My holiday (part 3)

Gratitude 28

I am thankful for getting to spend some time in beautiful England this holiday...especially since I didn't think I'd be able to this adventure abroad. 

Sunday morning, I got up bright and early to make it to the airport with plenty of time because I didn't know what type of security or customs I would have to cross. In one day, I received two stamps in my passport!...the extent of stamps I had been given over the bast three and half years since getting it...they just don't like to stamp them. The Prague airport is ridiculous, and I am not a fan of the set-up. Pretty much the extent of security there was looking at my passport and scanning my bag in a millisecond before getting on the plane. When I entered the UK, though, customs were crazy, asking all sorts of absurd questions and requesting to see my return tickets. She didn't ask, but that would have been something to try and explain that I came from Prague, am returning to Budapest, and have an Amsterdam stamp in my passport...and no Hungarian visa or residency permit notated in my passport. She looked very perplexed, though. 

Sophie's family is absolutely lovely. Her and her dad picked me up from the airport, and we drove through the countryside to her home. I felt like I was instantly dropped into As Time Goes By!! (I love that show!) The little roads we were driving through and the areas we were passing were practically identical to those in the scenes of that show. haha! Brilliant! Gotta love it! My brain was so confused with him driving on the left side and the driver's seat being on the opposite side. I mean, it wasn't a shock or anything, but it can mess with your brain a bit. We had a wonderful English Sunday lunch. Yum! 

In the evening, we went to their church. It was a contemporary Christian service. I prefer the more traditional, but it was nice. It was my first time to church since coming abroad. (Well, aside from the German mass I attended in Vienna. I want to attend a Hungarian mass at some point, but I'm sure that'll be slightly overwhelming, too.) The people there were very friendly and sweet. And...believe it or not, I met a woman originally from Columbus! She said she came here to study in her third year of college, as I am, met a man, and the rest is history. Again, what a big small world we live in! I also met this little old lady, Mary, who insisted upon giving me a "good, proper English hug!" :) She was such a sweetheart! 

Back at the house, we had some tea, Sophie's dad and I chatted about opera, and watched some British TV. They also made me try marmite on toast. It was...different. 

The time zones have been messing with my head. Daylight savings had me flip my clock back an hour, and then when I got to England, I had to flip it back another hour, so I ended up slightly jet-lagged on top of already being sleep-deprived. (I don't sleep very well in hostels no matter how nice it is.) There was a period of a couple of hours, though, that I had no idea what time it was because my watch said one thing, Sophie's computer said another, and when I called home on Skype, my sister kept saying a time there that was only four hours difference. Apparently, I am actually only four hours time difference from home this week because daylight savings happens this coming weekend in the States, and then I'll be back in Hungary, making it six hours again. All too confusing!

On Monday, Sophie and I went into "town" (aka London) for the afternoon. I absolutely LOVE London. I am a very blessed person to have already in my life had to experience and see and live so much of this incredible world. As with Vienna, I could spend a lifetime in London. (I have to say that those are my two favorite cities!) We went to Oxford Street, Regents Street, Soho, Carnaby, Selfridge's, China town, expored a few alley ways/side roads, and Covent Garden. It was a lovely day, which ended with a cup of tea at a cafe in the Covent Garden "piazza" listening to a street musician. He was quite good. We also heard an opera/classical singer there who wasn't bad but so tense she made me tense just watching her. 

We took a London taxi! to Waterloo station to catch a train back. Umm...super sweet! We passed West End and saw from a distance Big Ben, the London Eye, and St. Paul's Cathedral. And it really is true that London cabby's are the friendliest people. 

Today, we went into Guildford, a town nearby. It's mostly a shopping place...I'm not a big fan of shopping...but it was nice. And I found a beautiful floor-length dress for only £35!!! It'll be lovely for little recitals or fancy nights at the opera. hehe!

P.S. It is really strange to be in an English-speaking country for the first time in two months! You mean I don't have to act out what I am trying to say in a funny, ridiculous manner and try to muttle through some poorly-grammared foreign sentences? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy doing the later...a great challenge...but it is a rest to the brain for a bit not having to. 

My holiday (part 2)

Gratitude 26

I am thankful for having the opportunity to see a Mozart opera in the opera house where Mozart, himself, premiered his own Don Giovanni. (Umm...yeah...pretty freaking cool! I feel like I am walking through musical history all over this continent!)

Friday and Saturday were spent in lovely Prague. By the time I finally got to my hostel early Friday afternoon, I was tired, a little lonely, and in need of food and praying the place was nice. At first, I wasn't impressed, but it was probably my state of mind at that moment. However, I made another good choice. It was quite a nice place. Old-style feel, a cute little pub in the basement, and suite-style dormitories (the place in Bratislava had that set-up, too.). Although, it irritated me how far it was from the center of things and that it took so long to get back and forth. The staff was very nice, and the manager even let me into the room early because he saw how tired/drained I was. 

So...this is quite a big small world we live in...I met an Aussie at the hostel...nothing surprising!...the surprise: she knows Wendy, a student at the Institute! How crazy is that? Wendy was her teacher! She was a very sweet girl. 

left to right: me, Mary (knows Wendy), Thomas, and Georgie (the last two are friends of Mary's that are going to a ballet school in Dresden currently)

After a rest and finding a bit of food, I decided to try to get to Old Town and have a look around. I caught the tram they said would take me to the center but ended up somewhere entirely off my map! Ugh! I luckily found a young man who spoke English, and he told me how to fix my terrible blunder. By the time I got to the main square, it was getting dark, and I, of course, had no orientation of the city yet. I wandered around in search of the opera house in hopes of finding a spare ticket for the night. I eventually ran into the Prague National Theatre where Carmen was on the program for the evening. However, it was sold out and the box office was closed. I can't believe I did this, but I actually ended up buying a ticket from a scalper. Ridiculous, I know, but I was determined to go to the opera. I am pretty positive I paid too much for it, but it was so worth it and much-needed "nourishment" after my day. 

