The final weeks

Oh gosh, where do I begin? 

AIMS is winding down and I have been unbelievably busy, finally I have time to breathe and to rest, although with this time I do find myself rather sad. Today is my final voice lesson with Evangelina Colón. Tomorrow will be my final coaching with Chanda VanderHart. Of all the things I have experienced here in Graz, my education in lessons and coachings has by far been the most valuable and I am going to miss my teachers terribly. 

Today is rather gray, and I can't believe my time in the city is almost at an end. I just purchased my last pass for the Strassenbahn. I won't really need to ride it anymore past today. 

Weird.

Here's my stop at Raiterkaserne, more later. I have to go now. :)

Buenos Dias Graz

On Sunday I had the opportunity to sing in the Buenos Dias Graz concert, and my goodness, was it fun!

We sang in one of Graz's museums, and the place was absolutely packed! We ran out of seats and so people sat outside the room on the floor! Everyone did such a fantastic job and I am so happy to have been a part of it.

(Note: for some reason this never got posted even though I wrote it weeks ago, sorry!)

Clavelitos, Silenciosa, Mercado(?)

Sorry I haven't updated in some time, I feel I'm always apologizing for the lack of updates...woops. Well, anyway, I think I'm mostly back on track with just a few details from his past week to fill in! :)

On Tuesday night I went to a casino! No, no, my intention wasn't to gamble but to watch my friend Michelle sing "Art is Calling for Me" in the Opera Americana concert! The whole night was a blast and I think I found two songs I want to put on my senior recital! Both are Bernstein pieces - one is "What a Movie!" From Trouble in Tahiti and the other is "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide! I've already gotten the sheet music for them and I cannot get them out of my head!

After Michelle sang, we had a drink and I tried my hand at the slots and roulette but unfortunately I have no beginners luck whatsoever so the allure of gambling faded pretty quickly.

Radler again. I love Radler. Oh! Also, that day I had a photo shoot with Devon Cass which was incredible! If you're reading this and you're planning on going to AIMS and Mr. Cass will be there - shoot with him! He is hilarious and it's so fun cause he does hair and make up and picks out jewelry.

I actually got some of the rough shots back - so I'm trying to pick out the finalists to go to processing. What do you think?

I felt like a model, and that was fun! So anyway, yes yes, casino and singing and then home. 

The rest of the week I stressed about my songs for the Spanish concert. Tomorrow I will he singing "Clavelitos" and "La Silenciosa" - I'm pretty excited, but also nervous. I got great feedback today at rehearsal though, so I'm mostly just excited!

To celebrate I went to the farmer's market....twice. 

My first haul I brought back this:

And then the second haul I brought back this:

Originally, I had planned to find carnations so I could wear them in my hair while I sang Clavelitos tomorrow, but when that didn't work out I picked up those red flowers. And decided, hey, why not get some basil and rosemary...and roses. And a pumpkin, potatoes, some bread, mushroom butter, onions, and garlic. I also went to the store to buy some chicken bouillon, because somewhere between the pumpkin purchase and the garlic - I decided "you know what? I'm going to make a soup."

And so I did.

And it's amazing.

I just finished eating a bowl and am about to go get another. Soup with fresh vegetables is the best thing ever - even better with a little kernöl on top! Delicious!!! I'm glad I thought to get some tupperware at the euro store on the way home because I have SO MUCH SOUP. I'm happy too because I will be eating it throughout the week!!! And when I run out - I have enough vegetables to make more!

All and all today was a productive day! I'm thinking I may go out to dinner with Michelle, but as I'm writing this I'm feeling a bit sleepy so I may stay in and focus on my music for tomorrow. 

Nothing else to report today! I'm drinking tons of water and gearing up for tomorrow!!! :) If you're reading this today, wish me luck!

Meisterklasse und Radler~

Sorry, it's been a while. A lot has happened since my last update and I do apologize for not keeping up with this blog as I promised.

Honestly, I'm exhausted. I'm two weeks into this program and I am SO TIRED! It's a good tired though, because I've been doing so much! Since I cannot cover all the things that have been happening, I'll cover what I did these past two weeks in one post!

Monday before last Monday was filled with classes and a voice lesson. I really love my teacher, her name is Evangelina Colón. She is so nice, supportive, and though I do have some technical issues she has told me I have a "lovely instrument" and that is always nice to hear. It's nice to get some verification that maybe I really am doing the right thing. :) 

Monday night everyone in the program was invited to a reception at Schloss Eggenberg, and wow, what a night! Everyone called it the "AIMS prom" and it truly was - everyone decked out in their finest dresses and suits. 

