So I’ve finally bought my flighty back to
Blighty, and though I of course miss family, friends and flapjacks, thinking of
leaving this place breaks my heart. So it’s time to pack in as much as
possible, and I’ve made a good start over the last few weeks, with a mixed bag
of adventures and challenges.
I’ll also be heading to Madagascar at the end of June, which is terribly exciting! ‘The Seventh Continent’ awaits, and I’ll be looking mostly to discover the natural side of La Grande Ile.
Right. Here’s the lowdown mofos.
I’ll also be heading to Madagascar at the end of June, which is terribly exciting! ‘The Seventh Continent’ awaits, and I’ll be looking mostly to discover the natural side of La Grande Ile.
Right. Here’s the lowdown mofos.
Exams at
the University of We-So-High-We-Don’t-Know-What’s-Goin’-Awn
I was of course referring to the professors here. Goodness, what a fun experience it has been! We turned up for one exam, and the teacher was an hour late. Oops! Then for another, around seventy people turned up and when the teacher arrived, she denied ever having set the exam for that date. Coming back to the professionalism of Sussex is going to be SUCH a shock, but perhaps a refreshing smack in the face from the lack of any academic effort we’ve had to put in this year.
I was of course referring to the professors here. Goodness, what a fun experience it has been! We turned up for one exam, and the teacher was an hour late. Oops! Then for another, around seventy people turned up and when the teacher arrived, she denied ever having set the exam for that date. Coming back to the professionalism of Sussex is going to be SUCH a shock, but perhaps a refreshing smack in the face from the lack of any academic effort we’ve had to put in this year.
Paaart-aaaay
– Let’s hit the beach
So there was a beach party and I drank a lot.
Though it was a combination of FRENCH cider and FRENCH red wine, therefore it’s
‘cultural’ and sophisticated. Cool story, dude.
‘Soooo-phie!
Qu’est-ce que t’as fait maintenant?!’ – An interesting weekend in the South
The moral of the story is, don’t put your
faith in someone who can barely organise herself, let alone a whole weekend for
3 other people. OOPS. So I kind of messed up a fair few things for a last
minute road trip to the Sud Sauvage (thought I’d hired a car when I didn’t,
forgot tent poles etc.). Apart from the freezing rain on the volcano, which we
didn’t see in the end, the rain in the South, and the rain in general, we saw a
few cool waterfalls in the East, with wild rocky coasts and fluorescent blue
waves crashing around jagged cliffs, and cooking marshmallows on the steaming
lava flows was a particular highlight. The lava flows from the most recent
eruptions are still smokin’ hot, and were comforting in the Wild South drizzle.
Next time, we shall check the weather and indeed not make me the dirigeuse.
‘Lé pa
moin ki koz, lé le chien’ – Logical musings of a surrealist artist
I mentioned a while back the artist who has been at the University theatre of the last couple of months, putting on various exhibitions and little shows. Many a nonsensical word hath spouted from his mouth, and when I asked him why his name had evolved from ‘Pink Floyd’ to ‘Floyd Dog’, his answer was exactly this: ‘Because it’s not me that talks, it’s the dog’. Now that’s art.
So the same conversation led to an interesting proposal; he asked if I could sing, and I said well, yes. It had been almost 4 years since I’d been on stage singing, and every time before I had been extremely nervous. But, I enjoy watching the consequences unfold when I dare myself to do things, so I agreed to sing in the kabar (variety concert) that he was organising. He played me one of his songs that he wanted me to sing. Oh, that’s pretty, I said, but what language is that? Oh, you invented it yourself? Ok. Cool. Down with that.
I mentioned a while back the artist who has been at the University theatre of the last couple of months, putting on various exhibitions and little shows. Many a nonsensical word hath spouted from his mouth, and when I asked him why his name had evolved from ‘Pink Floyd’ to ‘Floyd Dog’, his answer was exactly this: ‘Because it’s not me that talks, it’s the dog’. Now that’s art.
So the same conversation led to an interesting proposal; he asked if I could sing, and I said well, yes. It had been almost 4 years since I’d been on stage singing, and every time before I had been extremely nervous. But, I enjoy watching the consequences unfold when I dare myself to do things, so I agreed to sing in the kabar (variety concert) that he was organising. He played me one of his songs that he wanted me to sing. Oh, that’s pretty, I said, but what language is that? Oh, you invented it yourself? Ok. Cool. Down with that.
I
practised a bit and on the day of the performance we had a little rehearsal.
What’s that Floyd, the accompanying musicians aren’t coming anymore? What what?
I have to sing A Cappella and improvise at the same time? Oh. Ok. Cool. Totally
not down with that, but if you say so.
I went through with it in the end for the pure hilarity, and actually wasn’t so nervous. No big errors, threw in a few chest-register belters and a couple of dancing-around-the-note tricks. It was, as they say, jokes mate.
‘Sophie, ‘av you got zee zen?’ – ‘Then ... then, what?’ – ‘Non, non, ZEN, aie aie ces anglais!’ – Tai Chi for So-Phie
Ok that was a cheap shot. But yeah, another dare-myself experience was that of the Tai Chi performance, that was a part of the University end-of-year show at the biggest theatre on the island. After many hours of very similar Tai Chi routines, we were ready for our small part of the show which turned out to last 4 and a half hours in total. Oops! Good peaceful fun nonetheless.
I went through with it in the end for the pure hilarity, and actually wasn’t so nervous. No big errors, threw in a few chest-register belters and a couple of dancing-around-the-note tricks. It was, as they say, jokes mate.
‘Sophie, ‘av you got zee zen?’ – ‘Then ... then, what?’ – ‘Non, non, ZEN, aie aie ces anglais!’ – Tai Chi for So-Phie
Ok that was a cheap shot. But yeah, another dare-myself experience was that of the Tai Chi performance, that was a part of the University end-of-year show at the biggest theatre on the island. After many hours of very similar Tai Chi routines, we were ready for our small part of the show which turned out to last 4 and a half hours in total. Oops! Good peaceful fun nonetheless.
An
alternative 21st birthday – Let’s go to the mountains!
Why
would I have had just an ordinary soirée for my 21st when I happen
to be on an island where you can hike to the middle of a tropical rainforest-covered crater and watch breathtaking sunsets merge into the most incredible
stars you could ever see? So I chose to head to the mountains with a particular
compatriot to enjoy just that, and have a ‘party for my eyes’ as I like to say
(with so many purely beautiful things to see!). Descending from the mighty
Maido, which looks out over the whole of the Cirque de Mafate, over ravines, up
through dense untouched forests, passing îlets perched on top of plateaus with
panoramic views – our destination was Cayenne, where a friendly but quite
clearly high/drunk Créole dude fed us good food, watered down with home-made
rhum arrangé, danced off to some séga music and wrapped up with some flambéed
banana. Swee-eet. The next day was also a joy; swimming in freshwater rivers
and waterfall plunge pools, and yet more WOWCOOL views. It came, however, at
the price of not being particularly glamorous and having rather achey legs. In
a nutshell, ow but wow.
What
next?
I dunno. We’ll see.
Peace, love
and bananas.
Sophie