I met  a nice German man with impeccable English...I didn't know he was German until he told me so! He was great fun. We were like poking classmates the whole time. haha! It was almost as if Chadwick was there! I also met a kind Italian lady who orientated me a bit to the city with my awful map of Prague. She was just a big opera enthusiast I guess. The real doosey is that I was also sitting next to a German opera director!!!! How awesome is that?!?! He was super nice but had the most difficult name to pronounce. Something Hofmeister I think it may have been but not sure. Anyway, we chatted a bit after the opera. That was so cool. We talked about opera and singing, and he was asking about my voice! It was a lovely conversation. He asked my name for future reference, so now there's a German opera director with my name. Maybe he'll remember in ten years when I'm ready to sing real roles. haha! 

Gratitude 27

(Yes, I am sure I am starting to sound redundant...) I am thankful for seeing three operas in three days! :) Now, that's the life! I could so get used to that! haha!

Day 2 in Prague:

I don't care much for doing everything in a whirlwind, but even though I tried to plan it so it wouldn't be, I ended up having to do Prague pretty much all in one day. I finally figured out the transport system, too...after having it explained to me about five times. I understand undergrounds thanks to Katrin and Martin in Vienna, but above ground trams/buses/etc. just baffle the heck out of me. Prague is quite a confusing place...the streets lead you all overin unexpected twists and turns, taking you everywhere but where you intended to go. I got lost so many times! 

Prague is gorgeous! I love the Old Town. :) It really is just picturesque. In my wandering I found all sorts of things...most of Prague amazingly enough. I think Mustek was one of my favorite areas. 

I walked through Mustek, Old Town Square, part of the Jewish quarter, saw the crazy marionette shopes (haha! They are so cute!), found the Theatre of the Estates where I got a ticket for the Mozart opera for that evening, found a place where Beethoven lived and also one where Chopin lived, had a tasty gelato, went into St. Nick's Cathedral, crossed the Charles Bridge, bought a "Swarovski" crystal (no, it's not real...I can't afford a real one...but it's pretty!), went up Prague Castely (not as exciting as I thought it'd be), etc., etc., etc. Pretty much, I wandered around seeing Prague.  Oh, I saw the Astronomical Clock, too. My thoughts: Is this actually real? You've gotta be kidding me! It's the damn clock we stupidly watched in Hershey...but huge and somehow very famous. I passed the marionette theatre where they do "productions" of Mozart's Don Giovanni. haha! It just makes me giggle. :)

The evening was spent at Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera at the Theatre of the Estates. It was incredible to be in the house where one of Mozart's most famous operas was premiered. It was lovely dressed in a blue and gold decor. The show: ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! The vocalists: sehr schöne Stimmen! They were phenomenal! I ran into the German opera director again (he gave me the inside scoop on the show after Carmen the night before). He said it'd be spectacular, and it was. The staging was very modern and a bit erotic, but it was still wonderful. There was this little kid that couldn't have been more than 6 or 8 years old...he reminded me of a mini Beethoven...crazy hair. He, of course, did no singing but was kind of an observing narrator. He is a very talented little boy. I was very impressed with him. Sandrina was my favorite character (and voice). Her music sounds like such fun. The director said afterwards that that may be a role for me someday. 

I made my way through Mustek to grab some food before heading back to the hostel. Back there, I went to the pub downstairs and ran into Mary and her ballet friends. We chatted away and gave Czech beer a try. I'm not a big beer fan, but it tasted more like a nice cider. Quite good. Later, we were joined by this "business consultant" from D.C. He was great fun. We were down there well past midnight, but daylight savings was that night here in Europe, so tecnically it wasn't as late as it would have been otherwise. 

My holiday (part 1)

Gratitude 25

I am thankful for having the privilege of being in Europe and experiencing such magnificent places. :)

Thursday morning bright and early I left with the sun for my holiday...actually before the sun! 6:47 am train to Budapest...ugh! I was running behind and nearly killed myself trying to sprint to the train station on the other side of town. I made it, though. I was a little hesitant to leave Kecskemét...I felt I should have stayed and spent the holiday studying and practicing. However, "play" is just as important as work. This traveling thing, though...piece of cake! I'm becoming a pro! :) It is amazing the things you can do after you do it once and/or just dive in. From Nyugati station in Budapest, I got metro tickets...asking in Hungarian!...and hopped on and off the underground lines to get to Keleti station. It was the first time i'd been there since my Vienna experiences. I was laughing at how scared/nervous I was! haha! Now, it's just like, "Okay. Traveling on a train. Get a ticket. La-di-da. Switch stations. La-di-da." haha! I like traveling on trains. It's fun. 

I got to Bratislava a little too smoothly and knew some curve was just waiting to come my way. It came when I tried to figure out the Slovakian money and get tram tickets. However, I conquered it. 

The hostel was great. Very nice choice I made. Much more of a hotel feel really. The staff was very nice. (In general, though, people in Slovakia weren't very nice to me because I couldn't speak Slovakian. It was frustrating.) I met a bunch of British fellows from Cambridge when I checked in. They were very nice. Weird but nice. 

So...Bratislava...kind of boring actually. I think I saw pretty much everything in about two hours or less. I mean the old town was charming but not much to it. Apparently, the Queen of England was there that day, too. Interesting. The real reason I stopped there was to see Rusalka, and I also wanted to break up the trek to Prague. The opera was lovely. The soprano who played Rusalka was one of Slovakia's leading sopranos and sounded gorgeous. I was not impressed with all of the other singers, though. There was one that can't be much older than me and certainly wasn't ready to be singing full opera like that. Also, many of the women were so thin! It was sickly. I don't know how they can have big "operatic" voices like that when they don't have anything to anchor their sound. The strangest thing was that it was concert-style; it wasn't staged. I think my favorite part was watching the conductor. Very vivacious, and the energy just bounded from him. He was like a musical Harry Potter (hehe!)...everything just sprang through him and his little "stick." And the orchestra responded with everything. It was brilliantly musical; he really understood the music. :)

I met two nice Canadians, Terry and Valerie at the opera. They were on their way to Budapest, so I was giving them lots of tips. Afterwards, they invited me out with them and bought me dessert and wine. How lovely of them!

Back at the hostel, I ran into the British blokes when I was checking my email. They were lots of fun to talk to, but I stayed up far too late and needed to be up early to catch my 8:15 am train to Prague. 

Fly me to the moon...

