So, I'm not renewing my contract for next year (reasons I don't really feel like/need to go into on this blog - let's just say that it's not the job; I actually really enjoy what I'm doing), and even though I still have almost 6 months left here, I have to start planning a little bit about how I'm going to get all of my stuff off the island, and what I'm going to have to hold off on during my stay here.
1. No bigger bike.
I'm actually a little disappointed about this one. I currently have a little 50cc motor scooter, and was thinking about buying either a bigger bike (100 or 150cc) or a motorcycle instead of a scooter. Unfortunately, it isn't really financially responsible to buy a bigger bike because my return on it when I sell it is likely to be way worse than my return on my current bike. Also, I'm planning on putting my bike on the market in May, so I'd really only have this new bike for a maximum of 4 months.
2. Stuff I need to bring home.
I've brought a bunch of stuff here that I really don't want to have to have shipped home (too expensive), so I'm going to have to bring it home when I come back for half-term breaks in February and May. In addition to all of my clothes, I have a bunch of books, a laptop, a ton of DVDs, speakers, all of my bathroom stuff, extra towels, a violin, music, and other assorted things. I'll probably bring home a significant number of things in April - probably 2 full suitcases of shit, and hopefully I won't have a huge luggage charge in June, though it couldn't be much worse than my 300 dollar extra bag and overweight luggage charge when I arrived. Granted, the Foundation paid for my bags coming over; somehow I don't think that will be the case leaving.
3. Selling my violin.
As I'm sure I mentioned earlier in this blog, I didn't bring my good violin down to Bermuda with me. Instead, I traded in my viola and bought a violin and carbon-fiber bow from Potter's. I plan on keeping the bow, as it is just fantastic. The violin is another story, though. I have no need for it back home, so I need to unload it. I could trade it in at Potter's, but I think I'm going to try and sell it here in Bermuda before I head home. That way I'll have less luggage, and I think I'll have more of a chance of selling it here than I would back at home.
4. People coming to visit.
Well, if you're reading this blog, chances are that you don't hate me. Also, chances are that you're at least mildly interested in my life in Bermuda. If you want to experience it first-hand, you have about 5 and a half months. So far, my brother is coming to visit at the end of Feb/beginning of March, and my parents are thinking about coming down for a long weekend possibly sometime in May. I'm always happy to have visitors, so just let me know if you want a free place to stay in Bermuda.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, December 12, 2008
A long term...
I officially have 1 week left of Fall term before a well-deserved long Winter break. Today was my last day of group teaching, and I guess it's appropriate to reflect a little bit here.
The most difficult thing about teaching in general is knowing how far you can push/how hard you can work a student before they hit the breaking point. I feel like my first month of teaching was lots of little tests to see how I could work with each student individually, or each school class as a group. As I see it, private students divide into 4 categories:
1. Students who can accept direct criticism - These are the kids who you can say "Go back and fix the rhythm" or whatever without sugar-coating it at all and they don't get discouraged. These are usually the more advanced students or the more self-aware students who understand the good things and the not so good things about their individual playing. Teaching these students is really nice because you can have a thoughtful, mature conversation about technical and musical matters with them. The only caveat is that you need to emphasize what they do well just as much as what they need to improve. It is VERY easy to focus on what to fix (this is our job as teachers, anyway), but we must focus on cultivating in them an appropriate level of confidence so they don't feel self-conscious about their level of playing, especially when they are in performance. You have to be careful that you don't make them afraid to make mistakes. Which brings me to my next group of students.
2. Students who are afraid to make mistakes. I have a few students who are really really afraid to make a mistake (read: miss a note). The problem with these students is they don't realize that making consistent rhythm/tempo mistakes are much much much worse than playing a wrong note or two. The difficulty in teaching these students is that you have to demonstrate to them why it is worse to play rhythmically badly than to play a few wrong or out of tune notes, and then you have to back off on the direct criticisms of their intonation on a run-through. For these students, it is more important to get them playing at tempo than to have things polished pitch-wise at the outset. A good practice strategy for them is to really separate intonation work from playing the piece with rhythm. I usually don't do this, as I really think that it is important to practice playing the piece with bowings/rhythms/tuning as an organic unit, but these students have a tough time doing that.
3. Students who are on the cusp of quitting/dropping lessons. I have a few students who I know are really close to stopping their lessons. What I try to do here is to not worry so much about them taking an exam, but getting them into playing some more fun music - fiddle tunes, showtunes, popular music, Disney music, anything that they enjoy playing. Also, getting them to play in an orchestra is very helpful - they start to associate playing music with socializing and having fun.
