Back to Blogging after 2 years.

December 17, 2009

After my brief flirtation with blogging a couple years ago while I was in Berlin, I stopped writing altogether, mostly because I couldn’t decide what to write about, and how much of my privacy to surrender. I had fun with those first few blog entries in Berlin, but as my time there became more challenging, as I auditioned more and came up against wall after wall, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing that experience with everyone. No one wants to hear about how hard life is for singers, we all go through it, and if someone wants to hear bitching, they’ll log onto the Singer Forum. I had no interest in contributing to that. And yet, I was deeply affected by my experiences, and so I couldn’t write about anything else from a place of authenticity during the rest of my time in Berlin.

Now, two years later, after finally having achieved some success from those European auditions (three separate European audition trips, folks, 5 weeks, then 3 months, and then another two weeks to seal the deal), I am ready to write again. I’ve been spinning my wheels wondering what to write about, since there are so many things on my mind these days. Should I write a weight loss blog, to share ideas and gain support for my ongoing, life-long struggle? No, too many people are already doing that. Should I write about Thyroid Disease, PCOS, Infertility, or Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, the medical issues with which I continue to grapple? Should I write about birth? (No, my friends get enough of my natural childbirth rantings on Facebook) Should I write about what it’s like to go back to music school in your thirties? My upcoming Fest contract in Switzerland? What it’s like to emerge successfully from a vocal problem? Money problems? (God, no!) What it’s like to be an adult adoptee in communication with her biological family? Where to start?

A few of my respected friends and colleagues have teased me about posting a lot of information on my Facebook status. It’s true, when you live alone on an island where you know few people and spend a lot of time studying, Facebook can be overly alluring. Many people I know don’t post anything, but sit back like voyeurs scanning everyone else’s comings and goings, enjoying the sense that they can hold onto their personal power by remaining “mysterious.” Some people use their blogs and even Facebook and Twitter to tightly control their image, to control their “brand” in their business. And then there is me. I just let it all hang out. I have always been an open person and a communicator, and even though I want to maintain my career as a professional opera singer more than anything in the world, “branding” is no more my style than schmoozing. So I will write openly, and let the chips fall where they may.

Of course I hope that blogging will be cathartic for me, but I also hope to find kinship with those out there who struggle with some of the same issues in life, and perhaps together we can share ideas, humor and solutions. Real issues, real people, open communication.

Carry on. And Happy Holidays!

*This blog entry was written while procrastinating. My final theory paper (for my DMA in Vocal Performance) is due tomorrow. It’ll be a long night, but apparently I enjoy the pressure of putting things off until the last minute. Adrenalin junkie for sure. But aren’t we all, those of us who are performers?

How to Survive (and prevent) Audit Hell

Dear Fellow Artists,

     I am taking a detour from my normal blog subject matter, because I want to share with you my recent experience of being audited by the IRS. I hope that you will benefit from hearing about my experience, and that it will help you better prepare your taxes so that if you are ever audited, the process will go smoothly.

The first piece of advice I have for artists and individual contractors is:

Do NOT do your own taxes. I repeat, do NOT do your own taxes.

I know that none of us want to spend the money on an accountant when we can just use Tax Cut or Turbo Tax, but no matter how much research you do, you can’t possibly know as much about tax code as a certified accountant who specializes in artists’ taxes. You WILL make mistakes, and you will be held accountable for them if you are audited, even if your mistakes were made out of genuine ignorance. Another reason to have an accountant do your taxes for you, is that if you are a freelancer AND you do your own taxes, you are automatically placed in a group of people who are more likely to be audited. I know it is unfair, but now you know.

In case you are audited, here is what will happen. You will get a letter from the IRS telling you to call and set up a meeting to discuss specific parts of one or more years of your taxes. You will go through your piles of paperwork for that year and try to make sense of everything before you go to the meeting. At the first meeting, which will last several hours, the first thing the auditor will do, is take your bank statements and add up all of the deposits. If your deposits exceed your declared income, you have a problem. You will then need to explain every deposit that exceeds your income. You will rack your brain trying to remember things from years ago. You will have to call your banks, credit card companies, cellular service provider, utility companies, and anyone to whom you paid money to get statements and receipts. You will have to prove that each receipt was indeed for a business expense. You will be asked to show multiple forms of proof for your deductions. You will be asked to present a log of your business travel, events, expenditures, etc. You will jump through hoop after hoop. You will sweat, you will lose sleep, you will feel sick, and if you are like me, you might even cry over it because it is so stressful. You will feel like a spotlight is shining on your lousy spending habits and pithy income. You will feel victimized, judged, and misunderstood, and then you will get angry. The IRS will treat you as if you are guilty unless you can show multiple forms of proof that you are innocent. Hopefully you will be smart enough to get the help of an accountant who specializes in working with artists. At which point she will point out all of your mistakes and help you resolve them. She will explain the twisted logic of the IRS and go to bat for you with the auditor. She will tell you exactly what you need to do to make it all ok, and she will handle meetings and paperwork from that point forward. If you are lucky, she might even give you a hug and tell you that no, you are not a bad person, and yes, you really are relatively organized for an artist.

