Oh For Fun!

I Sad

After I played my audition, as the jury was deliberating, I realized how badly I wanted this job.  I had this funny moment where it suddenly dawned on me that I wanted nothing more than to move to Norway.  Leading up to the audition I felt very wary of thinking too much about actually winning.  But this morning I woke up and I felt total sure that I wanted the job, total sure that I loved Bergen, and totally sure that I was in fact going to win.   I played well.

There were only two people auditioning for this job.  . 

I came in second.

Interestingly, I feel fine about the results from a viola perspective.  I don't know what they were looking for, but I felt happy with how I played.  I sounded like myself, which isn't always the case.  I felt like I showed the jury an honest representation of who they would be hiring if they chose to hire me.  Surprisingly, my viola feelings are not hurt very much at all. 

But I really thought I was going to move here.  I really allowed myself to look at this town as if I were about to move here.  And now I am really heartbroken.  I thought that if I followed my little whim all the way to Norway, something magical would happen. 

I don't really understand.

Bergen is Rainy

I am totally digging Bergen, Norway.  It has been raining cats and dogs, and it is pretty cold, but the people are super friendly and the whole place looks like a postcard.  Rumor has it that it will be sunny and warm on Friday, so I am looking forward to seeing this place in all of it's glory. 

Traveling alone (in a country I know next to nothing about) is really interesting.  It was easy for me to jump on the plane and come to Norway, but now that I am here I feel pretty shy.  It is hard for me to admit I have no idea what I am doing, but I reveal myself in a thousand different ways with every interaction that I have here.   This is why I came here and why I would move here if I won the audition on Friday- to feel challenged and to learn how to be okay with doing things that will probably make me look stupid.   So far the Norwegians have been very kind to this silly American.

I ate the most delicious piece of salmon I have ever tasted in the fish-market today.  I am going to try to bring some of that stuff home. 

One of the upsides of all of the rain is the rainy weather apparel.  Rain boots!  All of the kids (and many of the adults) wear them.  I think rain boots are adorable.  The kids get all decked out in full rain gear.  Rain coats, rain pants, and rain boots.  It's pretty cute to see a group of ten six-year-olds all dressed in brightly colored plastic.

I was too shy to take a bunch of pictures, but the "traditional Norwegian breakfast" buffet at my hotel was pretty eye opening.  Apparently, Norwegians enjoy eating a variety of cold cuts and all manner of spreadable fish in the morning. 

Eww...spreadable fish.

I'll write more later!

Whoa

Well.  I made it to Norway in one piece.   I am too tired to process anything right now.  I am also too tired to eat any of the weird smelly fish I see in every shop.  Bergen, Norway feels very far away from every other place, but it is cute and I am looking forward to wandering around tomorrow.  But first there will be sleeping.

Whim Accomplished

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware" -Martin Buber

I'm off to Norway.  Wish me luck people! 

Norwegian is Funny

Since I am leaving for Norway tomorrow, I thought tonight might be the perfect time to learn some Norwegian.  Ha!  Make sure you have the sound on when you click this.

I really hope I get the opportunity to use this phrase while I am in Norway.   I'm pretty sure that now that I know the word for cake (krumkake), I know all the Norwegian I am ever going to need.

Money

1 Norwegian krone = 0.158331 U.S. dollars

Uh oh.  I have a very bad feeling about my ability to understand how much money I will be spending next week.  I can barely keep track of my dollars- keeping track of my Norwegian kroner seems highly unlikely. 

Sunshine

So, I'm taking an audition in Norway. 

When I tell people I am taking an audition in Norway I get wide range of responses, from super positive, to insultingly grouchy.  But there is one factor almost everyone asks about: winter darkness.

How much darkness is there?

Frankly, until tonight I have been too scared to delve deeply into this issue.  At one point, before I bought my plane ticket, I saw a chart that indicated there was never a period of total darkness in Bergen, Norway.  Once I had that tidbit of information I pushed the whole issue out of my mind and into the box in under my bed labeled "Too Strange/Scary/Exciting To Think About Right Now." 

Well, tonight I mustered up the courage to figure out what is going on with the daylight in Bergen. 

In all of the following graphs Gray=Darkness, Blue=Dawn, Yellow=Sunshine, Red=Dusk

The numbers along the bottom of the graphs are the months, and the numbers along the right side of the graphs are the hours of the day.

Here is a daylight chart of Buffalo, NY

 

Look how sensibly the sun treats us Western New Yorkers.  Plenty of time for sleeping and for playing outside.  Thanks Sun!

Here is a daylight chart for Bergen, Norway:

Whaaaa?  Am I to understand there is only ONE hour of darkness in late June?!  I was worried about too much dark, now I'm worried about too much light.  Shove off, Sun!

Here is a daylight chart of Reykjavik, Iceland:

 

Dang!  Ain't nobody sleeping in the summertime in Reykjavik!

Well, cheer up Reykjavikians, at least you don't live at Amundson-Scott (the U.S. station on Antarctica):

The world is weird.

Flustery

I have this week off from work- THANK YOU SWEET LORD!  I desperately need this week to practice for the Norwegians.  I am having trouble focusing, and trust me, I really really really need to be focused while I practice for this audition. 

I am just plain flustered. 

One second I am calmly practicing, and then suddenly I realize I have flown away into some sort of daydream/anxiety.   

About an hour ago, while practicing, I realized that I am a complete nut job who can't play the viola and what in the hell do I think I am doing flitting off to NORWAY?!   

Five minutes later, I was daydreaming about my future Norwegian boyfriend (Osvald) and all of the blond, downhill skiing babies we will have.

There are millions of variations of this mind game.

I. Am. Flustered.

The good news is that I booked myself a fancy hotel, so at least I can bring Osvald back to a respectable place after my post audition drinking.  On second thought, we'll go to his place. I shouldn't sully my fancy hotel with a scoundrel like Osvald.  He can be a troublemaker when he drinks.

It's On

Look out Norway, cause here I come. 

I just bought a ticket to Norway.  Gulp.  I don't even want to talk about what the ticket cost me, and Lord knows where I am going to sleep while I am there, but the deed is done.  I am leaving on an airplane in 18 days to take an audition in Norway.  Whaaaa?! 

Good heavens.  The audition is three weeks from TOMORROW. 

I feel a little wobbly.

I'm just going to cross my fingers and pray that whatever happens with the audition, my trip will be fufilling and fun. 

It will be.

...right?

Norway?

You guys, I just don't know what to do.  Audition.  Bergen, Norway.  Many dollars.  Three weeks.

Should I go into debt to take an audition for an orchestra I've never heard, in a country I've never visited?  Exactly how far should I take this little "I want to move to Europe for no good reason" whim?

Am I for real?

Seriously, who slipped me the crack?