Start of the new semester

I'm back in New York! I had the most wonderful holiday, very relaxing, and I had a fabulous time seeing my parents, and a few friends, and in some ways it felt like it came to an end too quickly. But in other ways, I'm glad to be back. I am very excited for the new semester, partly because I have some very exciting classes, and an ensemble and some choir auditions to look forward to, and partly because of some of the exciting activities due to happen this semester. I found out yesterday that my friend Ben Tausig and I have had a joint proposal accepted for a conference at the Experience Music Project in Seattle in April! What a great way to start the semester. We have a lot of work to do before then, but I can't wait to travel to the west coast, and I am very excited about the joint project itself. More details will follow as I have them, so keep an eye on the blog.
It is also nice to be back in New York, despite the cold and grey at the present time. I am very grateful to have had a really warm, sunny (mostly) holiday, because I feel like the cold is less daunting now. And the weather forecast is predicting snow on Friday (there hasn't been any here this season, yet), so I am excited for that. It was also really lovely to see so many of my new friends again. There really are a lot of great people here, and they are such an important part of this whole experience. I cried when I left Johannesburg, and a whole lot on the plane, and when I unpacked my bag this morning, and when I ate a rusk my mom made, and put a map of South Africa on my wall, and found a spot for a mouse (called Alexandra) my friend gave me on Sunday, but a little home-sickness doesn't detract from my enjoyment at being back.
The view from the street outside my res building. The empire state building is all lit up in white