We arrived and proceeded out walk up toward the palace, the sky was cloudy - a portend of rain that never came. 

We reached the palace only to be greeted by a flock of peacocks. I'm serious, about six peacocks were just hanging out, and gosh were the beautiful and LOUD!

After looking around the grounds and posing for many a picture with a peacock, we moved into the castle for the reception.

We were led up to a room on the third floor with chandeliers and candelabras, it was absolutely incredible. Apparently, not many receptions are held in that room due to the delicate nature of the magnificent paintings on the walls and ceiling.

Everyone was dressed in their finest clothing and the event was truly magnificent. After a little live music and some delicious, free, red wine, it was time to go home.

That Friday night there was a concert in a church a Strassenbahn ride away from Jakominiplatz and so I went, of course, to hear some great music and enjoy the evening. The church it was in was absolutely LOVELY so I took a few pictures, though they do not do the church justice.

Alright, so I know I may be confusing but I think this was actually two weeks ago or not on a Friday. I haven't updated in a while so I think I am confusing myself. Regardless it was lovely!

The next big event for me was a master class for Ulrich Eisenlohr, an amazing pianist. It was great because he worked with both me and my amazing studio pianist Justin, and the song, "In dem Schatten Meiner Locken" really came together between the two of us.

Afterwards I treated myself to some bratwurst and a Radler! I felt I deserved it.

Klasse!

First day of class today, I can't believe it! This marks exactly one week since I departed for Graz, time is flying!

I'm writing this as I sit on the number 7 Strassenbahn, headed to the Elizabethschule for class. I'm running a tad late, actually, because the copy machine wasn't working, but at least I have my music for my coaching today, so that's good. :)

I haven't much to say at the moment, besides it's been raining and I have been sleepy. I bought some real honey yesterday and sat in my room and drank tea last night. It was so nice. 

Speaking of nice, and pardon me for rambling, but kürbiskernöl is possibly my favorite thing I have tasted here. I've been eating it on salads. Yum.

((THIS IS REALLY OLD AND I NEVER POSTED IT! Woops!))

Guten Morgen

What day is it?? 

Honestly, what day is it? How long have I been here? It feels like I have been in Graz for weeks.

I apologize for not posting as frequently as I promised I would, but I'm posting now and that's what counts. Right now I am sitting and waiting for the number 7 Strassenbahn to get here so I can go watch the Gabriele Lechner master class. How can this only be day five?? I got here Friday, right?? It's sort of bizarre, we have been doing so much.  

I love Graz. I really do. I'm smiling at three sparrows that landed right next to me as I wait for the Strassenbahn and enjoying the cool air. It's supposed to rain today, but right now skies are blue.

I suppose I need to update on the past few days, but writing everything would honestly take a few hours and the post would be a bit of a novel to read, so I'll keep it short. 

Basically, I've been exploring. German class started yesterday, but other than my hearing and master classes - not much is going on - which means I have had plenty of time to go on adventures!

My first adventure on Saturday was with the AIMS program and we basically went on a tour of the city. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

One of many clock towers in Graz

More lush greenery and a floating cafe...  

(Cafe is shaped like a seashell, how cool!)

Bridge of love! And turtle locks!

Schlossberg in the distance!

Believe it or not, this is a panther

Inside of a beautiful cathedral

Do you want to build a snowman?

(I'm sorry.) 

We ended our tour here, pretty!

After the city tour, we ate lunch, dinner, and slept. Long day. The next day, I was up early to catch the sunrise out my window.

That day I took it easy in the morning because of my hearing, but don't worry, there were adventures to be had as soon as I was done. My new friend Kelly happily accompanied me. We set off, finding the seashell river cafe place, eating there. It was ridiculously hot, so we got a light lunch and mojitos. Cause why not?

Best. Mojito. Ever.

Mojito and lunch in our stomachs, we emerged from the cafe, and decided "hey, why not climb Schlossberg!?" So we did. 

Can I just say, I love coming out of a cafe and being able to decide to go hiking immediately afterwards. The Insel Cafe and Schlossberg are right next to each other. Amazing.

Statue of four birds talking.

Four birds talking about how we are crazy

We were not deterred by the stairs. We were going to the top! My one regret was wearing a dress. I probably shouldn't have worn a dress. 

Not even four flights up, and it's already beautiful

Schlossberg no longer in the distance!

