I don't think we're in Jersey anymore...
One girl's story as she travels the world, one aria at a time.
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Photo reblogged from All things Europe
Just spent one of the best weeks of my life in Berlin! I absolutely loved it! So much music and culture and history in one big melting pot! More details from my trip to come!
Berlin (by mr-tham)
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Just wanted to tell everyone about the great trips I have taken recently and the ones that are to come!
1. Marseille and Montpellier - For easter weekend I went to south France with a friend. I was ready to relax on the beaches and kick back but I was surprised to find each of these cities very upbeat….and cold. Marseille had some great beaches to wander around as well as the magnificent cathedral de Notre Dame and the freshest seafood I have ever tasted - hands down. My favorite part of the trip there was the 1 hour boat tour that we took around the islands surrounding the port. The blue waters, minimal waves, beautiful islands - it was paradise! Montpellier was great as well! Definitely more of a college city than a sight seeing city. Lots of universities have programs there so there are always a lot of students around. We lucked out and got some great weather while we were there which definitely helped. In general, the south of France is stunning, I highly recommend it to anyone!
2. Amsterdam - I just got back from a long weekend stay in Amsterdam with my friend, Danielle. Amsterdam was somewhere that I had always wanted to go, but I knew nothing about it. So after a long week of final exams, I needed a vacation and decided Amsterdam was my place. When we arrived, I could immeaditly tell that this was not going to be a normal trip because we met a really nice girl on the train who helped us find our hostel. That kindness is not something you usually run into as tourists. This trip included some great sights such as the red light district, a canal cruise, the anne frank house, Madame Tausaud’s wax museum and the Heineken brewery. One day we met up with some friends and were able to visit the famous tulip gardens and windmills of Holland and even make a quick pit-stop into Antwerp, Belgium for dinner! The thing that shocked me the most about this trip was the culture. I literally had a culture shock! The people in Amsterdam are so free with their drinking, drugs and sexuality, its almost as if anything can happen at any time, no limits. At first this is what attracted me to the city but it actually ended up being a little overwhelming. None the less, I did love Amsterdam and would love to return some day.
3. Berlin and Leipzig - My 10 day, German adventure begins on friday morning and I could not be more excited! For 10 days I will be traveling with the other 6 music students and we will be experiencing the best music that Germany (and maybe even Europe) has to offer. Operas, Berlin Philharmonic, Electronic music, the whole works! It should be a trip to remember. I don’t know much about Berlin - just that it is really big and most people compare it to Paris or New York. I am really excited to go back to a “city” feel again. Always something going on and lots to do and see. I will keep you posted on the trip as it progresses!
and finally….mom. My mom and family friend are coming to visit me in Strasbourg 3 days after I arrive home from Berlin. It will have been 4 1/2 months since I have seen my mom and I am more than excited to see her and get a taste from home! Hopefully she will fall in love with Strasbourg just as I have this semester!
13 days til mom! 31 days til USA!
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I find this quote to be so fitting for my mood right now as many of my friends are ending their time in Strasbourg this weekend and are heading back to the States. We have each learned so much from each other, through the good and the bad, whether it be in french or in english. The 45 students at the SU Center have been my family for the past 4 months and now it is time to say goodbye. Though I know I will most likely be looking at the “closed door” for the next few days remembering all of the great times we had this semester - I must remember to look to the future! I still have 31 more days in Europe, a lot can happen in that time. I have a 10 day trip to berlin and leipzig, a few days in Strasbourg with my mom and friend, a special SU recital and my performance with the Philharmonic. Each of these are great opportunities, things I might never be able to do again - so as much as I want to look back and reminisce, I must be bound towards the future! (Though I am a tad jealous that you will all be home within the next 48 hours!) I am already planning our first Strasbourg reunion for the fall!! Safe Travels everyone and thanks for a wonderful semester!! Strasbourg won’t be the same without you all!!
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When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.
- Alexander Graham Bell -
An amazing night outside the conservatory! I have my first performance in Strasbourg tomorrow with the conservatory’s Ensemble Vocal! Though we are not performing in the conservatory - our concert is going to be in a great little church in the center of town. Great acoustics, great music, great performers, great opportunity and experience! And after my France debut I’m off for a wonderful weekend vacation to Marseilles and montpellier! Cant wait to relax on the beach and catch a tan!
