Tuesday, December 9, 2008 11:09:42 AM
Wow.....
Yes, it is true – I am indeed still alive. I can barely believe it myself, much as I can barely believe that it is December. And not only that, it is already well in to December. And not only, that, I have only 2 weeks of work left in 2008, and my family will descend upon Vienna in a matter of 13 days! Unbelievable....
I tell the honest truth – I don’t believe a period of my life has been so wild, so busy, yet so wonderful all at the same time. At times I thought I would explode, but often could not distinguish the cause – happiness, confusedness, busy-ness or simply going mad. But, I have emerged (with the grace of God, not kidding) on the other end, not only in one piece, but a better, more mature and developed human being. Stretching yourself, being pulled and pushed to the limits, dragged through the desert and over the mountains of life cause you to either fall over on the side of the road, finished and exhausted, having not used the previous experience and wisdom gained from life already lived, or to come out at the next oasis, beaten and bruised, but stronger, wiser, and happier from the journey made.
For about the past month my life has been an absolute whirlwind. I am reaching now for my calendar to try and grab it all into my brain again – ahhhh, yes. Whew. It makes me tired just looking at it! But I do say I am lucky, as they were all wonderful things: time spent in the Steiermark (Austria), my first proper trip to England, visits from my American aunt, my sister, my German aunt, an old Fulbright friend still living and teaching in Klagenfurt, and a girl from the Netherlands. Add to that my landlady moving back in to my flat, making 2 recordings for competitions, auditioning for the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester, and travelling to and auditioning for the Munich Philharmonic. And all the while practicing a proper 2 hours per day, teaching English an average of 13 hours a week at the College of Education and managing my own private students (and keep in mind: all of the above listed, except for Steiermark and England, happened in the span of only the last 2 weeks!!!)! It has been wild......
But I have made it, thank the Lord, and I am looooooving having an evening to wind down as normal people do, reading a bit, studying what I want to, and, yes and even this: finally writing in my blog. It is amazing after a month of running, always feeling like you are behind and never really “at home” (I spent a total of 5 nights in my own darned bed!), one night of peace and quiet in my own room is doing a whole lot of healing!
That said, though, I have found it an interesting challenge to get myself to actually slow down. Slow down in life, not frantically run around the flat/Vienna trying to “get everything done.” I still find myself at times strategizing on how to get things done the most efficiently/fastest, even down to unloading the groceries in the most time-efficient manner.
And so, it being 9:20 pm, I found myself actually feeling.....bored? Yes, bored. No, simply not busy or needing to be busy. Whhooooo, what a wonder! But, I had to stop myself and say, “no, this is not boring, this is what is called normal. Relax, enjoy yourself!”
So, what can I say for my last month? Well, I can’t really begin to sum it up – every day was completely chocked full of action, learning, emotions, and living. The two trips were simply fantastic, the visits from my family members nice, and the trombone things successful (got through all of them, didn’t win Munich, and won’t hear back from the other 3 for a while, but I am happy with how all of them went).
What else? I can recommend a book! It is called “Social Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman. It is stunning – he is exploring and opening the doors to a new field, namely one in which psychology melds with science. Where the psychology of relationships begins to be scene from a scientific point of view (i.e. where we process emotion in the brain, how emotions are “contagious” and travel, etc.). I am finding it absolutely fascinating, and if you feel like hanging in there through a little bit of science jargon, I promise it is worth the effort. Fascinating!!!
As for Vienna, it is transforming into the Christmas wonderland for which it is known! The various Weihnachtsmaerkte have sprouted up all over the place, Christmas music is wafting out of the various shop doors, and the smells of Lebkuchen, roasting chestnuts and Gluehwein dance past your nose, chauffeured by sweetly laughing and smiling faces, rose-colored by the chill. The weather isn’t quite there yet, though – although snowflakes spat a bit today, the temperature is not low enough, and we have yet to get a real dumping of snow, but it must be on its way.
However, the city is full of magic, and the mild weather spurned me on to take a stroll earlier this evening, seeing as I had so much free time (wow!). I moseyed around the 1st district, and although the tourists are abounding in droves, it was still a magical sight. The white Christmas lights guiding you down the cobbled streets, through the majestic buildings, past the brilliant architecture and through the palaces. Splendid indeed...
And so now I have 2 weeks of truly “normal” rhythm to follow. I am so thankful for it, thankful for the time to surface, re-find myself, enjoy and appreciate the life I have been given, and get in to the Christmas spirit!
I hope you are all well and also easing in to the Christmas season. I wish you all peace and the time to step out of busy-ness for a minute and be thankful for the good things you have in life and, well, simply for being alive.