4. Total beginners. These are some of my favorite students to teach. They are excited to learn every new skill and usually come to the lesson ready to listen and learn every week. You can get them into an immediate schedule at the lesson - violin out to tune right away, rosin the bow while I tune, get the music out, start right up. If you can make a good schedule during the lesson, it will pay off dividends in the future. Out of the 4 or 5 kids I have started from scratch this term, they are all using the bow and starting to use fingers - most WITHOUT finger tapes, actually. I'm really impressed with that. And they are all reading music - I'm not teaching a single kid by rote and I think the strategy is paying off, so far. We'll see how far these students get by the end of summer term.
I'll get to the kinds of school classes I have in a future post.
The most difficult thing about teaching in general is knowing how far you can push/how hard you can work a student before they hit the breaking point. I feel like my first month of teaching was lots of little tests to see how I could work with each student individually, or each school class as a group. As I see it, private students divide into 4 categories:
1. Students who can accept direct criticism - These are the kids who you can say "Go back and fix the rhythm" or whatever without sugar-coating it at all and they don't get discouraged. These are usually the more advanced students or the more self-aware students who understand the good things and the not so good things about their individual playing. Teaching these students is really nice because you can have a thoughtful, mature conversation about technical and musical matters with them. The only caveat is that you need to emphasize what they do well just as much as what they need to improve. It is VERY easy to focus on what to fix (this is our job as teachers, anyway), but we must focus on cultivating in them an appropriate level of confidence so they don't feel self-conscious about their level of playing, especially when they are in performance. You have to be careful that you don't make them afraid to make mistakes. Which brings me to my next group of students.
2. Students who are afraid to make mistakes. I have a few students who are really really afraid to make a mistake (read: miss a note). The problem with these students is they don't realize that making consistent rhythm/tempo mistakes are much much much worse than playing a wrong note or two. The difficulty in teaching these students is that you have to demonstrate to them why it is worse to play rhythmically badly than to play a few wrong or out of tune notes, and then you have to back off on the direct criticisms of their intonation on a run-through. For these students, it is more important to get them playing at tempo than to have things polished pitch-wise at the outset. A good practice strategy for them is to really separate intonation work from playing the piece with rhythm. I usually don't do this, as I really think that it is important to practice playing the piece with bowings/rhythms/tuning as an organic unit, but these students have a tough time doing that.
3. Students who are on the cusp of quitting/dropping lessons. I have a few students who I know are really close to stopping their lessons. What I try to do here is to not worry so much about them taking an exam, but getting them into playing some more fun music - fiddle tunes, showtunes, popular music, Disney music, anything that they enjoy playing. Also, getting them to play in an orchestra is very helpful - they start to associate playing music with socializing and having fun.
4. Total beginners. These are some of my favorite students to teach. They are excited to learn every new skill and usually come to the lesson ready to listen and learn every week. You can get them into an immediate schedule at the lesson - violin out to tune right away, rosin the bow while I tune, get the music out, start right up. If you can make a good schedule during the lesson, it will pay off dividends in the future. Out of the 4 or 5 kids I have started from scratch this term, they are all using the bow and starting to use fingers - most WITHOUT finger tapes, actually. I'm really impressed with that. And they are all reading music - I'm not teaching a single kid by rote and I think the strategy is paying off, so far. We'll see how far these students get by the end of summer term.
I'll get to the kinds of school classes I have in a future post.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Some things to do while on vacation in Bermuda
I know a bunch of people who are coming to visit me, or just coming to Bermuda in general in the next year, so I figured I'd dedicate a blog entry to things that would be really fun to do on vacation here, and some tips I have from being here for 2 months.
1. Transportation
If you don't feel comfortable driving a 50cc motor scooter around the island (read - if you're horrible with directions, or are freaked out about driving on the left), your best bet is to get a weeklong pass for the ferry and bus system, which is pretty comprehensive. You can get a weeklong unlimited pass for something like 50 bucks, which is well worth it. The ferry system is really the best way to see the island, and it's much faster to take a ferry to St. George's or Dockyard than it is to drive there.
A bike is really nice for if you want complete independence and want to do what you want, when you want. If you'd like to see as much as you can all over the island in the shortest amount of time, a bike for a day or two is actually a pretty good idea - especially if you don't want to have to keep going back to the bus terminal in Hamilton to catch the bus to the other side of the island.
