By the end of my month there, I think I can say that I adapted fairly well to life there. I wouldn't say that I learned to fit in but rather that I learned not to stand out. Which is to say, I could navigate the city, public transportation, the grocery store, and restaurants without causing trouble, holding up lines, or drawing extra attention to myself. I used all the Czech I had at my disposal on numerous occasions and was quite proud of myself for that. If traveling again to a non-English speaking country, I will be sure to study the language a bit harder before I leave! (A word of advice: Don't just learn how to ask directions in a lanugage; make sure you know some of the words people will be using when they reply to you. Pointing only gets you so far.) Some people argued that since pretty much everyone speaks English over there, there's really no point in learning other languages. It's true, I know people who get around just fine with English. However, Rick Steves says in his travel guide (and I agree) that making even a tiny bit of effort to say hello in the local language wins you extra points with ticket sellers, waitresses, and just about anyone you need to help you. It also shows that you respect the country and the culture that you are temporarily inhabiting.
This experience used all of the skills I have - I had to speak a foreign language (Okay, about the 20 words of Czech I know, but even my spanish came in handy pronouncing some things at a restaurant called "El Cid"), organize like crazy to get through everything I wanted to see, play violin, read a map, navigate a city, learn history about the fascinating things I was seeing, and write. I feel like it really pushed me to the limit of what I knew how to do and more. After all, if I got lost or didn't pay attention I could end up stuck somewhere where I didn't speak the language or have a way to get back to the dorm.
The musical experience was absolutely amazing. After talking to some people about my experience and who have read previous entries, it seems like I've given the impression that I went somewhere where crazy Czech teachers beat up on my playing for no good reason. I don't think I gave that impression and it certainly wasn't my intent, so let me correct that now. I had a combination of Czech and American teachers, all of whom were fantastic players themselves and were perfectly able to demonstrate what they were teaching. They all pointed out a number of bad habits I have (often the same habit was pointed out by more than one teacher) which I also observed in my own playing. Yes, I was frequently upset and frustrated with my playing, but it wasn't because the teachers were unkind. It was because I saw more clearly than ever before just how much work I need to do to become a real violinist. And after these lessons and practicing sessions working on my own playing, I went to three concerts a week where my peers played at a level that I'm not accustomed to seeing people my age (or younger) play at. Musically, it was an incredibly humbling experience. I wouldn't say all of it was fun, exactly, but it needed to happen. I am so, so grateful I had this. It put a lot of things in perspective for me and that is exactly what needed to happen at this point in my life. I'm going to be a senior in college, I'm thinking about graduate school and ultimately, my career. It's time to be more serious than ever about making sure that I play the violin as well as possible.
So if anyone is looking for a music festival I would highly recommend IMAP. You get several lessons a week with different teachers, coachings with fantastic chamber players, and to live in a really beautiful city. You have free time on weekends to travel. You get to go to the most amazing concerts and, best of all, you have a lot of time to practice.
On a lighter note, let me just say that the first American grocery store I went to at home was a Whole Foods Market and I nearly wept with joy to see English ingredient lists and to have the cashier speak to me in English. ;-)
0 comments:
Post a Comment