More from Sopot
Dziendobry! (zshee-in dough-bree)
We have now done four performances, and aside from a two-hour rehearsal this afternoon, are finally getting to relax a bit. We've been working very hard in the past few days learning our music and preparing for these performances. A significant portion of the Chorus (especially basses) are new to the group specifically for this tour, and we've had a lot of catching up to do. Everyone is highly motivated, and has taken a lot of initiative to get things done. We're already much better than we were a week ago!
If it works right, there's a link to the Sopot visitor's guide at the top of the page. I thought you'd like to see the town. It was a popular resort town before the second World War, when Germany plundered its natural resources and essentially ruined after the economy. After the war, Russian communism inhibited the road to economic recovery. It was in the 1980s when an anti-communist movement called "Solidarity" came along and led to Poland's succession from the USSR. Since then, Sopot has flourished, becoming once again a wonderful vacation spot.
A typical day here goes like this:
7:30 - wake up, shower
8:00 - breakfast at the hotel (they serve cereal, bread, provolone cheese, ham, and hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs.)
8:45 - Leave hotel for Christ Church. This congregation has been hosting us, and was the venue for our first Festival concert Tuesday night. We'll be singing specifically for the church on Sunday.
9:00 - Rehearse
[mid-day] Judged performance at St. George's Cathedral on Monte Cassino Street
[after that] Lunch on-our-own - the church is located within a short walk of Sopot's pedestrian area, Monte Cassino Street. Shops and restaurants aboud.
3:00 - Rehearse
5:00 - Return to hotel, dinner
[after that] Free time - attend other festival concerts, visit the town in groups, stay at hotel and play cards
So you can see we keep pretty busy, but still find plenty of time to relax. Tomorrow, we might go up to Gdansk (another little resort town nearby) and hang out.
We have enjoyed nothing but hospitality from the Poles. After our performance this afternoon, one lady came by where a number of us were gathered and started speaking very nicely to us in Polish. She was so delighted, she realized we couldn't understand her and she just started saying "America! America!" with a beautiful smile on her face. We were all very flattered, and could only say back to her "Dzien cyen" (zsheen coo-yen), which means "Thank you." Minutes later, we were walking back to Christ Church when a man working in his garden stopped us. He reached over his fence and handed one of our girls a rose picked from his own garden. He knew a little English, and told us his name was Dawidow (Dah-vee-doff). His children Mike and Molly Dawidow and their adult son Mikey are ministers at the Christ Church and have been a wonderful help to all of us.
Coming up: Our final concert in Sopot and the results of the festival.
We have now done four performances, and aside from a two-hour rehearsal this afternoon, are finally getting to relax a bit. We've been working very hard in the past few days learning our music and preparing for these performances. A significant portion of the Chorus (especially basses) are new to the group specifically for this tour, and we've had a lot of catching up to do. Everyone is highly motivated, and has taken a lot of initiative to get things done. We're already much better than we were a week ago!
If it works right, there's a link to the Sopot visitor's guide at the top of the page. I thought you'd like to see the town. It was a popular resort town before the second World War, when Germany plundered its natural resources and essentially ruined after the economy. After the war, Russian communism inhibited the road to economic recovery. It was in the 1980s when an anti-communist movement called "Solidarity" came along and led to Poland's succession from the USSR. Since then, Sopot has flourished, becoming once again a wonderful vacation spot.
A typical day here goes like this:
7:30 - wake up, shower
8:00 - breakfast at the hotel (they serve cereal, bread, provolone cheese, ham, and hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs.)
8:45 - Leave hotel for Christ Church. This congregation has been hosting us, and was the venue for our first Festival concert Tuesday night. We'll be singing specifically for the church on Sunday.
9:00 - Rehearse
[mid-day] Judged performance at St. George's Cathedral on Monte Cassino Street
[after that] Lunch on-our-own - the church is located within a short walk of Sopot's pedestrian area, Monte Cassino Street. Shops and restaurants aboud.
3:00 - Rehearse
5:00 - Return to hotel, dinner
[after that] Free time - attend other festival concerts, visit the town in groups, stay at hotel and play cards
So you can see we keep pretty busy, but still find plenty of time to relax. Tomorrow, we might go up to Gdansk (another little resort town nearby) and hang out.
We have enjoyed nothing but hospitality from the Poles. After our performance this afternoon, one lady came by where a number of us were gathered and started speaking very nicely to us in Polish. She was so delighted, she realized we couldn't understand her and she just started saying "America! America!" with a beautiful smile on her face. We were all very flattered, and could only say back to her "Dzien cyen" (zsheen coo-yen), which means "Thank you." Minutes later, we were walking back to Christ Church when a man working in his garden stopped us. He reached over his fence and handed one of our girls a rose picked from his own garden. He knew a little English, and told us his name was Dawidow (Dah-vee-doff). His children Mike and Molly Dawidow and their adult son Mikey are ministers at the Christ Church and have been a wonderful help to all of us.
Coming up: Our final concert in Sopot and the results of the festival.
posted by Allen J P at
05:41
1 Comments:
HA I know where you are! I was really confused until I saw Gdansk.
Sound like fun =)
By
Anonymous, at 19/5/06 10:44
Post a Comment
<< Home