Renting a bike for a week probably costs around $200ish, and gas will probably cost you around 10 dollars every 5 days (and you have to return it completely full of gas).
2. The beaches
The best beach on the island by far is Horseshoe Bay. You can hang out at the little cafe, sit on the beach, swim, play volleyball, or take a nice walk all over the place. It's really beautiful - the only catch is that it can get pretty crowded in the summer.
If you want to find a less crowded beach, just drive along South Shore Road until you come to one of the many smaller beaches that line the coast.
3. St. George's
St. George's is the town on the East End of the island, past the airport. You can get there via bus or ferry (I recommend ferry). It's a really cool small town with a nice little beach and a whole bunch of shops and little restaurants. Supposedly the perfumery is there too, but I haven't been yet. Another neat thing about St. George's is that it is one of the ports for the cruise ships, so you'll meet a lot of foreigners there, too. You could easily spend an afternoon in St. George's, and a day if you came back via the Aquarium, etc.
4. Dockyard
The dockyard is actually a really cool place to visit. You can access this via the ferry system as well. There's a cool restaurant called the "Bone Fish" that sometimes has salsa dancing, and always has 24 oz souvenir beer cups. I had some pasta when I went, and it was quite good. Dockyard is smaller than St. George's, but a good afternoon trip.
5. Elbow Beach/Curry night/Tapas at Lido
I haven't been to Elbow Beach to go swimming, but I have played several gigs there. The beach is really beautiful, and the restaurants are awesome. On Friday nights, there is an Indian curry buffet which is surprisingly good, and also surprisingly only $15, which is a STEAL for Bermuda. Cafe Lido also does very good sushi and tapas right on the beach.
6. Hamilton
You can easily spend a day in Hamilton. The capital city of Bermuda, Hamilton is where the SeaExpress (ferry) central terminal is located. If you're all about the crazy expensive shopping, you can certainly get all of that done in Hamilton. Walking around Hamilton is really entertaining. Front Street has a whole bunch of little shops and restaurants where you can get lost for a long time. If you're missing home, you can visit the KFC on Queen Street - the only fast food place in Bermuda (and no, I haven't been yet). Just past the main part of Front Street is the Bacardi building, which is really great looking at night. Just past the Bacardi building is the Hamilton Princess hotel. Over the summer, they do a GREAT happy hour (6 bucks a drink), but in the off season, you can always go into the nice hotel restaurant and get a nice burger and fries (or chicken sandwich, or fish sandwich) for like 15 bucks.
6. Water stuff
As this is an island, there are a ton of things you can do here in the water:
-The beaches, of course.
-Snorkeling - you can do this at basically any hotel, either on your own (fins, masks, and snorkels are always available for rent)
-Diving - If you don't want to get certified, you can usually go out diving for an afternoon for something like 200 bucks. Getting certified takes longer (you should be on a LONG vacation here for that) and is considerably more expensive, but you get a lot more out of it. I eventually want to get my diver certification - maybe in the Spring.
-Kayaking - my favorite place to kayak is at Grotto Bay resort near the airport (just past the Shell station that you pass on the way out of the airport) and the Swizzle Inn. It's inexpensive (20 bucks for the first hour and 15 every hour after that), and you can paddle under the causeway towards the mangroves. You see a ton of fish and stuff, and it's just really relaxing and fun.
7. Nightlife
Usually Friday night is the craziest night for Bermudian night life. Saturday is actually a considerably quieter night, which I found really weird. There are several places in Hamilton where I've been on Friday nights and had a good time (all of them are in Hamilton):
1. The Princess Hotel - great happy hour over the summer through October
2. Portofino - a nice little Italian place on Bermudiana (I think) Rd.
3. La Trattoria - another nice Italian place in Washington Mall (on Reid Street). Be sure to ask for a chicken of wine.
4. Barracuda - On Burnaby Street close to Front Street. This restaurant mostly does fish (obviously). A small bar, but really good mahi-mahi and excellent chocolate fondue for dessert. Also, they have a really good martini menu. The "Lifesaver" martini is probably my favorite.
5. The Hog Penny - Right next to the Barracuda. A great Rock and Roll pub. There is live music and a good atmosphere. Also, great gin and tonics.
6. The Pickled Onion - I only went here on my first day in Bermuda, but it was quite good. I had the asian pork calzone, which was excellent. Also, their Rum Swizzles are pretty good.
