This afternoon, as Olivia dined with our voice teacher and her husband for lunch, I realized that this trip has put so many new people, inspirations and just downright good company into our lives. The kind of experiences I've had here... I never could've dreamed of back home... I've met students from all over the world JUST in my classroom, not to mention on trains and trips... a famous cartoon artist... my voice teacher is a world renowned opera singer and her husband is the second chair violinist for the Wiener Philharmoniker (not to mention just a wonderful person)... I've met the US ambassador to Austria... Remi and Cormac, Jacqueline and Christophe, and various rich Viennese elitists.
As I mentioned earlier, last night Olivia and I met the newly appointed US Ambassador to Austria, David Girard-Dicarlo. We had the privlige of sitting in on an "Election Debriefing" lecture that he was giving at Webster. His lecture was very non-partisan and unbiased, especially for a Republican who (before he became ambassador) was one of the men heading up McCain's campaign... just a presentation of the facts, history and some great viewpoints. Lots of great quotes! I learned a lot of new information and established even more perspectives on old inforation. But overall, it was a very cool experience (and free food!). Olivia and I also enjoyed the fact that the man had an actual, legitimate entourage (lol!).
This morning, Olivia and I had our bi-weekly voice lessons. It was a good day for the both of us, vocally, and we've received some of the best praise thus far (Althea is by no means mean, but a good compliment should be cherished forever! lol). Althea has certainly warmed up to Olivia and I. She now enjoys taking a 1/2 hour outside our lesson time to discuss life, politics, dating, child-rearing, and everything under the sun. The woman is hilarious, and the kind of person I can see Olivia and I hanging out with on the weekends if we were closer in age--larger than life, passionate, Greek firecracker with serious opinions! Her husband, Alexander Steinberger, is this incredibly polite, soft spoken Austrian man who has kind eyes and and a sweet smile. His English is pretty decent, although he is much too modest about this fact. Ariadne, their adorable 4 1/2 year old daughter, takes a great deal after him in appearance... but she inherited her mother's wit and will power!
After our lessons and after our hour long conversation with her about politics, her Greek family, and how romantic it is to sleep under a mosquito net (don't ask!), Althea invited us to join her and Alexander for lunch. Excited about a free, home-cooked meal (yeah... we're in college, can you tell?) and the opportunity to enjoy their incredible company, Olivia and I stayed. We helped Althea prepare the typical Austrian dinner--potatoes and schnitzel. The potatoes were baked and then cooked in a butter and rosemary sauce (yes, she grows the rosemary herself) and I FINALLY learned how to make schnitzel :) Then, she threw in a Greek dish--long red peppers glazed in a lemon, olive oil, arregeno sauce and then baked until mushy. A-MAZING. This woman's kitchen is small, but mighty! Every appliance you could possibly imagine--and top-of-the-line no less! If I were a serious cooker, this would be the kitchen of my dreams.
So we all sat around the table, chowing down, sipping Elderflower water (super tasty) and Blauer Zwiegelt wine... talking about typical Greek hilarities, immigration, price-haggling, China shopping, culture, and music. In fact, the topic of School House Rock came up, and suddenly we were all busting out our belting voices to do our best renditions of "Preamble" "Just a Bill" and "Interjections." Alexander was happy to practice English, and thanked us for having such understandable, clear English dialects (lol). Olivia and I have decided that Althea and Alexander will be the most HILARIOUS old couple someday.... they interrupt each other ALL the time, and it goes from one story to another to another to another... conversational ADD! It was awesome!
Alexander also introduced us to Jascha Heifetz, one of the greatest violinists of all time and a huge influence on he and Althea, both. The most effective singing mimmicks this man's playing... it is truly incredible... truly. He was nice enough to make us both copies to take with us. Please do yourself a favor and look up some of this guy's stuff.
But, it was a good day. Really.
And tomorrow morning, Olivia and I are taking off for a day trip to Salzburg. It'll be raining all day, but we'll still be out and about :)
I've been in what you might call "a glass of emotion" these past few days. It's a combination of homesickness, the fact that I'm completely broke, that I haven't been able to talk to Eric in a bazillion years, other personal issues and the fact that I'm severely missing my family and friends. I felt like SUCH an idiot on the U-Bahn today... I had my iPod on shuffle, and LeAnn Womack's song "I Hope you Dance" began to play. Listening carefully to the lyrics for the first time in my life, I was so inspired and touched that I literally began to cry--on the UBahn!!! What is WITH me?! lol. It was just what the doctor ordered, though. It made me realize, in a time where I was beginning to doubt everything, that I live a wonderful life... it's not perfect, sure... but it is so enriched. I love and am loved. No matter what I will always have my faith. And to answer the question of whether I "sat it out" or "danced" in life... I think I have chosen to dance. I was thankful to realize this... to see past the crap in life and just see a beautiful, blessed life full of beautiful, blessed people.
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking
Loving might be a mistake, but it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
Time is a real and constant motion
always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their youth
and wonder where those years have gone?
Love you all SO much!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
(See previous post)
This is a picture of where I was last night for the Democrats Abroad party!
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/presidential-elections-PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION-CAMPAIGN-Vienna2C-Austria-US-Democratic-Party/photo//081105/ids_photos_wl/r3531920250.jpg/
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/presidential-elections-PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION-CAMPAIGN-Vienna2C-Austria-US-Democratic-Party/photo//081105/ids_photos_wl/r3531920250.jpg/
Naked Biker Man and Political "Party"... literally
Hi again, all :)
Yes... I know... no Venice post and no Paris post yet... shame, shame on me! They're written, I just have to type them out ;) It's a long task needing long, consecutive periods of time... I'll get there eventually--promise!
So many interesting and exciting things have happened here in the past few days that I feel obligated and motivated to write about them!
I'd like to get the most forefront and important issue out of the way first--2008 Presidential Election. Was it a big deal here in Austria, you ask? Yes. Quite the big deal, actually. So big that if you asked an Austrian the name of the Independent Party leader in his own country's election, he wouldn't know--but you can almost bank on the fact that he can tell you the names of both US Presedential candidates! The papers and underground station TVs always had a little blurb everyday, following the campaign trail. It wasn't until I moved here that I realized how "big" the U.S. is in the global scope of things... how many people and countries we affect.... how many foreigners follow OUR news...
It is no secret that the Europeans, as a whole, preferred Sen. Obama. I haven't met one European who has supported McCain, and most of the people I've met have truly been adamant supporters. "The young and vibrant new face of America... the face of a change much needed!" seems to be the feeling here. My voice teacher, random strangers on the train, professors, grocery store clerks would spend five minutes lecturing you about how hopeful they were that Obama would win the Presidency... and with genuine sincerity and sometimes serious alarm. Europe is concerned about American, whether they hate us or like us, because they reap the run-off of our dumb mistakes. It's funny--before I came here I was admittably vague on either candidates' policies and political philosophies. When I realized that everyone here knew MORE than I, an American citizen, did about the election, I knew I had to get my butt in gear! I can honestly say that I have become a better, more informed citizen of MY country by being OUT of the country. It allows you to step back, evaluate from afar, and get other perspectives. Soooo enlightening.
Last night, I went to the Democrats Abroad:Vienna Election night party. Democrats abroad is an organization for Americans in foreign countries and frankly for anyone who takes interest in Liberal politics. It was held at a really nice English pub in the 7th district of Vienna, Lion Rampant Pub. The place was all decked out with red-white-and-blue decor, crepe paper, life size Obama and Hillary cut-outs, and various pro-Obama banners and paraphanilia. There had large plasma screens in the rooms, broadcasting CNN at high volume levels (but still never quite loud enough for everyone to hear lol). Let me tell assure you that we were in serious violation of fire codes last night--this place could probably hold about 100 people max. There were, and I kid you not, 500 people packed like sardines into this place. There was a significantly large crowd convened outside the door.
It was so wonderful to be there. Even though I really didn't know anyone else, it felt comforting to be in the presence of fellow Americans and English speakers ;) These people were coming together for a cause and to watch a historic event in their home country. Anyway... I met a few people: a man who worked for the UN, his wife, a few girls from Manhattan, a guy from Kansas City, and even saw a few familiar faces--Professor Horsfield (who's English, mind you lol) and his wife, and a few of our St. Louis friends who came later.
Long story short, we lucked out by getting actual SEATS in the far front--RIGHT by the T.V. screen! From about 9:30 to midnight we political "partied" it up. It was chill, and it helped me keep up to date with the election. Technically, the venue lasted until the election was called (EST) which is about 6:00 am here (!!!), but I had an exam this morning and Olivia and didn't want to take the night bus.
I've always wondered if there was a Republicans Abroad... hmm...
Anyway, so yeah. Stayed up until about 2:45 to see a few states get called, and then I simply couldn't keep my eyes open. I knew when I woke up, we would have a new President Elect--and I had done my part (sent in my absentee). I was scared to go to bed lol.
But I woke up. And I immediately went to my computer and refreshed the CNN browser that had been up the entire night while I slept. It felt like the world was on my shoulders. The weight was immediately lifted when I saw the headlines. I was proud and inwardly overjoyed (I had to contain my excitement, as Olivia was still sleeping). After watching both Obama's victory and McCain's concession speeches, I was nearly moved to tears by how far our country has come. I was proud of both candidates and how maturely they handled the results (people on Facebook, however, were not so polite... that's another story). I was inspired by the hope of the new frontier and honored to have taken part in such a historical event. I felt apprehension for the vivacious Obama, knowing the kind of crap he is getting into. This man is inheriting the most intense first day agenda since... in all seriousness... Abraham Lincoln.
