March 30

3-30
What a weekend! I guess I really haven’t done all that much, but I feel like I’ve been quite productive. I saw a musical, visited a convent and fulfilled a life-long dream; I think that’s enough for one weekend!
Thursday night after class a few other girls and I went to see Grease. It was so much fun! We all know the music and the story backwards and forwards in English, and it was cool to hear it all in Spanish. I wasn’t sure the entire thing would be in Spanish, since in movies sometimes they dub over the dialogue but leave the songs in English, but everything was translated. It was quite funny to see the Spaniards’ interpretation of American teenagers in the 50s! It was quite different from a play in the States, too. There was a lot more audience involvement, with things like ‘if you think Frenchie should go back to high school, scream’ and stuff like that. The audience was also really into the music; they were swaying and doing the Greased Lightning arm movements, and I’m pretty sure some people were singing along at times, although it wasn’t so loud that it was distracting. It was a really fun night!
Friday morning I went to the Monasterio de la Encarnación. It was a 45 minute guided tour, all in Spanish, but I got most of it. There were a lot of paintings and frescoes, and of course the usual opulence of silver and gold in the sanctuary. There was also a room of relics, where there were bones or pieces of bones from I don’t know how many saints. All four walls were covered with glass cases that displayed them. There were even several with skulls. It was a little unnerving. And once again, I wonder: how do you go about getting the skull of a saint? This particular monastery is famous for its dried blood of St. Pantaleon, which mysteriously liquefies every year on July 27, the anniversary of his death. I strongly suspect there’s a duplicate vial somewhere in the monastery that gets filled with red water and stuck in the cabinet. I actually had a dream last night about that, involving a secret passageway behind the wall where someone could replace the vial without anyone seeing. Strangely enough, it was my uncle Tim who was the one sneaking back there to replace it. I have absolutely no idea where that came from.
Friday night I had choir rehearsal, and I still hadn’t received an email with the information about the concert on Sunday. I asked Nuria (the director) when the concert was, but instead of just telling me, she called over another person in charge of the emails and had me talk to him. So I gave him my email and hoped that he would send it before Sunday. Also, we had a rehearsal on Saturday that I wouldn’t have known about if she hadn’t mentioned it at the last minute. And I still didn’t know the time of the concert or of the rehearsal right before it, or what we had to wear. So I went home quite anxious and upset that night. I hate not knowing important things!
I still hadn’t received the email by the time I had to leave for rehearsal on Saturday afternoon. I was hoping it was at the campus, but I had printed out directions to the cathedral in case I got to the school and no one was there. I got there a bit early and asked one of my friends and she told me what I needed to know. So that eased my mind quite a bit. They did tell us at the end of rehearsal, so I would have known anyway.
Sunday I was going to go to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, but by the time I got there all the tours were full, so I couldn’t get in. So I just went to the Corte Ingles instead and picked up a gift for a certain someone. Then I did some homework and headed over to the cathedral. I have always wanted to sing in a European cathedral, and now that I knew what I was supposed to do, I was excited! It had probably a 3 second echo, which sounds awesome, but let me tell you, it sure makes singing a lot more complicated!! We had 2 hours of rehearsal before the concert in which we smoothed over most of the problems, and then had an hour free time before it started. The first guy I gave my email to last week asked me if I had received his email. I don’t know if he sent it Saturday after I checked or if I just didn’t get it. I didn’t check my email on Sunday. But I would have thought he would send it a little earlier than that!! (I hate not having internet at home!)
The actual concert went very well, for the most part. We sang two pieces by Handel: Dixit Dominus and the Coronation Anthem. We sang with a small orchestra, harpsichord, organ, trumpets, recorders, and timpani. There were also five soloists who sang on various pieces. It was a surprise when all those instrumentalists showed up at rehearsal on Friday, but I was really glad we weren’t just going to sing with the organ! Singing with an orchestra just adds a whole new dimension to the music. There were a few parts during the concert where we started speeding up and had to watch Nuria very carefully. There was only one part where the sopranos totally fell apart. I’m not sure if we had gotten ahead or behind, but it sounded very strange for a few bars. But we got back on before too long. The audience seemed to really enjoy everything. They started out clapping in between movements of the Dixit (have I mentioned how much I hate it when people do that? Apparently Nuria hates it too, because she made a face every time) but then they realized that they shouldn’t. But then they did again after a few movements. I don’t really understand why they suddenly started clapping again, but whatever. They were good on the Coronation Anthem. And we got a standing ovation at the end of the concert, which is always nice. Jeanette came to see it and support me. That was very nice of her. I’m glad she came. A couple of the other girls had talked about coming, but she was the only one who showed up. I was happy to see a familiar face in the audience.
So that was my weekend! Now I’ve got 4 days of school before I’m off to Hungary! I can’t believe spring break is almost here. I’m really looking forward to it, but I’ll be so relieved when it’s over. I’ll be traveling alone for 4 days, and it’s a constant worry at the back of my mind. I’m sure it’ll be fine, but it’s still there, nagging. But at the same time, I get to see Salzburg, and Milan in addition to Budapest and Vienna, which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I stayed with Jen, and that’s going to more than make up for any uneasiness in traveling!
Well, I’m off to school. Bye!
Bethany