Discovering Alsace:

On Sunday January 25th, Syracuse sponsored a “Discovering Alsace” excursion. It was a lovely way to spend a normally very quiet day of the week, and see a little bit more of this famous region.

We boarded the bus at 8:45 am for a 9:00 departure. Sure enough however, one of our fellow music students Tom (a guitarist) called Julia (a clarinetist) at 8:40, saying that he just woke up and was throwing on clothes as they spoke. We heard periodic updates from Julia as Tom ran to the tram station (about a 15 minutes walk from his house), then seeing that there were no Trams, began to sprint across town. We were all holding our breaths wondering if he’d make it. Luckily, the French version of staring on time is a little more relaxed. Just as we were about to pull away, we see him emerging in the distance. We cheered as he ran onto the bus, and collapsed in a seat. Pretty impressive for a guy who doesn’t really do much physical activity, but needless to say he was pretty soar the next day.

We drove about 30 minutes or so until we got to Haut-Koenigsbourg, which is a major medieval castle in the Alsace. This castle is beautifully situated in the Vosges, and has everything a castle should have to offer. Lots of stone, spiral staircases, old rooms, etc. Although it was quite chilly, (inside and out) it was interesting to see. It is unlike many castles I had seen; the only way to describe it is “uniquely Alsatian”. One interesting fact our guide told us was that the spiral staircase was built with the stairs going the opposite way they normally do, so that the knight could better defend it. C’était intéressant!













After the castle, we boarded our purple bus (complete with butterflies) and drove to Eguisheim, a little Alsatian village on the “route du vin” for lunch. We had a long (almost 2.5 hours) glorious lunch. This little restaurant specialized in wild boar, which was fun for many to try. They made me a steak-like piece of meat with steamed veggies. Since I couldn’t eat dessert, they brought me out a huge apple, which was sweet of them. I especially liked the espresso, quite smooth and creamy tasting.



Like many French events, lunch ran long, which put us a little bit behind schedule. We had a quick walk around both Eguisheim and Colmar, a nearby city. The more I see of the Alsatian villages, the more I like the quaint, beautiful and unique style. The small town squares are complete with large fountains and brick roads. The small narrow cobblestone streets and the unique German/French architecture makes you feel like you are in the middle of “beauty and the beast”. I half expected the all the doors to open simultaneously and for the entire neighborhood to burst into song.








My favorite part of this excursion was by far the wine tasting. After exploring Eguisheim and Colmar, we headed to a little vineyard in Blienschwiller. This tiny, husband and wife owned wine cellar, was fun and quaint. We all crowded literally in the cellar, and listened to information about Alsatian wine, and the differences in processing and growing techniques. (Monsieur Marxe translated for those with minimal French experience) The Alsace is known primarily for its white wines, the Riesling, Pinot Grigiot, Muscat, and Gewurztraminer, and its one red: the pinot noir. I am a deep red wine fanatic at heart, and am used to drinking full-bodied Malbecs, spicy Zinfandels, and poignant Cabernets. Knowing little about the “other side”, I found that this tasting was particularly enlightening. We tried the Pinot Grigiot first, which was smooth and herbal. After came the Riesling, which was crisp and remarkably poignant. I had some negative connotations about Rieslings, thinking they were weak and too sweet, but I guess the Alsatians know what they’re doing. The Muscat was sweet, but had a startling floral nose, prominently lilac. The Gewunstraminer reminded me of butterscotch, but also had that aged oak aftertaste.






By the end of our tasting, we were quite happy and thoroughly impressed. Many of us, including my theory teacher and Monsieur Marxe, took the opportunity to by some of these bottles. They were a great price, since we were buying from the source, and they had a fun memory attached to them. After giving the little vineyard a good deal of business, we got back on the bus, and headed back to Strasbourg. Interestingly enough, on the tram ride home, nobody looked twice at us carrying our large boxes and bottles of wine. Vive la France!

