Inkling

I’m quiet upset right now. We were just given the travel information for Saturday. I am not only the first person to leave, but I have to fly to Moscow by myself before flying to Sweden. I’m so nervous; I’ve never felt so upset about being by myself before. It’s out of character for me to feel nervous about traveling, but after spending a few days here, I feel that this wariness is warranted. This is Russia, not Europe; a girl should not travel solo, especially if that girl is an American. Plus…the Russian and American spies were just traded a few days ago in Vienna, and this does not feel like a good time to go jet setting around this country (haha)! I don’t know what to do, I should have realized this before, but I didn’t look at my itinerary close enough before getting here (plus Moscow was spelled Moscau, which didn’t register right away!) I asked the staff about what I can do, and there really isn’t anything…besides go and be cool. I think I just need to sleep off this uneasiness…

Other than that it was a fine day in St. Petersburg. I can’t eat anything here, my stomach has been pretty messed up for the past few days and none of the food looks appetizing at all. We are served 2 course meals at the hotel restaurant, but I think all of this food made in mass amounts has taken its toll on my tummy (especially the food from the Estonian Motel!)…not to mention that the water is pretty gross, and I never feel clean after a shower!

The morning began with a rehearsal at the concert hall. It’s definitely the best one we’ve played in during this tour. One of the pieces only has one percussionist, so the rest of us took the hour to walk around. We saw the music school, the famous Mariinsky Theatre, and a huge statue of Rimsky-Korsakov. Then, as we made our way back, Leann ran up to me to tell me that John Malkovich was outside the concert hall. We have no reason why this actor was hanging out, but it was cool to see an American celebrity…

As soon as we returned to the hotel, Leann and I went to the front desk. Neither of our rooms had air-conditioning, and it was a miserablely hot night. Most of the other rooms were just fine, and it seemed ours were the only ones acting as saunas. I asked the front desk to switch us in the morning, but they said no, and just put a fan in our room. But, it was unacceptable, so we complained again, and this time they gave us new rooms. I guess they could take one American complaining, just not two! As soon as my roommate and I moved into the new room (that was just down the hall), we took the best naps ever!

It was a very short nap, though, since we had to be back on the buses at 5pm to go to the concert hall. We had another great concert! It was so surreal to play music by Russian composers in Russia….Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky would be proud! :) The audience was actually very responsive (we played all 3 encores), which is accomplishment considering the serious venue.

Tomorrow will be a packed last day. I’ve had a great time on tour, but am very eager to get back home. I hope that I can shake off these nerves soon, and everything goes well.