So I have some to the conclusion that mosquitoes are at the top of the food chain, not humans. My lower legs and feet have pretty much been served on a silver platter to these pests and as a result I now have cankles!! :( I swear it, they breed like rabbits here! I'm not letting it dampen my spirits while on this trip but it definitely doesn't help when I'm severely allergic to them and every bite I have gotten has swollen up to about the size of a tennis ball. Its ok though because through this experience, I have come to appreciate the ankles God gave me ;)
Ok it's been a few days so I have a lot to cover, but I'll try not to overwhelm you :)
Sunday was definitely a deal breaker for me. I got the chance to experience two amazing and awe-inspiring performances!! Right off the bat I went to one of the many beautiful churches here and heard the Schubert mass in E-flat major performed by the church choir and orchestra. It is just so refreshing to sit in a church with mountain-high ceilings covered in paintings and statues of angels, and then to hear music that was originally composed to be played in this setting was just fa nominal! I was very impressed at how well these musicians performed seeing as they are only volunteers! The only thing that ruined the atmosphere was the organist. I can't even explain how horribly they destroyed to mood of the service!! During communion and postlude I swear on my dog's life it sounded like they took their forearms and slammed down all the keys at once! At first it just sounded like it was in a minor key with a lot of diminished triads (which I think is inappropriate for church anyways) but it modulated into some kind of horror film soundtrack! I wish you could have seen the look on some peoples faces! I'll tell you one thing, it would have made an awesome MasterCard commercial because it was PRICELESS.
Later this evening, my friend Cayla and I went to a Wagner opera at the Staatsoper (the main opera hall in Vienna previously managed by Mahler) and only spent 3 euros on a standing place ticket. Luck was on our side that night because the only 2 open seats in the house just happened to be right next to our music history professors! Our feet were already aching by the end of the first act (keep in mind this opera was 5 HOURS LONG) and we were about ready to leave but scored seats that would have cost us 70 euros! It was well worth it, I have never seen so much musical and technical quality in a performance in my life. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the 150 person pit orchestra was actually 2/3 of the Vienna Philharmonic!!! HOLY COW!!! No joke, I honestly had chills the whole time. Every section of the orchestra was so tight in their playing with each other and they just had the creamiest sound I have ever heard. Definitely an experience I will never forget. :)
Yesterday our music history professors took us out on an excursion to the house where Franz Schubert lived for the last part of his life and then died. Schubert is one of my favorite composers so this was quite a treat! The museum was smaller than the Mozart house but still had some really awesome stuff in there! They had his pair of glasses on display and his piano which he played for guests at his home!
And this is totally off topic but due to one of the German text boxes about an "earth closet" (bathroom), I learned where the word "crap" came from! HAHA I know, of all the things I am learning here, that is not one I expected! The reason this word "crap" came into existence was because the man who invented the toilet was Thomas Crapper! See, you really do learn something new every day :)
Lastly, I just had my second lesson yesterday afternoon and it ended up being 2 1/2 hours long!! And for only 40 euros! That's quite an amazing deal if you ask me :) I get this from my professor at Central W.U. but didn't expect to find the same genuine care for my progress here in Vienna. To be honest I had no clue what to expect but I am VERY happy with the teacher they paired me up with. I have never met an elderly man with so much energy and passion for teaching. I am so blessed by the fact that all he wants is for me to learn as much as I possibly can and become the best I can be. Like I have said before, the style and technique here almost contradict everything I've learned in the United States. It is good for me though to be able to learn multiple styles and approaches to playing cello. In the long run, if I ever have auditions in this area, I will know what they look for as opposed to if I were to have auditions in the US. The more flexible I am with style and technique the better. Not only so I can switch easily between the two depending on where I am, but I can take the best of both worlds and incorporate them into my solo playing.