This is what I have been going through over the past 5 months, and I sincerely hope you don’t ever have to go through it. But if you follow my advice, then you can rest assured that even if you are ever audited, you will be in the clear.

1)   Use an accountant who comes highly recommended and who specializes in your field.

2)   Get paper statements mailed to you for every account you have, including cell phone bills, utility bills, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, IRA accounts, and credit cards. Create a folder for each account, and group accounts by year. As tempting as it is to do everything on line, you need these paper statements and the images of your checks that have cleared. Yes, this is a ridiculous waste of paper and space, but the IRS loves paper waste. If you don’t save these paper statements and you are audited, you will end up having to pay a lot of money in fees to re-order them.

3)   Save all of your receipts in large manila folders. At tax time, go through all of your receipts, and determine which receipts can be used for deductions, and how to categorize them. (More on categorizing below)

4)   Buy checkbooks that have carbons, and use those carbons as receipts. (For example, when you write a check to a coach, you can then use the carbon copy as a receipt for your records). You will also need copies of your canceled checks if you are audited, but carbons are great for your own personal use, to help you remember and categorize your expenditures.

5)   Keep a log, electronically or on paper. This should be some kind of calendar where you will indicate all of your expenses and business related appointments. (For example, May 4 dance class $15 cash, May 17 voice lesson $120 check, June 12 Flight to L.A. $345 visa). I use the calendar function in Yahoo, and I found that it works well and saves your entries from many years past.

6)   At the end of the year, go through your bank statements and add up your deposits. Compare the amount to your W2 and 1099 declared income. You will need to justify any discrepancies. Here are some examples of why there may be a discrepancy: Did you babysit / teach / sing in church / get cash gifts / tips / scholarships / grants, etc? Did you receive money from subletters that you then had to turn around and pay for your rent? Did you get a big tax refund the previous year? Did your family give you any money? If you are audited, you will need proof of any of the above, and if it falls into the “taxable income” category, you will have to pay taxes on it. If you are freelancer, the first thing an auditor will do is compare your deposits to your declared income, and try to nail you for not reporting the money you receive. Be ready.

7)   Know that if you declare a loss on your business AND you deduct a home office, you are much more likely to be audited.

8)   If you have a home office, be sure to be able to prove the square footage of the office space. Take some pictures so you'll have them on your computer if necessary. Also – remember to declare a home office only for the months that you were in town. The IRS loves to try and nail people who have a home office, so be sure to only use this deduction if you need to. 

9)   Try to pay for things by check as much as possible so that you will have the carbon and the canceled check as receipts, and always get a receipt if you can’t pay by check.

10)  If possible, use one or two separate credit cards for business expenses only. As mentioned above, keep your paper statements organized and ready. 

11)  When you are shopping, if you are buying things that could fall into two or more different deduction categories, pay for them separately so you will have separate receipts to categorize later.

12)  For all of your deductions, write on the receipt exactly what the expense is for. For example, if you get your hair done, be sure to write what gig or photo shoot you have coming up on the receipt. If you eat out with a colleague, write down their name and what business you discussed. If you buy clothing, specify “audition dress” or “concert dress”, etc. This will save you a great deal of time later.

13) If you sublet your apartment, you must keep your sublease contracts to prove that the money you received from them was not income.  Photocopy the checks they give you before you deposit them, so you can prove that the deposits reflected on your bank statements are indeed from a subletter. If you are subletting for more than you pay in rent, you must declare that extra amount as income, or prove that it was used in preparing the apartment for the subletter (cleaning supplies, etc.)

Categorize your Deductions, and have receipts for everything:

Union Dues

Agent Fees

Professional Training (lessons, coachings, etc.)

