There is a lot to tell and I'm so incredibly jet-lagged that it's probably best to just do the highlights, so here goes.
What I did on my summer vacation - a list in prose
1. tested into German 3 and learned the proper use of the passive tense
2. started running
3. lived with three German teachers who turned out to be some of the most amazing women I know - we laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats
4. saw Das Leben der Anderen - Martina Gedeck is my hero
5. learned Zerbinetta's scene from Ariadne auf Naxos
6. embraced my inner Samantha to get a handle on Zerbinetta's character
7. learned to knit, european-style
8. read Harry Potter 1, auf Deutsch
9. had more in-depth conversations with my father in German than we ever did in English
10. decided that it's okay to dress like a singer, walk and talk like a singer, and play the business like a singer, so long as you remember who you are on the inside when you take off the singer hat at the end of the day
11. lifted weights with my friend Katrina, the most ass-kicking girl I know. who's got two thumbs and some serious arms? THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE.
12. missed my husband and my dog like crazy
13. started reading Runners' World online. this is an illness.
14. obsessed about not having an apartment in Seattle yet
15. sang at my friend Richard's wedding - no one else would have a half hour of Bach for the prelude at their wedding but Richard. it was the social and musical event of the year.
16. cleaned out my size 12 clothes and gave it ALL to goodwill
17. purchased knee-length shorts. have yet to wear them, but think they are seriously cute.
18. lived with my friend Jaci and my niece, Camrynellachickenboo. took pictures of her sitting in the crock pot.
19. discovered the doggy play group at the park down the road
20. spent two weeks on the Bodensee and remembered why I don't live in a dorm anymore
21. went boating on the Bodensee and wore a bikini in public for the first time EVER
22. lusted after hardback volumes of Brothers' Grimm Maerchen in the original German
23. spent large amounts of time with my friend Nigel, the gay oboe teacher from Berlin
24. discussed the possibility of allowing Nigel to represent me in Europe
25. tried to figure out whether or not I look enough like Maria Callas to play her in a ballet (with makeup anything is possible)
26. cleaned out the basement
27. went running in and around the countryside, started running for longer stints
28. did programs of awful choral music that made me feel like I was in college all over again
29. managed to ward off illness in Germany with the use of saltwater up the nose and serious quantities of Salbeibonbons
30. started to learn Rita and Trouble in Tahiti
31. went into social withdrawl - watched Sex in the City on DVD while doing sit-ups and push-ups in my room
32. did my first real no knees on the floor push-ups in the history of my life (am now up to 15)
33. searched for the perfect black euro-trash tennis shoes, but to no avail
34. purchased Der kleine Prinz
35. filled in for an orchestra concert of Britten's Les Illuminations on four days' notice and received a rave review from a critic who hated the orchestra, the other singers, and the conductor, but thought I was amazing
36. went running in Killesberg Park, got stared at by Germans, aimed for the 20 minute mark
37. saw Diana Damrau in concert - she rocked my world
38. discovered that the Germans do NOT know how to make good coffee
39. spent three days with my Opa in and around Cologne and Leverkusen - saw the origins of the Hindrichs family for the last four generations, ate local food and had the best conversations with him ever. will put up pictures later.
40. realized that a lot of German sopranos sing in the back of their throat
41. went running in Bonn - straight past Beethoven's house
42. took a river cruise on the Rhine at night and drank Weizen
43. fell a little bit more in love with Helmut Rilling
44. wished I didn't have perfect pitch EVERY NIGHT as the tenor soloist sang the wrong notes
45. tasted chocolate with chili pepper in it - yum!
46. ate raw ground pork on a bun with fresh onions - this is a local dish in Cologne - and drank beer with my Opa in a department store cafe
47. reaffirmed that I really do like Benjamin Britten
48. hit the 25 minute mark on running - wahoo!
49. had a singer moment and rinsed out my sinuses with saltwater in the airplane bathroom - got very strange looks from the flight attendant when I asked for warm water and salt
50. returned home and got my luggage back in one piece
Pictures and details to follow, after I've slept for a day or two. Red Sox are playing three games against New York this weekend - go Sox!