Saturday, October 18, 2008 7:57:56 PM
Well.....
I can't believe it, but I think I am rising to the surface after about a month of trying! I was just thinking about it today - just about ever since I got back from the competition in Germany, I have been playing a non-stop game of catch-up. Life has been an absolute whirlwind in every area, and I don't believe I have ever been so busy as I have in the past week! But, fear not - all of the things I am doing are things that I love, and that makes it easy and fun (except that a bit more sleep would be on order - or could we maybe make the days 28 hours instead of 24??).
So let's rewind the film, take a trip into the far away past of the last month. Hmm....."what all have I been up to?" I ask myself now as I sit on the floor in our bathroom (that's right, the bathroom. Don't you hang out regularly in your bathroom, especially to post on your blog and listen to some Benjamin Britten? Hehe...the truth of the matter is that this is where I can get free wireless from the neighbor - whoops.).
Well, in the past month I have had a couple visitors, done my first professional translation project (really fun, actually! It was for a cruise catalog), been to Zurich and back (yes, the audition for the academy again - I can explain the results in a minute), been to the Wachau (very famous white wine region, and stunningly beautiful. I also visited the abbey at Melk, one of the grandest Baroque buildings in Europe), started work at the Paedegogische Hochschule (my Fulbright job as a teaching assistant), seen Cirque du Soleil (amazing!! Go if you get a chance!), am in the throws of an opera production as we speak, and who knows what else? Shooey....
So, to put things short - Zurich. The audition went just as I could have hoped for! I was one of the 2 finalists this time, but didn't win. They judged rather strangely, because (I was told by a jury member) I played better than the other trombonist, flat out. I was the only one who properly played all of the excerpts and had my fundamentals in line. Buuuut, they liked the other girl's interpretation of the David Concerto better. So they took her! haha....anyway, it is silly, but I could not be more happy with the outcome. The Swiss girl who won is a great person and will benefit from it a lot, I didn't want to move away from Vienna anyway, and in my mind, I did win - I accomplished exactly what I wanted to. So, it was great!
As for starting work at the Paedegogische Hochschule (College of Education - I'll write PH from now on), I was a bit scared at first, to be honest. Not the job, but the time commitment - I had really gotten used to my summer schedule of practicing and private tutoring, and was really loving it. So, to have to start adjusting to someone else's calendar...hmmm....
But, every day I have come to love it more and more. I feel so so so comfortable there and am totally respected. I work with 2 teachers and with students 18 years and above. The classes are small (15 or fewer people), and the students are there because they want to be. They understand English quite well, and my two teachers really respect me and see me as a strong, independent teacher already. So, we work quite well as a team, and it's very enjoyable. Aside from that, I am learning a lot about teaching - the PH is a college to teach how to become a primary and elementary school teacher, and I am learning a lot with the students as my teachers teach! So, it's fun.
Aside from that, it is SO calm there. I have my own desk, and I bring my fantastic new MacBook with me and can have my peace. The classtime is also very relaxed and enjoyable. AND, in addition, I can actually practice there!!! There is actually a music wing, because the students also have to take music lessons (guitar or piano), so would you believe my dumb luck that there are practice rooms and I can use them whenever I want! So, when I do have a good break between teaching, I can just pop over there and get in some good practice. Amazing.
So, life is going really well there. What else? Aaah, the opera! I am really having fun there, too. It is with a smaller orchestra in Vienna, and we are performing Humperdink's Haensel und Gretel. It is really fantastic music, the story fun, and the singers are great (the orchestra has some problems, especially intonation, but what'll you do?).
This is one of those times, though, where I really realized that I am living in Europe, living and working in Vienna. When I showed up to the first rehearsal, I found myself in a beautiful, old wooden hall with high high ceilings, like something out of a movie. And would you believe, it was in the building of the old Baker's Guild? What a fantastic thing....whereas in the States we would have been almost certainly in a school gym or a church, and here I was in an old, beautiful hall built by the Baker's Guild. Great.
And to add to that the amazing inter nationality of it. The musicians are from everywhere - Spain, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Finland, Russia, the USA (gotta represent! Hehe...), and who knows where else. Probably Hungary as well....but we come together and make music together. It is a beautiful thing.
We had our first rehearsals today with the set and costumes, and it is really so funny - I was really laughing sometimes! It is an opera production meant for kids, so it's shortened and infused with a lot of humor. And to that, not just any humor, but Viennese humor. This is where you are really so glad that you are fluent in the other language - I would have missed some great laughs if I weren't!
In any case, The past week has been a mess with work at the PH, private tutoring, practicing, and opera rehearsals every day. Finally last evening and tonight I have some time to myself to finally get the last pieces of my life caught up!!! It is an amazing feeling......like I said, for one month, just not getting through all my emails, cleaning up the flat, getting my life in order, period. And finally now.....
