MMIX
The past twelve months seem to have sped by like a tinted blur on the horizon as I reflect on the various activities and challenges of 2009. I found myself in Madrid on December 31st 2008 after completing a research project back in England before Christmas. My time in Spain was fast and fruitful in that I produced a short introduction film to The Learning English Video Project and began preparing for mathematics and English exams that I took later in the year. Preparation continued over the course of the next few months after I relocated to Wroclaw, Poland in order to edit three films for TLEVP as well as my promotional video series for The British Council. By the time May came around, 'Stories from Morocco' and 'Lessons from Romania' had been released on EnglishClub.com. With my exams looming and an acceptance letter from the University of Wroclaw, I returned to England in order to prepare myself for an intensive summer. I sat my exams at the end of May and the beginning of June before taking a train from London to Somerset and heading straight to Millfield. 'Tales from America', was released on June 22nd by EnglishClub.com. Over the course of the next seven weeks, I worked as Centre and Academic Manager at Millfield Summer School as well as being appointed the position of 'Crisis Manager' after the national swine flu pandemic. I spent one day in Essex after Millfield drew to a close and flew to Shanghai with Joel Carr where we started work on 'Insights from China', the next film in the TLEVP series. Production then continued in Sao Paulo, Brazil throughout the first half of September. I returned to Poland on September 14th, where I began my University induction in Wroclaw. 'Erasmus Insights', was printed and distributed by The British Council at the end of the month. My M.A. in International Relations began on October 1st and my Mandarin language course started a week later. I also began working sporadically with Connect Asia, a business advisory company based in Wroclaw, and continued editing for TLEVP. This meant working seventeen hour days almost every day of the week, which was a little tiring but most productive. 'Conversations in Spain' was released by EnglishClub.com on November 21st and I embarked on a journey to China shortly afterwards. My second trip to Asia this year was on the basis of research and did indeed prime a third trip, which I shall take at the end of December. My central hope is that 2010 will be equally as productive as 2009, if not more so. With three more films still to come from TLEVP, my second and third semesters at The University of Wroclaw, events to organise with Connect Asia, my fourth summer at Millfield and further possible trips to China, it certainly looks as though productivity is on the agenda. I would personally like to thank Josef Essberger for his assistance, support and creative insights throughout the year.
Daniel.
Suffolk, England - June 2009
