If music could talk

I started liking English when I started listening to English music when I was thirteen years old.

This concert was amazing.
Angel Olsen at the Union Chapel in London. 

Before that I couldn't be bothered with the language, to be honest. Consequently, when I got the chance to live in England I used the opportunity to go to lots of concerts. At first, I went to the concerts of the bands I knew, but then I decided to go to as many gigs as I could provided I knew the band that was playing was an important band, meaning that they were considered to be influential in some way. As a result, at one point I ended up going to about one concert per week. Mind you, that's at least 52 concerts a year, since that's the number of weeks a year has.

This is a picture of Lancaster, where I lived.
Beautiful, but boring as death.

Going to as many concerts as I could was the best decision I could make while living in the UK. Being a PhD student can be very dull, stressful and repetitive (not to say freaking depressing), so having the chance to go to concerts allowed me to take breaks from the work in my office on a regular basis. Since I was living in a small northern town that barely had anything to do, going to concerts meant I had to travel a lot. Therefore, every time I went to a concert I could basically feel like a tourist as well, go sightseeing, go to the museums or theatres, or get to know other towns in England I wouldn't have been to otherwise, like St Austell in Cornwall. 

I always went to concerts on my own, which only made the experience more enriching to me, as well as empowering, since that's not something I would have done before I lived in the UK. 

One of my favourite musicians: PJ Harvey.
I saw here 5 times in England and would have kept
going to her concerts even when they
were pretty much always the same. Mesmerising.

 As you can imagine, going to as many concerts only means I cannot choose one. I had so many great concert experiences. I discovered so many bands and even started to like others whose albums I had heard and not really liked before I saw them live. The thing is, seeing and hearing a band play live is a whole experience. They can surprise you sometimes and watching the fans enjoying themselves also adds to the experience, making it unforgettable and sometimes even indescribable. 

I have too many great concert memories to choose just one, so I'm not going to. I keep a record of the concerts I've been to so I don't forget them, and also because I just enjoy seeing the number of gigs I've been to increase. I know that's silly, but I'm a concert nerd. The list of the concerts I've been to so far can be found here, in case you're wondering what kind of music I like. 

Unlike me, you will have to choose a concert to talk about today. Or maybe two, if you like. You can also talk about another topic, in case you really hate going to concerts because, let's face it, backache is a fact of life, and concerts may not really be your thing. So this week you'll have to choose whether you want to tell us about the best concert you've been to or the best holidays you've had so far. Just make sure you write about one of these topics and not the two of them! 

In your post you should mention: 

(if you choose to write about your best) Holiday (so far):

- when it was

- where they went

- how long it was

- people they went with

- things/activities they did

- why it has been the best so far

- any other relevant info

OR

(if you choose to write about a) Concert (you've really enjoyed):

- when / where it was

- the artist they saw

- a bit of info about the artist

- describe the atmosphere during the    event

- describe how they felt and why they  enjoyed it

- any other memories about it

This time the word count must be 170 words at least.

Also, make sure you leave comments on 3 of your classmates posts and 1 comment on mine (yes, that's down here).

Saw Lee Ranaldo (ex Sonic Youth) and got him to sign his
 record for me. I was alone and leaving without a photo until
someone's dad said I couldn't leave without one and 
offered to take it for me. I had to go back and Lee 
remembered my name. It's silly but I felt special xD

Holidays in the sun (?)

If I could go anywhere right now, I’d definitely like to go to Greece. I don’t know which city in Greece, but the country has been in my bucket list for some time now and I feel sort of sorry I missed it during the time I was living in the UK.

I’m not really a beach person, so I think I’d just stick to ancient ruins, museums and old buildings. I really like architecture, even when I don’t know anything about it. I just have a thing for buildings, particularly when they are in old cities. I blame colonialism. I know, shame on me!

Another thing I’m really looking forward to about going to Greece is the food. I don’t really know what sort of foods Greek people eat (other than kalamata olives) but for some reason I believe I’m going to love their cuisine.

Food is a really important thing for me. I think that it is actually one of my favourite things in the world, and one of the greatest benefits of human migration! (besides the actual getting to look beyond your own belly button sort of thing, of course).

I know it is a lame excuse, but whenever I’ve come close to consider becoming a vegetarian or vegan, this is one of the reasons that stops me from doing so. I believe that food is a way you can get a better understanding of the different cultures, especially when you consider the way people relate to food or make their lives around it. But that’s probably for another conversation.

Anyway, I think if I had a dietary restriction, my travelling and getting to know other cultures experience would be severely damaged. It’s selfish, I know, but I'm a selfish person.

Anyway, now let’s see where you’d like to go! Yes, that’s right, in your first post this term you have to write about a country you’d like to visit. You can tell us the reason why you’d like to go there, whether you’ve been there before or if you have plans to go there soon. You can also provide any other piece of information you consider relevant to share in your post. Just make sure you write at least 160 words! And, as I said before, make sure you leave at least 2 comments on your classmates’ entries.

Some ideas:
- Which country you'd like to visit?
- What do you know about it?
- What would you like to do there?
- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain
- Upload pictures

Welcome to the Jungle

Aka: Welcome to the blog sessions! Before we start posting, I want to lay down some ground rules for our work with blogs this semester.

First of all, here, in my blog is where you’ll find the instructions for the entries you have to write each session, together with a sample post of my own, which will allow you to get an idea of what you’re supposed to do in class.

Also, my blog will allow you to access your classmates’ blogs. This is very important, since part of the blog sessions includes you reading your classmates’ entries and making comments on them.

You have to leave at least 2 comments on your classmates’ entries each session.

Also, your blog has to have links to my blog and all of your classmates’ blogs. That way it will be easier for you to find mine and their entries, read them and make comments on them.

Finally, always make sure you leave a comment on my entry! I’m trying to monetise my account and that really helps (I’m kidding! But I really need you to do this, though)

Now let us move on to the first entry of the term :)