On a more personal note, this experience as a whole so far has been improving me on a deeper level. Above all, my relationship with the Lord is what is most important to me. Back home, I find it so easy to put all my trust in God and to rely on Him for all my strength. I found it effortless because I was in a comfortable and familiar place surrounded by people who love and support me, but it's different here. I came into this knowing that it was going to be hard and that God was going to use this as a way to mold me and teach me more about who He is and what He really is capable of doing in my heart. Especially before my room mate Jessica got here, I was just thrown into this foreign country knowing no one and having not a clue where anything was. As soon as I got on that plane to Europe, that was God's way of taking my training wheels off and naturally, as any child does while learning to ride a bike, I freaked out. Not having much previous knowledge of my own that I could refer to or fall back on, I had to learn to give absolutely every thing to God, even things as simple as which U-bahn (subway) to ride. As the days go by, I learn how to trust Him with bigger and bigger things. For example, before my lesson yesterday I literally thought I was going to die. I was having the worst cramps and was about to pass out on the way to my teacher's house. I was running early so instead of calling and rescheduling, I sat down on a park bench and decided to just pray and put my health in His hands. As you have read, this definitely paid off. I not only made it to my lesson in good spirits, but it was the best lesson I have had since the beginning of summer! This is one thing I absolutely love about our Lord. You learn to trust Him and He blesses you beyond what you even asked for :) I feel like I'm getting the hang of this. I'm over the initial shock of the training wheels coming off and finally getting comfortable riding on 2 wheels. I can't wait to soar with God and see what tricks He will teach me ;)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
June 24-26
So I FINALLY figured out why I kept getting ice cream in my coffee!! I feel like such a ditz now haha. In the middle of my german lecture we were going over different tastes like sweet, sour, spicy, and examples for each of them. One of the words I learned was "eis" which means "ice cream". So when I ordered what I thought was "iced coffee", I was actually saying in german "eis kaffee" without even knowing it!! I just thought it was the funniest thing ever, but I'm definitely not complaining because its delicious!
Anyways back on track. So these past couple days have been pretty full and I got to see a ton of cool places! One that immediately sticks out to me was the Staadtsoper (state opera house). We had a guided tour of the inside and besides being shocked by the beautiful art on the walls and detailed work of the rooms, I honest to God got to stand in the middle of one of Gustav Mahler's offices! The small piano he played on was also displayed in the room. Mahler used to be the general manager of this opera house so his face was plastered all over the place! After our tour, a friend and I went to the Doblinger Music shop. I swear I have never seen so much sheet music in one room in my life! If my self-control was anything less than great, I probably could have spent about a quarters worth of tuition in that store. They had everything you can think of! In addition to cello solo repertoire there were endless shelves of orchestral scores, chamber music, cello choir ensembles and excerpts. Well I managed to spend less than 100 euros and got some dinner before a performance in the church with the mummies ;) They performed Mozart's Coronation Mass and the acoustics of that church just made it finominal! Literally, the building remained ringing atleast 5 seconds after the choir cut off. I would DIE to be able to play some solo Bach in there :)
Today I also had my first lesson!! Even though I was not off to a good start (being lost AND late), it turned out to be an almost 2 hour lesson and I learned a ton! He just had me play for a while so he could see what he could do to help and then we went through all of the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations. He ended up giving me some exercises for left hand positions and we worked alot on bowing techniques in order to throw my sound further into an audiences direction. I had never seen a few of these tricks but they are very handy and make perfect sense!! It still astounds me how detailed and exact you must be with every single motion you make and how the slightest change can make the largest difference. Thats the blessing and curse with playing a stringed instrument. The more you improve, the more you realize how much further you have to go because the details just keep piling up. But on the bright side, you NEVER get bored ;)
Well I'm sure I'm missing some stuff out but I'm tired and thats all I can think of for now :) See ya next time! Auf Wiedersein and Gute Nacht!
