The Happenings

Girl, it has been a while!

Really, it's time to play catch up. There is a lot going on! For me it is a lot of hard work paying off and so much planning that is all coming to fruition.

The internship in Edinburgh was fantastic. Not only did I learn a lot from a cool theatre company (see my previous blog from January) but I met some amazing people. I wasn't fully prepared for their warm generosity of spirit, but there it was.

Back to the US:
I returned to Houston from Scotland early April, went to Napa to see the Folks, flew back to Arlington Virginia to attend a dear friend's wedding and stuck around in VA to present my Capstone project (Comparing performing arts philanthropy in US and Scotland). Once more back to Houston to pack for the next big step!

Graduation!
Traveled BACK to Arlington (keeping up with all this?) this time with my family to walk across the stage at Graduation. I cannot tell you how lovely it was that my family took the time to come support me during that weekend, their constant support for this educational process has touched my heart.
When they left VA, I stayed for a bit...

Performing Arts Management in the UK:
Even though I walked at graduation in mid May, I truly have one summer class left in order to graduate. Two weeks in Arlington studying then three weeks in London meeting with arts managers in lovely theaters museums dance organizations and music halls! We get to pick their brains and see a lot off great performances! I am thrilled to be boarding a plane for this portion of The Plan in a few hours :) while in VA I have gotten to see my dear friends here one last time before I truly settle in to a life in Texas.

Post-Virginia:
John is meeting me in The UK, we will be traveling there for a bit and I am very excited to show him the Edinburgh I love. When we come back to the states we Immediatly flew to.... Jill Harding's wedding on St. John's in the US Virgin Islands. I have never been before and I am stoked to get to continue one of my true passions, scuba diving.

After all of that adventure, John and I get to go back to Texas, this time... together. We are both very ready for this long-distance marriage to become a live-in see-you-everyday finally-together-again marriage.

So guys, that's the haps. If it looks like I'm here then there then wtf is happening and where... Now you know. And by the way... I miss my Alaska Family, I'm thinking about you all in the smokey north  and hoping for rain.

Love and light and too many flights,
JSchloHard

Edinburgh Part 1

I made it to Edinburgh :) and I love being at the Royal Lyceum Theatre! a few days in to the internship and loving it.

I am sitting on the top floor of a 4 floor building, a flat with three bedrooms and a kitchen, very old school european apartment with tall ceilings and crown moulding. Updated bathroom and beautifully neutral everything. There is a tiny ledge on the window in the kitchen making a small bench to sit on. I am sitting here with a cup of peppermint tea overlooking the beautiful neighborhood of Bruntsfield (look it up!) and dreaming about some of the famous inhabitants of the 'hood.... and listening to the wind howl.

They call this neighborhood the writers block or authors square because JK Rowlings had a flat just a few doors down!!!

Everything is cold here except the people and the tea. I don't mean Alaska cold, I mean like damp and windy with no place that has constant heating options. I bought a plug in blanket because our radiator is on a timer. They wear so many more clothes here than I brought, just to stay warm. Time to buy a sweater. What was I thinking sacrificing my hoodie for another pair of slacks and shoes?? I need the hoody. Not so much the slacks.

My walk to the Lyceum about 1 mile each way and I do it every morning, it is great. I walked that way today and went down to Princes street and George street pausing along the way for beautiful sunny (yet still very chilly) pictures of the castle and the palace. There was an old cemetery that was green with algae in the middle of town that was so serene looking, it even harbored a tiny cherry tree with stubborn blossoms clinging to its cold branches, reminding me that there is more than just 17th century stone work here.

From my perch in the kitchen I clearly see Arthurs Seat and look westwardly towards the rest of the country. The sunset is like a fire on the cloud, burning the edges into my memory. The houses and gardens that I look onto from here are old and posh, some still single family 'homes' or mansions with lovely green areas out back, a luxury in this modern historic city. I love it here. It gets dark still too early for my taste but I like so much about it.

Have you been to Scotland in the winter? What was your favorite part? Where did you go?

If you would like to see a photo-stream of almost all my photos from my time here, get a flickr account and look me up jharding8. http://www.flickr.com/

xoxo

Love and WARMTH

JSchloHard