Publicity Materials, Advertising

Office supplies / Business Equipment (including postage, reprinting,          stationery, computer, piano tuning, etc.)

Sheet Music / Recordings / Study books

Trade Publications (Classical singer, Musical America, Yaptracker, etc.)

Stage Makeup / Hair

Language Training & Materials

Professional clothing

Business Gifts (backstage tips, cast gifts, etc. You may only deduct $25 per person for business gifts)

Business Meals (You may only deduct 50% of your meal)

All business travel expenses, including luggage, mileage, gasoline, train/plane/bus tickets, car rental, hotels, travel supplies, cabs, etc.

Travel Perdiem: The IRS web site will tell you the “perdiem for each city. **You are only allowed to deduct half of the perdiem. You may also deduct $3 for “tips and laundry” every day that you are on a business trip.

Home Office: Be very careful with this. Do not declare over 25% of your home as your office, and you must be able to prove it. This includes 25% of your rent and utilities. You will need a copy of your lease to prove your rent cost, as well as all of your utility bills. I suggest taking a more modest approach, like 15-20%. 

Business phone (if you only use a cell phone, you can deduct half. If you have a home phone, you can declare 75% of your cell)

Professional Viewing (theater / concert / opera tickets / films related to your field)

Tax preparation fees for previous year

Medical Expenses, including insurance premiums and prescriptions

Charitable Donations

Estimated Taxes Paid

Be sure to save and include all statements you receive for interest and dividends received, unemployment received, sale of stocks / mutual funds, IRA distributions, student loans, and Mortgage and Co-Op information.

I know how overwhelming all of this can be, but it is much easier if done in advance of an audit. You will sleep much easier knowing that your taxes are done correctly, and that you are prepared. I sincerely hope that you are never audited, but it is happening more often to people in our business. I hope this will help you prepare, but even with all of this information, please resist the temptation to do your own taxes. If you are audited, (and you are statistically more likely to be audited if you do your own taxes) you will deeply regret it. Seek out the services of a professional who specializes in working with artists’ taxes. Choose someone who has a good bedside manner, so that your auditor will be more likely to negotiate with her and respect her. This will be money well spent. Given the financial stress that we as freelancers all continually face, it is worth it to have our taxes not be an additional source of anxiety. 

Best wishes to you all!!!

Alison Trainer

Brutalities and Idiosyncrasies of the German Language

Dear Readers,
As you know, I have been terribly delinquent in keeping up with my blog entries. (Or as my good friend informed me, I've been a total flake.) I wrote the following entry back in March while I was still living in Berlin and traveling for auditions. I have much more to share, but for the moment, here is...Brutalities and Idiosyncrasies of the German Language.

I love German. Really, I do. My first German language experience was at the age of twelve, when I sang my first German Lied: Schubert’s Heidenröslein. A sweet little text with diminutive words and an elegant lilt. (I’m sure my German was less than elegant, as it was taught to me by the choir teacher at Summer Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma.) As I continued my vocal studies, I sang the songs of Schubert, Schumann and Wolf, and studied the poetry of Goethe, Rilke and Heine. The music was so entrancing, and the poetry exquisite. So imagine my surprise years later upon learning German grammar and vocabulary, to find that not all of German is beautiful. Some of the loveliest things in life are given the most heinous and graphic of German names. The word "butterfly" is commonly used as a point of comparison for different languages. In French, the word is “Papillon,” a sweet and lovely word even prettier than the English version. In German, however, the word for butterfly is “schmetterling.” Now, that isn’t the prettiest word in the world, but believe me, it gets much worse.

The German language is like the German people: capable of great elegance and beauty, yet sometimes cold, literal, direct, and with hard edges. Take for example, the German word for meat, which is “Fleisch” or literally, “flesh.” Every time I see that word on a menu, it is enough to make me want to become a vegetarian all over again. How about “Zahnfleisch”? As in, brushing your teeth regularly will keep your “Zahnfleisch” healthy. Translated into English, that word means “teeth meat,” or as we prefer to call them in English, “gums.” And downstairs next to my building, is a “Fleischerei,” or a “fleshery.” (I suppose the word “butcher” isn’t so subtle, either, but then, there are many similarities between English and German.) To this day, I can’t figure out what the word “Spital” means in German. I know what it means in English, and it is revolting. Yet all over German speaking countries, you will see “Kinderspital” or “Spitalstrasse,” “Spitalmarkt,” or “Spitalgasse”. Regardless of what it means in German, it is a nasty looking and sounding word, and for some reason the Germans seem quite proud of it.