Week Two

The next installment of my study abroad adventures is again being written in a café. I am sitting in café “milano” about a 15-minute walk from the Syracuse center in the middle of the student quarter. A break between lunchtime and theory has provided me with a perfect opportunity to catch up on my blog. The “greve” or the strike, due to the displeasure of the current economic situation has caused the trams to run less often today. This is my justification for not using this time to run back home or the conservatory to practice. So café exploration it is. My thé vert and carafe d’eau (green tea and class of water) provide perfect company for blog writing.

The rest of the Syracuse students arrived the following Wednesday. It was like deja-vu (literally translating to “already seen”) to see everyone unloading luggage and nervously speculating about his or her host families. I was excited to have more company, the music group is rather small and the center is quiet with only ten people. I said a quick hello, then rushed off to my first oboe lesson. I arrived at the conservatory, soaked my reeds and began pacing the hall nervously. Having known nothing about this man except for that one concert, I didn’t even have rumors about pedagogical techniques to go by. However, much to my relief, the lesson went well. Immediately upon entering, he complimented me on my audition CD and we began to small talk a little in French. I played the first movement of the Strauss Concerto for him and a Ferling etude. Because the reed making style in France is so different, he didn’t comment on my pitch level (slightly lower than his), my sound, or my reeds in general. Since reed making/critiquing is usually a good part of my lesson, it was a completely different (and more tiring) lesson to play the entire time. Interestingly enough, I understood what he was saying better than some of the conversations I’ve had with my host family. Perhaps, because I am more familiar with the subject of music. At the end of the lesson, he assigned the 2nd two movements of the Strauss (very hard and a good amount of work), and another Ferling.
I skipped home with relief and excitement.

The following day was more orientations for the rest of the students, and a presentation of the class options at the Center. For this, each professor teaching a class gave a little speech about the class and why we should take it. Completely different from the generic course descriptions. I really liked being able to hear the professor speak and ask questions; this gave us a much better feel for what the course would be like. After a quick lunch we had “official registration.” This was a rather chaotic, hectic, and slightly ambiguous experience, since 45 people had to register and only one teacher was registering us. However, everything worked out and everyone seems happy with their decisions.

While the rest of the Students had their walking tour of Strasbourg, the music students trekked to the conservatory to have a chamber music meeting. We arrived, and were met by the director of chamber music, and immediately informed that we had to play for him. This was completely unexpected and most of us were very rusty, since we had just traveled and were setting in, and furthermore hadn’t played yet that day because of morning orientations. He said it “wasn’t an audition, but just to get a general sense.” That was a bit hard to believe. Well we all took turns playing whatever we had on us or memorized, including scales, jazz improvisation and rock fiddling. I played a little bit of the Strauss, which apparently went ok, because I got put into a conservatory woodwind quintet who needed an oboe player. The director introduced me to Anne-Sophie, the flute player who was sitting quietly in the room. They talked rapidly in French, and I understood a few phrases like “she is good, she will be good for the group.” Etc. I was then given the oboe/EH part to the Nielsen quintet, and told that we would be playing it for her Conservatory chamber music exam in April.

That evening Livia invited me to go grocery shopping with her and her father in Germany. Why Germany you might ask? Well, apparently it is much less expensive, especially in the area of Gluten/Dairy free products. And it was most certainly the case. I saw things like quinoa and bread for half the price of the “petit magasin biologique” in Strasbourg. It was nice to know that there was both a convenient and more frugal option. The drive back was a bit slow, due a bit of European rush hour. However Livia taught me the word for “traffic jam” which is “button” (spelling?), and literally translates to “bottle cap”, signifying the traffic being stopped like a bottle cap preventing the liquid from escaping. This “buton” allowed us to engage in some small talk. Apparently the affinity for music runs in families in France as well. I asked Livia’s father about his work and he said “I play bassoon in the Philharmonique.”