7. The Robin Hood - just past the Esso station in Hamilton. Lots of big screen TVs, sports going all the time. Good beer on tap, and a lot of seating - a big bar and a big "sit-down" area.
This list is by no means complete, but it is some of the fun things I've done since I have been here in the island.
1. Transportation
If you don't feel comfortable driving a 50cc motor scooter around the island (read - if you're horrible with directions, or are freaked out about driving on the left), your best bet is to get a weeklong pass for the ferry and bus system, which is pretty comprehensive. You can get a weeklong unlimited pass for something like 50 bucks, which is well worth it. The ferry system is really the best way to see the island, and it's much faster to take a ferry to St. George's or Dockyard than it is to drive there.
A bike is really nice for if you want complete independence and want to do what you want, when you want. If you'd like to see as much as you can all over the island in the shortest amount of time, a bike for a day or two is actually a pretty good idea - especially if you don't want to have to keep going back to the bus terminal in Hamilton to catch the bus to the other side of the island.
Renting a bike for a week probably costs around $200ish, and gas will probably cost you around 10 dollars every 5 days (and you have to return it completely full of gas).
2. The beaches
The best beach on the island by far is Horseshoe Bay. You can hang out at the little cafe, sit on the beach, swim, play volleyball, or take a nice walk all over the place. It's really beautiful - the only catch is that it can get pretty crowded in the summer.
If you want to find a less crowded beach, just drive along South Shore Road until you come to one of the many smaller beaches that line the coast.
3. St. George's
St. George's is the town on the East End of the island, past the airport. You can get there via bus or ferry (I recommend ferry). It's a really cool small town with a nice little beach and a whole bunch of shops and little restaurants. Supposedly the perfumery is there too, but I haven't been yet. Another neat thing about St. George's is that it is one of the ports for the cruise ships, so you'll meet a lot of foreigners there, too. You could easily spend an afternoon in St. George's, and a day if you came back via the Aquarium, etc.
4. Dockyard
The dockyard is actually a really cool place to visit. You can access this via the ferry system as well. There's a cool restaurant called the "Bone Fish" that sometimes has salsa dancing, and always has 24 oz souvenir beer cups. I had some pasta when I went, and it was quite good. Dockyard is smaller than St. George's, but a good afternoon trip.
5. Elbow Beach/Curry night/Tapas at Lido
I haven't been to Elbow Beach to go swimming, but I have played several gigs there. The beach is really beautiful, and the restaurants are awesome. On Friday nights, there is an Indian curry buffet which is surprisingly good, and also surprisingly only $15, which is a STEAL for Bermuda. Cafe Lido also does very good sushi and tapas right on the beach.
6. Hamilton
You can easily spend a day in Hamilton. The capital city of Bermuda, Hamilton is where the SeaExpress (ferry) central terminal is located. If you're all about the crazy expensive shopping, you can certainly get all of that done in Hamilton. Walking around Hamilton is really entertaining. Front Street has a whole bunch of little shops and restaurants where you can get lost for a long time. If you're missing home, you can visit the KFC on Queen Street - the only fast food place in Bermuda (and no, I haven't been yet). Just past the main part of Front Street is the Bacardi building, which is really great looking at night. Just past the Bacardi building is the Hamilton Princess hotel. Over the summer, they do a GREAT happy hour (6 bucks a drink), but in the off season, you can always go into the nice hotel restaurant and get a nice burger and fries (or chicken sandwich, or fish sandwich) for like 15 bucks.
6. Water stuff
As this is an island, there are a ton of things you can do here in the water:
-The beaches, of course.
-Snorkeling - you can do this at basically any hotel, either on your own (fins, masks, and snorkels are always available for rent)
-Diving - If you don't want to get certified, you can usually go out diving for an afternoon for something like 200 bucks. Getting certified takes longer (you should be on a LONG vacation here for that) and is considerably more expensive, but you get a lot more out of it. I eventually want to get my diver certification - maybe in the Spring.
-Kayaking - my favorite place to kayak is at Grotto Bay resort near the airport (just past the Shell station that you pass on the way out of the airport) and the Swizzle Inn. It's inexpensive (20 bucks for the first hour and 15 every hour after that), and you can paddle under the causeway towards the mangroves. You see a ton of fish and stuff, and it's just really relaxing and fun.
