se mon amor, se mon orange

Last night I went to the opera. Wipe that look off your face. Don’t look so shocked. Yes. I’m in a foreign country and I went to the opera. I’m just that cool.

It was Prokofiev’s “The Love of Three Oranges” and it was hysterical. There was a lobster telephone, a deadly cactus, and cans of orange soup that turned into princesses. And a near-fatal case of hypochondria.

A friend of a friend is in the opera company that came to town to perform it, so a large group of seven girls got tickets and trekked there. Lovely experience. I think one of the older men in the audience thought I was actually in the opera even though I looked nothing like any of the characters. He asked me what language we were singing in. I asked him to repeat the question then said I wasn’t singing but the language is French. I was entertained. Maybe he thought I was a member of the orchestra? I wasn’t really dressed like that, though. Who knows? Maybe I just look well-informed about the opera. Yeah, right. Sure.

I think my favorite class [I know all of you are SO interested to know] is the one about general political theory. It’s excellent. And abstract. And there’s a lot of fodder for discussion, which means the tutorials are easy to participate in. Which means the entire hour isn’t silent and awkward; people actually contribute and have opinions.

I’m going to see Teddy Thompson in concert tomorrow night! So excited.

And then Noah and the Whale is playing at the same place in March. YES. And the place is only about 10 minutes from my dorm, which means I have more time to spend just before the show at the hot chocolate and coffee place (with Ashley!) directly across the street from the venue. Wonderful.