Today I walked out of the apartment, hoping someone would ask me where I was from, because for once I wouldn't be associated with Bush. I was happy to be associated with Obama... especially in Europe. I went to the grocery store and the clerk said something other than "Gruss Gott" and "alles." As usual when I don't understand, I replied that I spoke English. "Oooh! You are from America, yes?" I nodded, nervous for her reply as always. "We love Obama. We are so happy for the US. Congratulations!" I smiled and felt very fufilled. I hope that he is able to live up to these expectations. We are placing our hopes and futures into his leadership.
ANYWAY, now that the political sheisse is out of the way... on to the most interesting part of this blog--the naked biker man.
Yessir, he was a biker. He was probably in his 60's. He had a pony tail of scragly, gray thinning hair. He had a significant pot belly and bird-like legs.
And he was stark naked.
Ah, such are the joys of my new art class... last week when the Prof mentioned that she would try to change up the body types of our nude models for variety and practice, Olivia joked: "Watch it be some HUGE trucker guy! Hahahaha!" Touche, Olivia. Touche.
Olivia may have dropped the class... but I had to reap the "benefits" of this ironic jinx. For two straight hours. I think the stigma of the old-man penis has worn off... I mean, staring at a marble statue of a ancient Roman's junk is one thing. When it's there in-living-color... eek. The situation might have been better if he were younger... perhaps better looking... But it was good practice for me in regards to my sketches. Lots of "contours" I never had to draw before. It's weird... you stop seeing the body as a whole body. You begin to see it as abstract shapes, lines and objects. I feel that this is ideal because your mind can't trick you out of drawing what's really there... you stop thinking "well, the leg should go here, and the belly button should be like soo..." and just see a continuous flow of shapes, shadows, highlights and contours that's more accurate.
(I'm just trying to Romanticize the fact that I just saw a 65 year old man naked. Don't worry.)
Oh... and to change the subject: Althea asked Olivia and I to sing for one of her friend's house recital/showcase or something like that. It's next Tuesday and Olivia and I have to get our duet and a few solo pieces ready by then. EEK! Oh well... should be a good experience :) We're just honored she asked us to perform!
Well shoot. It's late and I need to do Deutsch Hausaufgaben... Tschuss, ciao baba!
Laura
Yes... I know... no Venice post and no Paris post yet... shame, shame on me! They're written, I just have to type them out ;) It's a long task needing long, consecutive periods of time... I'll get there eventually--promise!
So many interesting and exciting things have happened here in the past few days that I feel obligated and motivated to write about them!
I'd like to get the most forefront and important issue out of the way first--2008 Presidential Election. Was it a big deal here in Austria, you ask? Yes. Quite the big deal, actually. So big that if you asked an Austrian the name of the Independent Party leader in his own country's election, he wouldn't know--but you can almost bank on the fact that he can tell you the names of both US Presedential candidates! The papers and underground station TVs always had a little blurb everyday, following the campaign trail. It wasn't until I moved here that I realized how "big" the U.S. is in the global scope of things... how many people and countries we affect.... how many foreigners follow OUR news...
It is no secret that the Europeans, as a whole, preferred Sen. Obama. I haven't met one European who has supported McCain, and most of the people I've met have truly been adamant supporters. "The young and vibrant new face of America... the face of a change much needed!" seems to be the feeling here. My voice teacher, random strangers on the train, professors, grocery store clerks would spend five minutes lecturing you about how hopeful they were that Obama would win the Presidency... and with genuine sincerity and sometimes serious alarm. Europe is concerned about American, whether they hate us or like us, because they reap the run-off of our dumb mistakes. It's funny--before I came here I was admittably vague on either candidates' policies and political philosophies. When I realized that everyone here knew MORE than I, an American citizen, did about the election, I knew I had to get my butt in gear! I can honestly say that I have become a better, more informed citizen of MY country by being OUT of the country. It allows you to step back, evaluate from afar, and get other perspectives. Soooo enlightening.
Last night, I went to the Democrats Abroad:Vienna Election night party. Democrats abroad is an organization for Americans in foreign countries and frankly for anyone who takes interest in Liberal politics. It was held at a really nice English pub in the 7th district of Vienna, Lion Rampant Pub. The place was all decked out with red-white-and-blue decor, crepe paper, life size Obama and Hillary cut-outs, and various pro-Obama banners and paraphanilia. There had large plasma screens in the rooms, broadcasting CNN at high volume levels (but still never quite loud enough for everyone to hear lol). Let me tell assure you that we were in serious violation of fire codes last night--this place could probably hold about 100 people max. There were, and I kid you not, 500 people packed like sardines into this place. There was a significantly large crowd convened outside the door.
It was so wonderful to be there. Even though I really didn't know anyone else, it felt comforting to be in the presence of fellow Americans and English speakers ;) These people were coming together for a cause and to watch a historic event in their home country. Anyway... I met a few people: a man who worked for the UN, his wife, a few girls from Manhattan, a guy from Kansas City, and even saw a few familiar faces--Professor Horsfield (who's English, mind you lol) and his wife, and a few of our St. Louis friends who came later.
Long story short, we lucked out by getting actual SEATS in the far front--RIGHT by the T.V. screen! From about 9:30 to midnight we political "partied" it up. It was chill, and it helped me keep up to date with the election. Technically, the venue lasted until the election was called (EST) which is about 6:00 am here (!!!), but I had an exam this morning and Olivia and didn't want to take the night bus.
I've always wondered if there was a Republicans Abroad... hmm...
Anyway, so yeah. Stayed up until about 2:45 to see a few states get called, and then I simply couldn't keep my eyes open. I knew when I woke up, we would have a new President Elect--and I had done my part (sent in my absentee). I was scared to go to bed lol.
But I woke up. And I immediately went to my computer and refreshed the CNN browser that had been up the entire night while I slept. It felt like the world was on my shoulders. The weight was immediately lifted when I saw the headlines. I was proud and inwardly overjoyed (I had to contain my excitement, as Olivia was still sleeping). After watching both Obama's victory and McCain's concession speeches, I was nearly moved to tears by how far our country has come. I was proud of both candidates and how maturely they handled the results (people on Facebook, however, were not so polite... that's another story). I was inspired by the hope of the new frontier and honored to have taken part in such a historical event. I felt apprehension for the vivacious Obama, knowing the kind of crap he is getting into. This man is inheriting the most intense first day agenda since... in all seriousness... Abraham Lincoln.
Today I walked out of the apartment, hoping someone would ask me where I was from, because for once I wouldn't be associated with Bush. I was happy to be associated with Obama... especially in Europe. I went to the grocery store and the clerk said something other than "Gruss Gott" and "alles." As usual when I don't understand, I replied that I spoke English. "Oooh! You are from America, yes?" I nodded, nervous for her reply as always. "We love Obama. We are so happy for the US. Congratulations!" I smiled and felt very fufilled. I hope that he is able to live up to these expectations. We are placing our hopes and futures into his leadership.
ANYWAY, now that the political sheisse is out of the way... on to the most interesting part of this blog--the naked biker man.
Yessir, he was a biker. He was probably in his 60's. He had a pony tail of scragly, gray thinning hair. He had a significant pot belly and bird-like legs.
And he was stark naked.
Ah, such are the joys of my new art class... last week when the Prof mentioned that she would try to change up the body types of our nude models for variety and practice, Olivia joked: "Watch it be some HUGE trucker guy! Hahahaha!" Touche, Olivia. Touche.
Olivia may have dropped the class... but I had to reap the "benefits" of this ironic jinx. For two straight hours. I think the stigma of the old-man penis has worn off... I mean, staring at a marble statue of a ancient Roman's junk is one thing. When it's there in-living-color... eek. The situation might have been better if he were younger... perhaps better looking... But it was good practice for me in regards to my sketches. Lots of "contours" I never had to draw before. It's weird... you stop seeing the body as a whole body. You begin to see it as abstract shapes, lines and objects. I feel that this is ideal because your mind can't trick you out of drawing what's really there... you stop thinking "well, the leg should go here, and the belly button should be like soo..." and just see a continuous flow of shapes, shadows, highlights and contours that's more accurate.
(I'm just trying to Romanticize the fact that I just saw a 65 year old man naked. Don't worry.)
Oh... and to change the subject: Althea asked Olivia and I to sing for one of her friend's house recital/showcase or something like that. It's next Tuesday and Olivia and I have to get our duet and a few solo pieces ready by then. EEK! Oh well... should be a good experience :) We're just honored she asked us to perform!
Well shoot. It's late and I need to do Deutsch Hausaufgaben... Tschuss, ciao baba!
Laura
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A New Quarter in Vienna...
Again, I hang my head in shame that I have gone so long without an update... with fall break travels and back-to-school errands it's been difficult to gather my thoughts and write! (And for those of you who are still waiting for the account of my Venice excursion--it's coming! After this one! Stay tuned!)