7. Nightlife
Usually Friday night is the craziest night for Bermudian night life. Saturday is actually a considerably quieter night, which I found really weird. There are several places in Hamilton where I've been on Friday nights and had a good time (all of them are in Hamilton):
1. The Princess Hotel - great happy hour over the summer through October
2. Portofino - a nice little Italian place on Bermudiana (I think) Rd.
3. La Trattoria - another nice Italian place in Washington Mall (on Reid Street). Be sure to ask for a chicken of wine.
4. Barracuda - On Burnaby Street close to Front Street. This restaurant mostly does fish (obviously). A small bar, but really good mahi-mahi and excellent chocolate fondue for dessert. Also, they have a really good martini menu. The "Lifesaver" martini is probably my favorite.
5. The Hog Penny - Right next to the Barracuda. A great Rock and Roll pub. There is live music and a good atmosphere. Also, great gin and tonics.
6. The Pickled Onion - I only went here on my first day in Bermuda, but it was quite good. I had the asian pork calzone, which was excellent. Also, their Rum Swizzles are pretty good.
7. The Robin Hood - just past the Esso station in Hamilton. Lots of big screen TVs, sports going all the time. Good beer on tap, and a lot of seating - a big bar and a big "sit-down" area.
This list is by no means complete, but it is some of the fun things I've done since I have been here in the island.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Why I don't mind getting up early on Thursdays
Thursday mornings, I have my "early start" of the week. I have to teach at St. George's Prep (about a 40-minute drive) at 8:30. It's my earliest start of the week by a solid hour - plus I have to drive quite a ways, so I generally have to get up by 7:00 to get there on time.
I am usually pretty tired on Thursday morning, but I wake up really quickly on the way to St. George's because the drive is just spectacular. It generally divides into 4 parts:
1st leg - I start in Paget and drive Eastbound on Middle Road. The road is usually pretty crowded with people driving into Hamilton to work, so I generally drive like a dick and follow all of the other bikes that pass cars by the dozen. While the view isn't necessarily the greatest, it certainly wakes you up.
2nd leg - Once I pass the roundabout where you can either head into town or head out through Devonshire towards the East End, I'm driving along South Shore Road. It's a really nice drive. There are lots of palm trees, some golf courses, a nice church, Palm Grove Gardens (where I stayed for a couple weeks), and head over Knapton Hill, where there is just a SPECTACULAR view of the Southern coast of the island.
3rd leg - From Knapton Hill, I drive on Harrington Sound Road, which is great because you can see a bunch of boats when you first turn onto it. Then I drive through a bunch of curves, which is always nice on a bike. After Harrington Sound, I drive over the causeway, which I daresay is the best view on the island. The causeway is the bridge that connects the main island to the airport and St. George's, and you can see all the way out to the ocean on the south, and up the bay on the north. It's really easy to see the Grotto Bay Beach and pier, where I went kayaking the other day. It's also really neat to drive past the airport and see a bunch of different planes on the runway. There is also a really nice straight stretch of road (the longest on the island, I'd venture to guess) where you can really just relax and take in the scenery, which is just beautiful.
4th leg - Driving into St. Georges is just great. St. George's is this really cool little town on the East End. There are all kinds of little shops, a great little beach, and generally lots of tourists, beacuse St. George's is one of two cruise ship ports on the island (the other being the Royal Naval Dockyard on the opposite side of the island). You can always see the tourists walking around or driving on the bikes they rent from Oleander Cycles (you can spot them coming a mile away because of their red bikes and small, white helmets).
It's a really great drive, and it certainly wakes me up at 7:40 in the morning.
I am usually pretty tired on Thursday morning, but I wake up really quickly on the way to St. George's because the drive is just spectacular. It generally divides into 4 parts:
1st leg - I start in Paget and drive Eastbound on Middle Road. The road is usually pretty crowded with people driving into Hamilton to work, so I generally drive like a dick and follow all of the other bikes that pass cars by the dozen. While the view isn't necessarily the greatest, it certainly wakes you up.
2nd leg - Once I pass the roundabout where you can either head into town or head out through Devonshire towards the East End, I'm driving along South Shore Road. It's a really nice drive. There are lots of palm trees, some golf courses, a nice church, Palm Grove Gardens (where I stayed for a couple weeks), and head over Knapton Hill, where there is just a SPECTACULAR view of the Southern coast of the island.
