Third day of classes
Another great day in Vienna!
German got much harder today.....we reviewed adjective endings, which was never my strongest point. It'll come back, I suppose....and certainly 201 is way more helpful for me than 102 for bringing my knowledge back....it's still unfortunate that I won't be able to transfer any of the credits, since I've technically already taken 201....also, the only 400 level music history class they offer this semester is Baroque and Classical, which I've already taken. I think that this whole process will involve a lengthy letter to IPO and Dr. Girton explaining the situation.....
I had my advising meeting with Dr. Schier today....it was helpful, I guess, but I didn't realize how incredibly limited my options are. Well, we'll see how it goes at registration. I don't even know what I'm going to audition with for the masterclass....Dr. Schier seemed a bit more optimistic about my chances of conducting something than I initially was....I'm still not keeping my hopes up. I'm guessing that I'll have to audition with voice, since I really doubt that I'll be able to do organ at the masterclass (seeing as how there is no organ at the institute....I did hear one today that sounded like it was coming from the Music University, though.....oh, did I mention that the Music University is just across the street?) Well, we'll have to see what happens with that too...if I end up being able to take organ lessons. That would be pretty sweet. Also, I turned in my application to work at the library today. (IES apparently has a very limited work study program....I wish they'd mentioned it before I got here!) The librarian told me that I was the 9th to apply, and that she has nine slots, so if no one else applies, I'm pretty much in. I figure I have a good chance, since I'm pretty needy plus I have 2 years experience working in a library. They pay €5/hour, which would be a handsome sum to collect per week, even if I only work 3 or 4 hours per week.....it could subsidize my opera excursions, as long as I only do Stehplatz. (Mike and Kate already bought actual seats for something that's coming up....some 5 act Verdi thing which I really don't want to see, especially if it's a choice between standing for 5 hours or paying €30-€40 for a seat.....
I hear Nick in the other room on the guitar.....It's weird living with four brass players and a classical guitarist.....the strange melange of practicing noises in the afternoon is something I will not soon forget. I don't mean to imply that they are all constantly practicing in the room....they usually don't.....but sometimes JB will play a few notes while Nick is playing some diddy to impress some chic and Mike will be blowing in his mouthpiece.....anyway, it can be a bit funny. I suppose it would be funnier if I broke out with Queen of the Night or something, but I'm a bit too shy for that sort of thing.
BTW, I think that my roommates still don't know I'm gay. Isn't THAT hi-larious??
I looked up information about the Staatsoper today, and I made a preliminary schedule of when I want to see which performances. I hope to go to Hoffmann tomorrow night, so we'll see how it works. I hope to eventually make similar plans for the Volksoper and the symphony and other stuff.
Mike, Kate and I saw Don Giovanni in front of the Rathaus last night! It was really, really cool. We got there about an hour and 40 minutes early, so we got really good seats. An hour before the concert they put on a recording of Cecilia Bartoli singing some vaguely Mozart-sounding arias.....neither Mike nor I could figure out if it actually was Mozart, since none of them were familiar to us.....we thought perhaps it was either really early Mozart, or perhaps the Salieri album. In any case, sitting in front of the Rathaus (huge neo-gothic building) and listening to Cecilia Bartoli as the sky darkened and the stars started to come out.....well, it was pretty freakin' awesome all around. The show was good too....it was the video recording of the Wiener Staatsoper production, which they projected onto this huge screen. There were all sorts of vendors there selling food and useless trinkets. Also, there was this crazy Austrian guy who walked up and down the aisles talking to himself during the entire movie. It was kinda funny, actually, especially since he really seemed to be enjoying the opera (as was the person he was talking to....) All in all it was just really great. There were easily 600 people there....it was pretty awesome. And the best part is, I felt completely comfortable riding the U-bahn back at 10:20 at night.
I think I might be in the first stages of the depression that the IPO people were so fond of talking about. I definitely experienced the "honeymoon" period in Murau and my first few days in Vienna. Today, however, I've just been really really tired.....I ate almost a whole wedge of Brie by myself for lunch (it was freakin' awesome, too.....I got the Brie and crackers at Billa, which is one step higher than Hofer, where I usually shop) I've been staying at home all day fooling around and eating.....hopefully I won't actually get fully depressed. I don't know. Until I snap out of this funk, I can postpone my plan to lose massive amounts of weight.
I called home two days ago, and I talked to Andrew yesterday (I called him on Tuesday too, but he was in class). It was nice to hear from everyone, but at the same time I think it made me feel a bit more homesick. I keep telling myself that it's not that long of a time, and that I should focus on doing as much as I can while I'm here, since I'll probably never get an opportunity like this ever again. It's not as if I hate it here and I want to go home, but I definitely look forward to eventually returning home.
It's nice to get e-mail from everyone....I'm sorry that i don't have time to respond, really, but I promise once IES gets their internet back up I'll be more able to respond.
There are these weird noises coming from outside....construction? fireworks? I can't tell.......strange, that. Anyway, I should go write my German dialogue, seeing as how it's due tomorrow and I have to use all those freakin' prepositions. **sigh** Yay for the German case system! (except not!)
