I'm sitting down to write this at a table in the Leib & Siegel café around the corner from our apartment complex. The weather has turned wintery cold and although the apartment is warm and has lots of natural light, I'm definitely feeling cooped up. So, it seemed just the thing to sit in a cozy corner of a café with a hot drink to write.
Last week is already a bit of a blur. It was so normal. I did laundry a couple of times. I went grocery shopping a couple of times. I have a bigger fridge and more storage than I did in Bonn so I'm able to spread my shopping out a bit from the almost daily trips (in Bonn) to more like two big runs and one smaller trip. I just have to watch out that my list doesn't get so long that I can't get it all on my bike! Hasn't happened yet--I'm the master of packing those saddle bags and stacking things in my bike baskets. The kids went to school and came home and did their homework. J wrote and read. I practiced and went to my coaching session with Stellario on Wednesday. Just, you know, a normal week.
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| Headed through the upper halls of the Staatsoper building to my coaching session. |
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| Gray skies over the Altstadt from the windows of the top floor of the Staatsoper. |
A few stories from the week: HR needed me to get a book for her that her class is reading in Deutsch class: Iwein Löwenritter by Felicitas Hoppe. So, I went to the local bookstore, Buch und Bohne--I prefer to darken the doors of shops instead of ordering on Amazon, but I did check Amazon prices to see if it was significantly cheaper; it wasn't. HR is trying to read it mostly by herself and claims to understand what is going on--at least the gist of it. Along the same lines: GE is now required to read out loud to a parent each evening for 30 minutes and has a little log book where the parent signs that she has done it. After picking up HR's book from the bookstore, I swung over to the public library (we have a branch very close to us), and got some "easy reader" style books at the first and second grade levels. She can read the second grade books with a little help sounding big words out and occasionally asks what a word means, but otherwise understands it! Her pronunciation is delicate and precise--I know, that's hard to imagine when it comes to Deutsch; most Americans tend to think of German as being very harsh and guttural, but from the mouths of babes... it is so sweet!
The Frauenchor had their concert last weekend and the Himmelfahrtskirchen Chor gave their big Elias performance this weekend. I went to my usual evening rehearsal for the Frauenchor on Monday evening--we're starting in on the Christmas concert music and a few pieces for the spring concert already. Katrin gave me another solo on a Brahms piece from a cantata he wrote in Italian! That should be fun. The Himmelfahrtskirche choir had its usual rehearsal on Thursday evening (although it started earlier and went later), then Friday evening with orchestra, final dress rehearsal on Saturday morning, and the concert Saturday night. So much fun! The choir was really tight. It's been an absolute pleasure to sing with this group--there are over 100 voices and yet Herr Geitner can really pull us all together. It's a different feel and vibe from the Frauenchor (which is also fun because it's small and we do a lot of tuning since most of what we sing is a cappella). I haven't sung in a group this big in a long time, if ever! The soloists were impressive: Judith Spiesser, soprano; Anneka Ulmer, alto; André Khamasmie, tenor; Ludwig Mittelhammer, bass. The orchestra was a little less so... It was a group "for hire", Capella Istropolitana, an orchestra from Bratislava . With the exception of the first violinist, they didn't speak Deutsch and Herr Geitner doesn't speak Slovakian, so there was some frustration on both parts because communication was difficult. In the end, there was definitely room for improvement, but for such a tight rehearsal schedule together, it was pretty awesome.
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| The orchestra and choir beginning to assemble. Wish I could have stepped out to get a picture of the whole ensemble! The choir filled up all of the space up to the bottom of the organ and all the way out to the corners of the room on either side--and that was with everyone squished in like sardines on the stairs! |
Personal connections... On Wednesday I joined with a handful of expats for an early morning walk in the Englischer Garten again. There were some new faces to the group and some familiar ones. It's getting quite a bit colder now, but with the brisk pace, I quickly warmed up and needed to unbutton my coat. From there I went with my Scottish friend, JL, who I'd met through MeetUp to a meeting of the Munich International Women's Club. They were having a craft bazaar fundraiser. I went along mostly for the social connection, but left with some 1€ used books. I'm loving having enough time to read novels... And the paper kind, not just an Audible book while driving up and down I-81!
On Saturday night after the Elias concert, the choir members headed over to a local Wirtshaus: "Valley's" (of all the names!). Everyone ordered their own food and drinks, and then hung out, chatting for another couple of hours. I had walked over with the young assistant director, Anne, and another soprano who stood near me in the concert arrangement, Elinor. We sat together and got to know each other a little better. Turns out Elinor and her husband have founded and sold a couple of businesses (although her training is in music and theater) and they are between projects, taking a year-long "sabbatical" to decide what to do next. As I got ready to leave (around midnight!), she asked for my number so we can get together. Yay! Finally a possible German friend... I feel like my Deutsch has remained sort of at the same level since our arrival. It's fluent and easy for the most part, but there are certain topics or ways of expressing things that I still stumble through. It's been hard not to be impatient, but when I spend most of my day with my head "in English" rather than "auf Deutsch," it's hard to make any progress. The girls, on the other hand, are expanding their Deutsch in leaps and bounds (although I know ME is frustrated that it isn't going faster for her).
Sunday morning HR and I took the Ubahn to The Munich Readery for a craft workshop: paper crafts using used book pages, old sheet music, scraps of wrapping paper, and old maps. The store owner, LY, is a friend of a friend in Virginia. We'd met once before and she told me about this workshop she was hosting with an author of an upcycling book. We learned how to make little Christmas trees, a 5-petal flower, and a sort of accordion-style ornament. I'm inspired! I've been wishing the girls had more to do besides computer games and watching television or their tiny screens. This is just the thing! Plus, the apartment needs some Weihnachts spirit... Since this was a one-on-one with HR, I decided it would be a good time to try to take each of the girls out for some checking-in. When we got back to the apartment, the sun was still shining, so I got ME to come out with me to go to the Alte Utting for a warm drink and some conversation. GE is next... just have to figure out what and when.
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| The lower deck of the Alte Utting is cozy and warm. People were coming and going the whole time we were there. Posters are advertising their Weihnachtsmarkt that will start next Wednesday. Can't wait! |
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| Comparing blues... our eyes, that is. |