But by far, my all time favorite word to love and hate in German is…. ...are you ready???

BRUSTWARTZEN.

Yep, you guessed it. And no, I am not kidding.

The translation of Brustwartzen is indeed: “BREASTWARTS!!!!

Seriously.

The Germans have managed to take one of the most beautiful parts of the body and turn it into something horrifying. (And they think the word “nipple” is slang!)

Some words in German are delightfully onomatopoeic, such as the word for chopsticks: “Stabchen” (“little stabbers”) and the word for a head cold, which is “Schnupfen.” I also adore the words “küsse” and “süsse,” which sound just as delicious as they are. And as most of us know, German words can extend on for miles, like the word “Jahreshauptversammlung,” which refers to an annual meeting. With words this long, I have yet to understand how one could play Scrabble in German.

In spite of all these linguistic idiosyncrasies, gross or just plain silly, German manages to redeem itself with lovely words such as “Rosenthalerstrasse,” or “Liebling.” I find these words incredibly satisfying and rich, and for all the ugly words to be found in German, there are far many more beautiful ones.

Which brings me to my love of languages in general. Last week I was in Paris, and within two days I felt like I could understand and communicate in French. Not well, of course, but well enough to experience the difference of what French feels and tastes like, verses English or the German I’ve been learning. I remember that my graduate school boyfriend, who was both a native German and English speaker, would sound like a completely different person to me in each language. I felt like I was getting a glimpse into a whole different side of him when I heard him speak German, even though at the time I didn’t understand much of it. Someone once told me that you are as many different people as the number of languages you speak. I believe that is true, and perhaps that is part of why learning a new language is so deeply satisfying. In absorbing and reproducing the rhythm, cadence, and color of a new language, we allow different parts of ourselves to rise to the surface and be heard. The experience is an unveiling of a self you didn’t know existed.

Often maddening and always humbling, learning a new language forces you to put your ego aside and start from the ground up, like a child learning something for the first time. You must be willing to sound like a complete idiot for months at a time, and not allow your ego to creep in and prevent you from even trying. When one allows the protective walls of the ego to recede into the background, what comes into the foreground is always a relief. How wonderful to know that the world doesn’t collapse when I speak in a less than brilliant manner, when I make mistakes, when I allow myself to be vulnerable and ask for help. What a relief to know that people generally don’t care if you aren’t perfect. (How silly and egomaniacal to think it could be otherwise!) When those beautiful moments happen, when you realize you just had an entire conversation in German, or you spoke to someone with words you didn’t know you had inside of you, it feels like more than just a linguistic success. It feels personal, as if you have allowed yourself to expand and briefly break free from the shackles of ego and insecurity. It is the best reward for all the patience and frustration that comes with learning a language, and it comes long before you have achieved full fluency. And so my love for German continues, in spite of my shock at words like “Zahnfleisch” and “Brustwarzen.” As long as I keep learning new words like “Gleichfalls” and “Blumen,” my love affair will continue.

Love / Hate Part I

Just in case anyone mistook my candor for a lack of appreciation for Germany, please allow me to clarify. God knows I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. Let me tell you about some of the things I love about Germany:

I love the way the windows can open from the top or from the side, I usually choose to keep the top open.

I love my balcony, even though I’m not using much in the cold.

I love the chocolate here, because let’s be frank, it’s on an entirely different plane than American chocolate. Same with the yogurt. There is no comparison between the organic, plain, low-fat yogurt here and that of the U.S. It’s fantastic here.

I love that wine and beer are cheap here. It would be nice if water was also cheap, but hey, you can’t have everything.

I am simply amazed that everyone can walk around with their dogs off leash, and the dogs follow them and stay out of the roads and away from the bikers.

I love that I can bring my dog into almost any store or restaurant, and on any subway or train without her having to be in a Sherpa bag.

I love that by New York City standards, nothing here is that crowded.

I love and sincerely appreciate the subway system here. It is infinitely cleaner, quieter, more efficient, and more pleasant than New York’s subway system. There is a screen that tells you when the next trains are coming, usually just in 5 minute increments. So you are never left wondering if you are going to have to wait for 3 minutes or 30 minutes. And the trains actually arrive when they are supposed to. You don’t have to go that far underground to catch the subway, there are no cards to swipe, and you don’t have to be subjected to that horrible screeching sound that NYC subways make. I see people drinking on the subway all day long, and yet I have never really seen anyone drunk or behaving badly. There are tv screens on each subway car that show the weather forecast and news (no audio, just visual). And the recorded announcements are very clear, so that a person with zero German could understand the names of the stops. The subway and tram system is truly one of Berlin’s best features.

