Chicago

            This week felt way too short, but I knew it would.  It was nice to check in on my home, to see Ross and my friends, and to take care of a few errands, but four days is not a very long time!  Especially when you lose three days to travel.

            I said earlier that I was worried about whether my home would seem unfamiliar to me after being gone for four months.  I am happy to report that I still feel comfortable in my apartment, and that I still belong in Evanston.  The only difference is that everything seemed bigger: the rooms, the furniture, even our kitchen sponges.  I guess I’ve gotten used to “European sizes.”

            I was not jet-lagged at all!  I think it’s because I didn’t sleep at all during my travels.  By the time I got to Chicago, it was midnight there, and I hadn’t slept in about 30 hours.  I was so tired that I slept perfectly from midnight to about 9 or 10am the next morning.  Presto—I’m on schedule!  I guess that’s one of the few perks of not being able to sleep well on planes.  Going back might not be so easy though…

            Ross had to work on Tuesday, so after sleeping in and eating some Thai food for lunch, he drove out to teach in Aurora.  I used the time to get most of my errands done.  I’m such a nerd—my first stop was the Northwestern library!  I also met up with my childhood friend, Emma, who lives in Evanston now.  It’s kind of sad: we keep missing living nearby each other by one year. (She moved to DC the year I left Baltimore, and now she’s in Evanston during the year I’m in Sarajevo.)  We had some drinks, and caught up.  We have so much in common, so it’s always great comparing experiences with her.  By the time I got home, it was almost time to go out again.  Ross got home from work around 10pm and then we headed to one of our favorite bars for their $1 burger night. (They have $1 veggie burgers too… J)  More food, beer, and friends were a great way to wrap up my first day at home.

            When I woke up on Wednesday, Ross made me a classic American breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes with real maple syrup.  We took a nice long walk along the lakefront and around the Northwestern campus.  For Chicago in January, it wasn’t that cold, and most of the snow melted.  Normally it’s very difficult to walk along the lakefront during the winter, so I was glad to be able to do so.  Something about looking out over open water makes me feel very contented.  I’m not sure where the rest of the day went after our walk.  I think we just hung out in our apartment, playing games and watching TV, but the time flew by.  Ross took me to one of our favorite restaurants, The Cellar, for dinner.

            So, pretty much the theme of my vacation was being fed by Ross...  On Thursday, it got very, very cold.  We spent the day inside, and Ross made me one of my favorite pasta dishes for lunch.  In the evening, we ventured out because we had student tickets to see the Chicago Symphony.  The train ride into Chicago seemed so short, maybe because I am quite used to riding the tram every day for about the same amount of time.  We arrived in “The Loop” with plenty of time to walk around, window shop, and have coffee.  Well, tea for me.  I still can’t stand American-style coffee.

            Seeing the Chicago Symphony after playing in a professional orchestra for half of a season gave me a bit of a new perspective.  I’ve always appreciated the fantastic technical skill and musicianship of the individual players, but I now have a new appreciation for the sound of the orchestra as a whole.  The orchestra plays so cleanly and with near-perfect intonation.  The balance is stellar and, if you listen carefully, every line can be heard.  I’ve read articles that criticize the Chicago Symphony for being “too perfect”, and therefore not as expressive as some second-tier orchestras.  Frankly, I think that’s bullshit.  The players have such strong mastery of their instruments, and such strong understandings of the scores, that they can use an incredible palette of sound colors.  Their dynamic range is huge, and they can stay perfectly synchronized in even the most abrupt tempo shifts.

            The program included Johann Strauss Jr.’s Overture to Der Fledermaus, Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, and Dvorak’s Eight Symphony.  It was interesting to hear the Strauss Overture after playing it very recently for our New Year’s Concert.  My teacher played principal oboe, with a beautifully complex sound that easily projected during his unisons with the violins.  The Beethoven was less familiar to me, and seemed so short despite being nearly 40 minutes long.  It’s either an underappreciated work, or was performed so well that it’s faults weren’t at all apparent.  I was most excited to hear Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony, which is my favorite Dvorak Symphony.  I love the third movement, and all of the flute/oboe unisons.  It’s a bit treacherous to play, but when done right, the sounds meld so beautifully. (That’s why I keep programming flute. oboe, piano trios on my degree recitals!)

I felt inspired by the performance to continue to hold myself to the highest standards.  Of course, I’m never going to be perfect all of the time, but I hope that I will continue to improve and give my best efforts, even during frustrating programs.  The Sarajevo Philharmonic certainly has its weakness, but I think that if all of us contribute our best playing all of the time, and ignore some of the politics and bad attitudes, the level of the orchestra would rise dramatically.

I’ve had so much fun going out late in Sarajevo that I pledged I would do it more often in Chicago.  So after the concert, and despite the temperature hovering near 0 degrees F, Ross and I stopped by a place called “Cheesies” on the way home.  Cheesies serves only grilled cheese sandwiches, and has a nice bar in the back where all drinks are $4.  A $4 drink seems a little steep by Sarajevo standards, but is a really great deal in Chicago, where a cocktail usually runs about $10.

Yesterday was my last day here, and another whirlwind of visiting friends and trying to get in as much quality time with Ross as possible.  There was a huge snowstorm, which was not predicted.  We got nearly 8 inches of snow, I think!  It was quite nice, especially because we didn’t have to go anywhere very far.  I was hoping that it would keep snowing so I could be stuck in Chicago today, but alas.  It’s for the best, since I have to be back for rehearsal on Monday.

            Well, that was an awfully long post, but I have so much time to kill during this layover in New York.  I’ll add some pictures later, since my camera connection cord is in my checked luggage.  So far, travels have been going smoothly, so hopefully I’ll be back in Otes in time to get some sleep before Monday morning.  Fingers crossed!