“The 4-month Break and 1-month Uni”

Hi everyone!

I’m Dave, a violin student at MUN, and I’m taking my Master’s degree in Music (Violin) Performing and Pedagogy. If you could see the second person from the bottom left, with a grey pants, yes, that’s me!

Could you see how cheerful we were?! It was a bonfire night at The Logy Bay with the Faculty of Music students last year (Fall 2017). It’s been a very fun first year of uni (I like to say uni more than university; I may call it efficiency).

Long story short, it was April 2018, when classes were over and everyone could smell the summer breeze on its way to St. John’s. At first, I didn’t have any plan to go back home to Indonesia, but by grace, I found a good deal for a returned airline-ticket. So, I bought it and made it home safely. After 30+ hours in the cabins of different airplanes, here the fun started, and I am more than happy to share!

My family didn’t have any idea that I was coming back home. With a help of my brother, I managed surprises for my mom and my sister in their workplaces, as well as my granny and dad at home. It was a total blast!

Unfortunately, I only spent a week in Jakarta before I had to go back to Oz (Australia) for a few orchestra concerts. Over 3 months in Brisbane, I took part and performed in 5 concert events from 3 different orchestras. It was such perfect timing; rehearsal started a few days after I got back to Oz, and my last concert was within the last 2 weeks I was in there.

It was very nice to see my Aussie friends and my other family members again, to get involved in the old and new communities, and definitely to have very decent FOODS for these 3 months (aside from practicing my violin; yes music students have tons of homework during the break, please note that well). What made my summer break (Winter break for Oz) so special was spending my birthday in a zoo with all the cuteness and the laziness of wombats, koalas, and kangaroos; I have never ever done that before for my birthday – now you (and I) learn, that it COULD be a birthday celebration alternative. Other than those interesting and refreshing moments, my friends and I explored new places. We went to so many beaches, restaurant, and definitely threw a barbie (that’s how Aussies say barbeque)!

In August 2018, I was in Indonesia for another month before going back to Canada. Catching up with family and friends is always fun. I also met up with my Indo friends (Indo is a slang word to replace the word Indonesia / Indonesian). And met my vacation goal when I was in Indonesia; exploring new places.

It was late August and I was very excited to head back to Canada for another year. But at the same time, I had mixed feeling, because the thought of going back to Canada actually meant my 4.5-month holiday was coming to an end.

By September 2018, I was back in this lovely city, St. John’s. In the first few days in St. John’s, I went back to Signal Hill to enjoy the view and got myself used to living in this windy city again; How I really missed this city!

I also enjoyed very much giving hugs to a bunch of my close friends from my bible-study group, whom I had not seen for 4.5 months. I went back to my church, and found that there are now 5 or 6 Australians in my church. It’s so nice to hear the ‘Aussie accent’ in town! I also noticed during the very last week before school started, I needed to readjust because I had a 4.5-month break in Indonesia and Australia, where both countries are known for their “very slow and chill life-styles”. It is also a little bit chill in St. John’s, but during this particular week, so many things were going on. I moved into my new house with two other music students and one business student. I managed to clean up my room and unpack my things for 6 hours, and had a mini moving-in house party with my roomies; it looks like we get along really well, now. I was (and still am) in the process of getting a driving license in St. John’s, as well as applying for jobs on teaching violin. Fortunately, I did not forget that I am a music student, so I did my mandatory practice-hours, and made sure that everything was settled before the new academic semester started.

There’s time for holiday, and there’s time for uni. Holiday is now in my memory, and I’m back to reality, which is my Master’s Degree! It has been approximately a month back, and I’ve met many new students joining the music program at MUN. I’ve also joined a newly-formed ensemble, The Watershed Ensemble, and we performed very well in the music building’s concert hall. I have auditioned for the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, got in, and will still be playing with them again this year.

This semester is also special for me because it is my very first university-life blogging for the graduate student blog. Many interesting things happened, and will still be happening! I really hope that every one of you is also having a very nice first month in this new academic year. Once again, for me, it has been a really nice first month and I am looking forward to see what other surprising things are coming up in the next few weeks – I’ll definitely share it on my second blog.

Thanks for reading my very first post! I hope that you’ve learnt many new efficient slang words. Please say hi if you meet me in the Music Building or even outside of MUN :). Wishing you the very best!

Cheers!