So, my new idea of a true Vienna experience is to try to listen online to Vienna's local radio stations... maybe listen to some good German/Austrian music, hear and try to translate commentary, weather, etc. Especially since Olivia and I don't have a TV at our apartment, I wanted to use some sort of other media outlet to help me feel like I actually live here! For the past few days--while doing homework, getting ready, facebook stalking, etc--I've had a multitude of radio stations streaming... and let me assure all of you that German music IS American music. I've known EVERY single song played on these top of the line, high rated "hip" radio stations. It makes me chuckle, actually, because until the radio hosts come on the air and start talking German, I forget that I'm not listening to 98.1 or 94.1 back home! While I'm writing this blog I currently have Vienna Energy 104.2 on. Just so you know :)
I have a new course this quarter: It's a second level art class entitled "Drawing Practice." And it is just that. For two hours on Tuesdays I sketch, and sketch, and sketch... receiving a bit of feedback from the prof who likes to intimidate everyone and stand over your shoulder as you draw... but essentially it's really a pass/fail... as long as you show up and make an effort, you pass. Sounds like a drag? It's actually not. I'm past the point of needing "art lessons" where a prof stands up front and does a 2 week session on shading. Right now, the best thing for me is to practice, try out different techniques, try different mediums. I know I wouldn't do it on my own, so I'm thankful that this class is kind of forcing me to do so. But here's the REAL kicker!
This class works specifically and solely with nude models. That's right. Real live people. Buck naked. Standing within 4 feet of me. Our first class last week, we had this mid-40s woman that you could tell had smoked a few packs in her life. But it was just SO awkward at first. After the first 10 minutes, the novelty and shock of it wore off and I was more concerned about getting the angle of her saggy boobs right than the fact that I was intentionally staring at her saggy boobs (LOL!) Our Prof. is an angel, really. Very sweet and helpful. There are only 5 other people in the class with me... and now that Olivia has dropped the class I'm the only non-art major! At first I was very intimidated by this, but I'm over it. And I'm very proud and impressed with my work. We started off with two 30 minute sessions, and then finished off with a series of 7 minute drawings/poses. I really can't imagine standing/sitting still for that long... naked... in front of a group of strangers!
I dread this coming week. Why? Because the prof let us know that she will vary the model body type AND SEX each week. So more than likely (and knowing my luck) I'm going to have to draw this massive Austrian man.... ohmigosh I honestly dread it with every fiber of my being! Mom assured me that it's no different than seeing those naked marble statues from the Rennaissance... but the difference is clear: Those are MARBLE. How awkward, seriously! "Oh, don't mind me sir... I know we've never met before, but I'm just going to stare at your goods for about 10 minutes straight. Thanks." And atleast naked women are just a series of curves and general lines... but guys?? How do you draw something like that?! Blech. I'll be sure to update you in a few days :/
On a more serious note, Olivia and I had to say goodbye to our dearest Vienna friends two weeks ago: Elisabeth and Ayla. Now they're back in St. Louis. They were wonderful companions because they were also music majors (and we geeks like to stick together) and had the same idea of what good clean fun was. When the rest of our acquaintances were out getting shmammered, we had two friends with whom to watch Eddie Izzard, cook dinner, go wandering around Vienna, go to Kahlenberg, study...
But now, Olivia and I really don't have any established friendships with people on this campus. We certainly have many acquaintences: Plenty of people from St. Louis who are still here, Brittany, Bre, Robert, Christina, Clay, Jessica... Donna from South Africa (who has so wonderfully let us stay with her in her flat the last few days before we leave Vienna), Pamela from Austrailia, Korrado from Austria, Helena from Austria...
The problem is that these friendships never really leave the Webster setting. A lot of it is because the social scenes never really cross... most of our acquaintances go out drinking and partying every other night, when Olivia and I would much rather read a book, go hike up a mountain, and stay in and watch "Baby Mama!" Which is not to say, however, that Olivia and I aren't enjoying ourselves. We are really having the time of our lives--but in just a more Olivia-Laura way.
Speaking of the "party" scene, Halloween isn't really celebrated here! I mean, as the country becomes more and more Americanized a lot of the younger generation makes a significant deal of Halloween. But it's rare to find costumes, face paint, masks, etc in your local drugstore like you would in the States. The Austrians celebrate what they call "Gedachtnistag," or All Souls Day. Everyone goes out to the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of their dearly departed. No trick or treat. No costume parties.
Granted there were a few clubs and bars who buy into the Americanized Halloween as an excuse to get young people out to their establishments. And the idea of a "costume" for a girl is just like in the U.S. I believe the movie Mean Girls said it best: "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." These girls just wore your average skimpy, fishnet hose clubbing outfits and sold it by putting on a pair of bunny ears (ANNA REGISTER! lol). And then you have the Americans who actually "dressed up!" I went as an iPod commerical, since I'm broke and couldn't buy a convincing outfit! I was in a black turtleneck, black leggings, black shoes, and black gloves. Then I fashioned an iPod out of sturdy white cardboard and attached my headphones. I think only the Americans got it! lol Olivia went as a Rockabiliy chick... suicide girl... 50's pin up girl... all of the above! We sprayed her hair black and gave her a fake nose ring (the scary thing is she can TOTALLY pull off this look) and her friend sent her tattoo sleeves in a Halloween package. Always a good time! lol. I told her she looked like a European :) A few other of our friends went as Antony and Cleopatra, Monica Lewinsky, and Andy Warhol.
Webster sponsors a series of "parties" throughout the year. They find a happenin' and cool club and Webster sponsors our entry fee and buys our drinks from 9-11. They did that last quarter at the Rote Bar, and they did it on Halloween as well. First of all, I'm not extactly used to a University being able to condone partying and drinking... it is truly beyond me... whatever... BUT this whole free-drinks-from-9-11 is ALWAYS a bad idea. People want to get their "moneys" worth, and so they're "forced" to down multiple glasses of wine in a three hour period--something they wouldn't normally do if the wine had cost them money. Whatever. I was somewhat guilty of this, but not on purpose. When I was at Remi's I could easily have 4 glasses of wine with dinner--no problem (you figure, there was an entirely new kind of wine for each course). The difference was, and I realize this now, the food aspect. It had been a few hours since I had eaten that night, and the wine hit me all at once. My stomach didn't feel well at all, and I didn't like how not-in-control I felt. I'm not sure if I was drunk (as I have never been and I was extremely aware of everything going on) but I knew I wanted to go home. Olivia was feeling the same way, and thank God I have a friend who is a party pooper like me :) So, we left the party... without really getting to dance... but it was for the best. And I will never do that again. Lesson learned. It amazes me, the people who are able to and who find it amusing to go out drinking almost every night. Call me a prude, but what a terrible feeling!
On a lighter note, Olivia and I had the great privlige of attending an Opera Class at the home of our music professor here, Prentiss Dunn. This man helps make his living by teaching the rich, English speaking elite of Vienna about opera and composers with weekly classes (just last week he taught a class to the American ambassador to Austria). He will look at the upcoming schedule for the Staatsoper/Volksoper and teach according to the season. The man is a wealth of knowledge, and strangely hilarious. He invited Olivia and I (the only remainig music majors from his class last quarter) and we gladly accepted. We arrived at his flat, which is awesome (cluttered, like your average musical genius, but awesome) and helped him set up for dinner. He was expecting four others: a wonderfully friendly couple, George and Meredith, an older woman, Hilda, and another younger woman whose name I can't remember. George was actually from the States before he met his wife, Meredith, who is from Austrailia. Hilda is a retired biology teacher who is living between the Abu Dhabi and Vienna with her husband who deals with the oil business. They were so incredibly nice to Olivia and I; very interested to hear about our travels and studies. Granted, there were times where it was somewhat awkward--mostly due to the significant generation gap between us--but it was still a good time! Prentiss made us homemade HuebnerSchnitzel (or chicken schnitzel) with a green salad, bread, and Julius Meinl chocolate for dessert.
Prentiss taught a class on the Verdi opera "Othello," which neither Olivia nor I knew anything about whatsoever (outside of the Shakespeare play). After his class, I am truly in love with this opera. We watched the old MGM video featuring Placido Domingo, but Prentiss would pause it every once in a while to offer "here's what to listen for" tidbits and underlying themes throughout. Granted, I could've watched the opera on my own... but it helped having him there to tell us about the composer, about the story, about the musical motives... etc. It was an enriched experience. The whole room was in tears at the end of the opera. That's some sad stuff right there... Death, vengance, and suicide... and all in the name of love! Olivia said something really interesting too: "You know, it's the kind of love that you can't help but admire... but it's also the kind of love I hope I NEVER have for someone!"
Althea, our voice teacher, has arranged a "House Concert" for Olivia and I while were here in Vienna. This isn't something she usually does for her students, but she says its because "she has enjoyed working with us so much and she wants to showcase the great progress we've made." It'll be a very intimate recital setting (probably in Prentiss's flat, since he's accompanying us) where we'll invite our Webster friends and professsors, and Althea will invite her music people, etc. It will be good preparation for our Junior recital in March, and I'm very honored that Althea would take the time and energy to arrange this for us. Olivia and I have also been working on our duet number, "Sull'aria," with her and I'm seriously in love. Our voices blend so well! Yay!
I'm pretty sure I saw myself in 25 years on the U-Bahn the other day. Random, yes. But I just thought I'd share.
Well... hmmm... I think that's a good Vienna summary as it currently stands. So, off I go to take a break, and I'll be back with Venice :)
Tschuss, ciao, baba!
