what am I doing here?

Getting accustomed to a new place is often very difficult. Going somewhere new and learning how things are done in ways that perhaps would differ from your own is hard not to get stressed about. This happens enough in our own countries but when moving across seas and countries and settling yourself in a foreign land, the changes are met with much more trepidation.

After almost six months to the day I moved out to Italy, I still feel a little up in the air sometimes. Having only started learning the language the day I moved here, my Italian is certainly more confident than the first day, but nowhere near perfect.

In a classroom situation (of which I am subject many here), any normal student would spend at least 50% actually listening and the rest moving in and out of concentration, wondering what's for tea, why the teacher's eating a pizza during the middle of the lesson (though that may just be here) and so on and so forth. But here, in order to understand 50% of what's happening, your brain has to be focused 100% of the time.

A two hour lesson on a specific subject with specific vocabulary can often leave you very very confused...

But I like to dwell on the positives. I am being given a corker of an education here with barely a moment to breathe (my own choice):

Monday: Arte Scenica a six hour lesson spread over the day half of it covering History of Opera, Costumes, Libretto, the other half dedicated to Opera workshops.

Pianoforte does what it says on the tin. Piano lesson.

Tuesday: Musica da Camera chamber music - working with an accompanist on Debussy, Verdi and other such delights.

Lettura Prima Vista a whole hour and a half of sight-reading practice with the teacher as the accompanist. Who slows down and waits patiently as the students struggle desperately to hit the right notes...

Wednesday: Madrigali possibly my favourite. An hour and a half of five of us singing five part madrigals. Though sometimes old Italian is even too much for the natives to understand!

Coro as it's Verdi's and Wagner's Bicentenary this year, we're working towards a concert in May of both of their works.

Thursday: is so far a mystery to me... maybe sometime soon I'll be starting a lesson on Poetry in dramatic music, but need to ask someone!

Friday: Metodo Feldenkrais much like alexander technique, it's basically a posture lesson. Today we learnt to wiggle our toes independently. Aside from this, it's essentially yoga and always leaves me feeling great. This plus the fact that when the majority of the lesson is spent lying on the floor, you can't look around to see if you're doing it right... it also means I've learnt a lot of vocabulary relating to body parts!

Teoria dell'Armonia the scariest of all my lessons. 2 hours of harmony which I'm very much accustomed to learning, but unfortunately all the note names, chord descriptions and intentions of the music are all diverse in Italian. ie si bemolle maggiore = Bb Major. It is nevertheless very fun getting my teeth into a bit of Liszt and some Rach 2.

Saturday: Canto yes that's right. Lessons on a Saturday! This one's my actual singing lesson. Where the majority of technique learning happens. I'm currently singing anything which falls under the title of Italian Opera from the 17th-18th Century.

Musica Vocale da Camera another lesson where I'm learning alongside the accompanist. Together we're working on Bellini Chamber music and a bit of Dvorak. I frequently leave this lesson completely exhausted but finally understanding how real singing can be achieved. Which always puts me in a good mood for my one-day weekend!

Sundays are my day I put aside to travel or to rest depending on how well the week went!

And it is here I find myself very nearly settled in Italy. Perhaps when the weather perks up, a long day will be easier to deal with.