Northern Violist in UK (suggested listening: Pj Harvey "Let England Shake")

After spending two years acclimatizing to New York, earning a masters degree, playing far too many concerts and falling in love with the place and its people (and its orchestras!) more every day, my spouse took a new job in London, UK, so here we are. I don't actually know anybody in London.

I do intend to blog once in awhile - in New York I spent approximately three hours on the subway everyday (my spouse spent 4+ on trains) so as you can imagine, every moment was precious.

I've never been across the Atlantic before today, and now this is my new home.

Observations so far, from Day 1:

- The English have forgotten to put doorknobs on the doors to their flats.

- The chicken I had in my Thai curry was melt-in-your-mouth soft and was probably from a boneless & skinless cut before it was cooked for my meal, but unlike North America, I couldn't taste any strange chemicals. (I'm rather sensitive to this as I have a ton of food sensitivities and now eat a slightly modified paleo diet, which seldom includes processed food, unless I'm being naughty).

- The yolks of my eggs was ORANGE. not yellow, orange!

So that's it. I have a rehearsal tonight with an amateur orchestra - Bruckner and a Prokofiev piano concerto are on the menu. Delicious. I thought I'd never have an opportunity to play Bruckner, aside from a reading I did once at a festival.

I'm not entirely sure how to break into the freelancing scene, but hopefully tonight will give me a few clues. I need to make contact with (and by "contact" I mean "have a pint with") friends of friends who live here, who should give me a few hints.

It was easier to get started in New York because I was in a school, and after a month, I could've

OMG THERE"S A KITTY CAT OUTDOORS!!!! :D

...nevermind, I couldn't figure out how to open the doors to the garden, and thus scared said kitty away. I'm still locked in. At least I didn't break the doors!

As I was saying, after a month of school in New York, I had enough contacts to strike out on my own, if I had been able. Someone at an institute this summer suggested I go to the Royal Academy and ask them where I should get started. Good advice, but I can hardly march in there and announce, "I HAVE ARRIVED!!! GIVE ME MANY CONCERTS!!!"

Well, I could, but it probably wouldn't produce the desired effect.

I'm sure any amateur orchestra would be happy to have me, I just need to find the ones where other freelancers hang out in their spare time.

I saw many people with instrument cases last night, so there's music in my neighborhood, probably an orchestra nearby. I resisted the urge to accost people on the street, I'll wait until my viola adorns my back - the well-known eccentricity of violists means you can get away with a lot.

I saw a cellist reading The New Yorker on the train and felt a pang of both sadness and happiness, that for a little while, I was a New Yorker.

I had estimated three years to turn into a full-fledged New Yorker, and I definitely needed that final year to complete the metamorphosis. I wonder if it's the same for London, and if I get bonus points for having spent two years in New York first? Of course, no one will ever mistake me for being English. I'm a Canadian who was always assumed to be a native New Yorker (until I said "out" and "about", that is).

A note for travellers/nomads/new arrivals in the UK: We bought unlocked phones in North America and purchased sim cards when we arrived last night - without credit history we weren't eligible for contracts or subsidized phones, and they were cheaper to buy before we left - $200 phone was the same as...wait, how do you make the pound symbol? I'm such a n00b at England. Anyway, a $200 phone in the US was two hundred pounds here, which isn't fair, but there you have it. Also, we went for the O2 unlimited data, texts and 300 minutes. I'll probably be getting Skype credit to use for making many calls.

Also, we got oyster cards (transit card) right away - don't delay! Got them at a combo tube/overland train station. It's about twice as expensive without an oyster card.

Well, I guess I'd better go practice Proko and Bruckner, I have new people to try and not embarrass myself in front of tonight!