:)
Anyways back on track. So these past couple days have been pretty full and I got to see a ton of cool places! One that immediately sticks out to me was the Staadtsoper (state opera house). We had a guided tour of the inside and besides being shocked by the beautiful art on the walls and detailed work of the rooms, I honest to God got to stand in the middle of one of Gustav Mahler's offices! The small piano he played on was also displayed in the room. Mahler used to be the general manager of this opera house so his face was plastered all over the place! After our tour, a friend and I went to the Doblinger Music shop. I swear I have never seen so much sheet music in one room in my life! If my self-control was anything less than great, I probably could have spent about a quarters worth of tuition in that store. They had everything you can think of! In addition to cello solo repertoire there were endless shelves of orchestral scores, chamber music, cello choir ensembles and excerpts. Well I managed to spend less than 100 euros and got some dinner before a performance in the church with the mummies ;) They performed Mozart's Coronation Mass and the acoustics of that church just made it finominal! Literally, the building remained ringing atleast 5 seconds after the choir cut off. I would DIE to be able to play some solo Bach in there :)
Today I also had my first lesson!! Even though I was not off to a good start (being lost AND late), it turned out to be an almost 2 hour lesson and I learned a ton! He just had me play for a while so he could see what he could do to help and then we went through all of the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations. He ended up giving me some exercises for left hand positions and we worked alot on bowing techniques in order to throw my sound further into an audiences direction. I had never seen a few of these tricks but they are very handy and make perfect sense!! It still astounds me how detailed and exact you must be with every single motion you make and how the slightest change can make the largest difference. Thats the blessing and curse with playing a stringed instrument. The more you improve, the more you realize how much further you have to go because the details just keep piling up. But on the bright side, you NEVER get bored ;)
Well I'm sure I'm missing some stuff out but I'm tired and thats all I can think of for now :) See ya next time! Auf Wiedersein and Gute Nacht!
:)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Day 4
In case you haven't noticed, it has been a few days since my last blog. Things have been so fast paced and so much has happened but I'll just chat about a few of the important things ;)
So my friend (and violist) Jessica finally arrived and I'm having so much fun living with her! I showed her around Stephansplatz her first night and weve just been chilling with german monopoly and walking around the city when were not in class or practicing. So super exciting news, I finally met my private cello instructor!! At first I had no idea what to expect but now I know I couldn't be happier! His name is Joseph and is the cello professor at the Vienna Conservatory. I was really nervous while waiting for him to arrive at the office but even though he knows little englis, we hit it off very well! He is a very sweet elderly man with a smile that can light up a room (thats saying a lot for Austrians)! He even lent me one of his good cellos until another I rented from a shop comes in. I'll be working on the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and Sonata no.2 in G minor by Beethoven! My first lesson is Saturday morning and I can't wait!!
Today was also very VERY special. My group and I went on a tour of the Figaro House! This is the famous house where Mozart had lived for 3 years (longest period of time he lived in any house) and composed The Marriage of Figaro, the six Haydn quartets, and a few piano concertos. I just couldn't get my head around the fact that I was walking the same hallways and looked out the same windows as this timeless composer! You can spend years studying the life of Mozart but to be in the city of Vienna and BE in his house was just an amazing experience and greatly contributed to everything else that I learned/reviewed. Just a breath-taking once-in-a-lifetime experince, I recommend it to EVERYONE, musician or not ;)
This evening we went to a 3 HOUR opera. I think that just expains itself!! I really enjoyed watching the orchestra and the actors but since it was all in german I didn't have the slightest clue of what was going on, but enjoyed it none the less. One really funny thing that happened, though, was one of the character required 2 actors. The first guy that was hired injured his knee so that he couldn't do any of the stage work and the second guy they hired lost his voice! So one guy acted/danced while the other stood at the edge of the stage and sung his part! It worked out ok but I'll tell you one thing, neither of those guys will probably get a job there again haha.
