all so I still get my much needed 'alone time'.. Invaluable for an introvert. I admit I may exaggerate slightly, I have of course had a little time to myself, but I tend to feel so exhausted by then that I cannot use it as I'd like.. I wish I could paint or draw something but at the moment I feel as though I am either at work, or at college, or doing college work, or sleeping.. My sleep schedule isn't just messed up, it is non existent.

However, I received my Southbank tickets in the post today, and this cheered me up a little. I have already taken a few days off (well, requested them, they are so sneaky they may give me a shift anyway, but let's hope not!) and I am looking forward to those events. The Rain of Poems in particular I am very excited about, and will eagerly be waiting around for the poem helicopter. I have been rather free in my spending, but I could not miss all those fantastic events, and at least I now have a job.. Haha! I am looking forward to taking my first holiday, paid for by myself. There is so much about the adult world I don't know, but being thrown in like that really makes one learn fast. I have already learnt that insecure managers make your life a misery. They seem to flourish, though..

In other news, I went to see the Juba Arabic version of Cymbeline at the Globe, as part of the Globe to Globe festival, of which I am an ambassador. I did not understand much of what they said, but it was very interesting. The synopsis of each scene was written in a few sentences in English on a screen, so I got the gist of the action. Every now and then the actors would say a line in English, generally the funniest lines, and I did laugh a lot during the play. I thought it was amazing I could feel happiness, curiosity, and enjoyment without actually understanding the words. It was a fascinating experience, and part of the fun was definitely seeing actors in hilarious costumes dancing around the stage. By the time it finished my hands were frozen and my legs were killing me, having had a yard ticket, but I was glad I'd experienced it. If I manage to find someone to cover my shift, I shall be watching the French and German plays next, and I am also rather excited about those!

I was also going to write about letter writing and routines, but I guess that shall have to wait..

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Did you know I am currently learning Arabic? If you'd like to read more about my language learning adventures, then follow this link.