Thursday, April 27, 2006

Home is where the heart is!

Well, I’ve been to New York City and back, and I can’t say that I was impressed. I probably would have enjoyed it more if:

1) The weather had been better. Most of the time we were there it was cold and rainy. On Sunday we went out to the Statue of Liberty, which was a big mistake. I have been wetter before (Disney World in the summer) but never as cold and wet as I was that day. The wind was blowing, it was raining hard, and the temperature was probably in the 40’s.

2) I was not pregnant. New York requires a lot of walking and I was foolish enough to think that I would be able to handle it. By the end of the first day there, my legs ached so much that I thought I was going to have to have knee surgery. No joke. And shopping just isn’t much fun when anything you buy (except fake purses) won’t fit you for another 6 months. Not to mention the flights of stairs I had to climb to get to those wonderful fake purses. By the way, I’m now the owner of two beautiful Coach purses, a Prada, and a Chloé.

3) My husband was there. I missed Brandon. Of course, if Brandon had been with us, he probably wouldn’t have allowed me to go outside in the rain, which would have basically kept me stuck in the hotel for four days. However, if I do return to New York, I would like it to be with my husband.

4) I had come home healthy. I got sick the last day we were there (probably has something to do with being out in the cold rain the day before) and have just been miserable since. And to top it all off, I've passed it along to Brandon--poor guy.

Overall, I just don’t think New York is for me. Brandon teases me all the time and says he married a “city girl,” but in all honesty, I’m not really a city girl. I missed nature. I hated how crowded it was everywhere I went. I despised the subway (it’s no London’s Tube!). I wasn’t even impressed by Times Square and all the lights.

What I was impressed with were my students. I am so proud of them! Not just because they didn’t give me any major problems, but because they realized how much they’ve learned. Not only did they sing their little hearts out, but they had wonderful stage etiquette (and were appalled by the schools that did not) and they realized just how much more I demand of them than the other directors did of their students. In class they may think I’m being nit-picky, but when they heard other students mispronounce words or not flip an “r” it really bothered them, and that means I’m doing my job right and they’re learning!

It was a good trip and the kids had a wonderful time. I think I had a taste of what parenting will be like!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Welcome back! Glad you and your students were able to go. What an experience - even if a rainy one.

Jana Swartwood said...

At least now you can say you've been to New York. I think experiencing "the experience" is half the point of going. (This from the girl who has never been.) But I think you should try it again when you're (a) not pregnant and (b) not with students. You could go to real Broadway shows! What's better than that?

Maybe I should come, too, so Brandon doesn't get stuck having to do the whole Broadway deal. :)

Christie said...

Actually, we did go to real Broadway shows! (OK, one Broadway and one off Broadway.) We saw Beauty and the Beast, which I had already seen (in Tulsa), but I have to say that the Broadway version far surpasses the travelling company version! AND we had seats in the front three rows! We were so close I could see the performers microphones! We must have attended on a really good night, because the audience response was amazing and you could tell that the performers really appreciated it and they were having a great time too. It was the best musical I've ever seen, and that includes Les Mis in London!

We also got to see Blue Man Group, which was equally fantastic, but in a different way. I think Blue Man is one of the most interesting shows I've ever seen, probably because the audience is so involved in the actually performance. In case anyone ever has the opportunity to see them, I don't want to give anything away, but it is truly an interactive experience. My students LOVED it. The adults loved it. It's really a statement about artistic expression.

I know my last entry sounded pretty negative, but we really did have a great trip!

Jana Swartwood said...

You mean the Broadway version was better than the mechanical system breaking in the middle of the Beast's transformation? :)

Christie said...

Uh...yeah.

On second thought, there really is no comparison. They could have been tone deaf and danced around in their underwear and it still would have been better than that. I remember that being a huge disappointment.

Anonymous said...

I didn't get all the info cause I read quickly, but were you making fun of your Dad????
Something about me being "tone deaf" and "dancing around in my underwear?"
I didn't know anyone was watching!!!
Love,
Dad

Jana Swartwood said...

EW! So totally TMI....