So, I send you all my happy greetings from someone who sees the light at the end of the tunnel! I have a crazy Monday and Tuesday (think teaching at the PH, 2 opera productions per day, and rehearsals for another concert!), but after that, the clouds will clear, and my life will return to a normal rhythm. Thank the Lord.....
Hope everyone is well, and enjoy the fall! It is a beautiful time of relishing the last whisps of summer and anticipating the coming winter.
Sunday, September 21, 2008 2:58:28 PM
Greetings from a very soggy, very cold Vienna.
Much to my dismay it has rather suddenly become fall, and a nasty one at that here in Europe. While in Germany I had a couple days of beautiful sun and warm temperatures - one last beautiful vision of spring. And then, it happened. I walked out the door one morning and thought, "my goodness, it's a bit brisk this morning!" And as the day went on, the realization sunk in - the brisk was here to stay.
So, I learned from my neighbors two days ago how to get the heat going in the apartment and now I am happily enjoying a quiet (ahem, except for this morning - will elaborate)Sunday at home, getting my feet planted in Vienna again.
The past (nearly) two weeks were spent in Germany. The first part of the trip was spent in Duesseldorf - the big competition had arrived! Finally after two months of very intense preparation, the Aeolus Wettbewerb had finally arrived...and I was ready. I was simply excited to go there and finally play!
I flew in on Tuesday, got registered and was ready to roll on Wednesday, 3rd to go out of 14 (30 some trombonists alone, not including oboists and flutists were registered, but only 14 showed!), I was happy to get it done with in the morning and get to hear the rest of the trombonists play. I got to rehearse with my accompanist also on Tuesday, and I can only say it was absolutely fantastic. I don't get to play with pianists very often at all now that I am no longer a student and have them at my disposal, so it was pure pleasure to finally get to play with someone!
So, I went in at 10:30. There were two famous trombonists (Jonas Bylund and David Bruchez) and the president of the conservatory on the panel. The hall was great - reverberant, but not too boomy. I went up, got tuned, and then began the most beautiful, amazing playing experience I have ever had.
It is hard to describe. For years of working so hard trying to get my technique, musicianship, basics, and everything together, I finally felt a release - I felt I couldn't possibly screw up. I was so confident in my preparation and so happy to finally be playing it for the jury that I felt I was just singing, not playing! It was beautiful, and I walked out elated knowing that that was an amazing experience and that I played my very best.
Well, naturally I thought I would move on to the next round. Long story made short - politics win again. The two trombonists on the panel also happened to have some students of theirs with them (ahem), and quite a few of them (ahem) so happened to (ahem) move on to the second round. Only 6 trombonists could advance, and 4 of them were students of the judges (the other two were students in Berlin, one in the Berlin Phil. academy). I heard most of them play, and I can say for sure that two of the students really did not deserve to move on - it was a real pity that it happened. So, I feel my spot was taken from me, but honestly, I didn't care. The process of preparing for the comp and playing as well as I did was more than worth it!
So, the rest of my time was spent with my aunt in Cologne, a cousin and her family in Aachen, and the relatives in Fulda before taking the train back to Vienna last Thursday. All of the visits were really great - great to get plugged back into the family and reconnect, but it leaves you a bit tired and ready to come home! So, I was very happy to land back in Vienna. Unfortunately I had to hit the ground running, teaching and practicing (took 7 days off of playing to let my chops have a good break. Would you believe they were actually sore for 5 days???? Wild! Guess they needed it!), then a couple friends came up from Villach for a visit this weekend. So, now it is Sunday, my friends have left, and it's a good time to try and get my life in order!
Now, with the interesting morning alluded to at the beginning of the post. Yeah....well, let's just say that while trying to get my friends off, I managed to really cut my finger, scraping all the skin off my middle knuckle to the joint bone, even slicing into the bone! Looked gross but didn't hurt really....
So, I handled it quite calmly - no biggie! And went over to my elderly neighbors (super sweet, over 70 I'd say) to get a bandaid. As it turned out, their Hungarian cleaning lady was there and their 28 year old granddaughter. Well, as the cleaning lady was nursing my wound (the grandparents were both in the bathroom), I started to feel it, that sickening "I"m about to black out" feeling. So, I said Entschuldigung and started moving toward the ground....and I was out! I woke up extreeeemely confused, but after gaining my wits and realizing where I was, I started to recover. Needless to say, it was an embarrassing visit, and I felt horribly! But, they were fine, I was fine, and eventually I headed back to my apt.
