Sweeney's In Town

This week has been quite enjoyable. One full week in Vienna... I feel like I'm actually living here, rather than just sleeping here in between trips. Allow me to recap my week for you... Monday and Tuesday were typical class-having days. I had a load of homework for German. My teacher, Frau Striegler, had us write an essay in the third person, narrative past. The whole concept made no sense. I wrote my entire essay during my fine arts class. Wednesday I had another voice lesson with Frau Pescheck. She's really nice. She has me working on German literature only, which I'm very grateful for. She also recognizes my voice's relative immaturity in terms of its growth. She has no problem skipping the dramatic arias at my current level. I think BYU forces their students to sing beyond their skill level in hopes that they'll progress faster. I don't agree with this method. Wednesday afternoon I had my Opera/theater class. I, along with a girl named Daniel, had to do a small presentation on singing... which meant that I had to sing for demonstration purposes. I sang a piece by Mozart, A cappella. I was satisfied with my performance, though I am still waiting on my confidence issues to be resolved in my brain. It all has to do with loving myself. Its not easy... not for any of us. Later that night I, along with Emily and Michelle, went to a film playing at the Viennale(Austrian Film Festival). Very interesting film indeed. It was a 1971 American film entitled Minnie and Moskowitz... I suppose I would recommend it. It was strange, but warm-hearted. On Thursday I got all dressed up for the Opera. It was Le Nozze di Figaro... I was so excited to see it. It was very good, although I have to admit that I preferred some of BYU's interpretation over the Staatsoper. After the Opera a few of us went to Mozart's Cafe. I ordered the Goulash soup... very tastey. The next morning I selpt in late. I awoke with the sound of my cell phone ringing... I didn't answer. It was Michelle. She wanted to know when I was going to join her and Emily in their Halloween fesivities. I quickly got up, showered, and made my way to the Institute. We made a quick stop at Michelle's apartment, and then Michelle and I went to Mariahilferstrasse to get some white make up, while Emily went to go vote. So... we traveled to the "Goth Store" as it is named. May I paint a picture for you... Heavy metal was playing loudly as we walked in. My eyes were greeted harshly by a substantial amount of black and purple... the gothic palate. A man was trying on a pair of knee-length, four inch healed boots covered in buckels. I turned to Michelle and expressed my approval for them. "I certainly couldn't pull off boots like that," I said. We walked up to the counter, the cashier's breasts met my line of vision. She was a larger women, and was wearing a very low-cut leather skirt. Michelle asked her, in german, for some white powder foundation. Unfortunately they were out, so we had to purchase liquid foundation... it ended up being the better choice. We made our purchase and left... by that time Emily had made it back to her apartment for her passport(required to vote). Michelle and I met up with her and we all walked to the US embassy. Unfortunately when we arrived Emily was told that the correct place to vote was the US Consolate... She decided to vote later. From the Embassy we walked to a Mexican grill close by. We had heard from other students that it was pretty good... and they didn't lie. Fresco Grill, run by a guy from the States, would be Austria's version of Cafe Rio. Everything was fresh, and everything tasted great! I will definitely be going back. We made it back to Michelle's apartment later that evening. Dress up time!! We put on our costumes and make up and headed out to the Prater (Vienna's Lagoon, only better). Emily was Sweeney Todd, and Michelle and I were her victims. Creepy Halloween photos taken at a theme park at night... perfect combo. People stared at us as we made our way to and from the Prater. The Viennese don't really do Halloween yet. After taking our creepy photos, we traveled back to Michelle's apartment. There, we ate junk food and watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Best Halloween Ever!! The next day I slept in, once again. I had nothing to do, and I really didn't want to do the whole tourist thing. I just wanted to relax. That night I met up with Michelle and Emily at the Volksoper. Now playing... The magic Flute!! It was great:) The Queen of the Night failed to meet expectations, but other than that everything else was well done. Today has been good. I went to my religion class. I sang, along with a girl named Amanda, "Nearer my god to thee" for the musical number. I don't think that'll be the last time I sing for my group. Anyways, so that was my week. Tomorrow morning I fly to Greece! I'm so excited!!