To make up for all of it Jessica, Cayla, Andreas and I went to a cafe afterwards and had some wine spritzers and gelato! And as if that weren't enough, there were tons of crazy german soccer fans running around Stephansplatz drink with their shirts off yelling victoriously. It was quite the scene, and they say Americans are the loud ones! Definitely not the case tonight haha :)
Just a side note, I know I said that I probably would never get used to the staring, well I lied. I find it kind of fun actually and I made it into a little bit of a game:) Instead of just avoiding the eyes of Austrians, I stare back! It is a little weird at first but I think its fun and I like to wait and see who can hod a stare the longest! You do need to be careful though. I quicky learned that there are just some people you DO NOT want to make eye contact with, and if its a guy (and youre a girl of course) who smiles and looks like hes about to approach you (and you dont want to be approached), THAT would be a good time to look away ;)
Alrighty well Im so glad I got the chance to catch you al up! Hope you enjoy reading these and there will be plenty more to come! It hasnt even been a full week and I feel already like so much has happened so Im just itching to see what else comes my way!
Auf Weidersein, Gute Nacht!
:)
So my friend (and violist) Jessica finally arrived and I'm having so much fun living with her! I showed her around Stephansplatz her first night and weve just been chilling with german monopoly and walking around the city when were not in class or practicing. So super exciting news, I finally met my private cello instructor!! At first I had no idea what to expect but now I know I couldn't be happier! His name is Joseph and is the cello professor at the Vienna Conservatory. I was really nervous while waiting for him to arrive at the office but even though he knows little englis, we hit it off very well! He is a very sweet elderly man with a smile that can light up a room (thats saying a lot for Austrians)! He even lent me one of his good cellos until another I rented from a shop comes in. I'll be working on the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and Sonata no.2 in G minor by Beethoven! My first lesson is Saturday morning and I can't wait!!
Today was also very VERY special. My group and I went on a tour of the Figaro House! This is the famous house where Mozart had lived for 3 years (longest period of time he lived in any house) and composed The Marriage of Figaro, the six Haydn quartets, and a few piano concertos. I just couldn't get my head around the fact that I was walking the same hallways and looked out the same windows as this timeless composer! You can spend years studying the life of Mozart but to be in the city of Vienna and BE in his house was just an amazing experience and greatly contributed to everything else that I learned/reviewed. Just a breath-taking once-in-a-lifetime experince, I recommend it to EVERYONE, musician or not ;)
This evening we went to a 3 HOUR opera. I think that just expains itself!! I really enjoyed watching the orchestra and the actors but since it was all in german I didn't have the slightest clue of what was going on, but enjoyed it none the less. One really funny thing that happened, though, was one of the character required 2 actors. The first guy that was hired injured his knee so that he couldn't do any of the stage work and the second guy they hired lost his voice! So one guy acted/danced while the other stood at the edge of the stage and sung his part! It worked out ok but I'll tell you one thing, neither of those guys will probably get a job there again haha.
To make up for all of it Jessica, Cayla, Andreas and I went to a cafe afterwards and had some wine spritzers and gelato! And as if that weren't enough, there were tons of crazy german soccer fans running around Stephansplatz drink with their shirts off yelling victoriously. It was quite the scene, and they say Americans are the loud ones! Definitely not the case tonight haha :)
Just a side note, I know I said that I probably would never get used to the staring, well I lied. I find it kind of fun actually and I made it into a little bit of a game:) Instead of just avoiding the eyes of Austrians, I stare back! It is a little weird at first but I think its fun and I like to wait and see who can hod a stare the longest! You do need to be careful though. I quicky learned that there are just some people you DO NOT want to make eye contact with, and if its a guy (and youre a girl of course) who smiles and looks like hes about to approach you (and you dont want to be approached), THAT would be a good time to look away ;)
Alrighty well Im so glad I got the chance to catch you al up! Hope you enjoy reading these and there will be plenty more to come! It hasnt even been a full week and I feel already like so much has happened so Im just itching to see what else comes my way!