Whew....so, I guess gore does make my body panic, even if my mind is calm. I was also ill in the night a bit, so maybe that had to do with it....who knows! I am feeling much better now, though, but am not looking forward to taking off the bandage later....
So, after today begins a very busy week of teaching and practicing, then the audition in Zurich on Oct. 1st. I am then starting work on Oct. 6th at the new school, and then the fall really takes off! It's going to be super busy, but hopefully I'll be able to hold it together and enjoy all the things that Vienna has to offer!
Hope all are well, and hopefully as life begins to be a bit more ....regular, perhaps, I will be able to post more often!
Take care!
Monday, August 25, 2008 7:10:09 PM
I smelled it yesterday.
As the afternoon sun was warming Vienna, I found myself walking through the Prater, a large wood and park for the Viennese to "escape the city" for a bit and take a stroll in nature. I got off the subway, strolled past the racetrack where a horse and cart race was underway (what a strange looking sport!) and eased my way into the cool of the wood, the infamous Viennese wind rustling through the treetops, a harbinger for the coming winds of winter.
And then I smelled it - I truly did. I smelled fall. It happened as I was passing under a tree and the wind brought a wisp of the unmistakable to my nostrils. It is so identifiable, but difficult to describe - it is the smell of summer fading, of ripeness, maturity, of death. And then I looked up, and sure enough, the leaves were no longer a bright green - they had begun turning brown.
I don't know if I am quite ready to say goodbye to summer weather, but I am anticipating the fall with great excitement. Once the normal "year schedule" of Vienna returns, there will be not a moment to spare. What with courses beginning (I'd like to begin French), teaching, tutoring, fencing (yes, fencing), perhaps a choir, and not to mention plenty of trombone playing and attending concerts (every night if I can! Hehe...), life will be quite the whirlwind.
In any case, this was not the point of the post. The point is to address my past week at the Attergau Music Institute. It is a 2 week program, but the trombones were only programmed for the first concert, and so we left yesterday. But, it was really a fantastic week of playing lots of trombone (lots of alto trombone, that is!), making new friends and contacts, and enjoying a week in a fantastically beautiful area of Austria.
The institute is made up of just enough people to staff an orchestra - this time around 60 students. You receive instruction from the Vienna Philharmonic musicians and rehearse to put together a concert every few days. The concert that we did included Brandenburg No. 3 (no trombones), Schubert's Offertorium, and Bruckner's 3rd. Mass.
Now, I was lucky I brought my alto trombone with to practice for the upcoming competition, because I ended up needing to play it on both of the pieces! It was a really great opportunity to get some great experience playing the alto. For those who don't know, the alto trombone is smaller than the tenor (what I normally play), and although it looks the same, it is a completely different instrument! It is very very difficult to play (especially with intonation), but after this week of high pressure to perform well on the alto, I have found a new confidence playing it.
The first couple days were mostly playing lots of trombone quartets and getting through some of the music (the Bruckner was a loooong piece for the trombones - lots of playing for a change!). The quartets were SO fun - the bass trombonist was a young student from a music high school, and the other tenor trombonist was a student from NYC who is actually studying with a former teacher of mine. Small world....
And the third trombonist in the quartet was one of the bass trombonists from the Vienna Phil, Karl Jeitler. He is a really great trombonist, but also older - 61 years and still going strong! It was so so fun to play with him and as a quartet - all of us played well together and had fun playing quite a few Austrian folk songs, too.
The second half of the week was full of loooooong rehearsals, but they were fun. Our conductor, Sascha Goetzel, was fantastic, and that made rehearsals enjoyable.
Then, after the concert on Saturday we had a huuuge reception with a huuuuge buffet! We began celebrating around 10:30pm, Thanksgiving style - load up the plate and start diving in! I haven't eaten that much in a long time - lots of Knoedel (filled dumplings) and Sauerkraut, pork filled with plums, pasta, sausage, applestrudel, cakes, fruit, cheese....wow. It was fun.
Then, it was 3:30am when I landed in bed, and was up and rolling at 7:30 to catch the train back to Vienna.
So, all in all, it was really a lot of fun and a great success. I had a good time hanging out with the brass boys from NYC (trumpet, horn and trombonist)and some of the Viennese students. What a blessing it was!
Now, this week is full of tutoring in the afternoons/evenings, practicing during the days like mad (competition is coming up - Sept. 10th!), then going to Salzburg on Thursday morning to hear the dress rehearsal of Mahler 3 (amazing!!!) with the Vienna Phil and Ian playing the solo (even more amazing!!), then quite possibly going back on Saturday to get "sneaked" in the back door to hear the last performance. Wow, it'll be amazing....
