A quick update. I am now in Hamburg visiting my exchange student Jasmin's family and friends. It is sooo great to be in the countryside again! (: Or closer to it at least. Funny story: yesterday at the Hamburg Hbf (mainstation) I asked a woman if she could tell me the meaning of a German news headline in english. She told me, sorry, she only speaks german and SPANISH. No hay problema, I say, hablo espanol. And so I was using my spanish yet again to get around the northern counties. We had a great convo, me trying to keep up with her Spanish, and I ended up going to coffee with her and her friends before meeting Lea and Laura, Jasmin's two wonderful friends. (: The woman was from Cuba and be friends were Colombian and....something else I can#t rememebr! (: Anyways, it just taught me yet again to never be afraid to ask questions - you never know where it will lead you.
I left off in London, right before my trip to Paris. My friend William set me up with his family just outside Paris. They were so, so wonderful! I had a great time eating lunch with them, and trying to teach his younger sisters english (which turned into a wrestling match instead because I don't know any french and they know little english - so fun! (:). I also met up with my friend Kazuma who arrived in Paris the same day as me. He and I were at the same audition in Amsterdam, and his friend Yurika put me up Easter weekend when all the hostels were full in amsterdam, so nice of her! (I realize I haven't written about this yet, hopefully I will in a few weeks). Anyways, he is a great contact imporoviser, and performer as well! We had fun together (it is seriously impossible not to have fun with this kid) and ended up improvising in front of the Eifel tower. I am reletively inexperienced at contact, so it was really good practice for me.
Side note, did anyone else know that the Eifel Tower lights up like fire flies in the evening? This was cool the first time, but after it happened every hour of every evening, it was less impressive...
Paris is a beautiful city that I want to explore when I have more time. For those few days it was just enjoying gardens, sun and friends, which was wonderful as well. I was going to visit a company I thought was in town, but I realized it was just the director, not the company. No worries, it was a great time anyways....
The sky in Paris literally feels bigger, I swear!!! And people Really don't speak english, but I found quite a few people helpful and friendly even thought we could hardly communicate. I would really like to learn some french when i get home.... (along with german dutch etc etc...)
My next stop was Lausanne Switzerland. This was my vacation and vacation it was. Beautiful moutains stark against the giant lake. Lausanne is on a hill, so from the cathedral or park you can see far and it is so lovely. My first day there I ended up dancing in a parade with a huge back of Brazillians for carneval, and swimming in Lake Lau on a whim. The next few days were just relaxing and seeing the city with friends, making fendu in the hostel (thank you Paulo!!!!) and dancing a little at a local studio to get ready for the weekend.
After those four days I took the train to Amsterdam over night. Didn't sleep so well in the couchett, but my Australian room mates were really nice. Or were they from New Zealand? Anyhow....I arrived over-tired and stumbled to my friend Tony's appartment. He is a musician I met on the train from Amsterdam to Brussels on my way to London. So nice to put me up! I went to dance class that day, saw a friend for dinner, and the improvised with Tony (him playing piano, me dancing) til 2 am!!! Ah, sleep deprivation...anyways, those two days in Amsterdam were fun and it was good to be in an artistic space.
For the weekend I traveled to Rotterdam for an apprenticeship audition with Dance Works Rotterdam. We'll just say the audition killed me - seven hours of very physical dancing, including some jumping off a vault, parkour type stuff. Anyways, they were only really looking for people in school, but I thought I did fine (although not my best since I was a bit tired). I again stumbled to a friend's appartment, a guy I met at Scapino. We went to see NDT perform. They were good, but I didn't like the rep so much. Kylian#s new stuff is cool, but I don't really dig the old stuff. The next day was again relaxing, enjoying italian food, ice cream, biking etc.
I found my way back to Amsterdam early Monday morning to take class. I stayed for a final hurrah in the original hostel the Shelter Jordan. It was geat to see everyone again and I will miss them a lot!!! Although maybe I will see some of them in the USA. And now here I am in Hamburg, arived yesterday, taking my time resting up - I pushed myself a lot this week in class, and I don't think I rested enough after the audition (I kept gong to bed late and getting up early).
Next stop is Sweden for dancing, friends and family! I have started dreaming about home, so I think its a sign. Can't wait to see everyone there, but will also miss everyone here.
All my love,
Erica
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