My Residence: A room with a View

Ma Chambre


The view from my window

ma pupitre

mon lit

Living/dining room

Kitchen: La cuisine

Hallway: First door on the right is the kitchen, 2nd door my room. The stairs go upstairs to two bedrooms. The door on the left is the living/dining room.

More Pictures of Strasbourg

Another view of Petite France

Part of my walk from the Tram stop to the Syracuse Center: St. Marks Church

Tax avoidance, if your house started higher off the ground the you pay less taxes. Logic?

A Bridge in Petite France

Pictures of Strasbourg

Some Alsacian Architecture, can you see the German Influence?

A Restaraunt in Petite France, The oldest part of town


The boat Lock in Petite France

Where Mozart Played in Strasbourg


Finally: The Famous Strasbourg Cathedral

My first week in Strasbourg

1/27/09

Oh la la! I can’t believe I have been in France for almost a month. Life has been such a whirlwind of activities, orientations, getting lost, and finding myself again.

1/8/09: The next morning my host mom showed me how to make my way to the Syracuse Center. It is about a 30 minute commute in total, which includes a lovely Tram ride across town, then a 10 min. walk along the river to the center, disguised as an old house.
Upon arriving, everyone immediately began sharing stories of their first night with their new French families. Exclamations such as “Mine is really nice.” “They don’t really speak English.” Or “We had AMAZING food.” Popped up from one side of the room to the other, like popcorn cooking in a kettle.

The morning consisted of a general orientation about the center guidelines, and general SU abroad information. We were gifted a handbook, filled with all kinds of useful and versatile information. It was mind boggling to be reading about the access code to the building then turn a page and magically information about grocery stores, doctors, and public transportation would appear. These new “bibles” were, and continue to be a useful reference tool, since it is slightly difficult to memorize all the random bits of information of a foreign city. After the general orientation, Professor Stinson (cello professor at Syracuse, and fellow Interlochen grad) interviewed each of us about our chamber music past, present, future and aspirations in France.

Lunchtime arrived, and we were instructed to disperse into the streets, in search of French cuisine. Juliet, a Strasbourgian native, and exchange student in Syracuse this year, met a small group of us to get lunch. With her was a violinist at the Conservatoire named Livia, It was fun to chat with both of them about their experiences, and walk around the city with some “natives”. Livia and I began chatting in French, and after hearing that I was allergic to Gluten and Dairy, showed me where a natural foods store was in the center of town! I was literally like a kid in a candy store. Excitedly looking around and seeing the possibilities unfold right before my eyes. I had a quinoa salad, and some chip-like things. I then giddily skipped along with the group, munching my quinoa, while they munching their baguettes. Livia and Juliet escorted us to the Cathedral for our walking tour of Strasbourg. We walked all over the city, with Madame Hardenberg as our guide. We saw the famous cathedral, the place Mozart played when he came to Strasbourg, petite France (the oldest part of town), and downtown. It was absolutely frigid, my hands and feet completely numb by the end, but very helpful nonetheless to have an orientation of the city. One of my favorite parts was petite France, which used to the leather tanner center in town. It is picturesque, with little Alsatian houses lining the river and tiny corner Brasserie’s and Café’s. It is apparently the most photographed part of Strasbourg.

Saturday night we attended a concert by the Philharmonique de Strasbourg. They played Beethoven Symphony No.1, Shostakovich 11 poems, and Nielsen Symphony No. 4. The program was a great one, diverse and dynamic. The sound of the orchestra was beautiful, especially the wind section. When the oboe first emerged, I heard a surprisingly sweet tone. The French style of oboe playing is rather bright, and European double reeds in general have a stereotype of having almost a nasty pointed sound. It was in fact quite the opposite. The oboist blended beautifully rising in and out of the texture with ease, playing both as a soloist and a chamber musician. The Beethoven was a triumphant way to start and the Shostakovich was a haunting and poignant work, elusively describing life under soviet rule. As soon as intermission started, a woman next to me started exclaiming how much she liked the oboe playing. Delighted, I engaged in a musical and energetic conversation. She used to be a saxophone player and still enjoyed concerts. It was a fun and heartwarming way to be introduced to the symphonic side of the city.