Tomorrow morning, I leave with the sun on my holiday...literally...I have to catch the 6:47 AM train to Budapest! ugh! Oh well...it will be worth it to see Rusalka in Bratislava tomorrow evening...I shall be serenaded by her Song to the Moon (which I also happen to have in my repertoire this semester!). From there, it's Prague till Sunday morning when my plane leaves for London. Then it's London for a week with Sophie. I will post updates when I can but most likely nothing until I return to Kecskemét.


The past couple days in turbo-speed:

Monday was our last day observing the first grade at the Kodály Iskola. The things these six-year-olds can do is incredible!

Besides that, Tuesday was...well, Tuesday. Nothing much to report. Classes all day, solfege is intense, Zoltán gets me at the very end of the day for conducting when my brain wants a break from focusing, crazy lessons with János and Orsolya, etc. As for singing, I seem to be trying to walk through a wall but keep smacking my face on it. "Samantha, it's too much this and this and not enough this." It'll get there. Just very frustrating. János moments: He decided to show me the various ways to lift a music stand in relation to the various ways a sound can be produced...it made sense but was quite bizarre. He wanted me to be like a "roaring cat." At the end of the lesson, he corrected my English! (And he thinks he doesn't speak very good English! Sure, the Hungarian accent can get in the way of a word or two, but my teachers all speak better English than any of us!)

Gratitude 24

I love the way that Hungarians constantly say "Köszönöm szépen," which translates to "Thank you beautifully." :) Also, they are always saying "Jó," which is "Good." And often, it is in pairs, like, "Jó. Jó." Why, I don't know, but it's quite fun to say. ;)

The Epic Saga of the Pumpkin...

Actually, it is not really epic or much of a saga. (I just had to make it sound dramatic! hehe!)

"Halloween" at the Kodály Intézet

My "pumpkin"...or more accurately, the gourd/squash-thing that was sold to me at the open-market...this is the kind of thing that happens when I attempt to speak Hungarian!

(I thought it looked funny, but how was I supposed to know whether or not a "Hungarian" pumpkin looked the same as the ones I've always known.)

But igen, I conquered the "pumpkin!" muahaha!

Mine is the "special" one in the middle. It kind of looks like the baby on The Incredibles.

And that was our Halloween festivities...nearly two weeks prior to Halloween since most of us will be in some other foreign country on our holidays. My hands are very sore from scraping the insides out of my "pumpkin"...it was nearly all solid. So now, I have a container full of squash stuff...guess I should figure out how to cook it or something. Most of the students have never carved a pumpkin! It was so funny to watch their pure amazement...it was so hard to believe at first...it is just what you do with a pumpkin I thought. But, it is only an American holiday. Apparently, the "generations" of Capital students studying here have brought the traditions to the Institute...that and Thanksgiving. (From what Agi tells us, though, finding a turkey is quite a feat...plus the ovens here are very small...)

Jó hétvége kívánok!

Happy weekend! :)

Gratitude 22

I am thankful for the "Hungarian" yoga class that Christa (a student from the Isle of Man) took me to on Wednesday.

It's the weekend. Time for a bit of R&R and catching up on the ever-growing mountain of homework. I don't mind the work; it is important for my studies and my hopeful career in music. It can, however, get a little overwhelming. Nem baj. No worries.

The rest of my week:

Wednesday was a day of work/practice/errands, etc. I went to the music library and found the pieces János wrote down for me on Tuesday...nagyon szeretem! They are wonderful. The Vivaldi piece...brilliant! He's been trying to pull that coloratura out of me. I think this piece will be a good start. The other two are Mozart arias. I am not so keen on the one right now...I tried to convince him to let me do the shorter one first, but he stubbornly said no.

In the early evening, I received a call from Tracy, the woman who took Dr. Mathias' position. It was so nice to hear from her. She did her undergraduate at Capital University and studied in Hungary, too.

Later, I tore myself from my studies for a bit of much-needed "play" and went to yoga with Christa (as mentioned above). My brain was on overload. It was a neat experience. I probably understoood ten words of the Hungarian, but I figured out what she was doing...I pretty much just copied what she did. It was good to relax. Sometimes, my brain does not want to turn off, at which point it must be forced.

Thursday, I was praying it would not be a repeat of Tuesday. (I did NOT want to live another lesson like that one!) Solfege is really intense (yes, I know...I say that everytime.), but I am noticing improvement. I am becoming more and more musical...even with the little solfege exercises...and am beginning to hear things I didn't before. I have been getting dictations after only a few listenings...some after only one or two!...melodic AND harmonic dictations! :)

Chamber music with Roland was not the best highlight of the day...my Hugo Wolf piece was a mess, and Roland did not let it go unnoticed. I was really frustrated with myself because I thought I had fixed my trouble spots but really made them worse. We touched the Kodály piece, Kocsi szekér, for the first time, and that turned things around a bit.

I had a cup of tea before my lesson with János to calm myself down. I got to my lesson before he did, so I decided to do a bit of yoga. (I normally do that or at least just some stretching before singing. Last week, he walked in as I was doing yoga and looked at me like I was completely insane and said, "What is this? What are you doing?" When he finally arrived this week, he came in mocking me. I think he really just likes to tease me. Apparently, he's a Tai Chi man. My lesson went quite well, though. He is pushing me quite hard, but it is all with good heart. I know he will not push more than I can handle. And when I really get what he's telling me to do, it is incredible! I am making the biggest sounds of my life! Funny János moment: In the middle of a vocalise, he gave me that "serious" look and said, "Samantha! Vomit!" (As in the comment he made a couple weeks ago of, "Singing is a vomit with a smiling yawn.") haha!

My lesson ended (nearly 15 minutes late...oh well...doesn't bother me!) with a "lecture," I guess you would call it, alluding to my perfectionism. I needed to hear it, though. Things need to be shoved into perspective sometimes.

Friday (yesterday), I was feeling so much better. It may have helped that I went to bed early, so I was very well-rested. I ran errands after my morning music literature class. I went to the copy shop again with a stack of things to be copied. That place is brilliant and so much less stress for me! I realized in the 15-20 minutes I was in there how far just knowing the numbers in a language you cannot speak can get you. I am so glad my little sister Becca and I drove my parents nuts in car rides this past summer learning them! Thanks, Becca!