So, busy busy, and that's how I like it! Hope ya'll are well, and enjoy the last breaths of summer - fall has appeared.
Sunday, August 10, 2008 8:51:29 PM
Well, here we are again, weeks after having last posted. I am somewhat of a blogging failure at times, I must admit. Darn.
But, better something than nothing, and I feel somewhat justified in that the past two weeks I have either been entertaining visitors or on trips myself, most notably to Croatia to be with my sister for a few days!! As for the entertaining bit - the family of a good friend of mine was in Vienna, so I spent part of one day fetching them from the train station and taking them to their hotel (they had wrong directions! Took a bit longer than expected....) and another day with them during which we had hoped to be in Schloss Schoenbrunn, but instead spent the whole afternoon in the hospital! Haha!! It's a longer story, but wasn't anything big. His mother had gotten strange red markings on her legs, so just to be sure we went to the doctor who sent us to the hospital. We waited for a long time just to find out that the blood vessels has simply dilated and let out a bit of blood because of too much walking. So, some constricting leg socks and vitamin C and we were on our way!
I also had a Japanese friend from Villach visiting, which of course was also very nice. We get along well, and she had great stories to tell from her recent business trip to China and her trip home to Japan for a few weeks. And lots of pictures! It was great.
And then it was time to shoot off to Croatia! I was so exhausted and am so used to the soothing motion of the train that I slept for about 3 hours of the 6.5 hour trip - yessss!! Ahhh, catching up on sleep. Perfect. I really do love riding on the trains, too - plenty of time to read, write, and gaze out the window. The area of southern Slovenia was particularly stunning - rolling green meadows and mountains enveloping the river and the train tracks as the train wound it's way down ever more southward. Was beautiful.
And then I was in Zagreb! And quite surprised at that. I had expected more of a "former Yugoslavian" feel to it - run down, dirty, unfriendly. But it was quite the contrary! From the first minutes I felt that I was welcome there and that I was safe. It is a very approachable and inviting capital, and I was happy to spend a few days there.
Finally in the afternoon I got to meet up with my dear sister, and what a sweet reunion it was! We just really love being together, and to know that we had a few days to spend together was just wonderful. We went straight to the place where we were staying, I got to meet the other band members (she is touring Europe with a band), and got to get on with having some one on one time.
I am really happy that the band was so understanding about our needing "alone time," just to reconnect and talk about everything and anything. It was almost as if we had never left each other, but at the same time was fascinating for both of us to hear what has been going on in each others' lives, what we think about, what bothers us, what makes us happy, etc. It was a really sweet time.
And the Croatians were really fantastic. What a friendly people and so so so generous and willing to show you what their country is about! I am so grateful to them and am already looking forward to going back down there.
We ended up on the beach for one day - it was a 2.5 hour drive to the coast, but man, was it worth it! The weather was perfect, the water fantastically blue and clear (although the Croatians told me that that was nothing in comparison to the wild beaches about 200 km south of where we were), and the sun - herrlich. I realized I had not been swimming in salt water since our last spring break trip to Florida!!!! When was that? 9 or 10 years ago? Wild.
And then it was time to come home. I was really glad to have a slower weekend here in Vienna to get practicing again (had a couple hours total in Croatia, so just enough to keep my basis there!) and get things in order before this week starts. Because of being gone last week and being gone starting the 17th for a week (an orchestra institute), this week has become rather busy and full! I will give a total of 5 hours of tutoring tomorrow - add to that 3 hours of practicing and running some errands, and that is a wild day! Then Tuesday should be a bit better, but need to touch base with a couple people, practice and do more errands. Then Wednesday is more tutoring, practicing, seeing people, then Thursday off to Salzburg for a lesson (my teacher is there, and since this competition is coming up, we decided to get another lesson in), Friday tutoring, running through some stuff with piano and having friends over for dinner, then Saturday perhaps going to Graz, then Sunday off in the morning to the orchestra institute! WHEW! It'll be wild, but I tend to like it that way, as many of you know....
And then, alas, there will be only one week of August left. How is that possible? Really, summer is starting to fade away, and I might cry. Truly. I love summer so so so much......
So, keep your fingers crossed that I get everything done, and have a wonderful week yourself! Thanks for tuning in!
Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:34:43 AM
It is currently 12:25pm, Thursday. I am sitting at my old, wooden desk next to the window in my Vienna flat. It is a surprisingly chilly, rainy day out there - not exactly the 80 degree, sunny weather I was hoping for (swimming, anyone?)! But, I think the day will prove to be nice anyhow.