Laura
So, my new idea of a true Vienna experience is to try to listen online to Vienna's local radio stations... maybe listen to some good German/Austrian music, hear and try to translate commentary, weather, etc. Especially since Olivia and I don't have a TV at our apartment, I wanted to use some sort of other media outlet to help me feel like I actually live here! For the past few days--while doing homework, getting ready, facebook stalking, etc--I've had a multitude of radio stations streaming... and let me assure all of you that German music IS American music. I've known EVERY single song played on these top of the line, high rated "hip" radio stations. It makes me chuckle, actually, because until the radio hosts come on the air and start talking German, I forget that I'm not listening to 98.1 or 94.1 back home! While I'm writing this blog I currently have Vienna Energy 104.2 on. Just so you know :)
I have a new course this quarter: It's a second level art class entitled "Drawing Practice." And it is just that. For two hours on Tuesdays I sketch, and sketch, and sketch... receiving a bit of feedback from the prof who likes to intimidate everyone and stand over your shoulder as you draw... but essentially it's really a pass/fail... as long as you show up and make an effort, you pass. Sounds like a drag? It's actually not. I'm past the point of needing "art lessons" where a prof stands up front and does a 2 week session on shading. Right now, the best thing for me is to practice, try out different techniques, try different mediums. I know I wouldn't do it on my own, so I'm thankful that this class is kind of forcing me to do so. But here's the REAL kicker!
This class works specifically and solely with nude models. That's right. Real live people. Buck naked. Standing within 4 feet of me. Our first class last week, we had this mid-40s woman that you could tell had smoked a few packs in her life. But it was just SO awkward at first. After the first 10 minutes, the novelty and shock of it wore off and I was more concerned about getting the angle of her saggy boobs right than the fact that I was intentionally staring at her saggy boobs (LOL!) Our Prof. is an angel, really. Very sweet and helpful. There are only 5 other people in the class with me... and now that Olivia has dropped the class I'm the only non-art major! At first I was very intimidated by this, but I'm over it. And I'm very proud and impressed with my work. We started off with two 30 minute sessions, and then finished off with a series of 7 minute drawings/poses. I really can't imagine standing/sitting still for that long... naked... in front of a group of strangers!
I dread this coming week. Why? Because the prof let us know that she will vary the model body type AND SEX each week. So more than likely (and knowing my luck) I'm going to have to draw this massive Austrian man.... ohmigosh I honestly dread it with every fiber of my being! Mom assured me that it's no different than seeing those naked marble statues from the Rennaissance... but the difference is clear: Those are MARBLE. How awkward, seriously! "Oh, don't mind me sir... I know we've never met before, but I'm just going to stare at your goods for about 10 minutes straight. Thanks." And atleast naked women are just a series of curves and general lines... but guys?? How do you draw something like that?! Blech. I'll be sure to update you in a few days :/
On a more serious note, Olivia and I had to say goodbye to our dearest Vienna friends two weeks ago: Elisabeth and Ayla. Now they're back in St. Louis. They were wonderful companions because they were also music majors (and we geeks like to stick together) and had the same idea of what good clean fun was. When the rest of our acquaintances were out getting shmammered, we had two friends with whom to watch Eddie Izzard, cook dinner, go wandering around Vienna, go to Kahlenberg, study...
But now, Olivia and I really don't have any established friendships with people on this campus. We certainly have many acquaintences: Plenty of people from St. Louis who are still here, Brittany, Bre, Robert, Christina, Clay, Jessica... Donna from South Africa (who has so wonderfully let us stay with her in her flat the last few days before we leave Vienna), Pamela from Austrailia, Korrado from Austria, Helena from Austria...
The problem is that these friendships never really leave the Webster setting. A lot of it is because the social scenes never really cross... most of our acquaintances go out drinking and partying every other night, when Olivia and I would much rather read a book, go hike up a mountain, and stay in and watch "Baby Mama!" Which is not to say, however, that Olivia and I aren't enjoying ourselves. We are really having the time of our lives--but in just a more Olivia-Laura way.
Speaking of the "party" scene, Halloween isn't really celebrated here! I mean, as the country becomes more and more Americanized a lot of the younger generation makes a significant deal of Halloween. But it's rare to find costumes, face paint, masks, etc in your local drugstore like you would in the States. The Austrians celebrate what they call "Gedachtnistag," or All Souls Day. Everyone goes out to the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of their dearly departed. No trick or treat. No costume parties.
Granted there were a few clubs and bars who buy into the Americanized Halloween as an excuse to get young people out to their establishments. And the idea of a "costume" for a girl is just like in the U.S. I believe the movie Mean Girls said it best: "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." These girls just wore your average skimpy, fishnet hose clubbing outfits and sold it by putting on a pair of bunny ears (ANNA REGISTER! lol). And then you have the Americans who actually "dressed up!" I went as an iPod commerical, since I'm broke and couldn't buy a convincing outfit! I was in a black turtleneck, black leggings, black shoes, and black gloves. Then I fashioned an iPod out of sturdy white cardboard and attached my headphones. I think only the Americans got it! lol Olivia went as a Rockabiliy chick... suicide girl... 50's pin up girl... all of the above! We sprayed her hair black and gave her a fake nose ring (the scary thing is she can TOTALLY pull off this look) and her friend sent her tattoo sleeves in a Halloween package. Always a good time! lol. I told her she looked like a European :) A few other of our friends went as Antony and Cleopatra, Monica Lewinsky, and Andy Warhol.
Webster sponsors a series of "parties" throughout the year. They find a happenin' and cool club and Webster sponsors our entry fee and buys our drinks from 9-11. They did that last quarter at the Rote Bar, and they did it on Halloween as well. First of all, I'm not extactly used to a University being able to condone partying and drinking... it is truly beyond me... whatever... BUT this whole free-drinks-from-9-11 is ALWAYS a bad idea. People want to get their "moneys" worth, and so they're "forced" to down multiple glasses of wine in a three hour period--something they wouldn't normally do if the wine had cost them money. Whatever. I was somewhat guilty of this, but not on purpose. When I was at Remi's I could easily have 4 glasses of wine with dinner--no problem (you figure, there was an entirely new kind of wine for each course). The difference was, and I realize this now, the food aspect. It had been a few hours since I had eaten that night, and the wine hit me all at once. My stomach didn't feel well at all, and I didn't like how not-in-control I felt. I'm not sure if I was drunk (as I have never been and I was extremely aware of everything going on) but I knew I wanted to go home. Olivia was feeling the same way, and thank God I have a friend who is a party pooper like me :) So, we left the party... without really getting to dance... but it was for the best. And I will never do that again. Lesson learned. It amazes me, the people who are able to and who find it amusing to go out drinking almost every night. Call me a prude, but what a terrible feeling!
On a lighter note, Olivia and I had the great privlige of attending an Opera Class at the home of our music professor here, Prentiss Dunn. This man helps make his living by teaching the rich, English speaking elite of Vienna about opera and composers with weekly classes (just last week he taught a class to the American ambassador to Austria). He will look at the upcoming schedule for the Staatsoper/Volksoper and teach according to the season. The man is a wealth of knowledge, and strangely hilarious. He invited Olivia and I (the only remainig music majors from his class last quarter) and we gladly accepted. We arrived at his flat, which is awesome (cluttered, like your average musical genius, but awesome) and helped him set up for dinner. He was expecting four others: a wonderfully friendly couple, George and Meredith, an older woman, Hilda, and another younger woman whose name I can't remember. George was actually from the States before he met his wife, Meredith, who is from Austrailia. Hilda is a retired biology teacher who is living between the Abu Dhabi and Vienna with her husband who deals with the oil business. They were so incredibly nice to Olivia and I; very interested to hear about our travels and studies. Granted, there were times where it was somewhat awkward--mostly due to the significant generation gap between us--but it was still a good time! Prentiss made us homemade HuebnerSchnitzel (or chicken schnitzel) with a green salad, bread, and Julius Meinl chocolate for dessert.
Prentiss taught a class on the Verdi opera "Othello," which neither Olivia nor I knew anything about whatsoever (outside of the Shakespeare play). After his class, I am truly in love with this opera. We watched the old MGM video featuring Placido Domingo, but Prentiss would pause it every once in a while to offer "here's what to listen for" tidbits and underlying themes throughout. Granted, I could've watched the opera on my own... but it helped having him there to tell us about the composer, about the story, about the musical motives... etc. It was an enriched experience. The whole room was in tears at the end of the opera. That's some sad stuff right there... Death, vengance, and suicide... and all in the name of love! Olivia said something really interesting too: "You know, it's the kind of love that you can't help but admire... but it's also the kind of love I hope I NEVER have for someone!"
Althea, our voice teacher, has arranged a "House Concert" for Olivia and I while were here in Vienna. This isn't something she usually does for her students, but she says its because "she has enjoyed working with us so much and she wants to showcase the great progress we've made." It'll be a very intimate recital setting (probably in Prentiss's flat, since he's accompanying us) where we'll invite our Webster friends and professsors, and Althea will invite her music people, etc. It will be good preparation for our Junior recital in March, and I'm very honored that Althea would take the time and energy to arrange this for us. Olivia and I have also been working on our duet number, "Sull'aria," with her and I'm seriously in love. Our voices blend so well! Yay!
I'm pretty sure I saw myself in 25 years on the U-Bahn the other day. Random, yes. But I just thought I'd share.
Well... hmmm... I think that's a good Vienna summary as it currently stands. So, off I go to take a break, and I'll be back with Venice :)
Tschuss, ciao, baba!
Laura
Friday, October 17, 2008
Bienvenue de... Strasbourg?! Hein?!