Last night, many of us went over to Heather's (formerly Sophie's) apartment to hang out for awhile. We had a good time playing games and eating pizza and pretzels with Nutella. Then, a few of us girls went dancing for a bit. We met some crazy Hungarians! It was fun, though. And we got to practice some our Hungarian (nothing new to any other day in Hungary, I suppose!). My vocabulary is getting larger...it is actually probably getting close to the extent of my German vocabulary (which doesn't say much for my German!). There was this one guy that I apparently made think I actually spoke Hungarian. I don't really know how that one happened. All I said was, "Nem beszéhlek magyarul. Csak kicsit," which means, "I don't speak Hungarian. Only a [very] little." However, the other random words I said when I actually knew what they were in Hungarian didn't convince him. He was trying to speak in English to Wendy, the new student from Australia with whom I was with, and when he couldn't figure out how to say it, he would look at me and speak in Hungarian like I would translate it. I kept saying, "Nem értem. Nem beszéhlek. Amerikai...Angolul,"...."I don't understand. I don't speak [Hungarian]. American...English." But he didn't believe me and kept insisting that I was really Hungarian, so he would speak nothing but Hungarian to me. I guess picking up these phrases and words can also pose as a difficulty because you also have to understand what they say back to you! I'm learning. Hungarian is nehéz (difficult/hard) but fun, too. It is truly incredible how living in a culture can influence your language skills. It's probably a "survival" instinct. I'm enjoying it, though. I was saying earlier that I'll go back to the States and be speaking Hungarian like we do around here (bocsánat, köszönöm, szivesen, jó nápot kívánok, etc.), but no one will understand what I am saying there! haha!

Today was a laid-back day. I went to the supermarket to get a couple of things...and a pumpkin (tök in Hungarian) because we are going to have a pumpkin-carving party this weekend in celebration of Halloween, but they didn't have any left! :( Tomorrow, I'll just have to go to the open market. However, I bought chicken today! AND cooked it! I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but that's a big achievement for me! Besides that adventure, I did some practice/work. And tomorrow will be the same. I shall end with an extra gratitude. (Probably cheating, I know, but it has been more than one day since my last post, so technically...)

Gratitude 23

Only in a place like Kecskemét would you find "grandpas" ("nagyapa") playing chess in the park! Aranyos! How cute! It makes me smile. :)

One last photo from my outing today:

Autumn in Kecskemét :)

Gratitude 21

I am thankful for emails from this wonderful lady. They always make me smile. :)

Gratitude 20

I am thankful for the way Hungarians clap. It just makes me smile/laugh. It is difficult to explain without demonstrating, but it begins normally and then suddenly breaks into this slow, rhythmic clap with everyone in unison, gets faster and faster till it becomes a mess of claps again, and then starts over again and again.

(Yes, I know, the picture has nothing to do with the gratitude, but I promised a picture of the kids on the slidy thing in the square.)

So, this week just started out awful. And it has continued to be quite terrible with a few momentary shining lights that kept me going. And it is only Tuesday! Ugh! It can only get better, right? At least, I hope so!

Yesterday, I had a Hungarian lesson, which is fine...I enjoy learning pieces of this language. And then an observation of the first grade at the Kodály Iskola for Methodology. In short, Methodology isn't my most favorite times of the week. It is crazy ridiculous how much those 6-year-olds know about music and can do, and it is cool to see. However, I just do not particularly enjoy the class itself. But that's another topic entirely. So not a particularly grand morning. I also felt like I was starting to come down with a bug or something, which in my life is just simply not allowed. No time to be sick. It's just not an option...and especially when you have a limited time to study in a particular place. Every moment counts then.

In the afternoon, I met Ferenc, a friend of Christa, a student here from the Isle of Man. He wants to practice his English, so I volunteered to spend an hour with him each week. Why not? I speak English. He was a very nice man, and he speaks better English than I do! (That's another thing I have learned about Hungarians...when they learn a language, apparently, it is the "Hungarian way" not to use it unless it is perfect. Yet, they are more proficient at it that natives to the language!)

In the late afternoon, I had to go to conducting lab despite not wanting to because I wasn't feeling the best. However, I sucked it up.

After scarfing down a quick dinner after class, a few of us popped over to a concert at the Franciscan church on the opposite side of the Institute building. (They are actually attached because the Institute used to be a Franciscan monastery, but you cannot enter it from here anymore.) I wasn't going to go because my pile of work wasn't going to do itself, but I am glad I did. It was a nice cleanser of the soul. The acoustics in that church are crazy! I don't know what it is, but the ceilings in the Institute, too, are fantastic! I love them! It is some type of vault-like idea, and the sound just goes everywhere! (It sucks when you are trying to have a private conversation, though!) As most probably know, I am not the biggest choir enthusiast, but Katalin Kiss's choir Ars Nova Énekgyüttes was really, really good. (Kati Kiss is a teacher here at the Institute, however I do not have her...she teaches advanced solfege...I'm nowhere near that level.) It was very strange to hear English language music being sung, though. Nothing wrong with it. To the contrary, they did it very well. It was just very unexpected and a surprise to the ears. They sang a gorgeous René Claussen piece, The Prayer of Saint Francis. It was lovely. But then they did a Rutter piece. Rutter? Really? I mean, yes, he has some good pieces, but most of them sound very similar in flavor/colour. Also, my biggest qualm with Rutter is that he writes religious/spiritual/church music solely for the money; he is actually an atheist, yet devotes his life to writing music about God. A little hypocritical, don't you think?

The rest of the evening was spent cramming for everything today (Tuesday...or kedd as it is called in Hungarian).

Today did not go so well. Solfege started out quite shaky but turned toward the better...in a very intense, strict-Klára way. But it was fine. My ear is getting better. Slowly and steadily. My lessons however? Ugh! To begin with, I was pretty much a nervous ball of tears on the verge of bursting before and during...and after, too, I suppose...my voice lesson. I rarely get like that, but something about my under-preparation for the day set me off. Luckily, I did not cry...although it may have been better if I actually had. Poor János I don't think knew what to do with me. I probably looked like at any moment the tears would just start rolling. No, I know I did. He was very good, though, asking every now and again, "Have a said something wrong?" (He, too, claims his English is not very good when it is perfectly fine, so he often asks that for fear of having mixed up words.) Just a little overwhelmed right now, and he is pushing many difficult songs my way, which is fine...it's only because he knows I can do it...but he had to remind me, too, that we have a very short time together and lots of work to do in that time. Stressed? Me? No!

