Ich Spreche Kein Deutch: Or how CNN, BBC, and Eurosport Became my German Roommates

This is me with my Porgy and Bess back stage pass!

This is me before I left...

This is me after I arrived: jet lagged and TIRED!

The view of North Hamburg from my hotel room

Me on the street the Beatles Played on!! Yeah, yeah, yeah!!

I have learned German! Or…at least how to say, “I don’t speak German” in German…
Needless to say, I’m grateful for three English-language channels (including the Olympics!) on the television in my hotel room. When I’m not listening to European news or the Beijing Diving Competitions, I am at the theatre, working. I can’t even think of how to being to describe what this experience has been like. So I’ll just list facts. (I'm trying to add photos, but I'm having trouble, so bear with me...)

Hamburg By Numbers:

15: The number of times someone has confused me as a German and tried speaking to me in Deutch within the first three days (I’ve since stopped counting).
Also the number of hours I worked on my longest day.

13: The average number of hours I work each day.

11: The number of days I worked (with an average of 13 hours a day) without a break.

9:00- 10:00am: the time I usually have breakfast (at the hotel)

12:00am: The time Mary (my teacher and the head costumer on tour) and I usually stop by the McDonalds in between the theatre and out hotel for “dinner”.

24: The floor my room is on at the hotel.

6: The number of Germans who interchangeably work with us in the costume shop and backstage (by the way, their English is 500 times better than my German).

3: The number of opera singers who sing “Bess” and who I am in charge of dressing (and undressing) before and after the show

5: The number of quick changes I have to help Bess with during each show (9 per week with two on Sat. and Sun.)

28: The number of shirts I have to distribute to the men in the cast every day.

56: The number of socks I have to distribute to the men in the cast every day.

1: The number of times I’ve been to the red light district (during the day) in Hamburg and walked down the street where the Beatles played when they lived in Hamburg before they became world-famous.

13 minutes: The amount of time it takes for me to walk to the theatre from the hotel.

3: The number of Europeans who have expressed interest in asking me out.

0: The number of times (as of yet) I’ve actually gone out with a European and the number of (human) roommates I have and the number of windows in my bathroom (I miss the sunlight).

12: the number of NEW performers we had to fit for costumes in three days.
Here is a photo of my in the fitting room:

68: The number on my official “Porgy and Bess: All Access Pass”. Here I am with it:

2: Hamburg’s rank as one of Germany’s largest cities (surprised me!) Here are some photos of Hamburg I’ve taken from my hotel room and during my one day off.

A LOT: The amount of Hamburg that was destroyed in a fire in the 19th Century.

EVEN MORE: The amount of Hamburg (an important harbor city) that was destroyed by World War II bombs. There is still a lot of construction around the city and it’s rather strange to see 18th century (and older) buildings standing right beside cold, modern skyscrapers.

1: The assistant stage manager who reminds me of Caleb Todd (a friend of mine from ACU Theatre). Caleb, if you read this: I almost put my hand on my shoulder and batted my eyes within the first day that I met him. J He is new to the company, too, so I instantly had a friend with something in common. How grateful I am to have someone who reminds me so much of home.

More than I would like to count: The number of times I’ve messed up and really frustrated a performer.

More than I can count: The number of times a performer has expressed thanks to me.
Completely: How grateful I am that 1.) Mary likes Italian food (just like me!) 2.) that I live RIGHT NEXT to a public garden (here are some photos of the garden and me in the garden) and 3.) that I have a WONDERFUL recording of the song “It is Well”.

This song has (at least for this week) become by mantra. "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul".

I Don't Know How to Speak German

So I arrived in Hamburg yesterday (Thur) morning after about 17 hours of traveling (through Denver, New York, and Paris). I was picked up by the Asst. Maniger of the Company and brought to the hotel, which is right in the middle of Hamburg (a pretty big city, by the way). After taking a shower, unpacking and an hour nap, I headed out to check out the city (mostly I needed to stay awake -- I start working today and can't be jet-lagged.) There is a beautiful flower garden and park just outside our hotel. I discovered it after getting ice cream at an ice cream stand. I have no idea if the guy charged me the correct amount -- because I don't speak a lick of German. That has been the worst part, feeling a bit overwhelmed because I can't understand anything. I even walked into a Starbucks (totally U.S. thing to do) because I knew I could simply pick up a bottle of water and hand it to the cashier, and then could see on the cash register how much I owed. Hopefully I'll get more and more confident as the days go on.

But the city is beautiful, Mary (my boss) is here (we had dinner last night) and the people are friendly -- they also walk everywhere. When I was on the street, I had numerous (and various) people walking and riding bicycles right next to me.

I'm excited to get started working today!

Okay. More (and photos!) when I have more time on the internet.

BFA = Best Fun in Abilene

I graduated from Abilene Christian University on May 10th with a BFA in Theatre: Acting and Directing. Here I am with my family on graduation day!

Exactly one week later I presented my senior Capstone project: The Shakespeare Celebration: A Scene Festival.

I spent the greater part of the school year directing some 30 elementary school students in scenes from Shakespeare's plays and, on 17 May 2008 we presented them at the Alliance for Women and Children in Abilene. It was a great success and I loved working with them! Here are some photos from the performance day:

The Alliance for Women and Children then asked me to come and do some Shakespeare workshops with their middle school girls summer camps. I had a wonderful time sharing the story of As You Like It with the campers, but especially enjoyed talking about "growing up" issues they face and connecting some characters as well as lessons from "As You Like It" to the girls' own lives.

I chose to focus on "As You Like It" this summer because the Abilene Shakespeare Festival was also performing it this summer (my students got to come a see the opening night performance). I was in the production, which marked my fourth summer with the ASF. I was THRILLED to get to work with the director, actors and designers again!

Here I am, in a corset line, with all the women in the production and with actor who played Orlando, my love interest, in the show:

My best friend, Emily, and I got to play best friends in the show, which was fantastic. After four years in the ACU Theatre department, we'd never gotten to act together, so it was a real treat. It was especially good because she is leaving in September to nanny for her sister and brother-in-law in Bangladesh for a year. We were able to use the show as a kind of "last hurrah" before we part. We've grown very close over the years and it's impossible to describe, here, the mixture of excitement for our futures and sense of loss and sorrow as we're living apart.

The photo at the top is of Emily and me in our "As You Like It" costumes and this one is of us on my graduation day.

After "As You Like It" closed, I got a job baby-sitting in July, and started looking around Abilene for a more long-term position. For the past three years I've worked as the Study Abroad student worker in the Center for International and Intercultural Education at ACU, but as I'm not a student anymore, my job there was scheduled to end in August and I needed another source of income. That's when the opportunities to travel with the Opera (and my former teacher, Mary!) and teach in Rwanda happened to drop in my lap. It seems everything has been orchestrated. I received the offer to tour Europe on 20 July, quit my job, said goodbye to as many people as I could get a hold of in Abilene, packed up my house and drove to Denver by 02 August. Needless to say, it's been a few of crazy weeks.

The rest of the summer was mostly spent at my church in Abilene, New Life Church of Christ. I've developed incredible friendships with many different people at New Life, and I will miss them all -- and my lovely flatmates who have put up with me for the past two to three years -- as I head to Europe. Here are some photos of me with my New Life friends.

This was when I went through the bathroom window (just like the Beatles' lyric, "She came in through the bathroom window"!) at my friends' house.

I leave Denver on Wednesday morning and I've already checked out Internet Cafes near our first hotel in Germany, so the next post should be coming soon! Stay tuned!