Thoughts from a now more unbiased perspective.
Dear flist,
Well, now that I am settled in a bit more and no longer crying myself to sleep every night, here is my more unbiased opinion of this program. (Thank you, btw, to those of you who showed support when things were a bit rough at the beginning.)
The directors: Very frustrating. Prof. Lewis is a brilliant man, and him I find more bearable, though he is very eccentric and hard to talk to, sometimes. He is a good director (although he makes up 90% of his blocking on the spot), and has vast experience in this field. Prof. Added, however, the other main director of the program, is a disorganized mess. This I wouldn't necessarily mind so much, except she refuses to take responsibility for any of that, and lays the blame on the students when things go wrong as a result of lack of organization or information. Prof. Lewis is a bit like this too, but not as bad as she is. Overall, I feel that the program suffers because of these issues.
The students: Very fun. Today I had dinner with a group of them at a bar/cafe/restaurant, and we had a great time. They all seem to get along great, and everyone wants to hang out with everyone else. We've had a great time exploring the town together, and everyone is really smart and talented. A+ on that front.
The food situation: Dismal. If they were going to make us fend for ourselves, they should have at least planned the rehearsal schedule so we're not always busy at mealtimes. We've all been living on a diet of bread and cheese and fruit from the grocery store because restaurants are never open when we want them to be. This is Europe, things are only open when people need them. It's not like America, where people eat 24/7. I ate at my first restaurant today, since I've been here.
The french teacher: Awesome. I love him. He's completely insane. It's great.
The opera: I'm having fun with this opera. It's not very serious, it's pretty farcical, but it's very fun. And I play a complete tramp, which is sort of a break from tradition for me... :)
The master classes: If they're all like the one that was today, I don't think I'll go to anymore. It was four hours long, and I didn't learn a single thing. This lady had no idea what she was saying. With my piece, for example, I sang through it three straight times and that was my entire session. She didn't really work with me on anything. The only thing she told me to do was take it faster. Thank you, that's not helpful.
Overall, I think the program is a great experience, and I'm glad I'm here. I think it could be so much better, though, if it was organized properly. This is my first one of these, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it seems that even if the directors DO know what's going on, they never pass that information along to us, so all the students are left in the dark. Prof. Lewis teaches in Texas, and I'm told by the students here who attend his university that things are the same way there, because he does not share information with his students. I feel like there are probably programs that excel far beyond this one.
What I do like about this one, I'm finding, are the things that the program is not providing. I like the students, I like that my french is improving, and I like just being able to hang out in France. But I could do that without having paid exhorbitant sums of money. And probably for a bit of a shorter time. And people could come with me if they wanted.
Well, now that I am settled in a bit more and no longer crying myself to sleep every night, here is my more unbiased opinion of this program. (Thank you, btw, to those of you who showed support when things were a bit rough at the beginning.)
The directors: Very frustrating. Prof. Lewis is a brilliant man, and him I find more bearable, though he is very eccentric and hard to talk to, sometimes. He is a good director (although he makes up 90% of his blocking on the spot), and has vast experience in this field. Prof. Added, however, the other main director of the program, is a disorganized mess. This I wouldn't necessarily mind so much, except she refuses to take responsibility for any of that, and lays the blame on the students when things go wrong as a result of lack of organization or information. Prof. Lewis is a bit like this too, but not as bad as she is. Overall, I feel that the program suffers because of these issues.
The students: Very fun. Today I had dinner with a group of them at a bar/cafe/restaurant, and we had a great time. They all seem to get along great, and everyone wants to hang out with everyone else. We've had a great time exploring the town together, and everyone is really smart and talented. A+ on that front.
The food situation: Dismal. If they were going to make us fend for ourselves, they should have at least planned the rehearsal schedule so we're not always busy at mealtimes. We've all been living on a diet of bread and cheese and fruit from the grocery store because restaurants are never open when we want them to be. This is Europe, things are only open when people need them. It's not like America, where people eat 24/7. I ate at my first restaurant today, since I've been here.
The french teacher: Awesome. I love him. He's completely insane. It's great.
The opera: I'm having fun with this opera. It's not very serious, it's pretty farcical, but it's very fun. And I play a complete tramp, which is sort of a break from tradition for me... :)
The master classes: If they're all like the one that was today, I don't think I'll go to anymore. It was four hours long, and I didn't learn a single thing. This lady had no idea what she was saying. With my piece, for example, I sang through it three straight times and that was my entire session. She didn't really work with me on anything. The only thing she told me to do was take it faster. Thank you, that's not helpful.
Overall, I think the program is a great experience, and I'm glad I'm here. I think it could be so much better, though, if it was organized properly. This is my first one of these, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it seems that even if the directors DO know what's going on, they never pass that information along to us, so all the students are left in the dark. Prof. Lewis teaches in Texas, and I'm told by the students here who attend his university that things are the same way there, because he does not share information with his students. I feel like there are probably programs that excel far beyond this one.
What I do like about this one, I'm finding, are the things that the program is not providing. I like the students, I like that my french is improving, and I like just being able to hang out in France. But I could do that without having paid exhorbitant sums of money. And probably for a bit of a shorter time. And people could come with me if they wanted.