The next morning, we attended another concert. Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire de Soldat” (A solders tale) is a unique piece, about an hour long, written for violin, bassoon, bass, trombone, trumpet, and actor. It is a story of a solder who meets a devil and then is convinced to trade his violin for a book. (Even though he can’t read, which apparently didn’t matter with this “special” book.) It was of course a long and arduous journey for the solder to get his violin back, which is somewhat expected when you make a deal with a creature with horns. The musicians were great- Stravinsky’s rhythms are far from easy. However the actor stole the spotlight in this performance. Although it was performed in French, his expression and superb acting made the language barrier seem relatively non-existent. He marched around the stage, going between the devil, the solder and the narrator. I found out later he was only an acting student at the “Academie de Theatre a Strasbourg”. The performance was again a great addition to my first weekend in Strasbourg.

I returned to my house after the concert, had a quick lunch, then left for a little excursion in the Vosges. My host family has a little cottage in the Vosges Mountains, which they like to use as a "weekend get away". They took me to a little park, to walk around a little and to get a taste of the Vosges. The lookout was an old stone church on the side of a mountain. It was surrounded by trees but cleared to a gorgeous above the tree line view of the Vosges. In one direction, Strasbourg looked like a toy town, and in the other direction untouched mountains rose out of the mist at the tree line. It was a calming and enchanting, and surprising that this new world existed only 40 minutes from the city of Strasbourg.

The next few days were filled with mostly conservatory orientations, and the beginning of our music classes. On Monday, we met at the conservatory, got our ID’s, a tour, and a general information session. As all of us sat around a table, as if in a business meeting Professor Waggoner and Stinson translated the general policies and procedures of the Conservatory. Since the conservatory “cycles” don’t match up with our semesters, and the French are slightly less organized, it was a little confusing to try to figure out our schedules. However, we received our studio assignments and I found out that I would be studying with the Principle oboist of the Strasbourg Philharmonique! I immediately thought of the concert, and how much I was impressed by the oboist’s musicality. My insides bubbled with excitement, as my mind raced with thoughts of practice to do’s, future repertoire and speculation on what I could learn this semester.

Strasbourgian Begginings

I write now, like a good Frenchwoman at a Café/Brasserie I am drinking both green tea and an Alsatian white wine, and it is about 3:00 in the afternoon. It is hidden a bit in the local square, not too far from the Strasbourg Cathedral. It is a Wi-fi spot, but I am the only one on a computer. It is quite a relaxing atmosphere, where people are mostly reading the newspaper, or chatting with friends. You might be thinking, “How did I get to Strasbourg? The last I read you were in Paris at a concert.” Well, now that everything has settled a bit I can begin to recount the beginning of my Strasbourgian adventures.

The next day (after the orchestra concert) our group departed early, to take the metro to the train station. This was no small ordeal for much of the group, because many of them brought a lot of large luggage. The Paris metro has small openings, lots of stairs, and on top of that it was prime commuting hour. Despite this chaos, we arrived safely (and without anyone getting lost) to the train station. We took a TGV (one of the new fast trains) to Strasbourg. It was a nice train and the view was lovely and scenic. It was relaxing to read and nap a little.

When we arrived, Madam Marxe, a Strasbourg native and coordinator of the Syracuse program here, met us in Strasbourg. We traveled by taxi to the Syracuse center, which is an old house in an old, lovely neighborhood converted into a bunch of classrooms. We set down our stuff, and took a break to grab lunch. After lunch, we had a preliminary orientation about host family etiquette, the public transportation systems, etc. Everything seemed pretty overwhelming; lots of new information about a city we were not at all familiar with seemed to be buzzing around our heads like a cloud of mosquitoes. We received a pass, which works for any tram or bus. And might I add that I after a few days in Strasbourg I am thoroughly impressed with the public transportation system. The city is quite beautiful and walk able, but you can get virtually anywhere by combination of trams and busses.

