Hi everybody!
(Hi, Doctor Nick!)

Well. Here I am writing a blog on a ... Tuesday evening (just had to check that one out) but this one won’t be posted until Wednesday morning/afternoon (if we’re lucky) and so it should be online on Wednesday night New Zealand time. So, tomorrow night. Or tonight, if we’re speaking Nzish.

Sorry I’m late again, I just keep running out of time! It’s an issue. I have more and more on these days. Especially concerts, I don’t know where they all come from! Though it could have something to do with the fact that I have just joined yet another band – GHM, a big, pretentious, prestigious orchestra here in the Faroe Islands. It’s run by the music school (as are my other two bands) and involves every instrument playable with the mouth. Odd way to explain but so it goes. But yes, I do have rather a crazed itinerary for the next month ... on Sunday the 9th (the coming Sunday – that rules out the next blog being on time) I am touring with GHM to three neighbouring towns around Tórshavn – it’s called Jólatræ (the Christmas Tree Tour) and involves playing outside. It snows lots now so I’m not looking forward to it so much but we do get a tour bus so that shall be fun! On the 17th of December I have another concert, this time with my class, who are fundraising for their trip next year to Turkey. The concert is for small children and so far I am in a choir, singing a solo, playing solo piano, saxaphone, and in a band. So that should be fun ... I don’t really mind, the alternative was face painting. Then, on the 19th, I have this crazy, crazy concert – we’re performing on the Jólaskip or Christmas ship (this is with GHM, the aforementioned orchestra that I have just joined). The Jólaskip is a Faroese tradition and every city has one (every town, rather) and they light them up with Christmas lights and get bands on them playing Christmas carols and then you can row out to them in your little dinghies and wander around for a bit – drink gløgg (mulled wine) and eat holukøkur (literally holy cakes but more or less just deep fried pancake dough served with jam and icing sugar). Ooh, and on Saturday (forgot this one – bother) I am singing with my school choir at some flash function the school is throwing in aid of Verkætlan which I do believe I explained in my last blog. Possibly the one before. But yes, our Verkætlan was a competition and so the winners will be announced on Saturday. And we are also singing.
And I performed two concerts last Tuesday night, though I had only intended to play one. Both of my big bands were performing in the Miðlahúsinum, which is a tiny, tiny venue in the centre of town. I only knew that the non-professional band was playing and so brought my music only for that one, but when the professional band arrived straight afterwards and asked politely where exactly I thought I was going, I wound up playing with them as well. It was, of course, a huge honour as I am the youngest in the band and quite possibly the least trained – all the musicians in it are incredibly good.. That concert especially was amazing – the music that band plays is so tight and just fantastic. They are touring next summer, and I do cross my fingers that they do it before I leave, so that I can go with them, because they’re either going to Iceland or Greenland (Silja, if we come to Iceland, you are so coming to watch).
So yes, that’s my concert schedule for December – I have a suspicion that the big bands have more dates planned for the Christmas break. I must start getting photos of these things!

On Saturday night was my school’s Christmas ball – the ball here does not mean the same thing as it does at home, mind. Ball is Faroese for party. And this was one big party – and superhero themed! I went as Pippi Longstockings and the plaits especially went down rather well as Stacey and I had wired them up. I had mismatched socks and everything, and a great 60s cocktail dress with polkadots that I bought for 35kr ($8.75) in a second hand shop. But yes, everyone dressed up and it was a great night – I have a few photos from my class pre-party which I may put up at some stage. If I have a free class sometime (hopefully tomorrow, as I have biology, physics and Faroese – officially the worst day possible).

Hmm ... what else has happened since I last blogged? Well, Stacey is in Edinburgh, though she hasn’t been for long and won’t be for much longer – she went on a cruise to Scotland with her host family where they actually spend more time on the boat than in Scotland. It’s crazy – they seriously get 20 hours in Edinburgh. The whole affair is geared towards shopping and takes about 90 hours. But when I got home from evening school tonight, my host parents informed me with amusement that Stacey’s host mum, Turid, had rung them in a total and utter panic – Stacey has Lost Her Passport and may well be stuck in Edinburgh for a while if they can’t straighten the matter out. I await news of developments eagerly as it is so a Stacey-ish thing to do – at the [rather swanky] AFS 50th anniversary a month or so back, she successfully lit the table decorations on fire, much to my amusement ... while Stacey was yelling at me for laughing and trying desperately to find water, the girl across the table quietly picked the burning leafy things up and blew them out. Haha.

Ooh, on Saturday we had the Lighting Of The Town Christmas Tree. Very important and thousands of people go to it ... seriously, there were three thousand there to see it lit on the weekend. They lowered a Santa from a crane and he lit the tree. Being a Santa in the Faroe Islands is officially not the world’s most desirable job ... I’m intrigued as to where they got the tree, personally, as there aren’t any here and what few do grow in people’s gardens don’t grow anywhere near as big as this monster. So definitely an import. Odd, really. But yes, we went to watch the lighting and then went into a bar and drank gløgg and ate holukøkur. Gløgg is intriguing stuff, really ... mulled wine served hot with raisins and almonds and a lot of ginger. Delicious, to tell the truth.

Anyway, it’s way past my bedtime so I am going to load this onto my flashcard and hit the sack.
Love you all,
Kelsy

P.S You guessed it – please comment. Question: does anyone from AFS North Shore read this? I’m sure I put the address in my last email ...