Snow

I never run out of things to blog about.  I just had the “honor” of experiencing a record snowstorm for Sarajevo!  Over the past two days, we’ve gotten about 110 centimeters (4 feet) of snow.  In comparison, there was a huge snowstorm in Chicago last year that shut down the entire city for several days, fondly nicknamed “snowmageddon” and/or “the snowpacolypse”.  The “snowpacolypse” was about 50 centimeters, less than half the amount of snow we got here!

Ross in the Chicago storm in February 2011

Sarajevo storm in February 2012

The snow started falling Friday morning, but despite the heavy snow, everyone went about business as usual.  I had to go into the city for a concert on Friday night, and had quite the commute.  By the time I left, the bus from Otes to Ilidza was no longer running, so my roommate and I hiked over to the tram by foot.  We got to the tram, and I got a bit worried when I overheard people saying “ne radi”, which means, “not working”.  I guess that tram had to stop running for a bit, but it started as soon as we got there, lucky us.  So we boarded a tram and were on our way.

Departing toward Ilidza by foot

Everything was going smoothly until we got about half way to the city center.  Then, the tram stopped, and started moving in reverse.  There was a little bit of panic amongst the passengers, since no one knew what was going on.  However, we soon started moving full speed ahead again.  I think the driver was just trying to get a running start so we could make it across a very snowy intersection.  All in all, it took about one hour, but we made it to Bascarsija in time for our dress rehearsal.  After the concert, I was fortunate to get a ride home, so I didn’t have to try to commute by tram again.

Bascarsija on Friday afternoon

I spent yesterday inside, awestruck by the size of the storm and enjoying a relaxing day at home.  However, most of the people in my neighborhood still went out!  I did not see any snowplows or mechanical snow blowers.  Instead, all of the men, and even some women and children, went outside and shoveled the roads and sidewalks by hand.  I am very impressed by this pro-active attitude and willingness to help out the community.  There have been a couple of times when I’ve heard a rude stereotype that Bosnians are “lazy”, and this reaction to the storm clearly proves that stereotype to be wrong.  “Laid-back”, maybe, but “lazy”, no…

Before they're shoveled out, the cars are merely small bumps in the snow.

It will be interesting to see how we recover from the storm this week.  The snow has stopped falling for now, but we will probably get a few more inches over the next few days.  I think it might take some time for the transportation system to start running and for the grocery stores to get restocked (they’re completely wiped out right now).  I am hoping that our orchestra will still perform our concert next Thursday, but am not sure if it will happen if the city is shut down most of the week.  In the meantime, at least I have a lot of friends in Otes to keep me company.

View from my room yeserday

Music Academy

          I’ve spent a lot of time at the music academy this week, playing in a small orchestra for someone’s conducting recital.  We just have three short rehearsals, and the ensemble is not playing very well, but I can’t help but have fun because of the program.  We are playing an all Beethoven concert: the Egmont Overture and the Emperor Concerto.  I’ve been waiting to play Beethoven all year—we’ve yet to play him in the philharmonic.  I think I enjoy playing his music more than any other composer’s, and I’m not really sure why.  Good music plus fairly idiomatic oboe writing, I guess.

            I’m not sure I’ve described the Sarajevo Music Academy for this blog yet.  It is pretty much the equivalent of a US “conservatory”, with college and graduate students who specialize in music.  There are some very strong programs and teachers for certain instruments (e.g. violin and cello), while others are completely absent (e.g. there is no oboe program).  There are a lot of accordion players at the music academy, which is a novelty for me, and a nuisance, I think, for everyone else!

            The Sarajevo Music Academy is located in the city center, just behind the Catholic cathedral.  It is a convenient location for us philharmonic musicians, since it’s only about a 10-minute walk from the National Theater.  The building contains an elementary school on the ground floor, a music high school on the next floor, and the music academy on the top two floors. 

Being in the music academy makes me feel a bit nostalgic for my undergraduate days. The old, slightly run-down building reminds me of the Peabody Conservatory.  As do the clashing musical sounds bleeding into the hallways, and students sweating over their solfeggio exams.  I feel pretty comfortable in such an environment after going to music school for nearly an entire decade.

In other news, the weather forecast for the next few days is crazy!  Over the past 24 hours we’ve gotten maybe 6 inches of snow.  Tonight we are supposed to get another 2-4 inches, tomorrow 8-12 inches, tomorrow night 10-15 inches, and Saturday another 10-15 inches!  About one year ago was the “snowpocalypse” in Chicago, so I guess now it’s Sarajevo’s turn.  Man, I sure do have bad luck with winter weather!

Post-Premiere

 

            So, as I expected, yesterday was pretty crazy.  At least I had the morning off to get some rest, eat a good meal, and touch up my reeds.  The bassoonist in my quintet, Edo, lives nearby, and has kindly been giving me rides to our quintet events so I don’t have to take the tram so much.  I was especially grateful to have a ride yesterday so I didn’t have to walk to the tram in my dress and heels.