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Tonight, for the first time since I have been in France, we had a thunderstorm! It was SO powerful and SO incredible! The light from the lightening was so strong that it was like someone was taking a picture with a really big flash. And the sound was so forceful! I was in class at the conservatory during the main part of the storm and it cleared up just enough for me to scurry home without getting drenched and then it started again. whew!
I got home just in time for a wonderful dinner. Usually our dinners last about 1 hour. We really enjoy talking to each other and struggling through english and french. But tonight was an exception. Our dinner was 3.5 hours long! I couldn’t believe it! We are just a bunch of chatty cathy’s, no matter what language we were speaking in! Over the course of dinner, dessert, and wine we talked about everything imaginable! Politics, Michael Jackson, the royal wedding, plastic surgery, you name it - we talked about it. The time just seemed to fly by! I loved hearing the different view points of Anne and Aki and through all of this I was able to learn a lot about the french and japanese cultures. I can not imagine living with a better host family - I seriously hit the jackpot! By far the best thing to do during a thunderstorm….talk with the ones you love!
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I will always remember this piece. It is called “Stripsody” and this is a clip of a performance by composer Cathy Berberian. In my lesson last week my voice teacher, Francoise Kubler, full-on performed this piece for me and my classmate. It was INCREDIBLE. I didn’t even know what to say afterwords. Cathy used to be my professor’s teacher and since then, my professor has traveled around the world to perform pieces such as this as well as other contemporary and new music selections.
Here is a little bit of background on the piece - the performer has a score, it looks almost like a story book. It has 3 lines, representing high, medium and low pitch and throughout the score there are picture representing the sound. Every time the performer puts her hand up, it is signaling the end of a measure. Other than that - the object is to just go crazy with the piece!
During my time here I have really been able to explore do many different types of music. Though right now I perform mainly classical music, there are so many other styles and genres out there for me to explore. The music here is very contemporary and modern which is not currently the scene in the States. I cant wait to see if this kind of “music” ever becomes the “norm”!
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Hi blogosphere! It has been too long since we last met! Unfortunately - technical issues have taken over my life! Over my 12 day adventure through Italy, good Internet was hard to come by and I returned on Monday night only to have my worst nightmare occur. My laptop broke and I lost all of my information! Ahhhhh! There is only one company in all of alsace that deals with Mac computers and they are trying to piece my baby back together and get it back to me later this week! But until then - I have my itouch. So until I get my Laptop up and running - blogging will be difficult - but I will try! So much to share with you all and the weather is finally getting nice here so I am sure I have many more adventures to come! Ciao!
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Photo reblogged from NYC Daily Pictures
Chrysler Building - view from Lexington Ave at 23rd Street
The Chrysler Building is my favorite building in all of New York. Miss it every day….
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….I’m done! I don’t know if this is being broadcast in the news back in the States but Europe is going through an extreme cold spell! I have a large electric thermometer outside of my door and I look at it every time I come in and leave my place. Within the past week the temperature has not been above -15°C. (The conversion is as follows: 0°C = 32°F. So really, -15°C is around 18°F). I never want to leave my flat, I even dread the 7 minute walk I have to the SU center. When walking to class the other day, my wet hair froze as soon as I walked out the door. When I got to class I had to let me hair defrost! The other day the gate to the SU Center was frozen shut so we had to cancel class! Are you seeing how bad this is!?! It is SO COLD! And speaking of cold, I have one. I haven’t been able to get over my cold for the past two weeks and this freezing weather isn’t helping. It is really hard being sick while you are abroad. All you want to do is be wrapped up in you sheets and watch tv. But instead here, I must go to class and brave the weather. It is also really difficult to get medication. I only brought a few medicines from the States because I figured they would have some similar brands here. I was mistaken; the medication system is entirely different! It’s more difficult for a foreigner to walk into a Pharmacy and get a medication than you would think. In the States you just go to the CVS and pick something up. Here, you have to speak to the pharmacist and have a prescription and the medicine can be quite pricey. To someone who clearly sticks out and doesn’t speak a lot of French, this task can seem rather daunting. Therefore I opted to recover the hard way – sleep and waiting it out. So here is hoping the weather gets a tad warmer so that I can actually work on getting better!!
