Ciao Roma!

Well, for those of you who have been following my from the start, this may indeed be my final blog post as the next two nights will be traveling filled and will probably afford me little or no internet. So thank you for hanging on for all the fun times. There are many more stories that didn't make the blog (for various reasons...), so feel free to ask when I get home.

The Oberlin in Italy program finished almost exactly a week ago, and ever since I've been touring the country, drinking in the sights, and speaking what little I can of the language.

BORING SINGER STUFF (skip if desired):
I enjoyed the entirety of the program to the utmost. Some of my peers may disagree with my diagnosis, but at my stage of vocal and professional development, this was a huge step in the right direction for me. I've mentioned before about the positives in the program beyond the music, but I'll reiterate it. The connections to upper level teachers, vocal coaches, and directors will hopefully serve me really well in the future. My teacher at the program already offered to write a letter of recommendation for me as graduate school deadlines approach (in the next two years . . . I shouldn't get ahead of myself), and several coaches suggested that I come "out East" for my graduate studies (she teaches at Curtis and Manhattan School of Music [!!!!!]).

However, more important to my development were the fantastic musical experiences during the program. Rarely have I had the time to devote myself so fully to my art, and let me say that the experience reaffirmed my decision to choose this profession--I really truly love it. In total I performed eleven times. I sang, and was coached on, six different arias, four different scenes, and two choruses. I got the opportunity to perform in fantastic (albeit sometimes cramped) places. These performances helped me combat some of my stage fright and helped me grow as a performer (as I mentioned before, there is nothing like singing in Italian for Italians...). I got a chance to collaborate with some fantastic young singers (whose names I certainly will remember for when they become famous) and was able to expand my knowledge of the bel canto repertoire exponentially. I am eternally grateful to those who made it possible for me to come and sing here. (Thanks Mom, Dad, Grammy, Grampy, LU, LU alumni, etc.)

EXCITING OTHER STUFF (don't skip):
For the past week now I've been touring Italy with my good friend James Maverick and his parents. The day after the program ended I went to the train station to catch a train to Rome where I was to rendezvous with the Mavericks, and as Fortuna would have it, a friend from the program, Alex Flood, was taking the same train to Rome. So, she and I had a fantastic ride and we decided to spend the rest of the day together. We both were a little sleepy from the post-program party the night before (by both, I mean mostly me: Thanks Alex for keeping me awake!), so we weren't too adventurous with our wanderings, but it turned out to be a fantastic day. For some reason my phone wasn't working, so I couldn't really get into contact with James; however, when I did, I was in for some disturbing news: I wouldn't be able to stay with them because it was going to be too expensive to add another bed. It really was quite lucky that I ran into Alex at the train station because, through use of her quick thinking, she was able to secure a place for me at her hotel for very cheap. She was the calm, cool, and collected one when I was freaking out (or napping, one of the two). After that was settled, James, Alex, and I were able to enjoy the city for the rest of the night. We met the parents at a very fun local eatery and attempted without success to find something exciting to do on the town (back story: As an Americans in Italy, we were always looking to submerge ourselves into Italian culture. A main part of this includes the night life. However, throughout the program, we were never really able to find anything that seemed like what the "real Italians" did on the weekends. A commonly heard phrase among our ranks was "Dove é la discoteca?" but nobody was ever able to find out. Our night in Rome was no different.). So we just sat on the Spanish Steps until we got kicked off by the street cleaners. Fun times.

Alex woke me up the next day at 4am when she left town, and I was sad to see her go (for about 13 seconds before I fell asleep again). I met up with James the next morning and we toured the Colosseo and the ancient Roman ruins around it. This of course was mind-bogglingly awesome. However, it was also quite frustrating because it was really hard to visualize; the ruins were often layers thick, and as one who attempts to visualize everything in its original grandeur, it was an impossible task (think M.C. Escher). After a short nap (while James poured over the map), we went to the Museo Nazionale Romano where we saw many fantastic works of art (specifically "The Boxer"). Afterward, we attempted to meet his parents for dinner at a place called "Anticommunist Pizzeria." James and I got pretty excited about that title, and went eagerly in search of said ristorante. However, we were sorry to find out that "anticommunist" was actually and autocorrect of "annicinquanta." Nevertheless, even though it wasn't as exciting as the former name, the pizza was still quite good.

The next day I met James for a stroll through the city. We stopped in many of the churches and saw some fantastic artwork. We also made a quick stop by the ever-touristy Trevi Fountain, which is fantastic and (as somebody smart pointed out) looks very modern with the statues bursting out of seemingly fresh marble. It rained that day for about four and a half minutes, which was more than it had rained in about a month. James and I made our way to meet his parents at the Museo Borghese. Much to our chagrin, the museo is about a twenty minute walk from where we thought it was, so we had to sprint to get there for our designated time. But once inside, we got to see works by Bernini (wow. Never before has a piece of stone spoke to me as much as his David did. Look it up.). The museo was fantastico and they had to kick us out at the end of our two hour time-slot.

I will continue this post later, because I've just met two people who want to take an aperitivo with me and I can't refuse--this being my final night in Italy.