Yes, that's right. Olivia and I are spending the afternoon in Strasbourg... quite accidentally, actually.
I'm embarking on a 10 day excursion for fall break: 3 days in Nimes, France (south) where we are staying with some of Olivia's family friends, 3 days in Neuchatel, Switzerland where we are meeting up with my family again, and 3 days in Paris. <3 What a wonderful trip! All with Olivia's mommy in tow!
BUT It appears that all the trains to Paris are completely booked... even the afternoon trains that don't require reservations. Therefore, our plans to take a connecting train from Paris to Nimes (where we would meet Olivia's mother at 2pm) have been foiled. Luckily, if there's one thing that being European travelling students has taught us, it's being adaptable. We managed to get a train that takes us to Nimes, but it doesn't leave until noon and we've been here since six in the morning. We will be arriving at 8... and hopefully Olivia's mom was able to get the message that we're late (keep fingers crossed).
So... we're stranded in a beautiful, French-Germanic city... daaaaarrn! It happens to be one of my favorite citys too (having been here before with the Delphian Chorale). But because we don't necessarily feel like buying metro/street car/bus tickets and getting lost and missing our last hope of getting to Nimes, we are very limited on where we can go and what we can do. We've just been kind of walking around... reading... cafe-ing it up French style. Regardless, it's so nostalgic being here! I even passed the hotel where I stayed last time with the Chorale... cute :*)
I've found, at least thus far, that speaking French has been a terrible feat for me this trip. Two months ago I was semi-pro... and could conjure up sentences and vocab at the drop of a hat. But now... all I can think is German!!! Honestly! It's comforting to know that I have learned so much German already, but it's frightening because it's all I think. It will not help me in Paris. Ugh. I'm sure my brain will transition over... hopefully... but Remi also speaks German... tempting...
I'll blog more later about our awesome train experience soon... Tschuss, ciao baba!
I'm embarking on a 10 day excursion for fall break: 3 days in Nimes, France (south) where we are staying with some of Olivia's family friends, 3 days in Neuchatel, Switzerland where we are meeting up with my family again, and 3 days in Paris. <3 What a wonderful trip! All with Olivia's mommy in tow!
BUT It appears that all the trains to Paris are completely booked... even the afternoon trains that don't require reservations. Therefore, our plans to take a connecting train from Paris to Nimes (where we would meet Olivia's mother at 2pm) have been foiled. Luckily, if there's one thing that being European travelling students has taught us, it's being adaptable. We managed to get a train that takes us to Nimes, but it doesn't leave until noon and we've been here since six in the morning. We will be arriving at 8... and hopefully Olivia's mom was able to get the message that we're late (keep fingers crossed).
So... we're stranded in a beautiful, French-Germanic city... daaaaarrn! It happens to be one of my favorite citys too (having been here before with the Delphian Chorale). But because we don't necessarily feel like buying metro/street car/bus tickets and getting lost and missing our last hope of getting to Nimes, we are very limited on where we can go and what we can do. We've just been kind of walking around... reading... cafe-ing it up French style. Regardless, it's so nostalgic being here! I even passed the hotel where I stayed last time with the Chorale... cute :*)
I've found, at least thus far, that speaking French has been a terrible feat for me this trip. Two months ago I was semi-pro... and could conjure up sentences and vocab at the drop of a hat. But now... all I can think is German!!! Honestly! It's comforting to know that I have learned so much German already, but it's frightening because it's all I think. It will not help me in Paris. Ugh. I'm sure my brain will transition over... hopefully... but Remi also speaks German... tempting...
I'll blog more later about our awesome train experience soon... Tschuss, ciao baba!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Hey Olivia's Blog!
Guess who has ALSO been keeping a wildly entertaining blog!?
Meine Freundin, Olivia De Jesus! Check it out:
Olivia's Blog of Vienna Sweetness
Meine Freundin, Olivia De Jesus! Check it out:
Olivia's Blog of Vienna Sweetness
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ich wohne jetzt in Wien!
PSYCH! You thought I left the blog for good... but I'm baaaaaaaack ;)
I thought I'd give you an update on my life in Vienna (since this IS the VIENNA monologues after all) before I go on and on about my AMAZING trip to Venice this past weekend.
I'm now enterring my last week of the quarter. Finals week here is a breeze, and while Olivia is scurrying to get a ten page research paper written before Thursday, I'm taking my studies at a (surprisingly) leisurely pace... because I can--and it's the ONLY time I can take such liberties in my entire life. I've become extremely interesting in Richard Wagner and have found myself deeply moved by some of his music. It's so passionate and robust. The symbolism is sublime (well, other than the anti-semetic part) and his way of expressing it is so brilliant. He made me--a person who used to despise opera--fall in love with it. I'm writing my term paper on Wagner through the eyes of philosopher and long-time friend, Friedrich Nietzsche. I'm actually pretty excited to throw myself into this topic! My prof, however, is British and was a former musician. Knows everything about philosophy and music. Grrrreaaaaat. Guess I can't get away with writing a crap paper.
Our professor, Prentiss Dunn, is a hilariously awesome and intelligent man. We love him (all 5 of us in the class). He had us all over for dinner at his flat (complete with Biedermeyer furnishings) and we sat around, eating h'or deurves, sipping wine and listening to British comedy skits about the Ring Cycle. AMAZING. He says we're the craziest group of Americans he's seen come through the place... danke schon, danke! He also teaches a class on Beethoven that I was unable to take. The other day he took us all on a "Beethoven Walk" where we visited the living quarters of the musician, walked up to the vineyard-spotted mountain of Kahlenberg where Beethoven sought inspiration, the "Beethoven weg" and even stopped for dinner at a quaint Austrian restaurant. It was here that I sampled the seasonal drink "Strum" (literally translated, "storm.") This is becuase the wine is only half fermented, so the fermentation apparently continues in your digestive system (or so they say). Delicious. Only available during this time of year in Austria/Germany.
Speaking of Kahlenberg, Olivia and I have been there three times already. There are two mountains in Vienna--Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg. From the top, you can see the whole city of Vienna framed by lush forrests and fields. On a clear day it is the most inspirational thing (I don't blame Beethoven for venturing there to find a muse). The first time we weren't adventurous enough to hike to much farther from our destination... but the second time.... oooooh, the second time. Elisabeth, Olivia and I took the bus up to Kahlenberg and decided to hike over to Leopoldsburg (meanwhile stopping for a picnic and R&R time). Having NO idea which path to take, we just picked the prettiest looking way and went with it. We noticed we were generally headed downward, but we brushed it off. Eh. No big deal right? Well... after an hour we reached the bottom of the mountain. And realized that we would have to go ALL the way back UP again. We rested our legs and ate our lunches by the Danube river... made a swan friend... and headed back up the hill. Hill is an understatment. My legs were like jello. I was about to pass out. But we kept walking and walking... again, not having ANY idea where we were. After an hour we'd reached the top. We were too exhausted to be victorious. Despite our poor aching bodies, the view was SPECTACULAR. I felt like we were in Tuscany because there were vineyards and countrysides all around. It was the best physical exertion I could imagine.
I've come to love a delicious Viennese snack... comparable to my addiction to Nutella, which is on the brink of dangerous in case you wondered. This snack is none other than Maroni. Think a Buckeye. Like off the tree. Like Ohio State. There are plenty of these Maroni stands all over the city, and they take these edible buckeyes and roast them... so when bought (hot out of the oven) you peel away the shell and eat the cooked nut. It's sooooooo delicious. And most likely bad for me. But I don't care. Because it's perfect for a chilly day and it makes my tummy happy!
I left election season in the States to arrive smack dab in the middle of the Austrian election. Yes, Austria is ready to elect a new Chancellor. lol. There are two "main" parties, similar to the Democrats and the Republicans: the OVP and the SPO (socialist party). There are about 5 other parties including the Liberalists (LIF) the Grun party (Environmentalists "Green") and the notoriously right-winged FPO (fascist). The FPO, who's frontman I've heard described as a more eveil George Bush--can barely finish a coherent sentence, etc. But the FPO's ideals are that there should be no foreigners allowed to live in Austria. They're basically modern Nazi's.
I "read" the Heute (the free daily newspaper that circulates in Vienna) the day after the elections to look at the poll results: Werner Faymann with the SPO won, with the OVP not too far behind. But what was surprising, not only to me but to every Austrian I spoke to, was that the FPO got a record 25 percent of the votes... coming in right after the OVP. That's the most votes the FPO has ever received. Basically I'm living in a semi-fascist country. AWESOME!
A lot of you have been asking me what the perspective on the US elections in like here. Well, unlike foreign affair coverage in the States, Europe actually spends considerable amount of time on our news (because as we learned recently in our financial crisis, our actions actually have AFFECTS on other people in the world--CRAZY!). As I'm sure you can imagine, the Europeans tend to favor Sen. Obama/Biden but really would've rather seen Hillary in the nomination. McCain (and Palin especially) is receiving a lot of criticism. But because I'm always being bombarded with questions about my government and politics in my argumentative writing class (I'm the only American) I am following this election even more closely than any other... watching all the debates, reading the Times and Op-Ed articles. I feel informed. And I like it. (Granted, I don't prefer either candidate.) Most people tease us as Americans because we elected Bush not once, but TWICE. I never knew this, but there was a big scandal in Europe when a photographer and videographer for C-SPAN saw that there was a mysterious box-like shape portruding from Bush's back during the Debates with John Kerry. It's sad that he had to be fed answers for that. Wow. No wonder Europeans think we're clueless. It's at times like these, when I'm seeing my country's financial despair plastered everywhere around me... that I don't want to come back home. My fear is twofold: I'm frightened because this crisis will be affecting my children someday... my life... my mortgage... But I'm also frightened because I don't completely understand the source of everything (I've never been a huge buff about business and finance) and that mystery scares the living daylights out of me. All I know is that the Austrians are shaking their heads: "The U.S. shunned communism and endorsed capitalism to the death... now they're the living proof that capitalism doesn't work in this age." With the government controlling our banks, are we not resorting to communism? Hey. Whatever works.
