Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I figured out how to add photos

I should have titled this: I put you on blog overload after not making a peep in two weeks!!!

The girl in the mask is Sarah.

Face in cream

The pictures of a girl putting her face in her ice cream are of Sarah, not me. I don't know if you think we look alike but I just wanted to clarify! There's a nice picture of us on Facebook but I don't know how to put it in the blog.

Updating you to my whereabouts

I had a wonderful week in Dresden, taking class with the amazing Semperoper and spending time with my friend Sarah Hay! We took the train to Leipzig on Saturday, and met up with Andrew Brader and Drew Grant, visiting from Ohio. I also met their friend Tyler. I spent the week traveling and auditioning with Drew and Andrew, in Leipzig, Chemnitz, Zwichau (sort of,) Kiel (baby Copenhagen,) and Amsterdam.

In Amstedam we saw the Anne Frank House, Rjyk museum, and Dedamia, an incredible Handel opera which I absolutely loved. We sat in the second row, right by the first violin, and I was in complete heaven the whole time.

I stayed an extra night in Amsterdam before taking the train to Berlin yesterday. Here I am taking class with the company in the mornings, meeting with people who know the Europe opera world (I want to have a non-singing role in a production this summer!) and finding a yoga studio.

It's pretty weird to be in a city where a month ago (or was it 2?) it was bitterly cold and miserable, and now... It's spring!!! I am infinitely happier to walk around exploring all day, and the world just seems brighter and more full of possibility.

That reminds me: the train from Copenhagen to Dresden parked on a ferry that rushed us through the sea. I was very excited and hoped I would see a whale. I was also lonely because I realized that I didn't have anyone to share the excitement with. Maybe it wouldn't have been as exciting if I hadn't been alone though. I made sure to take a picture of myself for my mother :)

Reading list so far:

I may have mentioned that on a trip that involves a lot of trains and alone time, I've managed to blow through a lot of reading material; probably more than I've ever read before. Here's what I've read so far:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl who played with Fire
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
-Stieg Larson

The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson

Hush, by Eishes Chayil

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Falling Angels, by Tracy Chevalier

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
*this one took FOREVER because it's extremely long and about one of my favorite topics, King Henry VIII, so I had to pair it with all four seasons of The Tudors to compare, and I think I need a history book because I get mad when I don't know which version, if either, is right. But I started it in London, which was fun.

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver

Annabel, by Kathleen Winter

Currently reading: The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Not the fanciest list in the world but still a lot of material, and most of it has been wonderful (also sometimes depressing and horrifying.) Any suggestions for what to read next? (... Besides my Native American religions book for my college course?)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Copenhagen, Random observances

I am pleased to announce that one thing Copenhagen does incredibly well is...the brunch buffet! I went to a place called Riz Raz, (where I also had lunch with my mom 5 years ago!!) and enjoyed the best assortment of meats, felafel, vegetables, pancakes...I could go on!

This city is really colorful, and I'm looking out to share some examples of the unique fashion of its residents. It seems I need to improve my readiness with the camera, which I lamented when a missed a shot of an old lady with a long fur coat, sea-foam green kerchief and bag, and lace stockings, clicking along in her heels...classic Danish old woman!

Here are pictures from another curious observance...accesorized statues around the city! Clown nosed Triton by the river, and bonnetted man in front of the Old Stage of the Royal Danish Theater. Any ideas what they could mean?

Tomorrow off to Dresden by train! I miss my train vagabonding days, so I'm very excited for the adventure.

My cool sister

After reading about my awesome sister in this interview: http://millieabroad.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/meet-the-maker-hazel-village-brooklyn-new-york/

I was feeling industrious by association, and replaced a missing button on my coat, as well as fixing the the hole in the seam and reseeding all the buttons more securely. I hope she will be proud of me.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Tallinn last week

On the plane to Tallinn I met April, a very nice American woman living in England, and her daughter Isabella. In the time we spent together over the next few days, she let me know that her husband had been concerned that an "American," "ballet dancer," had made herself available in Tallinn for afternoon adventures around Tallinn. When he saw these pictures, I hope he realized that I'm not much of a threat, and wasn't planning on whisking them off, never to be seen again. Here are my friends.

The hostel was awesome, run by two Australian people who were so helpful with things to do and cheap places to eat. Everything in Tallinn is amazingly cheap, and the food was really good. I tried blood sausage, borscht, and an Estonian hamburger.

Saunas are a big thing here, but I opted out of the mixed gender experience. I did find a sauna in the women's locker room of a gym, and it was great.

The company was a huge change from the others I've been to. This one was very classical, performing only full length classics, as far as I could see. It was the only place I've been where everybody speaks the language, so all rehearsals and class were in Estonian( apparently the worlds hardest language to learn. The girls were very serious, an not so enthused about an outsider on their territory. It was a huge challenge, but left me wanting a job there just for the adventure that it would bring.

Overall I loved tallinn and would definitely want to live there. The combination of Scandinavian, Slavic, and western European culture made it one of the coolest places I've ever seen.
Oh, it was absolutely freezing...I slipped on the ice and fell on my butt :)

I'm in Copenhagen now, a story for another day.