Gratitude 12

I am thankful for this beautiful corner of Kecskemét, Hungary in which I get to live right now.

This past week has been filled with placement exams here at the Institute. Oh, joy, oh, joy! Let's just say that they did not go as well as I would have liked. My audition on Thursday, though, went very well, which I am very glad of. Thursday afternoon was spent scheduling with Zita. As my school has an affiliation with the Institute, my classes were already set and registered. However, I had to go over them with Zita and register here for class placement. I learned that Klára Nemes will be my solfege/musicianship teacher, and I am partnered with Heather, a pianist, for chamber music. Klára is this little lady who reminds me a bit of Julie Sheline, bouncing around everywhere. I think class with her will be fun, but I also hear that she is a very tough teacher. That will be good for me, though. Afterall, one of the biggest reasons I am here is for solfege and to strengthen my ear and musicianship. Thursday night, we all went out to a czarda, which is a typical Hungarian restaurant. It was fun, and the food was great. The waiters spoke very little English, so it added more interesting moments to the book of life in Hungary when you can't speak the language! Friday at noon was the official opening ceremony of the school year. Apparently, it was more formal than usual because it was also the stepping down of one director and the stepping in of a new one. Most of it was in Hungarian, too, so it was difficult to understand. When they could, though, they spoke in both Hungarian and English, so that was nice. From what I hear and see, Hungarians are very passionate, whether it be in music or in speech. Even though I didn't know what they were saying, the great depth of passion speaks far louder. It is very much like the Hungarian street musicians I saw in Vienna, very much a part of who they are. Zoltán Kodály's second wife and the director of the Liszt Academy were present, as well. And Orsolya, the piano teacher here, performed a piece at the end. It was incredible!! She is phenomonal! Maybe she'll actually get me to enjoy playing/practicing the piano.

Hilary, Caitlyn, and I at the reception

Afterwards, there was a reception complete with a toast. As we were drinking our wine, Zita told us to live it up this weekend because come Monday, it was all over. haha! They keep trying to scare us. I have come to the realization that my course load this semester is very large. Very large. However, it can and will be done well. After the festivities were through, I went upstairs to watch Blackadder, an old British comedy with Hugh Laurie as one of the main characters, with my new British friend Sophie. She is such a sweet girl. She was a student here last year and is now studying ceramics across town. Unfortunately, she is only here for a couple of more weeks. However, she has invited me to stay with her in England over our holiday at the end of October, so I just may have to take her up on that. We went over to Teatrum, the little tea room right across from the Institute, and had tea and hot chocolate and chatted away. Then, we walked to her studio by way of a candied nut stand and lastly to her apartment for a bit before I headed back. Friday and Saturday night a bunch of us went out Hungarian folk dancing. Yes, folk dancing. It was great fun but also very tiring.

This weekend was some sort of cultural heritage weekend, so there were concerts and dancing events around town. Saturday night, we went to a Renaissance concert here at the Institute, too. (From what Agi has told us, this is also the Renaissance year in Hungary.) So tomorrow begin classes. I only have two classes on Monday. Only one for this Monday, though. I think I am in trouble for the rest of the week then...