3rd leg - From Knapton Hill, I drive on Harrington Sound Road, which is great because you can see a bunch of boats when you first turn onto it. Then I drive through a bunch of curves, which is always nice on a bike. After Harrington Sound, I drive over the causeway, which I daresay is the best view on the island. The causeway is the bridge that connects the main island to the airport and St. George's, and you can see all the way out to the ocean on the south, and up the bay on the north. It's really easy to see the Grotto Bay Beach and pier, where I went kayaking the other day. It's also really neat to drive past the airport and see a bunch of different planes on the runway. There is also a really nice straight stretch of road (the longest on the island, I'd venture to guess) where you can really just relax and take in the scenery, which is just beautiful.
4th leg - Driving into St. Georges is just great. St. George's is this really cool little town on the East End. There are all kinds of little shops, a great little beach, and generally lots of tourists, beacuse St. George's is one of two cruise ship ports on the island (the other being the Royal Naval Dockyard on the opposite side of the island). You can always see the tourists walking around or driving on the bikes they rent from Oleander Cycles (you can spot them coming a mile away because of their red bikes and small, white helmets).
It's a really great drive, and it certainly wakes me up at 7:40 in the morning.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Driving in Bermuda, or an analysis of idiots.
There are a few things here in Bermuda that make driving - especially in town - really interesting and different from in the states.
1. Turn Signals
Incidentally, cars/bikes are not required to have turn signals. Now, virtually everyone does, and if you have turn signals on your car/bike, then they have to be in working order or the vehicle won't pass the TCD inspection. But really, nobody uses turn signals (or shall I say "indicators") basically at all. It's really interesting because you sometimes have to guess where the car is going, which side you should pass the car on, or, in the case of a roundabout, where the hell the car is going to exit.
2. Horns
You almost never use the horn to signal to someone that they are doing something stupid or about to hit someone. Instead, you beep your horn vigorously whenever you see someone you know (your friend, family member, someone you saw once at a bar, someone you don't know but would really like to know, someone who looks vaguely like someone you know, etc). This makes driving in town really noisy, as everyone knows everyone (there are 65,000 people on this island - you're bound to know someone). Eventually, you get used to the horns and never think anyone is ever honking at you - a bit of a problem...
3. The "bike" lane
Appropriately, this is number 3, because the bike lane is like the 3rd lane on the road. The third lane extends about 6 inches on either side of the center line - this is where motorbikes drive if there is any kind of traffic, passing cars by the dozens. It's really dangerous, and probably horribly illegal - especially going around tight corners where you can't see the traffic coming.
...it's still better than driving in DC.
1. Turn Signals
Incidentally, cars/bikes are not required to have turn signals. Now, virtually everyone does, and if you have turn signals on your car/bike, then they have to be in working order or the vehicle won't pass the TCD inspection. But really, nobody uses turn signals (or shall I say "indicators") basically at all. It's really interesting because you sometimes have to guess where the car is going, which side you should pass the car on, or, in the case of a roundabout, where the hell the car is going to exit.
2. Horns
You almost never use the horn to signal to someone that they are doing something stupid or about to hit someone. Instead, you beep your horn vigorously whenever you see someone you know (your friend, family member, someone you saw once at a bar, someone you don't know but would really like to know, someone who looks vaguely like someone you know, etc). This makes driving in town really noisy, as everyone knows everyone (there are 65,000 people on this island - you're bound to know someone). Eventually, you get used to the horns and never think anyone is ever honking at you - a bit of a problem...
3. The "bike" lane
Appropriately, this is number 3, because the bike lane is like the 3rd lane on the road. The third lane extends about 6 inches on either side of the center line - this is where motorbikes drive if there is any kind of traffic, passing cars by the dozens. It's really dangerous, and probably horribly illegal - especially going around tight corners where you can't see the traffic coming.
...it's still better than driving in DC.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Get your motor running...
Today I took (and passed) my auxiliary cycle test, so I'm now authorized to drive a 50cc bike around the island. It's kind of weird, as I have been renting a bike for the past 5 weeks and riding around just like anyone else, but now I'm able to purchase and drive my very own bike.
The test was actually really stupidly easy. It reminded me a little bit of my driving test when I was 16. There are 3 different parts to this test:
1. Driving around a couple of cones.
Basically, you have to do a slalom course around like 5 cones and turn around in a circle, then do the same thing on the way back. As long as you keep your speed up a little bit, it's fine.
2. The "Emergency Stop"
You drive in between the cones up to the circle, turn around, then drive back and stop right at a white line.
3. Hand signals
You drive up beside the cones and make a left turn doing a left hand signal (sticking your left arm straight out before you turn), come back, and then go up and do a right turn with a hand signal (sticking your right arm out).