I just wanted to write, because I have been thinking about my life over here, especially Vienna and summer. As I was driving back in a small (actually medium/large for European standards!) car with a Persian, Finn, Austrian and Bolivian after another successful opera production, I was just astounded by the realization (again) that I am really living in Europe, really living in Vienna. This city is such a wonder. A true wonder. As we swept around the ring past beautiful old buildings, the trams, the opera house, and other Viennese treasures, I could only smile and say, "thank you."
As I learn more about the city and its people, the more I fall in love with it. This is really one heck of a city with more than enough history to choke not one horse, but a whole cavalry's worth, and to begin scraping at the iceberg has already been so rewarding.
And, on the lines of summer, I am realizing how lucky I am to have the schedule that I do this summer. Granted I am only making enough money to maaaaybe make it by (God really does provide) without tapping into savings, I am really savoring the rhythm I have now. My days are taken with practicing, sometimes tutoring, and exploring Vienna, and my evenings are spent playing opera, seeing friends, cooking, or going to one of the many events going on in Vienna. I am getting more and more "Wissbegierde", or thirsty for knowledge, and this schedule is allowing for study of subjects that interest me. Currently I am reading FAR too many books at once, but the topic matter includes Vienna, Austrian history, wine, and contemporary classical music (just found a great book on it - makes the topic approachable! It is "The Rest is Noise" by Alex Ross. Go get it!).
Anyhow, I just thought I'd share. I just finished practicing for now (working on memorizing a piece), and am off to make some Zurek - Polish sour rye soup (from a packet this time, but next time from scratch!).
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:36:46 AM
Well, shoot. I guess it has been nearly a month since I last wrote. What happened to my dedicated blogging? Hmm....
I suppose it is a mixture of life becoming rather normal over here and life going so fast I can hardly keep up myself! The past month has been a true whirlwind, something I certainly enjoy, but it has made for a fast few weeks.
What has been going on then, Johanna? Well, auditions, working, traveling, visitors, enjoying Vienna....yes, and in there somewhere one needs to sleep, eat, and practice! But that would be it in a nutshell. To catch you up, the audition for the Buehnenorchester, which I mentioned in the past post, did go well, but I didn't win. I came in about 7th out of 18 - a pretty good outcome, and really a fantastic step in the right direction. It built my confidence, gave me more experience in auditioning and more motivation to practice well over the summer.
Following that a friend of mine came up to Vienna from Villach for the weekend, and we had a great time together. She even convinced me to go to a ballet class with her! That was interesting......
Then, at this time, private English tutoring started to pick up as well as rehearsals for Don Giovanni, so I started having regular, irregular appointments! In any case, something to provide some more solid structure to the lazy (haha) days of summer.
So, for the next week I practiced, taught English, rehearsed for opera, and cleaned the apartment. This poor, poor apartment hadn't gotten any love for a long time. I mean, we didn't have dust bunnies, we had dust horses. So, that became a fun project. Really, it hasn't been to bad - you get instant results when you clean, you know? Ahhhh, satisfying.
Apart from that I have seen off my three roommates from June, welcomed my new one for July (a really sweet Italian girl), have taken a trip to Zuerich, had an acquaintance from Iran come to visit and stay with me(super nice girl - it was fun!), have survived an invasion by 4 Spanish boys (interesting story....wasn't my idea, let's put it that way), been to Graz to visit a good friend, and just yesterday had 4 friends from Graz come up to Vienna and showed them around! Oh, and I have finally gone swimming for the first time! I went to the Stadionbad - it was really fantastic. In addition to other pools, it has an Olympic-size pool for swimming laps outdoors. Aaaaahhh....bliss.
I think that's about all! What does the near future look like? This weekend could involve a trip to Italy if I'm lucky, or hosting friends again up in here in Vienna or going to Innsbruck. Everything is possible...other than that, practicing, tutoring, and operaing. It's a wonderful summer rhythm!
Also, I am still having issues loading pictures to the blog, so I apologize. I think I will write a note to the help-service.....
Hope all is well, and thanks (in advance!) for forgiving me for the rather delayed update!
Monday, June 16, 2008 1:38:25 PM
Greetings from Vienna!
As I write this I am sitting on the couch in my summer apartment listening to the masses starting to stir below; it is soccer season, and the city of Vienna has been officially thrown into an EM frenzy! The European Cup is happening right now in Austria and Switzerland, and tonight should be one of the most exciting nights - Austria versus Germany at the stadium in Vienna! Could be a loooong night.....
Well, all I can say is, "wow." These past couple weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of activity, what with moving out of Villach, visiting in Stuttgart, Germany, and moving up to Vienna. Everything regarding the move has gone pretty smoothly, although I am still waiting to get most of my things from Villach to Vienna! They are packed, but sitting all alone in a basement in little ol' Villach. But, soon, hopefully!