From him, I went to Orsolya for my piano lesson...which, of course, I was ten minutes late for because my voice lesson ran over. Definitely not unusual around here. She didn't notice or, at least, pretended not to and immediately asked how my lesson had gone. Sweet Orsolya did all she could to make things better and even worked with me on the dreadful rhythms in a Hungarian piece I kept messing up in my lesson with János. Needless to say, I probably played ten minutes of piano in my already shortened lesson, but we still accomplished things. Lastly, I had conducting with Zoltán, to which I was late, as well, because my lesson with Orsolya always runs over, too. By that point, though, my brain was gone and off in another world, and I think Zoltán had his wits end with me...and I didn't even end up having to conduct...and I was supposed to...he forgot thankfully.

Well, here's to a productive Wednesday and better lessons on Thursday! Time for me to be getting to bed.

Gratitude 19

I am thankful for the brilliant day of hiking in the Buda hills that sweet Klára and Roland took us on yesterday. :)

So hiking...yeah...it was hiking, not "oh, we'll just wander around the hills." Um...no. It was really hiking. But it was a great time. I'm not the "outdoors-y" type, but this was cool....a good change of pace for me...and a little adventure, too.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day on Saturday. Szép erdö as it is said in Hungarian. The perfect (tökéletes) day for the Buda hills. Last weekend, we got rained out of going, but not this weekend. :) We woke up early (for a Saturday) and caught the 8:47am train to Budapest where Klára and Roland were to meet us at the Nyugati station.

On the train, I attempted to practice some solfege, but that didn't work out so much...lasted about 15 minutes. Oh, well. I met a young man studying medicine in Szeged. He was reading a book in English by an American publisher, so I asked him where he was from...turns out he's actually Hungarian. We talked for a few minutes...then he found out I was studying singing...the conversation quickly died off. Guess, he didn't like that so much. haha! The older man across from me starting talking to me near the end of the journey. He, of course, spoke only Hungarian. I didn't understand a whole lot, but I got a basic gist of the questions he was asking. I got to put my limited Hungarian skills to the test! My vocabulary is growing, and I am actually retaining more than I thought! :) It was kind of fun/humorous. When I really didn't understand, I looked over to the "medicine man" for translation, but he wasn't much help.

Klára and Roland were waiting for us at the station and were ecstatic to see us. They are so adorable (and so spry!)! Such wonderful (and extremely brilliant!) people! (They had matching bags, too! hehe!) After a stop at the W/C, we hopped on a bus that we rode for probably 30-40 minutes! So long! It took us over to the Buda side of Budapest to a ski lift-type thing, which we rode up, up, up. It was so peaceful up as you went up. Quite a bit like home with the trees and "country-side" and hills and birds, etc. Roland and I were seated together on the lift. He's a great man, but a little awkward when it comes to conversation. Once you start talking, he's fine, but it is at first, "What do you talk about?" He had me look back when we were getting closer to the top, and you can see nearly all of downtown Budapest behind you. It was so cool! At the top, we traveled up yet more on foot to a look-out tower.

We stuck around there for awhile, had a bit of our lunches...and Klára brought us chocolate! (She had promised in Solfege class to do so!)..., and then Casey was trying to teach Roland to tap dance! Roland was so concentrated trying to figure it out. haha!

From there, we hiked up an even steeper hill. We had to climb through tangles of trees and hike up/over rocks jutting around the hillside. What a workout! haha! We passed by a "children's train station," which is really a train station (most for tourists that goes through the area of the Buda hills) and is run entirely by school children. Well, except for the actual operation of the locomotive. It was like they were playing "Thomas the Train Engine"! How cute!

We made our way to two other look-out points, getting the opportunity to survey the area of Budapest. The views were incredible. There were a few times when I forgot that Budapest was right over the hills...it was kind of a "brain cleanser"...I think I needed some time out of the Institute and away from "reality."

All through our journey, Klára was teaching me more Hungarian. She says I am picking it up so quickly. Perhaps, it is because of my singing, and wanting what I sing to sound "authentic," so I listen closely to the inflection and pronunciation...especially when I am with natives of the language. Plus, I am singing a couple of pieces in Hungarian, so I want them to be acurate. I think that Hungarian is a very "harmonious" language...they even have things in their grammar of "vowel harmony." It was good to practice and expand what I know. I told Klára that if I was just dropped into the country and no one spoke English to me, I'd be fabulous at Hungarian. I only hope that once I return to the States, I do not lose the little pieces of this language I am collecting. I guess I'll just have to talk with my friend Noémi a lot for when I return here someday.

Roland and I pretty much had a mini chamber music session at one point in our hike, too. He caught me humming Kocsi széker, a Hungarian folk song that Kodály arranged into a voice and piano art song. It is a simple yet great little piece...only two pages...and I had sat down and learned it only the previous night. (Like I said...it is very simple....do-la hexachord structure...however, not all Hungarian folk songs are easy...A csitari...not so simple!) I dropped off of my humming to ask Roland which direction to go, and Roland inquisitively asked, "Was that the piece I gave?" After that, we had probably a 15 minute conversation on the text of the piece. It was nice, though. (note: You never go anywhere with your teachers and not learn something! They always sneak it in there!) I was curious as to what it meant, anyway, since I couldn't figure out the word-by-word Hungarian translation I had attempted to do. I think Roland has a trend going, though...first a Hugo Wolf piece called Ich hab' in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen, in which the setting implies girls in a small village (19th century era) gossiping around the well about "lovers" and finding a man....and now, Kocsi széker, which is about girl in a village talking/dreaming about getting married next winter...if she finds a man. I asked him, "Roland, what is this?" He insists that is only coincidential, and he didn't even realize till I had now pointed it out. Whatever. They are at least brilliant pieces of music.

At the end of our trek, we ate lángos, probably the most fattening food ever but very delicious. It is similar to the American doughboy, but instead of cinnamon sugar, it has garlic and sour cream and cheese on it. Mmm! But very unhealthy! Roland wanted to get us palinka (uh oh!), too, but they did not have it at that place.