After the meeting we had a few hours to ourselves, since our host families weren’t picking us up until 6 pm. everyone promptly took out their laptops to test the free wireless. After having to pay or go without wireless in Paris, we were more than eager to check our e-mails, facebooks, and skype our families and significant others. However, much to everyone’s chagrin the wireless wasn’t working. Panic stricken, everyone ran downstairs to the basement to test the Ethernet cables, and we breathed a sigh of relief as homepages began to pop up one by one. Crowded in a tiny computer room with cement block walls, like kids in a candy store we rediscovered the beauty of free Internet. Face book statuses and wall posts were being exclaimed, and skype conversations began. It was as if it were Christmas again.

After having a temporary full “internet” stomach. We decided that it was time to practice. It was difficult at best to play for the last five days, so we spread out in empty spaces and classrooms that we could find and music erupted from all corners of the building. I began to play some scales and etudes in a room next door to a classroom with a piano. The old building was mostly wood, so my sound resonated as if I were in a mini concert hall. A comforting first sound in Europe. A few minutes later, Sam, who was playing the piano next door, came in to inquire about what I was playing. I told him “just etudes right now” as he looked through my pile of music on the table. He picked up the Strauss concerto for oboe, and exclaimed, “I love Strauss! Lets read this.” It was about 15 minutes until our families were supposed to show up, so I said, “Ok, well, just the first movement I guess.” The Strauss concerto is one of the most difficult in the repertoire for oboe, because of endurance, technical facility and musicality. The piano part/orchestral reduction is hardly a cakewalk but Sam read it well, and we musically played in the “new era” of our time with our families abroad.

Waiting for our families felt like we were orphaned puppies panting wide-eyed and begging, “Pick me! Pick me! Please!” One by one, people showed up, Madam Marxe called our names, and we exclaimed “Bonne chance!” (Good luck) as we exited with our luggage. When my turn came my stomach tightened, and my eyes widened further. However I soon relaxed as my new host parents, Claude and Patricia helped me carry my luggage to the car and drove me to their apartment. They’re apartment is a nice, middle class I think, apartment adjacent to the “Latiere” stop on the Tram. They have four kids, 3 boys and one girl, two labs, and a cat. To my surprise and delight, I had my own, spacious room, with a bureau, large desk, nice bed and a bookshelf. I began to unpack my things and settle in. Yves, the oldest son, is in his last year or two at the university, studying some sort of IT work. Mauve the daughter, next oldest was gone at the moment traveling to Marseille. Hughes the next oldest is in his last year at the Lycee (their high school) and was sociable and a typical teenage boy. His girlfriend Felicite was over and she was very sweet. It was fun to chat with both of them. My French brain began to turn on, but seemingly slowly after the day of excitement and hesitation. I then sat and discussed my gluten and dairy free diet with my host mom, while she dutifully took notes. I told her what I eat in general, the least complicated things to prepare and what Gluten/dairy free products to look for. She kept exclaiming “Ca existe?” meaning “that exists?” when I described gluten free bread, soy yogurt or some such thing. I assured her that it did, but it would most likely be found in a specialty store. After continuing to unpack, we ate dinner. I listened intently to the French and tried to discern what was being discussed. Patricia kept saying “tu comprends?” meaning “you understand?” and I kept saying “oui, un peu” (yes, a little). After dinner, Claude found a cable and helped configure my computer to the internet. I commend him for this effort, since my computer is in English, and I am very grateful for the incredibly easy and reliable access. The communication with family and friends is helping me to continue to feel connected to home. After a bit of French news, chatting with Kevin on skype, I collapsed into bed, my mind still spinning from the day’s events.