Grace Notes: Getting Lost in Music & In Town!

Days 7-10 flew by! I can't believe we've already been here for a week & a half and are already half way through our journey. What a great experience it's been!

This week, Nathan has been really buckling down on the music. Whenever he's not in class, he's practicing! He seriously sounds so good! It's amazing what consistent practicing and studying can do for your voice. Nathan has been clicking really well with all of the faculty, especially Dr. Robert White Jr. from Juilliard. The faculty here is amazing at diagnosing issues with the voice and giving clear & concise explanations to fix them. Here are a few pictures from our Stage Movement Class. We’ve learned about how to multi-task on stage, how to communicate ideas through body movement to both cast members & the audience, and some more abstract thoughts like how to hold energy in a still pose. We’ve also done some yoga for alignment! :)

Nathan gave a wonderful presentation in our 18th century movement class. In addition to his presentation, he did a charade of how his character, Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni by Mozart, would live and walk in his own private room. It was a moving performance! Bravo, Nathan!

He also had his first concert on Monday night at the Basillica Sant’Anastasia. It was incredible! The cathedral was absolutely magnificent and ornate and the acoustics were like that of a shower! The ceilings are remarkably tall and make you feel oh-so small! It was built between 1290 and 1481! Pretty amazing! Here is Nathan singing Schubert's Ave Maria. It was magical and breathtaking. I'm so proud of him and I'm sure you all would be too! His gorgeous voice just filled the Cathedral. In addition, God displayed his power through an awesome rain storm during the performance. The two combined gave me goosebumps! The pictures really don't do it justice.

Ave Maria, Nathan Straub (Click Here!)

(Click on the link above to see video, or search "Schubert, Ave Maria, Nathan Straub, Tenor" on youtube. )

I on the other hand, have been have much more down time! I still go to about 2 classes a day, but I've had a lot more time to explore than he has. As a music educator, I’ve had a wonderful opportunity observing and sometimes participating in these classes. I’ve also been inspired with many new ideas and lesson plans to take back to my fellow colleagues at WSU and for my future classroom. When I’m not in class, I go to town on the bus! It was a little scary at first, but it’s a piece of cake now! The artistic director of the program said its perfectly safe during the day time and so far she’s been right! Don’t worry, Dad, I have my pepper spray with me always- just in case!

Fierce with my fan! Although I have slight buyer's remorse...

I think it’s pretty apparent that I’m more of an extrovert, so this whole trip has been a new experience for me. Nathan is in class or practicing 8-10 hours a day, which leaves me with a lot of alone time! It’s been good though. It’s given me time to be more introspective and has forced me to come to peace with some quiet and solitude. I really enjoy going to the plaza, Piazza Erbe, ordering a cup of tea and people watching, writing in my prayer journal and reading. If I were home, my schedule would be packed with all sorts of coffee dates, work, babysitting and what not, but here is just... simple. I’m grateful for my faith and to know that I’m never alone. I feel the comfort of God’s spirit with me wherever I am whether it be in the busy streets or on a bench in front of a Cathedral. God is so faithful.

Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why the title of this post including “Getting Lost.” Well, yesterday I was feeling a bit more adventurous than usual and Nathan was feeling more laid-back than usual (he had just had an Alexander Technique session, so he was nice and loose. Haha!).

We usually go home before 8 pm so we can catch the last bus that goes by our apartment, but last night we stayed out till 9:30 (ooh so late, I know!). At this point, I had been by myself just window shopping and walking around for the last 4 1/2 hours so I was pretty beat! Nathan had only been there for a couple of hours, but he was tired from class and rehearsal too.

Anyway, we get to the bus stop and realize that the next bus wouldn’t come for another 45 minutes, so we decided to walk to another bus stop... Bad idea. We walked and walked... and walked and walked... Ended up in some random streets outside of the pretty tourist Verona that we have come to know and love. It was getting dark so we decided to turn around.. but where?! Eventually we found our way back to Piazza Bra and checked the bus schedule once again. We missed the “45 minute away” bus by about 5 minutes. Ugh. So after waiting around some more, we hopped onto a bus that would take us near our apartment. Once we had been on the bus for about 5 minutes looking for our stop, a nice lady informed us that we should get off because we were on the wrong bus. Great.

So with sore feet and droopy eyelids, we found ourselves at the bus transfer stop where we waited yet another 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the bus we wanted was 7 minutes late, but we didn’t know that so we got onto another bus. This bus was the correct bus, Praise God! However, we did have a slightly intense moment on that bus when two security/police (?) men boarded fully packing! We had to show our bus tickets to prove we had paid- no problem, but some poor/stupid girl hadn’t paid so she was escorted off of the bus and most likely written a FAT ticket! It was all quite exhausting, but we made it home!

At the bus transfer station...

We're so lost!!

Here are the real kickers though: I got home and realized a few things 1) A had a map in my purse the whole time and had forgotten about it. 2) It wasn’t even worth staying out for! All of the shops were closed! and 3) The bus that was 7 minutes late, drove past us as we walked home from the other stop. Haha! We just laughed and Nathan shook the umbrella at the bus as it drove by. Oh well! That’s part of the fun in traveling, right?

Two more little anecdotes for you: 1) I did laundry by hand! It costs 4 euros to wash a load and then another 4 to dry it. PSH! The Scottish in me says No Grazie!! That’s like $10 to wash and dry your clothes!! So I did it by hand and I’m very proud of myself! :P

Ta-da!

As for my second money story, some guy tried to rip me off! I was about to buy 4 postcards and I asked him how much it was, to which he replied after a long pause “Six Euros.” The scumbag. I said “You’re kidding. For four postcards? No thanks.” and I stormed out! Some people... Again though, joys of traveling.

Thanks for reading! We miss you all and are keeping all of our loved ones back home in our prayers.

Fino alla prossima volta! (Until next time)

Love,

Hana & Nathan

Photos from Verona