Kodály Level Three Begins

Maybe I'm getting old and sappy. Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe the intensity of Kodály messes with my mind. Maybe it's because its the last year. Maybe it's because of Poco. Maybe it's because of the dorm situation. For whatever reason, this year feels different. I have been panicking about leaving Poco. I have left him many times and for much longer periods but this is the first time I've left him since he got sick. I think I about drove my parents mad with my worry leading up to leaving. I know dogs often suffer from separation anxiety but I think this time I am the one struggling with this and not Poco. Church this morning was good. Then I got on a plane. A very loud plane. A plane that sat for a long time before leaving, then hitting horrible turbulence before landing. The turbulence was so bad they couldn't even come around with drinks. After all this, there was a problem with luggage. I finally got mine. I should note that while I usually go in a carry on, I splurged and checked a bag, carried on a bag and a backpack. I figured with everything going on I wanted all the comforts of home and lots of food. By 10:00 pm I had everything and my friends picked me up at the airport. My friend from China burst out of the car to hug me, and my friend from North Carolina quickly followed. My crazy friend from Pennsylvania was driving and remained in the car. We arrived and were soon laughing and joking as if no time had passed. I love that about music friends. There is a certain bond between music teachers that exists simply because we are music teachers. It is so nice to have people that you don't have to explain things too. You're a little odd, but they are too so it all works. We reminisced about the last two years, commented about it being strange to be our last year, and lamented the fact that the housing this year is so darn crappy. You see, dear reader, the last two years we lived in graduate student housing. While they were nothing fancy, they were little apartments with two bedrooms (2 people each), a full kitchen, family room, and bathroom. This year, they have us in Hawk Hall. If you changed the vowel in the second word, it would be a more accurate name for this place. This is a big freshman dorm so all three of us are sharing one room. This is no problem, and actually is quite fun. The not fun part is the fact that there is no kitchen, meaning we will starve, and the floor is co-ed with awful bathrooms. I will post pics later but they are BAD. I had to muster up all my courage to take a shower, which was worse even than some of the showers experienced last year in Germany. Ugh. I was grateful I packed some shampoo/conditioner/body wash all in one to make the experience as fast as possible.

I am glad to be back. I am excited and nervous and terrified all at once. I'm already a little sad this is the last year. I am going to do my best to savor every moment of it, but I know there will be plenty of panic mixed in with that too. Now it is slmost 3 am. Class starts at 8:30 am. Time to try to sleep.