If you can manage to do all of these without bumping a cone or putting your foot down on the ground during the test, then you pass!
So, after waiting at TCD (think the DMV in the USA) for about 2 HOURS.... I have a Bermuda Driver's License. And my picture is just as bad as my American Driver's License.
The test was actually really stupidly easy. It reminded me a little bit of my driving test when I was 16. There are 3 different parts to this test:
1. Driving around a couple of cones.
Basically, you have to do a slalom course around like 5 cones and turn around in a circle, then do the same thing on the way back. As long as you keep your speed up a little bit, it's fine.
2. The "Emergency Stop"
You drive in between the cones up to the circle, turn around, then drive back and stop right at a white line.
3. Hand signals
You drive up beside the cones and make a left turn doing a left hand signal (sticking your left arm straight out before you turn), come back, and then go up and do a right turn with a hand signal (sticking your right arm out).
If you can manage to do all of these without bumping a cone or putting your foot down on the ground during the test, then you pass!
So, after waiting at TCD (think the DMV in the USA) for about 2 HOURS.... I have a Bermuda Driver's License. And my picture is just as bad as my American Driver's License.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Role Reversal
I guess I should probably post something on my actual job, so here goes:
I'm hired as a violin teacher with the Menuhin Foundation, so I have two main duties that I perform every day. First, in the morning, I give group lessons in schools (public and private) around the island. Generally, we teach 3 group lessons each morning - sometimes in 3 separate schools, sometimes 2 in a single school and 1 in another - for 45 minutes each. The group lessons are just fantastic. In certain schools, we have just a first-year program, which is meant for total beginners in P4, which is like the 4th grade in the US. In other schools, we have second- and third-year programs for P5 and P6 students who want to continue with the program. Having the extra programs mostly seems to depend on the school's ability to accomodate the extra students (they have enough violins on hand, and they are able to get the older kids out of class to have violin lessons).
In the group lessons, we almost always teach in pairs. This is great because then we have 2 teachers for something like 10 students (sometimes more, sometimes less) so if there is a problem - a string breaks, a violin goes horribly out of tune, anything like that - there is one teacher to fix the problem, and the other teacher can go on with the lesson. Also, if a teacher is sick or unable to make the group lesson for any reason, the kids will still get a lessons because there is always the other teacher coming. During the week, I spend one day with Kerry, two with Charles, and then I spend Friday with Caroline. On Thursdays, before I meet up with Charles, I teach a class all on my own - a second year program at St. George's Preparatory. That's the only class that I am totally on my own, which is great.
This week we've done most of the first lessons for the kids, as last week we mostly just distributed instruments and made sure the kids were all signed up for the class and paid for rentals - general administrative/housekeeping stuff. The first lesson is actually really fun. We've been teaching the first-year students rest position, playing position, the names of the strings, and pizzicato technique. I actually learned a really great method of getting the kids into a good playing position from Charles - if any of my fellow pedagogues are interested, just leave a comment here or ask me via facebook or email, and I'll be happy to detail it for you. The second year kids we are mostly just trying to get back into the swing of things - playing some of the pieces they did last year, getting reacquainted with proper bow holds and stuff.
In the afternoons, we teach private lessons starting at 330, when the schools let out. We also can do private teaching on Saturday mornings. For this, the Menuhin Foundation rents out rooms in Bermuda High School downtown - there are two music classrooms and four practice rooms where we do all of our private teaching. Right now, I teach privately for something like 10.5 hours per week, which works out to about 3 hours per day. I mostly have half-hour students, so I actually have somewhere around 20 students! the levels of my students vary pretty widely - I have really young complete beginners, one student who is working on the Bartok Roumanian Folk Dances, a really nice adult student who is doing Mazas etudes and the Vivaldi A minor concerto, and a whole bunch of really solid intermediate students. I really really love teaching privately here. My students are without exception very nice and respectful. I'm really looking forward to watching their musical growth and development over the term.
In addition to teaching, the Menuhin Foundation gets a ton of gigs for weddings, parties, etc. Alison, the cello teacher, organizes the gig schedule, and is really great about it. She's very fair about allocating gigs evenly to the violinists (as there are 4 of us, we have to rotate gigs), and we all get a chance to arrange individual gigs - that is, we each are given the option to work out all the music that is to be played, and to be the main contact person for specific gigs. It works out really well that way, as the arranger gets paid a little extra, and it shares the burden of having to organize all the gigs over the year.