In general, I've felt very well recieved as an American. Only once have I been turned away because my German wasn't "advanced" enough--and that was the first hair salon I went to. Most Austrians have been friendly and willing to speak with us about cultural differences. The random Austrian men think it's this fantastic rarity to find an American girl... no, correction... the Austrian CREEPERS lol. We've made some random Austrian friends. Like Julia, our next door neighbor. She's in her mid twenties and just finished her thesis on something to do with cultural studies/psychology/something like that. She's very chill and very real. We talk to her about guys, life, where to live when we're older... usually these conversations take place in our shared kitchen, where we'll sit on the countertops, sipping spiced wine while the dirty dishes soak. She was very interested in learning what "highschool" was like in the States; was it really like those T.V. shows and movies she always sees? P.s. Everything you've heard about European school being harder = LIES. Julia never had ANY homework. She thinks were workaholics.
Speeeeaking of Spiced Wine, I attended a Medieval Food Festival at Webster a few days ago. Olivia is taking this History of European Culinary Arts class in which she learns about the progression of food and eating habits over time and then gets a chance to actually cook these authentic dishes. They opened up one of these days to the campus... we came into the Gallery and it was all candlelit with Medieval Cantigas playing in the background. We were given a glass of spiced wine (it literally tastes like you're drinking cinnamon) and then were oriented to these outrageous foods in which we were about to indulge. There was marinated beef, spiced pears, pureed wine-soaked strawberries with pomegranate seeds, spinach cakes, peas porridge, boiled pork "apples".... sounds weird, but it was SOOOOO GOOOOOOD.
I can't get away with not writing about my musical experiences in the MUSIC CAPITOL of Europe. Great music is so accessible in Vienna... it should be illegal. I can get 10 euro seats (like, comfortable 5th row seats) as a student at the Volksoper. I can get a stehplatz (standing place) at the Staatsoper for 4 euro. The Musikverein (home of the Wiener Philharmoniker and other visiting orchestras) for 6 euro. I'll give you the brief overview of what I've seen & heard so far:
I saw Wagner's "The Flying Dutchmann" at the Staatsoper a few weeks back--perfect for the 5 of us who were currently in the Wagner class. This was my first live, professional opera EVER. Granted, a Wagner opera isn't your light and lovey Mozart operetta by any means... I mean this is some heavy robust music. The storyline is was alright, and the general production was very well done. The Dutchmann was brilliant as was Erik. The diva soprano was.... blech. Awful. She swooped up to basically every note and her pianissimos had no energy. Ew ew ew ew ew. Although I was disappointed with her, I was generally pleased with my first opera experience.
Prentiss Dunn invited our class to a Haydn festival dress rehearsal at the Esterhazy Palace of Haydn. It was GORGEOUS. So ornate. And the acoustics in this hall were fantastic. The festival orchestra we saw was pristine... their sound... crisp and clean. They are the most well know performers of Haydn's works. I actually don't know what particular work they were rehearsing when we sat in, but the soloists and chorus were top of the line. Yeah, it was good. And the nice Serbian taxi driverguy didn't charge us for the ride back to the University because we were cute American girls. Somtimes it pays to have boobs. (Okay, well the other girls can say that more than me.. but... whatev... I make up for it in my unbelieveable charms! lol).
Olivia and I had the great privlige of getting some of the last standing places for the the Musikverein two and a half weeks ago. The Lucerne Festival orchestra was playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (honestly, my favorite. I heard it for the first time on 91.5 on my way to BATB rehearsal one night... and it was the second movement... I literally cried in the car. It was absolutely sublime). The pianist was Helene Grimaud (who literally raises wolves on the side, no joke). Not only is she a bonafide French hottie (I've never met a French woman who hasn't been a hottie) but she played the hell out of that concerto. Phenomenal. Claudio Abbaddo was conducting... this cute, short little man who conducted like Frank Bianchi and I loved it. So expressive. The rest of the program was Stravinksy's "Firebird" (ALWAYS a goose-bumper) and Tschaikovsky's "Die Sturm." There was a point during Die Sturm where the orchestra had such an intense and heartstopping pianissimo that I realized I wasn't breathing. I have never heard anything like it. This concert was the best music I've ever experienced. Period.
Tonight, Olivia, Elisabeth, Greg and I went to go see "Der Fledermaus" at the Volksoper. It's a comedic operetta that I didn't know much about to be honest... other than it contains the famous "Laughing Aria" in Act 2. However, I have come to love the operetta... or maybe moreso this particular production. The singing was pretty awesome, but the comedy and acting outshined the voices. These people were fantastic actors... (the fact that they were primarily singers made this even more surprising to me lol). It should be noted that this opera is completely in German, and although I was able to pick out words and phrases in context, I relied heavily on the English subtitles projected above the stage. AH! But there's a catch. Der Fledermaus is an operetta, meaning it's not entirely sung... there are spoken sections and scenes in between. The only things that were translated were the SONGS. None of the scenes were translated. This is when I learned that comedy transcends language barriers. Comedy in Austria is the same as comedy in the US. Funny is funny. And I was proud of myself that I was able to actually understand what was going on. Even got one of the German jokes! *pat myself on the back* Lots of memorable music in this one. Beaucoup de plot twists. Lots of funnies! I recommend it!
Originally, we had all planned on going to the "opening night" of La Boheme at the movie theater. That's right--seeing an opera at the movie theater. Anna Netrebko, who is the face of Opera, plays Mimi in this motion picture (which was filmed in Vienna, by the way). The movie looks SPECTACULAR. Even the trailer gave me goosebumps. Then again, La Boheme does hold a special place in my heart. The first time I was exposed to La Boheme was when I rented the 1980's video of the Metropolitan Opera doing the production. The storyline was aboslutely beautiful and passionate. The music was perfect for a romantic sap like myself. So powerful and moving. I literally bawled my eyes out during the final scene. For those of you who don't like opera, this is the work that will change your perspective forever. I think I might try and see it tomorrow night.... or maybe I should study for finals... hmmmmmmm....
I've been trying to locate an English speaking church to go to on Sundays... and have succeeded to an extent. There are a good handful of churches offering services to the English speaking crowd--Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Non-Denominational, Baptist. Not too shabby considering I'm in a foreign country. I can't remember the last church I saw for German speaking people in America lol. Anyway, I tried the Vienna Community Church first. It's a non-denominational church by Stephansdom (my aboslute FAVORITE part of town). The cathedral is lovely and bright, and the music... oh the music! Alas, the pastor is... well... incoherent. He uses analogies that just don't make sense. For a while, you really feel like he's on to something... but then he never closes the circle. He leaves you hanging. And you miss the message in all the ambiguous stories. So the next week I tried Christ Church which is an Anglican/Episcopalian church. I've never been to an Anglican church before, but it was easy to find compared to the Methodist church. So I thought I'd give it a shot. They were having the First Communion service, so there were no seats left and the liturgy was different that day. Surprisingly, though, I knew the intoned responsories... which is truly a mystery to me since I've never been to an Anglican/Episcopalian church. lol. Hopefully I'll have better luck next week!
Oh yes--the "REAL" reason that I'm in Vienna. Her name is Althea-Maria Papoulia. Soprano diva extraordinaire. The best teacher I've ever worked with. Period. She's AMAZING. She's sung all over the world and has had leading roles in some of the finest opera houses in Europe. (Look for her DVD on Amazon.uk. Bizet's Carmen. 2003.) Her husband is the second chair in the Wiener Philharmoniker and they have the cutest little daughter (whom she refers to in my lessons as "the kid") named Ariadne (LOVE this name. It's gorgeous). Despite all of this fame and talent that would give anyone a right to be snobby and "TG," this woman is the sweetest, funniest most helpful person. She used to study business at the University and didn't decide she wanted to study opera until she was 20. Within two years she had learned most of the major opera roles for her voice and was getting jobs by the time she was 24. She won the Maria Callas Competition around that time too. That's what I call sheer talent. Sometimes in my lessons she'll get on 15 minute tangents about poilitics, or her former sex lives (yep, she even gave me pointers--AH!), or her cheerleading career in the University (ask Olivia about the day she stood up from the piano and did a cheer...), or the day she found out she was pregnant ("Come here and kiss your pregnant wife!"). I honestly feel like I've known this woman my whole life.
I meet with Althea twice a week for an hour. Having 2x the lessons per week has been surprisingly helpful in my learning... and I actually practice now, which is astounding, I know! What she's been able to do with my voice just in the 8 weeks I've been here is amazing even to me. And she makes me feel good about my voice. She realizes that I'm a small girl with a respectively small instrument... I'm not going to be a dramatic soprano. And she never makes me feel like I have to be. She has developed and opened up my voice in a way that is soley "my voice." And she describes it in a way that makes complete sense to me. She pushes me, but never to the point where I want to collapse into tears. My Junior recital pieces have come a long way. Particuarly the Schumann "Frauenliebe und -leben" because as a female, she's helped me to relate to this woman's journey of finding her true love, the joy of marriage, and the joy of bringing a child into the world (what the song cycle is essentially about). I can do the coloraturas and melismas of Exsultate, Jubilate sooo much easier now. Singing feels good again :) Yaaaaay!