I love that Germans are devoted to environmental protection. Everyone drives tiny cars, has a tiny washing machine (ok, I don’t love that), and a tiny refrigerator (ok, I don’t love that either). But I applaud their commitment, and I hope that some day I finally figure out the trash system here. I live in fear that when I’m in the trash room sorting everything, some scary Trashfrau is going to come down from the sky and yell at me for putting paper in with cardboard, or milk cartons in with paper, or Good God, I don’t know, it’s just so complicated!!! When I first got here, I found myself skulking around the neighborhood at 2 a.m. trying to find a trash can with an opening bigger than my arm where I could deposit my trash. None to be found. But I am facing my fears, and since that low point in my trash behavior, I have been sorting like a pro, sort of.

I am impressed and somewhat stupefied by everyone riding their bikes everywhere, even in the sleet and rain. It seems masochistic. Last week we had two days of black ice, and people still rode their bikes. With their dogs or children on board. I saw several people wipe out, and it didn’t seem to faze them at all. They just hopped back on their bikes, on the ice, and kept going. Huh.

I do love that no one seems to care about what they are wearing all that much. I think this is specific to Berlin, but in general, people don’t seem obsessed with having to have the best car, the best bike, the best clothes, the most up-to-date hairstyle or color. In fact, many people look like they are straight out of New Jersey in 1987. But what’s great is that no one cares. Unfortunately this attitude does not prevail in the opera world, but I am enjoying it in day-to-day life. I have quite literally only seen one ad for cosmetic surgery since I have been here, can you imagine? I’m sure it won’t last, but it is worth appreciating.

And now, things I am learning to love…..

There is no such thing as customer service here. When you are at a restaurant, you practically have to tackle a server to make a request. And then it might be 30 minutes before you get your drink, if at all. Yesterday I had brunch with 7 others, and after one round of drinks, our glasses sat empty for the next hour and ½. The restaurant would have made a lot of money if they had stayed on top of our drink requests, but the servers themselves wouldn’t make any more money, so why should they care? And indeed, they do not. However – it IS nice to not have servers trying to up-sell constantly, trying to force-feed you appetizers and dessert and more drinks. It IS nice to be able to stay long after you have finished your meal, and to feel no pressure from the staff to spend more or leave. And it’s nice to know that your server is not counting on your tip to pay his or her rent.

And what I am trying to love but so far just HATE……

I can’t stand that everything is closed on Sundays!!!!! It just makes me freakin’ crazy!!! I feel like a caged animal!! How can anyone just arbitrarily take away my shopping rights, just because it is a Sunday? And how can those businesses stomach losing an entire day’s worth of income?? Here I am, a left-wing, tree-hugging, anti-corporation hippie musician and I don’t understand how they can willingly lose a day of money!!! If I feel that way, how can the business owners stand it? I am amazed, and frankly, still in the anger and denial phase. Thank GOD I live in Berlin, where at least the restaurants stay open. But you are on your own if you need toilet paper on a Sunday! Of course I do realize how ridiculously self-entitled, spoiled, and obnoxiously American these feelings are. But I’ve made peace with that. This is where I am today. My friends who have lived here a while tell me that I’ll get over it and maybe even appreciate it. We’ll see.

Next time, I’ll tell you what I miss the most about New York, because those things are starting to add up. Bis dann…..

Floppy Bits

13. Januar 2008

Every day I take Lila to the Volkspark in my neighborhood. It’s not really a pretty park, just a bunch of leafless trees and muddy paths. But it spans many acres, has a huge dog park, and plenty of room to walk or run. Apparently the concept of exercise has taken off in Berlin, because today the park was packed with joggers. I even saw some smiling joggers, which is not a sight I am used to seeing in Germany.

