Settling In

The sun has come back out! There is just something so charming about a guy giving a weather report for an entire country all at once, the country being approximately the size and shape of his arm. The forecast says 66 degrees with varying levels of sunniness--every day for the next ten days. A dream come true, since it's apparently still snowing in Chicago.

There are ads for the upcoming concert posted all around the city. This city is extremely pedestrian friendly. In fact, portions of the street where I'm staying are closed to motor traffic. NZSO has a great marketing team--seriously, probably among the best in the world. Everyone who I talk to about it agrees.

Our first rehearsals were yesterday. This orchestra has double rehearsals--morning and afternoon, with a tea/coffee break in the middle of each rehearsal. The people here continue to strike me as highly laid-back and friendly. The orchestra members treat the job like a job, certainly, but they aren't really bothered by much. They seem to have good rapport, too, compared to American orchestras I've observed--maybe it's all the tea breaks. Rehearsal was tough this time around, but it will get better from here. After constantly focusing at peak concentration for five hours of rehearsal, all I could do was take a nap...then go to bed soon after.

The repertoire this week is great. This concert is considered a "special" because it's actually happening before the regular season subscription concerts. All the pieces are loud, brassy, and exciting. So rehearsals are fun, with people yelling "hey!" and rising from their seats at big cadences--doing the kinds of things that would get student orchestras in big trouble for being unprofessional. The loud repertoire also requires liberal use of my earplugs, since on the stage here the bassoons sit right in front of the trumpets. I wish I didn't have to use them so much so that I could get a better idea of what to listen for in the music, but I also don't want to go deaf.

What would a blog post be without a review of local cuisine? I went to the grocery store to stock up my apartment's fridge, and when I saw that there was, indeed, peanut butter in NZ, I had to get it. I had always been told that there is no peanut butter abroad, so this is a real triumph. The funny thing about peanut butter in NZ is that it is a gourmet item. There is even a website you can go to if you want to learn about the health benefits of peanut butter. And as you can see, this brand (there were only three brands available) won a NZ Food Award. Because it is so gourmet.

I am dying to get outside and take a big long walk, so that has to be it for now. I am already starting to have little homesick moments (I dreamed that I was at Northwestern last night), but for now there's still simply too much left to explore.