So, to recap, I left Villach at the beginning of June - I think it was the 4th. For the week before that it was one continuous celebration/going away thing after the next! Coffee with one person, lunch with the next, party in the evening....it was really fun and nice, but also tiring! Mix into that taking care of all the logistics of getting moved as well as practicing really hard, and you had a tired Johanna!
But, I got out of Villach with no problems and really enjoyed having to sit still for 7 hours in the train to Stuttgart. Got some reading, writing, and napping in. Perfect.
Then, Stuttgart became my "oasis" in the midst of the madness. It was so so great to see my friends there (the family that I lived with in 2006), and my father also came down to visit. It was a very sweet, very relaxed time, and I really enjoyed myself.
Then, I flew up to Vienna (cheaper than the train! 42 Euros!), and the wildest week I've had in a long time began. The whole saga is faaar too long to retell, but suffice it to say that the trombone politics in Vienna are in some areas extremely vitriolic, and I managed to taste a bit of that, unfortunately. Aside from that very negative experience, though, I have had 3 lessons in the past week - one with my teacher, one with a trombonist from the Buehnenorchester, and one from the 2nd trombonist of the Vienna Phil, and that has been at the same time refreshing and exhausting. I have one more lesson tomorrow with my teacher, then game time on Wednesday - my big audition for the Buehnenorchester at the Staatsoper! It should be really exciting, and with a big jury, too - I've heard 25 people from the orchestras. Wild. So, keep your fingers crossed!
As for the rest of life, it has been really good. I am really happy in my new apartment and will be staying here until October. It turned into the most amazing bit of luck being able to stay here, as it is a fantastic location, I have the place to myself, and I can actually practice here, too! So, things are looking good. And I am just really happy to be in Vienna right now.
So, once the audition on Wednesday is over, I can start moving on with the rest of the summer. The opera starts pretty soon in Klosterneuburg, so rehearsals for that will be coming up, and then I am hoping to take some trips, see some more of Europe and friends, and then the summer will have run its course!
I suppose what could summarize what life is like right now is just good. It feels good to have started this new chapter in my life. I am hopeful for the future, excited to be where I am right now, and looking forward to what the summer holds. Yeah!
Hope you are all well, and take care!
Sunday, May 18, 2008 6:42:50 PM
Well, shoot. Would you look at that? More than a month has gone by without one single post. What could have possibly happened in that time? For all that many of you know, I could have been on a month-long adventure deep into the innards of the Alps, searching for diamonds, jewels, and....flying monkeys (where did that come from?). But alas, nothing so exciting has happened. In fact, life has been rather normal, hence the lack of postage.
My life as of right now has had quite a bit of normal swing to it. I have had more and more students I tutor (often 6 or 7 sessions per week) that I tutor in the afternoons, which has been fun. I am, however, teaching less and less at the actual high school. My senior classes (4 total) are now taking and preparing for their final tests for the whole month of May, so the assistants stop going to class (they actually have no more class in the month!). So, from my *whopping* 12 hours of work, I am now down to 8. And then, on top of that, this month is the month of holidays; almost every week I have had an extended weekend! Unbelievable. So, I think I average, truly, 6 hours of work per week. It is the good life over here....
But other than that, I have been kept happily busy with fantastic weather and invitations to relax in other people's backyards. Nice!
I guess the biggest thing happening right now is trying to figure out the logistics of this summer and moving up to Vienna. I will go to Stuttgart to visit my host family there, a trip that I am really really looking forward to. My dad will meet me there, and it should be a good time of relaxing and being together. And, thankfully, they don't mind having a trombone making noise, either!
I will then get in to Vienna late on the 8th of June and take the entrance examinations/do the entrance audition for the music conservatory in Vienna. I decided to at least to the entrance exams so that that door is open as well - never know what could happen through it. Best to leave as many doors open as possible, in my opinion!
Then I have a couple weeks to put the finishing touches on my audition material for the Buehnenorchester at the Staatsoper in Vienna, that being the off-stage and substitute musicians. This is really the perfect position for me next year and would get me immediately plugged in to the music world there. So, keep your fingers crossed!
After that whirlwind, the rehearsals for the opera I am playing in this summer will begin. Alto trombone and Don Giovanni for a good 1.5 months - yeah! Haha, should be a good time and a little bit of income to try and pay the bills with!
And then sometime in there, I will have hopefully found a room to move in to (can take over a friend's room until the end of June) and come back down to Villach to grab all my stuff. Woofta! So, it may be an interesting time until July....busy, in any case.