Schlossberg used to be the fortress. Of Graz, though of course it is long gone - the people of Graz were able to gather money to save the clock tower and other parts of the fortress from being torn down way back when. 

The hills are alive!

As a promise to Kelly, "the hills are alive with my panting and moaning."

No seriously. The climb isn't long but there are a lot of steep stairs to climb before you get up there. We were both pretty winded by the time we got to the top. Though recovery didn't take too long. 

I plan to climb Schlossberg once or more a week. If not for the exercise, then for the views and so I can eat in one of the beautiful cafés up there.

Kelly and I say hello!

Quick comment, German spoken by children is the cutest thing ever. As we traveled back down Schlossberg, we were tailed by a child and his mother. He was so excited, happy to be up on the hill and eating his "lieblingszucker" (favorite candy(?) -- it literally means favorite sugar/sweet, seriously, he was so cute.)

What could be in this mysterious cave?

(Unfortunately, it wasn't the Styrian Panther. :( )

Kelly and I continued our trek down and finally made it to the bottom of the wrong side of the hill. Woops. It wasn't a long walk, thankfully, to get back to the Studentenheim in time for dinner.

Next day, I was actually not as sore as I thought! So I went out a bit on my own, and I found a farmers market! 

All of this for less than 5 euros!

I don't even like cherries, but these are absolutely amazing. I'm definitely going again when I run out. I'm already out of this jewel-like raspberries, so I have to get some more. I had an egg this morning and those are fantastic. I love all the produce here! Possibly my favorite part of the food here so far. 

Seriously. These look fake.

Beyond shopping around, yesterday was largely uneventful, though, I suppose that was nice considering today is a big day filled with more master classes to attend, meeting our coaches, operetta previews, and the travel fair tonight! 

I love it here, and I can't wait to experience all this lovely city and program has to offer! More soon! :) 

Graz

Finally here! Yesterday was so busy what with check in and exploring that I didn't have time to write up a post about what Graz is like, but I'll do so now!

I got to the Graz airport which is remarkably small, got my bags (none of mine were lost! Yahoo!) and went through customs. I don't know why I was expecting customs to take a long time, though, because I literally walked right through.

       The view from my plane window

As soon as I reached the pick up area, there were about four people waiting with AIMS signs, which was incredibly nice, and we loaded into the cars pretty quickly. Loathe as I was to be sitting again (so much sitting these past days) we were told the car ride would take only 20 minutes, so that was good. We reached the Studentenheim soon enough, got our things, and headed to check in. 

I have to say, AIMS check in is possibly the most organized thing I have ever seen. Getting keys, maps, handbooks, school books, etc was painless and I was able to go to my room and unpack pretty quickly. After unpacking and organizing my possessions I decided to take a shower and change into a fresh outfit. I was absolutely exhausted, but the shower woke me up enough to get me out the door and walking around Graz. 

           The view from my window 

My first stop was the Gösser restaurant next door.

I walked in and sort of stood around, not really realizing I could simply seat myself, which the manager helped me with when I finally, desperately asked "kann ich essen hier?"

He assured me my German wasn't bad as I was saying (I kept telling everyone sorry I only speak a little German) and said I could sit wherever I wanted. I picked a high table in the back and was helped soon enough by a nice waitress who brought me a cola and a bratwurst mit pommes frittes -- the only thing I knew on the menu. 

It came out piping hot and rather delicious, but I was too embarrassed to take a picture, so I ate it, asked for some water, and paid my bill, left a tip, and headed out to explore. My goal was to find a supermarket - but I didn't end up doing that. Instead I managed to wander to the main transportation plaza where there were tons of people and busses. There were bakeries, tea places, and such and I will definitely have to go inside and browse these at some point. I turned around, and headed back, this time making my way back to the river. On my way I passed a game store across from the Heim and was rather amused by the giant model in the window.

                         Hey! Look!

I ended up finding a good jogging path by the river, everyone seemed to be using it, so I will probably do the same today, or just walk to same path again. It's pretty nice and I noticed people sitting down on the rocks by the river which I would like to do with someone sometime. Seems like a fun place to relax and talk. 

After walking the river path I headed back to the Studentenheim. Once there I was given directions to some grocery stores and so I will likely go there today - first on my list. Unfortunately I did fall asleep when sitting in a chair in my room, but I slept until this morning so I am hoping today I can correct my schedule (besides I have a late rehearsal so I have to stay awake!)

Today I am going to figure out where my hearing for tomorrow is, and see more of Graz! :)