We left them about 4pm. Two girls went back on the next train, and myself, Clare, Hilary, and Casey stayed in Budapest for a bit. We sat at a cafe across from the Liszt Academy and had some food and drink and then went to a highly-recommended Irish bar near the Nyugati station (Clare and Hilary are Irish.). Clare introduced me to Sambuca, which is a licorice-flavoured liqueur and fills your mouth with bursts of the flavor of black licorice. I had a small bit. It was quite nice. I left on the 7:50pm train because I was very tired by then, and they followed on the last train of the night. On the train, I met two really nice Americans, husband and wife George and Sue. (You don't get much more American than those names!) George was on a sabbatical teaching at the ceramics institute across town that Sophie had gone to. We walked and talked all the way from the train station to the Institute. Then, we went our separate ways. It's amazing how many Americans I have met...just a couple of weeks ago, I met people from Cleveland outside the Institute door! Weird! Oh, well.

This is already probably the longest post in history, but I shall quickly catch up on what happened over the rest of this past week:

Wednesday, I received a letter from my dear friend Noémi. How fun! And it was so good to hear from her! :) Ironically enough, I was intending to write her a letter and then about ten minutes later, I received hers!

Thursday, Solfege was frustrating but all will be fine. I amazingly remained quite in check with my frustration! Klára gets more strict and intense by the day, but it is only for the best. I need the challenges to grow and develop as a musician. Methodology did not go well at all and put me in not-so-great a mood. I still had chamber music and a voice lesson after it, and I was a little worried I was going to crack. However, Roland put me in a happier mood during chamber music. We made huge strides from the previous week. I was dancing around and just being...well, me. It was fun. He is teaching me to really adopt the characters of my pieces, which is really important.

My lesson with János continued to be great accomplishments. I think I am actually figuring out this whole "resonance" deal! ...it only took me three years! haha! It is as if a whole new dimension/capacity of my voice is being unlocked! :) He is very strict, but again, it is necessarily so. Comments that Lynn has made to me over the past two years are coming up in his speech, too, like, "I know you don't particularly like coloratura, Samantha, but I know your voice...it has to move, whether you fight it or not." They are both right, and I have actual come to like coloratura stuff...learning it, however, is the biggest beast. It's a process. Someday I'll get it. He and Lynn are determined to pry it out of me, too. haha! Funny János moment:

János: (completely straight-faced) Snort, please.

Me: What?!

J: Snort, please. Do it!

Me: *snort*

J: Jó. Again, please.

Me: You just think it's funny.

J: Yes, it is funny (him giggling), but do it again!

Crazy man!

Conducting on Friday with Zoltán was a hoot! He decided to interpret the English lyrics of a Hungarian folk song (which apparently had nothing to do with the original Hungarian words). It was hilarious! I think we laughed for a good 10 minutes! It was just the funniest picture...him walking his tuning fork around the table as if it was a little doll of a girl and then plopping her into the sea...then he said, "As if there's a sea in all of Hungary!? It must have been a lake. Oh! The shark ate her!...because of course there's sharks in the lake!" He was just so animated about it, too! Oh, boy! Gotta love Hungarians! haha! :)

Gratitude 18

I am thankful for the discovery of an entirely new capacity of sound that was found in my lesson today. Chiaroscuro, resonance, support, everything is beginning to truly make sense. :)

(I just hope it sticks!)

Life: hopefully hiking in the Buda hills with Klára and Roland on Saturday! Yay! Other than that, I'll catch up later...must be getting to bed!

*The photo is my nephew Xander...such a cutie! He is practicing singing for when his Aunt Sam teaches him! hehe! (Sorry the photo quality isn't great...it's a picture of a picture that was sent in my package from home...I have yet to meet the little man face to face.)

Follow the yellow-brick road...

Gratitude 17

(hehe! No, this really isn't a joke.) I am thankful for these little brick roads. (Bocsanat...I apologize that the yellow is not shown very vibrantly in this photo, but unfortunately the sun had gone behind the clouds...I shall try to get better ones.) In the beginning, it just made me giggle...yellow brick road? Seriously? I would start skipping and saying in a sing-song voice, "Follow the yellow-brick road! We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!" But I am really growing quite fond of the yellow bricks. They give the town geniune character. And there is not just one yellow-brick road, but they are everywhere! Want to go someplace? Follow the yellow-brick road...but you also have to know which one.

Today was a lovely day, and the weather was gorgeous. It seems to have taken a bit of a turn away from the freezing cold as it has been. And everyday is always more enjoyable when you have a bounce in your step. (I think people here are starting to get used to my "bubbly-ness.") I don't know why, but I can't help but smile and be in a bright mood...even with all the frustrations in music and life. Oh, well...I'm not going to question it! Plus, I got a package from home today! Yay! :) Who honestly doesn't enjoy getting a package? It pretty much just had my coat and boots and a sweater and such in it, but...it had pictures of my nephew Xander in it! and...CANDY CORN!!! Yum! :P So exciting!

Solfege today, although me ear is still quite awful, showed some progress. Klára even thought so. I didn't feel as prepared for class as I probably should have been...especially given the fact that the weekend was uneventful..., but it went well. She, like János and the rest of them, are after me about being confident in what I do, not just hoping/guessing, but knowing and believing that I know it.

My voice lesson today with János: brilliant! Finally, it is starting to creep into my head. It was a good feeling after three sessions with him of completely missing the point he was trying to make. It's getting there. I could see it in his face, too...when we started some vocalises, his "stern-ness" broke into a smile, and he began to chuckle as if it was what he had been waiting for all this time. Of course, that man is never satisfied and rightfully never should be so. And neither should I. There is always more, another new step to go beyond what you already know. Here, they certainly don't allow you to stop at any point because they know that you can achieve so much more beyond every level of accomplishment. In music, as in life, the learning never ceases. Oh, and János' quote of the day: "Singing is a vomit with a smiling yawn." He actually took it from someone else, but oddly enough, it is quite an accurate description. It sounds entirely ridiculous, though, I know.