Unfortunately, the images from my stroll in the park that I can’t get out of my mind are not of my dog frisking with other pups in the dog park, nor are they of the joggers who smiled while listening to music on their ipods. What I can’t get out of my head are all the floppy bits I had to see as the joggers passed by. Now, I applaud Germans for getting into exercise, especially given the amount of sausage consumed per capita in this country. And many of the joggers I see seem to take great pride in wearing true workout gear: wicking fabric, shiny colors, light-reflective fabric, etc. But somewhere in the process, no one seemed to pick up on needing to wear supportive underwear underneath those trendy exercise outfits. I have never in my life seen so many breasts bounce at such high velocity. Up to the chin, down to the waist, up to the chin, down to the waist, flop, flop, BANG BANG PLOP PLOP!!!! And it causes me great pain to see this, because I know that their muscle fibers are ripping and shredding, and that they will soon have big, stretched out flopsters that hang down past their belly buttons. And ladies, doesn’t that HURT??I just don’t understand.

And while we are on the subject of pain, picture this: An older gentleman, with very thin running tights on, tucked into his socks and shoes, so they look like stirrup pants circa 1982. Pants pulled all the way up past his waist, highlighting and clinging around his floppy little package. Come on, men, aren’t you supposed to be wearing a cup, or a dance belt, or something? Keep it together! No one wants to see that!!! It ruined my appetite for at least an hour.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is: People…..Keep your sausage to yourselves!
I wonder how to say that in German?

The First Few Days

Happy New Year!

I was on an overseas flight on New Year's Eve, and the atmosphere was less than festive. Surrounded by infants on all sides and seated next to the baby-changing room, I had a very loud and aromatic flight. Most of you know my enormous patience for babies, so it was only a minor inconvenience, and the hardest part was not being able to hold, play with, and calm the babies myself. As it happens, here in Berlin I share a wall with a newborn, who cries at frequent intervals all night long, and of course I wake up along with her. Is the Universe trying to send me a message?

I knew that I had indeed arrived in Germany when I saw the sex shop in the Munich airport. Dirty Germans!

My dog Lila handled the flights and airport time like a champ. Right now she is making herself at home on my pillow, and seems to have no trouble adjusting to the time change, German dog food, or German dogs. We found a fantastic dog park today, just five minutes from us, and larger and more wooded than any dog park I've seen in the U.S.

My apartment is fantastic, a large, sunny studio with a real kitchen, dishwasher, and washing machine! I also have a balcony that I'm sure I'll use more when the temperature rises above zero degrees Celsius. The building has an elevator and a pretty courtyard, and is very quiet (aside from the baby). The neighborhood is "Kreuzberg," part of the former East Berlin. Sections of the wall still exist in Kreuzberg, and it is a young, hip, and culturally mixed neighborhood. The city has sort of a grungy feel, even in the yuppier neighborhoods like Prenzlauer Berg. Dress is extremely casual (sloppy, even). I have heard complaints about the safety of this neighborhood, but I can't imagine why. I feel completely safe here at all hours of the night, and as far as cities go, this one feels pretty mellow.

One of my favorite things about Berlin so far is the honor system: You order a drink at a bar, and if you offer to pay immediately, the bartender seems to almost be insulted. He/she trusts you to drink as much as you want, stay for as many hours as you like, and then tell him at the end of the night what you've ordered. Such faith in humanity! I also appreciate that there are no turnstiles in the subway, you simply buy your ticket from the machine, slip it in another machine to be validated and get on the train. You could conceivably not pay for a ticket. However, yesterday I was checked twice in one day for my subway ticket. Never in my life have I been checked on a European subway, so after being checked twice in one day, I can only gather that they are cracking down. The "officers" were in plain clothes, so I guess they hope to sneak up on us.

Another amazing concept is that NO ONE crosses the street unless the light is green. People simply do not jaywalk and they look at you like you are a martian if you do. Rule followers!!! My mother would fit in so well here.

English is spoken everywhere, and is all over the radio, tv, and print advertisements. People love to practice their English, so it is hard to keep them on track speaking German to me. I will be enrolling in intensive daily classes starting on Monday, so that should help.

Thanks to the wonderful web site and on-line forum "Toytown Germany", I already have several new friends and have gotten a taste of the interesting restaurants and vibrant nightlife here. Within four days I will have had excellent Thai, Japanese, Indian, and Nepalese food! I'm sure there will be many things I miss about New York, but it appears that the food won't have to be one of them.

My days in German class will be interrupted by audition trips. This week I will go to Duesseldorf, and next week to Muenchen. Wish me luck!

Skype is a miracle! Download it and you can talk to your friends all over the world for free! www.skype.com

That's all for now. My plans for the weekend include teaching my first yoga student here and meeting up with new friends for an gluttonous, American-style Sunday Brunch.
Bis Spaeter!