Edo picked me up in the middle of the afternoon, and I went with him to see his sister, son, niece, and new baby nephew.  His sister is a pianist and artist, and has a beautiful apartment filled with antique furniture and artwork.  She is married to an American man, so she speaks very good English.  It’s always a pleasure to talk to her; she is a very interesting woman.  As an added bonus, I was served some Bosnian coffee and chocolate.  It was nice to have a relaxing moment before the whirlwind that was to come.

Our quintet arrived at the performance venue about two hours early.  We performed in the Bosniac Institute, just next to the Music Academy.  It is a sort of museum and is filled with all sorts of interesting artwork, old clothing, furniture, and other items that symbolize Bosnia’s cultural history.  I want to come back as a tourist so that I can get some information about all of the displays, and spend more time looking at them.

There were so many video cameras, photographers, and reporters that kept us occupied right up until the performance time.  While we were doing a few last-minute run-throughs, there were cameramen getting very close to us to film our faces, fingers, etc.  It was pretty distracting, but I guess it’s a good thing to get so much attention!  Once we were done rehearsing, we had to pose for several photographs, and answer many questions.  Fortunately, none of the reporters asked me to speak in Bosnian!  I spoke a little bit in English, explained what I was doing in Sarajevo, and expressed my excitement about the formation of the quintet.

Around 7:15, I snuck off to a small, quiet room so that I could “hide-out”: collect my thoughts, and get a little bit warmed-up.  The rest of my quintet soon joined me, and we took a few minutes to tune and discuss how we would walk onstage, bow, etc.  Finally, it was time to perform.  We were all a little bit flustered and nervous because of all of the hype.  And, of course, none of us are perfect players, and the acoustics of the hall were a little strange, so we had a few little slips here and there.  However, overall we played our best, and the concert seemed pretty well received by the audience.  It feels good to have the premiere under our belt, and I’m sure that we’ll improve for subsequent concerts as we get used to playing together.

After the concert, the director of the Sarajevo Arts, one of the people responsible for getting our concert organized and promoted, invited my quintet and our guests to the Sarajevo Pivnica (brewery).  It was nice to celebrate afterwards, though we were all pretty worn out from the day’s events.  Whew!

For those who understand Bosnian, here’s the links to two of the articles written about us.  Non-Bosnian speakers can at least enjoy the pictures J

http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/content/prvi_duvacki_kvintet_kulturno_obogatio_bih/24468039.html

http://www.sarajevo-x.com/kultura/koncert-duvackog-kvinteta-per-sempre-u-bosnjackom-institutu/120126095

Our Debut

      There has been so much hype about my quintet over the past few days.  We’ve had two press conferences, there are glossy posters everywhere, and tonight we are being photographed and recorded by the media!  It’s a little bit fun and a little bit nerve-wracking.  On one hand, we are the first woodwind quintet in the history of Bosnia, so we can just smile, look nice, and enjoy “making history” (haha).  On the other hand, we are all professional musicians who want to meet high standard when we perform, especially in front of such a large audience.  I’m trying not to be too nervous by reminding myself that we are well rehearsed. (We ran through the program nearly every day since I got back from Chicago.)  I also hope that seeing the supportive faces of my friends in the audience will help me stay calm.

The Old and the New

          We are performing two reprises this week in the Sarajevo Philharmonic.  On Tuesday, we played Carmen and today we are playing La Traviata.  Performing these operas again has brought back a lot of memories for me.  I remember our very extended, tedious rehearsal schedule for Carmen, and how long the opera seemed by the night of our first performance.  It was a lot more fun to play it this week after only having one rehearsal.  Our performance went pretty well, although we did have some problems with synchronizing a few of the tempos.  The “highlight”, if you will, was when one of the cast members accidentally threw one of the props into the orchestra pit, hitting a violinist.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, and I think her violin is okay.

            My first performance with the orchestra when I arrived here in September was La Traviata.  I was very overwhelmed with trying to understand the language and make a good first impression on my colleagues.  I remember only understanding one or two words during the entire rehearsal. (I had at least learned to count, so I got some of the rehearsal numbers.)  Despite being in a difficult situation, I was proud of how I played, and held my own.  It helped that I had studied the score, and practiced my exposed part ahead of time.

            In contrast, during my rehearsal yesterday, I could understand almost everything that the conductor said!  I realized that I have learned a good bit of Bosnian, though I still have a long way to go.  I feel very comfortable around my colleagues, though I still sometimes worry about what they think of me. (I can’t help it.  I care very much about being respected and liked by others.)  However, I did not play very well.  I was trying to save my good reeds for my quintet concert on Monday (more on that below) and felt extremely tired and distracted by everything going on this week.  Hopefully I will do better tonight.

            One of the reasons that I’m tired is that I have been rehearsing so much.  On top of my philharmonic rehearsals, I have been working with my woodwind quintet to prepare our premiere concert.  The quintet rehearsals have been fun, but quite physically demanding for my wimpy little oboe muscles. My colleagues have been very helpful by speaking in English and/or translating so that I do not feel left out.  It is great to feel included despite the fact that I’m so different from the others. (They are all Bosnian, male, and older than me.)