Another opportunity that is open to us is the Bermuda Philharmonic. This is mostly a volunteer group that also hires out professional musicians for the orchestra. We've been rehearsing for a couple of weeks now, and the concert is something like next week. This particular concert is a pops concert, and we're playing things like Carmen, An American in Paris, the Khachaturian Sabre Dance, etc. It's really great, because I'm meeting a whole bunch of fellow music teachers on the island, both teachers in the school system and teachers with the Bermuda School of Music.
Well, that's why I do, 5 days a week. It's really hard to believe that I'm getting paid to do this - it's a real dream job, and I'm truly fortunate to have it.
I'm hired as a violin teacher with the Menuhin Foundation, so I have two main duties that I perform every day. First, in the morning, I give group lessons in schools (public and private) around the island. Generally, we teach 3 group lessons each morning - sometimes in 3 separate schools, sometimes 2 in a single school and 1 in another - for 45 minutes each. The group lessons are just fantastic. In certain schools, we have just a first-year program, which is meant for total beginners in P4, which is like the 4th grade in the US. In other schools, we have second- and third-year programs for P5 and P6 students who want to continue with the program. Having the extra programs mostly seems to depend on the school's ability to accomodate the extra students (they have enough violins on hand, and they are able to get the older kids out of class to have violin lessons).
In the group lessons, we almost always teach in pairs. This is great because then we have 2 teachers for something like 10 students (sometimes more, sometimes less) so if there is a problem - a string breaks, a violin goes horribly out of tune, anything like that - there is one teacher to fix the problem, and the other teacher can go on with the lesson. Also, if a teacher is sick or unable to make the group lesson for any reason, the kids will still get a lessons because there is always the other teacher coming. During the week, I spend one day with Kerry, two with Charles, and then I spend Friday with Caroline. On Thursdays, before I meet up with Charles, I teach a class all on my own - a second year program at St. George's Preparatory. That's the only class that I am totally on my own, which is great.
This week we've done most of the first lessons for the kids, as last week we mostly just distributed instruments and made sure the kids were all signed up for the class and paid for rentals - general administrative/housekeeping stuff. The first lesson is actually really fun. We've been teaching the first-year students rest position, playing position, the names of the strings, and pizzicato technique. I actually learned a really great method of getting the kids into a good playing position from Charles - if any of my fellow pedagogues are interested, just leave a comment here or ask me via facebook or email, and I'll be happy to detail it for you. The second year kids we are mostly just trying to get back into the swing of things - playing some of the pieces they did last year, getting reacquainted with proper bow holds and stuff.
In the afternoons, we teach private lessons starting at 330, when the schools let out. We also can do private teaching on Saturday mornings. For this, the Menuhin Foundation rents out rooms in Bermuda High School downtown - there are two music classrooms and four practice rooms where we do all of our private teaching. Right now, I teach privately for something like 10.5 hours per week, which works out to about 3 hours per day. I mostly have half-hour students, so I actually have somewhere around 20 students! the levels of my students vary pretty widely - I have really young complete beginners, one student who is working on the Bartok Roumanian Folk Dances, a really nice adult student who is doing Mazas etudes and the Vivaldi A minor concerto, and a whole bunch of really solid intermediate students. I really really love teaching privately here. My students are without exception very nice and respectful. I'm really looking forward to watching their musical growth and development over the term.
In addition to teaching, the Menuhin Foundation gets a ton of gigs for weddings, parties, etc. Alison, the cello teacher, organizes the gig schedule, and is really great about it. She's very fair about allocating gigs evenly to the violinists (as there are 4 of us, we have to rotate gigs), and we all get a chance to arrange individual gigs - that is, we each are given the option to work out all the music that is to be played, and to be the main contact person for specific gigs. It works out really well that way, as the arranger gets paid a little extra, and it shares the burden of having to organize all the gigs over the year.
Another opportunity that is open to us is the Bermuda Philharmonic. This is mostly a volunteer group that also hires out professional musicians for the orchestra. We've been rehearsing for a couple of weeks now, and the concert is something like next week. This particular concert is a pops concert, and we're playing things like Carmen, An American in Paris, the Khachaturian Sabre Dance, etc. It's really great, because I'm meeting a whole bunch of fellow music teachers on the island, both teachers in the school system and teachers with the Bermuda School of Music.
Well, that's why I do, 5 days a week. It's really hard to believe that I'm getting paid to do this - it's a real dream job, and I'm truly fortunate to have it.
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