From that lesson, I got to go to my piano lesson with Orsolya, and how can you possibly spend time with that lady and not be put into a good mood if you weren't before! She is so sweet. :) "My dearest, it's okay if you make mistake because I love you. You don't have to be perfect right away. Now, play it again, but this time don't make a mistake! (haha!) Relax! Feel the music! Each composition is a story. Make the phrases sing!" haha!

After a much-needed trip to the supermarket and a quiet dinner and cup of tea, Asia, a student from Poland, enlightened me with her hilarious description/recount of what she heard through the halls of the Institute during my voice lesson: "It was like 'Waaaaaaaaaaa!' I though you were going to make the walls go out from the vibrations!" hahaha! She gave me a good laugh. (I suppose it really isn't that funny if you didn't see it, so sorry for that.)

Okay, I have procrastinated long enough and now can only make noise for another hour before quiet hours upstairs, so it is off to practice a bit for me. I shall leave you with this lovely picture I took on my way out home from the supermarket. Such a pretty little place here. And it is so fun to people watch in the square and to see the children playing on this slidy thing and around the fountains. (I'll have to get a picture of them, too.)

A bit of catch-up...

Gratitude 15

I am thankful for this lovely study spot in the courtyard, where I retreated to practice conducting and rhythmn on the gorgeous Friday we had this past week. It was perfect. However, the courtyard is surrounded by the Institute windows, so needless to say, passerby-ers stopped in between classes (including Zoltán, my conducting teacher!), and there are now several pictures of me floating around in my ridiculous conducting state. (I am not so good at conducting but am getting much better than before.)

As for the rest of my week of classes:

Thursday was jam-packed as always, with Folk Music, Solfege, more Solfege, Methodology lecture, chamber music with Roland, voice with János, and a Hungarian lesson to top it off. Solfege was okay. Good days and bad days. Klára is great, though, and does whatever she can to help us understand, even with an off day. I think Thursday altogether wasn't exactly the greatest of days for me. Chamber music didn't go as well as it probably should have. The piece Roland gave me to learn...in only a week...is brilliant but far more difficult than first realized. However, he gave me some useful ideas and tips to help me out. I pulled it apart fragment by fragment and have figured it out. It's not totally ready but definitely getting there. As for my lesson with János...oy! That did not go well at all! He is being quite patient with me, but I think that he is getting as frustrated with me as I am. I have seen him three times, and we end up going through the same concepts and ordeals. It's just not getting into my head despite how many times he says it. What is up? What is down? What is push? What is pull? What is being musical? What is being technical? It's so simple yet so confusing! I've been quite frustrated lately and trying not to stress out and overwhelm myself, but classes and lessons starts nearly an entire month beyond my school back home, so I have a lot to do in a shorter amount of time. I can do it, but when I think about it too much, I start to freak out a little. (What? Samantha freak out? No way! haha!) I know it will all come together, and I will "get" the concepts. Semmi baj. No worries. It is frustrating when you are struggling with them, though. After all that, as much as I normally enjoy Hungarian lessons, I was not in the best of moods to be sitting there and just needed to get out of the building for even a few minutes. I took a walk after class, but it was getting dark, and there was no real place to go, so I ended up back at the Institute in less than 15 minutes still irritated.

Friday was a much better day despite my continuing vocal frustrations. The weather was gorgeous! And I had no classes until 2pm. In the morning, Zita took me and a couple others to the bank to open an account, so that we can get our residency permits. (Another long and annoying story for some other boring time!) Then, I went to the supermarket and the open air market, got some food and fresh produce and a lovely bunch of daisies for my room. :) I even went to the copy shop around the corner to get some music copied for accompanists. They were very nice and between my limited Hungarian vocabulary and a few English words inserted, it was a very successful trip. The ladies there were very nice and even do it for you! And for less than it costs to do it yourself at the Institute! I needed one of those Staples "Easy Buttons" after that! haha! After that, I spent the early part of the afternoon under the tree in the courtyard before conducting and choir, both of which went quite well. I had to conduct in class (surprise surprise since Zoltán saw me practicing!), and I did so much better than before. For the first time, too, I felt like it was a real lesson in conducting, similar to voice or piano lessons but to conduct. :) Friday night was just spent lounging around the Institute. Sophie came to say goodbye, as she was returning to England on Saturday. We went over to Teatrum across the street for an Eiskaffee (I'm not sure how it would be written in Hungarian...that is the German word for it), coffee with ice cream in it! Yum! And later, I ended up back at Teatrum with Top and Yolanda, two students, the first from Thailand and the second from Hong Kong. That was fun, too...I ordered a mojito, but Yolanda thought it was called a mosquito. It was cute!

Saturday, we were supposed to go hiking in the Buda hills with Roland and Klára, but the weather did not cooperate, so it was another lazy day. Same with Sunday. I suppose that was good, but I didn't get as much work done as I probably should have. Oh, well. I at least took a walk around lovely Kecskemét. Such a pretty little town. I must get a picture of the brick roads...they will make you laugh/smile...you'll see. I finally booked my holiday at the end of the month! I stressed out over it all weekend, though. Traveling is wonderful but also quite stressful! There are so many amazing places to see but certainly not all can be done in one trip. I eventually decided on two days in Bratislava, two days in Prague, then flying to London from there for a week at Sophie's and back to Budapest/Kecskemét. I think it will be a good holiday. Plus, I have already checked, and in the first two places, I can see operas very inexpensively! And although I am not too keen on hostels, there are some really nice ones in those places, too! :) It was fate. haha! I shall get back to some work/practice now and leave this post with Gratitude 16:

I am thankful for this finom (delicious) treat: Milka, one of the most wonderful Swiss chocolates! (Except it completely spoils my "I'm going to eat healthy!" idea! Oh, well! If I die, at least I'll have eaten scrumptious chocolate! haha! Plus, you can't get this in the States...it's my Europe treat I suppose! Don't worry, Mom...I'll be bringing some home for Christmas...)