I am very excited by the amount of support and attention we have received.  We are apparently the first professional woodwind quintet in the history of Bosnia!  There are very snazzy posters of the group hung-up all over the music academy.  Since I am the only female in the group, I am front and center in our picture.  I feel like a celebrity!  We are performing in the Bosnian Cultural Center and it looks like we’ll have quite a big crowd.  Wish me luck J

Traveling

            I am pretty behind with my blogging!  It’s been quite busy since I got back to Sarajevo early on Monday morning.  I had a very exhausting trip back, so I’ve basically spent all of my free time sleeping.

            So, I guess I’ll start with an account of my trip back to Sarajevo. I left Evanston around 8am on Saturday.  We had a snowstorm on Friday, so I was kind of hoping that my flight would be cancelled and I could stay home an extra day or two.  Of course, re-booking a flight that involves 3 connections would have been nearly impossible.  And I had to make it back in time for a rehearsal on Monday morning.  So, it was probably for the best that my first flight left right on time.

            I flew from Chicago to New York, where I had a seven-hour layover.  It was in the JFK airport, which was actually really nice, with lots of good restaurants.  So I had lunch, wrote my latest blog post, window-shopped, talked on the phone to my family, and read.  I gave myself two hours to get to the other terminal for my flight to Rome, which ended up being a good idea, since I had to ride the subway all of the way around the airport.

My flight to Rome also was on time, but it was far from uneventful.  I had a rather noisy Jewish family sitting behind me, with two precocious children who proceeded to ask questions about every single article in the in-flight magazine.  If they hadn’t asked such intelligent questions, it would have been extremely annoying, but instead it was rather cute.  I was in a row of two seats with an empty seat next to me, so the flight would have been perfect, had I not gotten sick.  I’ve never had to use those little paper bags in the seat pockets before, but they sure came in handy that night!  If I had someone next to me, I would have been very embarrassed; I was fortunate that I could be discreet about the whole thing.

I felt so dirty and stinky when I got to Rome.  All I wanted to do was wash up, brush my teeth, and change clothes.  Unfortunately, I was stuck in a sort of limbo zone between customs and my flight to Belgrade.  I had to change airlines, didn’t have my boarding pass yet, and had difficulty finding an agent who could check me in.  Then, the airlines wanted me to show that I had a return ticket back to the US, I guess in order to prove I wasn’t fleeing the country! I do have a ticket to go back in July, but didn’t have the information on hand.  Fortunately, I showed my Bosnian residency permit and they let it slide.

Once I found a bathroom in Rome and got myself cleaned up, I felt much better.  My layover in Rome wasn’t long, so I boarded my plane and took off for Belgrade.  In Belgrade, I had another 7-hour layover, which was a little more boring than the one in New York.  I couldn’t make phone calls, and didn’t have internet, and there weren’t many options for eating.  However, I eventually got some pasta at one of the cafes, and I killed the time by playing games, reading, and watching videos on my iPad.

Around 9pm on Sunday, it was finally time to fly to Sarajevo.  But, alas, the flight was cancelled!  The Sarajevo airport was closed due to fog, a frequent occurrence in the wintertime here.  The Jat Airways agent informed me that the airlines would take us to Sarajevo by bus.

So, if a flight in the US was cancelled, and the airlines put all of the passengers on an eight-hour bus ride, everyone would throw a fit!  However, the Bosnians/Serbians are much more laid-back and understanding.  In fact, all of my fellow passengers seemed pretty happy about the bus-ride.  They were joking, singing, and taking pictures.  Even though I was very tired, being around such positive people kept my spirits up.

We finally pulled into the Sarajevo bus station around 5:30am on Monday.  The bus ride took 8 hours, including the border crossing and all of the obligatory “pausas” for coffee and smoking.  (In true Bosnian fashion, we took a 45-minute coffee break after the first 30 minutes of the trip!  I was worried that if we continued at the same rate, we wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.  Fortunately, all of the restaurants closed after midnight, and the subsequent stops were much shorter smoking breaks.)

I took a cab home from the bus station.  The driver had no idea where Otes was, spoke no English, and it was so foggy that I couldn’t see out of the window.  Fortunately, my limited Bosnian and intuition managed to get me home anyway.  Just in time to sleep for three hours before dashing off to rehearsal.  Whew!

Despite the fact that my trip took 36 hours, and that I got sick, I never felt very angry, stressed, or frustrated.  I am so proud of myself for keeping a cool head.  After all, there was nothing I could have done to change the circumstances.  It helped that I had a great time at home in Evanston and, at the same time, was excited about my upcoming weeks in Sarajevo.  During my initial trip here, I was a bit fearful of what lay ahead.  During my trip back in December, I felt a bit hesitant about going back.  This time, I felt almost entirely positive.  I am sad about being separated from Ross again, but I am liking Bosnia more and more and look forward to spending the next five months here.

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!