German got much harder today.....we reviewed adjective endings, which was never my strongest point. It'll come back, I suppose....and certainly 201 is way more helpful for me than 102 for bringing my knowledge back....it's still unfortunate that I won't be able to transfer any of the credits, since I've technically already taken 201....also, the only 400 level music history class they offer this semester is Baroque and Classical, which I've already taken. I think that this whole process will involve a lengthy letter to IPO and Dr. Girton explaining the situation.....
I had my advising meeting with Dr. Schier today....it was helpful, I guess, but I didn't realize how incredibly limited my options are. Well, we'll see how it goes at registration. I don't even know what I'm going to audition with for the masterclass....Dr. Schier seemed a bit more optimistic about my chances of conducting something than I initially was....I'm still not keeping my hopes up. I'm guessing that I'll have to audition with voice, since I really doubt that I'll be able to do organ at the masterclass (seeing as how there is no organ at the institute....I did hear one today that sounded like it was coming from the Music University, though.....oh, did I mention that the Music University is just across the street?) Well, we'll have to see what happens with that too...if I end up being able to take organ lessons. That would be pretty sweet. Also, I turned in my application to work at the library today. (IES apparently has a very limited work study program....I wish they'd mentioned it before I got here!) The librarian told me that I was the 9th to apply, and that she has nine slots, so if no one else applies, I'm pretty much in. I figure I have a good chance, since I'm pretty needy plus I have 2 years experience working in a library. They pay €5/hour, which would be a handsome sum to collect per week, even if I only work 3 or 4 hours per week.....it could subsidize my opera excursions, as long as I only do Stehplatz. (Mike and Kate already bought actual seats for something that's coming up....some 5 act Verdi thing which I really don't want to see, especially if it's a choice between standing for 5 hours or paying €30-€40 for a seat.....
I hear Nick in the other room on the guitar.....It's weird living with four brass players and a classical guitarist.....the strange melange of practicing noises in the afternoon is something I will not soon forget. I don't mean to imply that they are all constantly practicing in the room....they usually don't.....but sometimes JB will play a few notes while Nick is playing some diddy to impress some chic and Mike will be blowing in his mouthpiece.....anyway, it can be a bit funny. I suppose it would be funnier if I broke out with Queen of the Night or something, but I'm a bit too shy for that sort of thing.
BTW, I think that my roommates still don't know I'm gay. Isn't THAT hi-larious??
I looked up information about the Staatsoper today, and I made a preliminary schedule of when I want to see which performances. I hope to go to Hoffmann tomorrow night, so we'll see how it works. I hope to eventually make similar plans for the Volksoper and the symphony and other stuff.
Mike, Kate and I saw Don Giovanni in front of the Rathaus last night! It was really, really cool. We got there about an hour and 40 minutes early, so we got really good seats. An hour before the concert they put on a recording of Cecilia Bartoli singing some vaguely Mozart-sounding arias.....neither Mike nor I could figure out if it actually was Mozart, since none of them were familiar to us.....we thought perhaps it was either really early Mozart, or perhaps the Salieri album. In any case, sitting in front of the Rathaus (huge neo-gothic building) and listening to Cecilia Bartoli as the sky darkened and the stars started to come out.....well, it was pretty freakin' awesome all around. The show was good too....it was the video recording of the Wiener Staatsoper production, which they projected onto this huge screen. There were all sorts of vendors there selling food and useless trinkets. Also, there was this crazy Austrian guy who walked up and down the aisles talking to himself during the entire movie. It was kinda funny, actually, especially since he really seemed to be enjoying the opera (as was the person he was talking to....) All in all it was just really great. There were easily 600 people there....it was pretty awesome. And the best part is, I felt completely comfortable riding the U-bahn back at 10:20 at night.
I think I might be in the first stages of the depression that the IPO people were so fond of talking about. I definitely experienced the "honeymoon" period in Murau and my first few days in Vienna. Today, however, I've just been really really tired.....I ate almost a whole wedge of Brie by myself for lunch (it was freakin' awesome, too.....I got the Brie and crackers at Billa, which is one step higher than Hofer, where I usually shop) I've been staying at home all day fooling around and eating.....hopefully I won't actually get fully depressed. I don't know. Until I snap out of this funk, I can postpone my plan to lose massive amounts of weight.
I called home two days ago, and I talked to Andrew yesterday (I called him on Tuesday too, but he was in class). It was nice to hear from everyone, but at the same time I think it made me feel a bit more homesick. I keep telling myself that it's not that long of a time, and that I should focus on doing as much as I can while I'm here, since I'll probably never get an opportunity like this ever again. It's not as if I hate it here and I want to go home, but I definitely look forward to eventually returning home.
It's nice to get e-mail from everyone....I'm sorry that i don't have time to respond, really, but I promise once IES gets their internet back up I'll be more able to respond.
There are these weird noises coming from outside....construction? fireworks? I can't tell.......strange, that. Anyway, I should go write my German dialogue, seeing as how it's due tomorrow and I have to use all those freakin' prepositions. **sigh** Yay for the German case system! (except not!)
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