Auf Weidersein, Gute Nacht!
:)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 3
So this morning I wanted to go to BIPA, a cosmetics and toiletry store for women, to get some things I forgot at home. As I was walking down the street I realized that all the stores were closed and decided to to exploring instead! To my delight though, Starbucks was open so I got a drink and a scone to go. I took this time to walk down the street as far as I could go and just take in as much as I possibly could. One thing that stood out to me the most is how much people here will stare at you, and the guys are not subtle AT ALL when checking me out! I was really uncomfortable with it in the beginning but now I just find it funny and flattering. One thing I learned was just to embrace the awkwardness :)
I finally made it back after an hour and 30mins of walking and my friend Andreas called me to get together with him and a few other girls from the program in Stephansplatz. This is a very busy area of the city and very tourist-y but it was nice to sit out in the middle of the square with my first frankfurter (hot dogs with a slice of bread and dijon honey mustard) and bottle of beer! It is so weird to be allowed to drink alcohol here, and in public, too! I do not plan on abusing this privelage but it is another way of experiencing the Viennese culture. Besides, people here don't use alcohol as a way to get wasted (in most cases), but see it as a social thing to do. I actually agree more with the European policy on alcohol than I do the United States'. The drinking age starts at 16 and the driving age starts at 18. The reasoning behind this is that by the time drinkers reach driving age, they will be over the "getting wasted" stage and driving drunk becomes a lot less common here than it is in America. In addition, if someone here gets caught driving intoxicated, their drivers lisence is revoked for life. I say that would solve a lot of problems with deaths due to drunk driving in the United States.
Back on track here. As we were walking around Stephansplatz, there were a good handful of musicians on the street including a cellist!!This was quite the treat as he was playing some Vivaldi Sonatas with a recorded accompinament. I must say this guy was amazing! Its not very often (specially in the US) that you find street musicians at this level, his sound just made my heart melt! I think I was more consumed by the fact that I wanted to play his cello really REALLY badly! On top of it just having a gorgeous sound I haven't been able to practice the past couple days (due to not having my cello yet of course!) and it's been driving me nuts! I hope I don't suck by the time I have my lesson on Tuesday :)
Anyways, after having some authentic tirimisu from an Italian cafe on an outdoor patio, I headed back home and had a few good laughs with my host parents. They are a hoot! It's so nice to come back from an area with people who won't even so much as smile at you, to people you can just have a good time with :)
That was my day today, pretty laid back but I am super excited to start classes tomorrow!
<3 Brooke
I finally made it back after an hour and 30mins of walking and my friend Andreas called me to get together with him and a few other girls from the program in Stephansplatz. This is a very busy area of the city and very tourist-y but it was nice to sit out in the middle of the square with my first frankfurter (hot dogs with a slice of bread and dijon honey mustard) and bottle of beer! It is so weird to be allowed to drink alcohol here, and in public, too! I do not plan on abusing this privelage but it is another way of experiencing the Viennese culture. Besides, people here don't use alcohol as a way to get wasted (in most cases), but see it as a social thing to do. I actually agree more with the European policy on alcohol than I do the United States'. The drinking age starts at 16 and the driving age starts at 18. The reasoning behind this is that by the time drinkers reach driving age, they will be over the "getting wasted" stage and driving drunk becomes a lot less common here than it is in America. In addition, if someone here gets caught driving intoxicated, their drivers lisence is revoked for life. I say that would solve a lot of problems with deaths due to drunk driving in the United States.
