Green Pills, Rain, and der Bibliothek

My first weekend in Vienna was not a lively one, but the good news is I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER.  I was super sick, so I just slept and took strange green pills all weekend and skipped the bar hopping and party going.  Not that I would do that in the first place, Mom and Dad...  There is a huge event this weekend because the Ubahn is going to run all night on the weekends for the first time.  You can print out a ticket online (which I did just a few seconds ago!) that lets you ride any line all night and gets you into 31 different clubs for free.  I don`t think I am much of the clubbing type, but it should be an interesting night full of getting lost and riding the subway I guess.  I just got hired to be a librarian at IES for the music workshop! Hooray!  Today will be filled with making copies of music for the performance workshop meeting tomorrow.  I can`t wait to see what I get to sing and start learning new music. 

It has been rainy all week, but I like the weather a lot.  Blustery and a little chilly.  It`s a bit dark and romantic, and I totally buy into it.  This morning I wore my big tan trenchcoat and Laura`s black boots (thanks for letting me borrow them) and did that thing where you pretend you are in a movie that is all about you and right now you`re in the opening montage- other people do that, right?  Maybe not.  I bet Laura knows what I`m talking about. 

I saw 60% of Don Giovanni on the big screen at the Rathaus last night before I got too cold and went home.  The production was very...interesting.  They used an all white, rotating set with lots of doors and sliding panels and whatnot.  Contemporary dress, which seems to be a big thing in productions here, and nudity galore.  Don`t get me wrong- I fully support naked people on stage.  I just thought it strayed a little too far from the path, and the new elements of the production didn`t really enhance it for me.  That`s just my opinion...

My New Sunglasses are Pink

This is Lily.  We went to the Naschmarkt today in the sechsten Blicke (6th District) and bought all kinds of goodies.  I got a few zucchinis, ginger root, hummus, and an assortment of OLIVES (the best fruit, yes it's a fruit folks, in the world), and sunglasses to replace the ones I lost on the plane.  All of the guys say hello to you when you walk by, but it's only because they want you to sample their olives and then buy a bunch of stuff from them.  I like to pretend I'm a native who knows not to talk to them unless I want to buy something.  Auditions went well despite my severe anxiety which I realize I poured into my last post.  I'm sipping ginger root tea (thank you Mary Anne Scott for always reminding me how much I like this) and trying to study for a German test tomorrow.  Well I'm not really trying right now, but I will when I finish this.  Right now.

Pre-Audition Blog

We have a music performance workshop class that all of the overzealous musicians (including myself) are auditioning for starting today.  I thought I'd get a head start and go on the first singer day, and then I went to bed last night with that eerie feeling like maybe I will wake up in the morning with a cold or maybe it will go away.  My throat is ON FIRE, but I can still sing.  Except now I'm in that scary place where I want to be warmed up but not over-sing today.  I just practiced with my accompanist and barely got through the last one even though I didn't sing all of them the whole way through.  This is not going to be the end of the world either way, but I hate walking into auditions scared.  I just do not get the vibe that everyone here wants to be supportive and share music with one another.  It's hard to put a bunch of performance majors together and expect us not to be a bit cut throat.  Lucky for me the coolest person in the world named Lily just sat down across from me.  She sings, and she makes my day.  I'm also hoping we get at least one awkward singer just to shake things up a bit.

I went to this film thing last night in front of the Rathaus (it's like the town hall except it looks like a beautiful palace and not a typical government building).  They play recordings of operas and concerts on a huge screen since it isn't opera haus season yet.  Tonight is Hansel and Gretel.  I think I shall go.  It's pretty cool because I just hop on the U-bahn (subway system) and find a close stop.  I'm becoming quite seasoned at public transportation.  

I'm in Intermediate German I for the 3 week intensive that we have before we start classes.  I forgot a lot of stuff from a year ago, but I think I can catch up.  Yesterday I gave a tourist directions in German, and today I ordered food without the server switching to English because he assumed I was a tourist.  Success.  I'm going to go finish being nervous before this audition starts.  On the bright side I get to hear all of the other music people this week (which should be a mostly bright side kind of experience) AND I have class and auditions in a palace everyday.  One point for Harry.

P.S.  I'm kind of paranoid about random people reading my blog, so I like to know all of the people who subscribe.  Now I know the list of subscribers is really long, but I managed to sift through it and find a person called "Bill".  I know a few Bills, but I can't identify this particular one.  So Bill:  If you're out there and reading this blog, thanks for keeping track of me, but who are you?  

Liederhosen und Bier trinken

I don't know if my spelling of the title is correct, but none of you will care and I appreciate that.  There is a lot of weirdo singer competition floating around in addition to the "I can speak German better than you can" stuff, but it's nothing to really complain about.  It's very interesting to watch how everyone interacts with different people and who ends up hanging out together.  Last night we danced with these dancer guys wearing liederhosen who came in to do a performance for us of their clog-like Austrian dancing thing.  It was hilarious.  This old guy named Hans played the accordion, and by the end of the night he was the only one who wasn't at least a little drunk.  This hostel was like a frat house last night, and I don't even know how it happened.  I laid low and hung out with people, and then I did some swing dancing with one of the staff members, Kyle, who reminds me of Al from Home Improvement.  I will post much more later, but right now I'm going to interview for an English teaching internship!

Hey! Here's an awesome picture!

We're at the hostel in Mariazell for orientation this weekend.  It's beautiful.  I listened to Belle and Sebastian while we charter bussed through the mountains.  I don't think I'm ever coming home.

I have no idea what time it is.

I'm in a hostel lobby loving on the wireless internet in Vienna!  Hooray!  It took 24 hours to get here, and I just hauled my 50 lb. suitcase up six flights of stairs, but now everything is fine.  Hostels are kind of weird and strangely quiet given that this place is full of young, crazy people.  I met two strapping young men on the train who are going to my school too, and we are now calling ourselves Harry, Ron, and Hermione (my dream come true).  I swear it was JUST like the movie, guys.  We were on the train with our luggage talking about Hogwarts and all the great stuff that's going to happen this term.  I spoke German to a woman on a bench today, and Ron (who speaks German fairly well) got that embarrassed look on his face when you have to tolerate someone who is butchering a language but insists on using it nonetheless.  Whatever, Ron. She understood me.  I also made two new bffs on the plane today (or yesterday maybe) from Greece and Hungary.  I gave them my chicken and they gave me their vegetables.  I'm going to go shower it up hostel style now and go to sleep for a long time.

Day One

I'm sitting in the international terminal of the airport in Chicago slowly sipping a latte in preparation for: 1. The very long flight I am about to board, and 2. All of the coffee I will likely be drinking in the next four months.  I was a hot mess throughout the week leading up to this (sorry Mom, Dad, Laura, Kyle, and Joe), but now I am strangely calm and enjoying the planes, trains, and Japanese conversation that surrounds me (a flight to Tokyo is about to board). I confused I-70 with I-74 this morning due to my stubborn insistence that I knew where I was going on the way to the airport, but all is well aside from that blunder. (Again, sorry Mom).  I can't wait to get going largely due to my love of airplane food but also because I'm SUPER EXCITED to go to Wien.  That's Vienna for all those readers who haven't taken Beg. German I and learned the names of cities and countries auf Deutsch.  I know it's going to be difficult to keep up with my vast knowledge of the German language and culture, but just do your best as you read along (this is a joke).  I'm going to go eat a $7 sandwich before I tackle airport security and get something confiscated.

I'm actually happy right now.  I'm just really bad at taking pictures of myself.