And Olivia and I have begun working on our duet for our Junior recital, "Sull'aria." Which we're so excited about :) March 28th, 5 o'clock. Mark it on your calendars people!
Althea lives at the very edge of the city in a lovely little condo-flat. It takes me a little over an hour to get there using public transportation... but it's nice to get away from the "city" and feel like I'm in a "provincial town." And I get to listen to my iPod like all the cool Austrians. And I feel like I blend in. And I like it :)
I haven't been plagued with homesickness too awful much, but that is not to say that it doesn't occur. There are certain times where I just want to be in the comfort of my friends and family, or I'll see something that reminds me of home and I get semi-sad. Luckily these bouts last but a few minutes and I'm back to loving my life again. Sometimes when I'm walking in the park or sitting on the U-Bahn I'll think about mom and dad, and my aunt and her boys... how much they're growing up... and I start doing that mopey thing where I listen to emo music and brood on my homesickness.... Or like today, in the middle of the opera, when I suddenly realized it was October 10th--Eric and my 4 month "anniversary," and I almost cried. But in those moments I always lose myself in thinking that I'm here forever and that all hope is lost and gone. Then I have to remind myself that I'm here for two more months where I will be experiencing the most amazing adventures. And my life will continue on as normal. And my panic attack goes away.
Truth be told, I will miss Vienna dealy when I have to leave. Were it not for the wonderful people who I am honored to call friends and family, I would never come back.
But alas, it is 2:30 in the morning here... and I'm STILL awake! Ahhhhh! Anyway, I will post soon about our trip to Venice :) Gute nacht!
Tschuss, ciao, ba ba!
Laura
I thought I'd give you an update on my life in Vienna (since this IS the VIENNA monologues after all) before I go on and on about my AMAZING trip to Venice this past weekend.
I'm now enterring my last week of the quarter. Finals week here is a breeze, and while Olivia is scurrying to get a ten page research paper written before Thursday, I'm taking my studies at a (surprisingly) leisurely pace... because I can--and it's the ONLY time I can take such liberties in my entire life. I've become extremely interesting in Richard Wagner and have found myself deeply moved by some of his music. It's so passionate and robust. The symbolism is sublime (well, other than the anti-semetic part) and his way of expressing it is so brilliant. He made me--a person who used to despise opera--fall in love with it. I'm writing my term paper on Wagner through the eyes of philosopher and long-time friend, Friedrich Nietzsche. I'm actually pretty excited to throw myself into this topic! My prof, however, is British and was a former musician. Knows everything about philosophy and music. Grrrreaaaaat. Guess I can't get away with writing a crap paper.
Our professor, Prentiss Dunn, is a hilariously awesome and intelligent man. We love him (all 5 of us in the class). He had us all over for dinner at his flat (complete with Biedermeyer furnishings) and we sat around, eating h'or deurves, sipping wine and listening to British comedy skits about the Ring Cycle. AMAZING. He says we're the craziest group of Americans he's seen come through the place... danke schon, danke! He also teaches a class on Beethoven that I was unable to take. The other day he took us all on a "Beethoven Walk" where we visited the living quarters of the musician, walked up to the vineyard-spotted mountain of Kahlenberg where Beethoven sought inspiration, the "Beethoven weg" and even stopped for dinner at a quaint Austrian restaurant. It was here that I sampled the seasonal drink "Strum" (literally translated, "storm.") This is becuase the wine is only half fermented, so the fermentation apparently continues in your digestive system (or so they say). Delicious. Only available during this time of year in Austria/Germany.
Speaking of Kahlenberg, Olivia and I have been there three times already. There are two mountains in Vienna--Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg. From the top, you can see the whole city of Vienna framed by lush forrests and fields. On a clear day it is the most inspirational thing (I don't blame Beethoven for venturing there to find a muse). The first time we weren't adventurous enough to hike to much farther from our destination... but the second time.... oooooh, the second time. Elisabeth, Olivia and I took the bus up to Kahlenberg and decided to hike over to Leopoldsburg (meanwhile stopping for a picnic and R&R time). Having NO idea which path to take, we just picked the prettiest looking way and went with it. We noticed we were generally headed downward, but we brushed it off. Eh. No big deal right? Well... after an hour we reached the bottom of the mountain. And realized that we would have to go ALL the way back UP again. We rested our legs and ate our lunches by the Danube river... made a swan friend... and headed back up the hill. Hill is an understatment. My legs were like jello. I was about to pass out. But we kept walking and walking... again, not having ANY idea where we were. After an hour we'd reached the top. We were too exhausted to be victorious. Despite our poor aching bodies, the view was SPECTACULAR. I felt like we were in Tuscany because there were vineyards and countrysides all around. It was the best physical exertion I could imagine.
I've come to love a delicious Viennese snack... comparable to my addiction to Nutella, which is on the brink of dangerous in case you wondered. This snack is none other than Maroni. Think a Buckeye. Like off the tree. Like Ohio State. There are plenty of these Maroni stands all over the city, and they take these edible buckeyes and roast them... so when bought (hot out of the oven) you peel away the shell and eat the cooked nut. It's sooooooo delicious. And most likely bad for me. But I don't care. Because it's perfect for a chilly day and it makes my tummy happy!
I left election season in the States to arrive smack dab in the middle of the Austrian election. Yes, Austria is ready to elect a new Chancellor. lol. There are two "main" parties, similar to the Democrats and the Republicans: the OVP and the SPO (socialist party). There are about 5 other parties including the Liberalists (LIF) the Grun party (Environmentalists "Green") and the notoriously right-winged FPO (fascist). The FPO, who's frontman I've heard described as a more eveil George Bush--can barely finish a coherent sentence, etc. But the FPO's ideals are that there should be no foreigners allowed to live in Austria. They're basically modern Nazi's.
I "read" the Heute (the free daily newspaper that circulates in Vienna) the day after the elections to look at the poll results: Werner Faymann with the SPO won, with the OVP not too far behind. But what was surprising, not only to me but to every Austrian I spoke to, was that the FPO got a record 25 percent of the votes... coming in right after the OVP. That's the most votes the FPO has ever received. Basically I'm living in a semi-fascist country. AWESOME!
A lot of you have been asking me what the perspective on the US elections in like here. Well, unlike foreign affair coverage in the States, Europe actually spends considerable amount of time on our news (because as we learned recently in our financial crisis, our actions actually have AFFECTS on other people in the world--CRAZY!). As I'm sure you can imagine, the Europeans tend to favor Sen. Obama/Biden but really would've rather seen Hillary in the nomination. McCain (and Palin especially) is receiving a lot of criticism. But because I'm always being bombarded with questions about my government and politics in my argumentative writing class (I'm the only American) I am following this election even more closely than any other... watching all the debates, reading the Times and Op-Ed articles. I feel informed. And I like it. (Granted, I don't prefer either candidate.) Most people tease us as Americans because we elected Bush not once, but TWICE. I never knew this, but there was a big scandal in Europe when a photographer and videographer for C-SPAN saw that there was a mysterious box-like shape portruding from Bush's back during the Debates with John Kerry. It's sad that he had to be fed answers for that. Wow. No wonder Europeans think we're clueless. It's at times like these, when I'm seeing my country's financial despair plastered everywhere around me... that I don't want to come back home. My fear is twofold: I'm frightened because this crisis will be affecting my children someday... my life... my mortgage... But I'm also frightened because I don't completely understand the source of everything (I've never been a huge buff about business and finance) and that mystery scares the living daylights out of me. All I know is that the Austrians are shaking their heads: "The U.S. shunned communism and endorsed capitalism to the death... now they're the living proof that capitalism doesn't work in this age." With the government controlling our banks, are we not resorting to communism? Hey. Whatever works.
In general, I've felt very well recieved as an American. Only once have I been turned away because my German wasn't "advanced" enough--and that was the first hair salon I went to. Most Austrians have been friendly and willing to speak with us about cultural differences. The random Austrian men think it's this fantastic rarity to find an American girl... no, correction... the Austrian CREEPERS lol. We've made some random Austrian friends. Like Julia, our next door neighbor. She's in her mid twenties and just finished her thesis on something to do with cultural studies/psychology/something like that. She's very chill and very real. We talk to her about guys, life, where to live when we're older... usually these conversations take place in our shared kitchen, where we'll sit on the countertops, sipping spiced wine while the dirty dishes soak. She was very interested in learning what "highschool" was like in the States; was it really like those T.V. shows and movies she always sees? P.s. Everything you've heard about European school being harder = LIES. Julia never had ANY homework. She thinks were workaholics.
Speeeeaking of Spiced Wine, I attended a Medieval Food Festival at Webster a few days ago. Olivia is taking this History of European Culinary Arts class in which she learns about the progression of food and eating habits over time and then gets a chance to actually cook these authentic dishes. They opened up one of these days to the campus... we came into the Gallery and it was all candlelit with Medieval Cantigas playing in the background. We were given a glass of spiced wine (it literally tastes like you're drinking cinnamon) and then were oriented to these outrageous foods in which we were about to indulge. There was marinated beef, spiced pears, pureed wine-soaked strawberries with pomegranate seeds, spinach cakes, peas porridge, boiled pork "apples".... sounds weird, but it was SOOOOO GOOOOOOD.