Back on track here. As we were walking around Stephansplatz, there were a good handful of musicians on the street including a cellist!!This was quite the treat as he was playing some Vivaldi Sonatas with a recorded accompinament. I must say this guy was amazing! Its not very often (specially in the US) that you find street musicians at this level, his sound just made my heart melt! I think I was more consumed by the fact that I wanted to play his cello really REALLY badly! On top of it just having a gorgeous sound I haven't been able to practice the past couple days (due to not having my cello yet of course!) and it's been driving me nuts! I hope I don't suck by the time I have my lesson on Tuesday :)
Anyways, after having some authentic tirimisu from an Italian cafe on an outdoor patio, I headed back home and had a few good laughs with my host parents. They are a hoot! It's so nice to come back from an area with people who won't even so much as smile at you, to people you can just have a good time with :)
That was my day today, pretty laid back but I am super excited to start classes tomorrow!
<3 Brooke
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Day 2
So today was productive! I got to firgure out the subway system this morning which was a mixture of frustrating, scary, and exciting! As you could probably tell from the beginning of my last blog, I am directionally challenged so taking on a subway system for the first time ever, in Vienna of all places, was quite a big step for me! I ended up being able to find my way around and I am finally understanding how it all works. Today was our first tour and we got so see all kinds of beautiful buildings and points of interest. I have to say my favorite of the day were all the churches! I've never seen anything like them in my life. I can't believe all the detailed work that went into them from the floor to ceiling paintings, golden sculptures, and at times even mummies that were displayed! It was just so cool to be able to walk into those churches and feel the atmosphere shift, it was so breath-takingly gorgeous. During lunch time, we went to an outdoor Italian cafe and it was so good! I ordered a mozzerella and tomato sandwhich along with an iced coffee. The iced coffee was difinitely the winner! I didn't expect much but some black coffee with some ice thrown in, but to my surprise, it was a delicious dark roast blend with a scoop of vanilla gelato at the bottom (which acted as a creamer) and whip on top! Most definitely the best cup of coffee I have ever had, even topping Starbucks which is a big deal for me! After our tour finished and I got some last minute shopping done, I headed back home and just got some things organized. It was a long day today full of a lot of walking so I'm calling it a night and am looking forward to more time with my host parents tomorrow!! Nighty night :)
First day in Wien!
Let me just start off by saying, SO HAPPY TO BE IN VIENNA!! I had an interesting start and had quite a welcome though :) The first mistake I made was getting out of a cab at the wrong address. Here I am in a summer dress with 2 almost overweight suitcases and it is pouring down rain in the middle of a thunderstorm, and I am lost! I finally made it to the right house though and got a chance to dry off and start my orientation. I got my international phone and had my head overfilled with information that I could barely retain due to my jet lag. I atleast got a good feeling for what will be going on though and it was alot of fun getting to know the program director, Frauke! She is a very pleasant and entertaing lady and am really exctited to being able to work with her :)
At about 6pm, I finally got to meet my host parents and go home with them! They are very considerate and humurous people and I am already having a blast! They showed me around their house and then eventually around outside and to the subway station. It was just really nice to be able to walk around town and get to know them better and see what its like to be in their shoes.
I absolutely love this city! It's been a privelage just to be in the atmosphere of this awesome culture. The language is beautiful and I'm trying my best to pick up on more and more things even though its hard. I had always thought that german was a rough-sounding language but the more and more I listen to it, the more it sounds natural and beautiful to me! I am so excited to be here and am looking forward to all the adventures I'll be having!!
I'll be posting one blog just about every day so stay tuned for more!!
Brooke :)
At about 6pm, I finally got to meet my host parents and go home with them! They are very considerate and humurous people and I am already having a blast! They showed me around their house and then eventually around outside and to the subway station. It was just really nice to be able to walk around town and get to know them better and see what its like to be in their shoes.
I absolutely love this city! It's been a privelage just to be in the atmosphere of this awesome culture. The language is beautiful and I'm trying my best to pick up on more and more things even though its hard. I had always thought that german was a rough-sounding language but the more and more I listen to it, the more it sounds natural and beautiful to me! I am so excited to be here and am looking forward to all the adventures I'll be having!!
I'll be posting one blog just about every day so stay tuned for more!!
Brooke :)
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