Gratitude 14

I am thankful for having the opportunity to see an absolutely gorgeous Hungarian opera at the Budapest State Opera this past Friday evening. :)

I know it has been quite awhile since my last post, but since classes began, sleep has been getting limited and work time has been increasing more and more each day. I have finally decided to steal a little bit of time to fill in on the exciting events of this past weekend, which I spent two days of in lovely Budapest. (Also, I have come to the realization that this idea of 365 days of Gratitudes may take me the next ten years at this rate!) But first for a quick account of the rest of my first week of classes:

As Wednesdays are extremely light, Thursday was my next crazy day of classes, holding Folk Music, another day of Solfege, Methodology lecture, chamber music lesson with Roland, and my first official voice lesson with János. Folk Music was simply an introductory to the course, and Methodology was a preparatory lecture on our observation at the Kodály Iskola (primary/secondary school) on the coming Monday. The second class of Solfege wasn't as great as the first, but ups and downs are to be expected...and I am already seeing them! Roland, my chamber music coach, is a lovely man. Strict, but kind. He's really making me think about my performances and what I am conveying to the audience. Text is very big with him, which is a new perspective. I think our sessions together are really going to transform me as a performer. As for János, our first lesson left me without much to say. He has this facade of being all stern and serious with his deep bass voice, but he is really just crazy. He, too, is strict but very kind. I think our lessons together will be a lot of work but great fun. I am getting more pieces to the puzzle of the classical voice to add to the ones Lynn has given me thus far. It's all starting to make sense. Between János and Roland, I am going to grow a lot as a musician and a performer. They expect nothing less than best, and nothing gets past them...no lazy singers here!

Friday, I had my first General Music Literature course, where we simply did a short quiz of identifying music. I also had conducting again....oh boy! I had to conduct in front of the class...it didn't go too badly, but I certainly have a lot of work to do! We also had choir, which is conducted by Zoltán, my conducting teacher.

The weekend:
From choir, we had to practically run to the train station to catch the train to Budapest. It was nuts! Then, we were standing there on the platform and up saunters Zoltán! I don't know how he did it! Maybe he just has a longer stride, I don't know. But he made it there and with time to spare...and he even left after us! Crazy!

Caitlin and I went to the Budapest State Opera right from the train station in Budapest (see photos above) to see Bánk Ban, a famous Hungarian opera by Ferenc Erkel. And we only paid 400 HUF for our tickets (approximately $2.50 USD)! Granted, we had to stand most of the time in order to see, but it was fine. The show was phenomenal! So gorgeous! I cried. More than once. You can listen to this portion of a recording I found online. If only it was complete!



Of course, though, the subtitles were in German, so I only got maybe every 8th or 10th word because my German comprehension is quite limited. It was a lot of thinking! It really makes you appreciate it when things are written/said in English. I think we take for granted those who speak English as a second language, since they do it so well. I respect those who have learned English because it certainly is not a simple language. (However, I do not agree with the fact that U.S. school curriculum leads to more monolingual Americans than citizens of any other country, but that is an argument for another time.)

Our hostel for the night was...interesting. I am not much of a "backpacking" girl, but it was fine. It was an experience. (Probably not one that I will repeat too many times, though! I'd stupidly enough prefer to pay more for privacy and comfort rather than watch my budget so much.) The rest of Friday, we'll just say didn't go as well as I would have liked, so I'll just try to block that out of my mind.

Sautrday, I stayed around the Pest side of Budapest for the first half of the day, while the others went to the Baths. Perhaps, I should have gone to experience Hungary's famous Baths, but I made the choice. Instead, I wandered around, exploring and actually experiencing the city. I got to see places I am sure most do not. In other words, I went "off the beaten path" of touristy things and really saw the city. It was very nice. I wandered into a little church, paid a visit to a music stor, walked along the Promenade, and discovered all sorts of amazing little things and places. Then, I walked across the Szecheny Bridge to meet the others on the Buda side.




This Buda side is my favorite! :) Next time I am in Budapest, I plan to spend all of my time there. I would love to explore the Buda Hills sometime while I am here, too. We had dinner below the Castle District and then took the hike up to the Citadel. Such a lovely place! So quaint and old-style with its cobblestone streets and beautiful Matthias church. In the evening, we went down into the Labyrinth, which I believe is below an old church. It takes you some 12 meters below, which is actually just into the hill upon which the Castle District sits. It was so cool!! They gave us an oil lantern and set us on out way. In complete darkness! Kind of frightening at first but so neat! My little sister Becca would have had a blast! I got some great pictures, too, with the "candle setting" on my fabulous camera, compliments of Dad. :) (Speaking of which, I also got a few pictures at the opera, but I can't really publish those...they aren't exactly legal...)








Afterwards, we made out way to the train station to head home with many crazy moments along the way. Overall, it was a great weekend and am in love with the opera we saw. Unfortunately, it is only ever performed in Hungary. Besides the fact that it is sang in Hungarian, I could totally do the role of Melinda someday...

As for this week thus far:
Yesterday, Solfege went quite well. My ear is getting better. Slowly. Klára is everso patient with me. I get a lot of criticism from the teachers here. Not bad criticism, but constructive criticism. They are very encouraging and only mean for it as a means of helping me become a better musician. János has been getting after me about my own self-critiquing of my singing and how deconstructive it can be. I think he will be good for me in channeling my perfectionism to help me rather than hinder. My lesson with him yesterday was good, but it probably could have gone better. Not to mean that as a criticism but as a comparison to what we have done, what was done, and what can be done. We are still in the "getting to know you" process, so all will be well. New concepts, new teachers, new explanations...all can be perhaps a little unclear and a bit confusing at first. Conducting is getting slightly better. I, again, had to conduct in front of the class. It'll get better. I was ten minutes late to conducting because I was in my piano lesson with Orsolya before...she gets a little carried away. As I mentioned before, she is just crazy but an incredible musician! The whole lesson: "Feel the vibrations of the strings in front of you! The keys do not make the music, the strings do! Play all five notes of the chord as if it was your very being depended on those notes! Feel the music! What was Bach saying? It's all in the music! You must become one with the piano, one with the music! Otherwise, it is simply a task to hit the right keys at the right time. Relax! Let your fingers and the music guide you!" It was all very dramatic. Yet, it was brilliant. For once, I actually enjoyed pressing the keys to the piano. I understood the music in a whole new way, the way it was meant to be felt. She shall be very good for me as well. And I believe she will help me inadvertently in my singing. :) ...and she also checked in on the things she pointed out to me last week...she notices everything!