So, I feel like I am sort of nervously biding my time until the expected whirlwind hits. Who knows.....but that is where I am now! The assistants in the area had a farewell barbeque yesterday in Klagenfurt, which was a lot of fun, albeit a bit sad. Then, today, I sang a Dvorak mass in the morning, practiced in the afternoon and went for a walk in the dark green mountains in the rain - it was really nice.
Unfortunately, though, my ability to post pictures onto the blog is not there anymore...happened on the last entry, too! Hmm...maybe I need to do a little investigation....sorry about that!
Thursday, April 10, 2008 12:07:17 PM
I can really hardly believe that it is Thursday. It's that weird feeling - I'm sure you all know it. All of a sudden you are so busy, and time somehow crawls because every second counts, every minute has a job. But, then you realize that almost a week has gone by! What a strange experience. It shocks me every time....
To summarize my being busy, I finally this week for the first time in months have taught a full 12 hours! I have continually had lessons canceled on me or holidays, meaning that I had gotten very used to a 9 or 10 hour work week. Wild, isn't it? In addition to that, I have had 5 private tutoring sessions in the afternoons already this week, meaning that the time for practicing becomes short. I have gotten very used to having the whole afternoon and/or some of the morning (when classes are canceled!) to practice. So, that has been difficult.
Then I have been busy in the evenings as well! Saturday I was with friends, Sunday at a concert (a womens' brass group! It was fun!), Monday I had at home, thankfully, Tuesday I went to a concert in Klagenfurt with 50 of my students, and last night was choir rehearsal! Now, I love being busy, but when I don't have time to sit down and breath, I get worn out, especially when considering what happened on Friday....
That said, I apologize for the late post on my most recent adventure, the "Vierbergelauf," or, roughly translated, "The Pilgrimage Over 4 Holy Mountains." This is "what happened on Friday"! Now, for a short history:
I unfortunately don't know the history so well, but I will give it a try! The Vierbergelauf is a very very old tradition in this area and takes place on the 2nd Friday after Easter. It is a pilgrimage route that has been used by inhabitants of Kaernten literally for thousands of years! Before Catholicism came along it was a route traveled by pagans in order to insure a proper year with good weather, etc. and to explore and remember the different stages of life. Once Catholicism hit, though, it was transformed into a pilgrimage that, when completed, would render you sin-free. And, if you did it 3 times, you were said to have earned your way into heaven. Yahoo!
It has been evolving ever since then and is now a very popular event for both believers and non-believers. I believe there were probably 4 or 5,000 people there this year!! The route is fairly grueling, though - 52 Kilometers (about 31 miles) over 4 mountains with a total gain of about 4,000 feet, when you include going back down into the valleys and up over the mountains. Wild!! And, to top it off, you start at midnight and do it on no sleep.
Well, I hadn't decided until Wednesday evening that I would do it, but then I was sold. I figured I am only in Kaernten once, and I have the day off on Friday, so dang it, I'm doing it! I am not one to pass up opportunities, so I couldn't let this one slip by.
I ended up going with the fathers of two of my students as well as one colleague of the one father - a happy party of 4! And let me tell you, it makes a big difference who you are with. I really enjoyed our conversation, and they were all very positive thinking types.
In an attempt to not make this a novel, I will try to summarize my thoughts on the experience! First of all, I managed to finish the whole thing with only moderately sore muscles, a tender knee, and the beginnings of a cold! It took us about 17 hours to complete, meaning I got home around 7pm, ate, showered, and slept...for 12 hours! I set my alarm (why, Johanna, why??) and woke up still tired, but oh well...
As for my reflections.....the early morning hours of 3 and 4 were pretty difficult. It was coldest then, the body starts to realize it is tired, and you start wondering, "what am I doing?" As we stood at the mass in the field at 7 am (there were 4 masses in total), I really struggled to keep my eyes open, but other than that, I didn't struggle with sleep exhaustion that much.
The cross-bearers were definitely an interesting part of the hike. There were probably 9 or 10 total, carrying big wooden crosses on their shoulders. They hiked really fast and had groups of Catholics behind them who constantly were reciting prayers and chants. It was really interesting and made it feel really like a pilgrimage.
In summary, it was a fantastic experience, and I am glad I did it. It is so surprising what the human body can endure. Sometimes you definitely have to just turn the brain off and go....well, a lot of the time. But, when there is a will, there is a way, I've learned.
Ok, off to practice! I will leave tomorrow for my lesson in Vienna again and will spend the weekend up there. I also just got news that I have been given a job again as an assistant, but this time in Vienna, just as I requested! It should be fantastic - it is actually in a college of education, so I will be working with older students, some of which may be as old as me!! So, that is really great news.
Ok, thanks for reading!
1 2 3 4 Next »
My Opera