I can't get away with not writing about my musical experiences in the MUSIC CAPITOL of Europe. Great music is so accessible in Vienna... it should be illegal. I can get 10 euro seats (like, comfortable 5th row seats) as a student at the Volksoper. I can get a stehplatz (standing place) at the Staatsoper for 4 euro. The Musikverein (home of the Wiener Philharmoniker and other visiting orchestras) for 6 euro. I'll give you the brief overview of what I've seen & heard so far:
I saw Wagner's "The Flying Dutchmann" at the Staatsoper a few weeks back--perfect for the 5 of us who were currently in the Wagner class. This was my first live, professional opera EVER. Granted, a Wagner opera isn't your light and lovey Mozart operetta by any means... I mean this is some heavy robust music. The storyline is was alright, and the general production was very well done. The Dutchmann was brilliant as was Erik. The diva soprano was.... blech. Awful. She swooped up to basically every note and her pianissimos had no energy. Ew ew ew ew ew. Although I was disappointed with her, I was generally pleased with my first opera experience.
Prentiss Dunn invited our class to a Haydn festival dress rehearsal at the Esterhazy Palace of Haydn. It was GORGEOUS. So ornate. And the acoustics in this hall were fantastic. The festival orchestra we saw was pristine... their sound... crisp and clean. They are the most well know performers of Haydn's works. I actually don't know what particular work they were rehearsing when we sat in, but the soloists and chorus were top of the line. Yeah, it was good. And the nice Serbian taxi driverguy didn't charge us for the ride back to the University because we were cute American girls. Somtimes it pays to have boobs. (Okay, well the other girls can say that more than me.. but... whatev... I make up for it in my unbelieveable charms! lol).
Olivia and I had the great privlige of getting some of the last standing places for the the Musikverein two and a half weeks ago. The Lucerne Festival orchestra was playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (honestly, my favorite. I heard it for the first time on 91.5 on my way to BATB rehearsal one night... and it was the second movement... I literally cried in the car. It was absolutely sublime). The pianist was Helene Grimaud (who literally raises wolves on the side, no joke). Not only is she a bonafide French hottie (I've never met a French woman who hasn't been a hottie) but she played the hell out of that concerto. Phenomenal. Claudio Abbaddo was conducting... this cute, short little man who conducted like Frank Bianchi and I loved it. So expressive. The rest of the program was Stravinksy's "Firebird" (ALWAYS a goose-bumper) and Tschaikovsky's "Die Sturm." There was a point during Die Sturm where the orchestra had such an intense and heartstopping pianissimo that I realized I wasn't breathing. I have never heard anything like it. This concert was the best music I've ever experienced. Period.
Tonight, Olivia, Elisabeth, Greg and I went to go see "Der Fledermaus" at the Volksoper. It's a comedic operetta that I didn't know much about to be honest... other than it contains the famous "Laughing Aria" in Act 2. However, I have come to love the operetta... or maybe moreso this particular production. The singing was pretty awesome, but the comedy and acting outshined the voices. These people were fantastic actors... (the fact that they were primarily singers made this even more surprising to me lol). It should be noted that this opera is completely in German, and although I was able to pick out words and phrases in context, I relied heavily on the English subtitles projected above the stage. AH! But there's a catch. Der Fledermaus is an operetta, meaning it's not entirely sung... there are spoken sections and scenes in between. The only things that were translated were the SONGS. None of the scenes were translated. This is when I learned that comedy transcends language barriers. Comedy in Austria is the same as comedy in the US. Funny is funny. And I was proud of myself that I was able to actually understand what was going on. Even got one of the German jokes! *pat myself on the back* Lots of memorable music in this one. Beaucoup de plot twists. Lots of funnies! I recommend it!
Originally, we had all planned on going to the "opening night" of La Boheme at the movie theater. That's right--seeing an opera at the movie theater. Anna Netrebko, who is the face of Opera, plays Mimi in this motion picture (which was filmed in Vienna, by the way). The movie looks SPECTACULAR. Even the trailer gave me goosebumps. Then again, La Boheme does hold a special place in my heart. The first time I was exposed to La Boheme was when I rented the 1980's video of the Metropolitan Opera doing the production. The storyline was aboslutely beautiful and passionate. The music was perfect for a romantic sap like myself. So powerful and moving. I literally bawled my eyes out during the final scene. For those of you who don't like opera, this is the work that will change your perspective forever. I think I might try and see it tomorrow night.... or maybe I should study for finals... hmmmmmmm....
I've been trying to locate an English speaking church to go to on Sundays... and have succeeded to an extent. There are a good handful of churches offering services to the English speaking crowd--Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Non-Denominational, Baptist. Not too shabby considering I'm in a foreign country. I can't remember the last church I saw for German speaking people in America lol. Anyway, I tried the Vienna Community Church first. It's a non-denominational church by Stephansdom (my aboslute FAVORITE part of town). The cathedral is lovely and bright, and the music... oh the music! Alas, the pastor is... well... incoherent. He uses analogies that just don't make sense. For a while, you really feel like he's on to something... but then he never closes the circle. He leaves you hanging. And you miss the message in all the ambiguous stories. So the next week I tried Christ Church which is an Anglican/Episcopalian church. I've never been to an Anglican church before, but it was easy to find compared to the Methodist church. So I thought I'd give it a shot. They were having the First Communion service, so there were no seats left and the liturgy was different that day. Surprisingly, though, I knew the intoned responsories... which is truly a mystery to me since I've never been to an Anglican/Episcopalian church. lol. Hopefully I'll have better luck next week!
Oh yes--the "REAL" reason that I'm in Vienna. Her name is Althea-Maria Papoulia. Soprano diva extraordinaire. The best teacher I've ever worked with. Period. She's AMAZING. She's sung all over the world and has had leading roles in some of the finest opera houses in Europe. (Look for her DVD on Amazon.uk. Bizet's Carmen. 2003.) Her husband is the second chair in the Wiener Philharmoniker and they have the cutest little daughter (whom she refers to in my lessons as "the kid") named Ariadne (LOVE this name. It's gorgeous). Despite all of this fame and talent that would give anyone a right to be snobby and "TG," this woman is the sweetest, funniest most helpful person. She used to study business at the University and didn't decide she wanted to study opera until she was 20. Within two years she had learned most of the major opera roles for her voice and was getting jobs by the time she was 24. She won the Maria Callas Competition around that time too. That's what I call sheer talent. Sometimes in my lessons she'll get on 15 minute tangents about poilitics, or her former sex lives (yep, she even gave me pointers--AH!), or her cheerleading career in the University (ask Olivia about the day she stood up from the piano and did a cheer...), or the day she found out she was pregnant ("Come here and kiss your pregnant wife!"). I honestly feel like I've known this woman my whole life.
I meet with Althea twice a week for an hour. Having 2x the lessons per week has been surprisingly helpful in my learning... and I actually practice now, which is astounding, I know! What she's been able to do with my voice just in the 8 weeks I've been here is amazing even to me. And she makes me feel good about my voice. She realizes that I'm a small girl with a respectively small instrument... I'm not going to be a dramatic soprano. And she never makes me feel like I have to be. She has developed and opened up my voice in a way that is soley "my voice." And she describes it in a way that makes complete sense to me. She pushes me, but never to the point where I want to collapse into tears. My Junior recital pieces have come a long way. Particuarly the Schumann "Frauenliebe und -leben" because as a female, she's helped me to relate to this woman's journey of finding her true love, the joy of marriage, and the joy of bringing a child into the world (what the song cycle is essentially about). I can do the coloraturas and melismas of Exsultate, Jubilate sooo much easier now. Singing feels good again :) Yaaaaay!
And Olivia and I have begun working on our duet for our Junior recital, "Sull'aria." Which we're so excited about :) March 28th, 5 o'clock. Mark it on your calendars people!
Althea lives at the very edge of the city in a lovely little condo-flat. It takes me a little over an hour to get there using public transportation... but it's nice to get away from the "city" and feel like I'm in a "provincial town." And I get to listen to my iPod like all the cool Austrians. And I feel like I blend in. And I like it :)
I haven't been plagued with homesickness too awful much, but that is not to say that it doesn't occur. There are certain times where I just want to be in the comfort of my friends and family, or I'll see something that reminds me of home and I get semi-sad. Luckily these bouts last but a few minutes and I'm back to loving my life again. Sometimes when I'm walking in the park or sitting on the U-Bahn I'll think about mom and dad, and my aunt and her boys... how much they're growing up... and I start doing that mopey thing where I listen to emo music and brood on my homesickness.... Or like today, in the middle of the opera, when I suddenly realized it was October 10th--Eric and my 4 month "anniversary," and I almost cried. But in those moments I always lose myself in thinking that I'm here forever and that all hope is lost and gone. Then I have to remind myself that I'm here for two more months where I will be experiencing the most amazing adventures. And my life will continue on as normal. And my panic attack goes away.
Truth be told, I will miss Vienna dealy when I have to leave. Were it not for the wonderful people who I am honored to call friends and family, I would never come back.
But alas, it is 2:30 in the morning here... and I'm STILL awake! Ahhhhh! Anyway, I will post soon about our trip to Venice :) Gute nacht!
Tschuss, ciao, ba ba!
Laura
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