NYC.

The choir went on a trip to New York City just recently. We were priviledged enough to sing Carmina burana at Carnegie Hall there. It was an interesting experience which can be summed up in three words: Trains, treading, and food. I wish food started with a "t"... Drat.

So, anyway. Many of us began the trip with a long train ride from Chicago to NYC. The scheduled time for the trip was 20 hours. We, however, experienced seven hours of delays, and so we arrived at 1:30 am. I was one of a group of mostly girls who decided to just walk 10 blocks to the hotel. It gave us a good idea of the city right off the bat; still crowded, still very lit-up, but with more sleeping people on the street.

We spent most of the time before the performance either walking, eating, or planning what to eat next. Food happens to be a big issue when you don't have a kitchen with you. I got some of the cheapest ($.99 pizza from a street corner) and most expensive ($30 for a sandwich) food I've ever purchased in my life. I hope it all evened out in the end. As a plus side, the food here was drastically better than the last time I went to New York City; really bad pizza and extremely bland lasagna come to mind... My high school friends and I still talk about it bitterly.

The performance itself was more eventful than I was even expecting. (To be sure, it wasn't the-best-experience-of-my-life-and-everything-else-is-just-an-anticlimax, but it was still pretty cool.) I got to play an Orff instrument (alto metallophone) along with six other girls in front of over 2000 audience members, most of whom were not associated with us directly. At Carnegie Hall. I am aware that it was a marketting scheme for the hall and our hotel to get money; there was a whole concert series of people from around the country just to perform at the hall, and, when one girl decided to inform the concierge, "we're singing at Carnegie Hall!" the lady didn't even bat an eye. People do this all the time. Nothing special. All the same, I got a good look inside a copyrighted hall from the view of the performer, and got to perform at a well-known hall in New York. The situation might be somewhat contrived, but, it's probably the last chance I'll get.

I don't want to go to New York again. Too bright, too loud, too scary, too big... but it was a good opportunity and I'm glad I went. (It was required, but I'm still glad I went!)