One down, 7 to go

Well I think I speak for both Ryan and I when I say that our audition at Indiana University was both ordinary and unusual.

First off, Indiana is very very dead in the winter, shockingly so. However IU is huge and a bit overwhelming. Most music schools are lucky to have two buildings- IU has 4 and 2 more are being built. (We got to feel the ground shaking construction when we were at a pizza restaurant called Mother Bear's, which Ryan very much enjoyed).

Staying with Jung was a life saver, since the Superbowl was going on in Indianapolis the weekend that we were flying in and there was Superbowl paraphernalia EVERYWHERE. There was even helpful ladies dressed up in blue and white to welcome everyone that Ryan worked diligently to get an inconspicuous picture of. The airport in general is very nice, but we did not enjoy the terrible talent contest that was happening in the main hub, especially since we were trying to reserve our hotels in Rochester. We even got to listen to a very intoxicated (to say the least) man serenade a lady with a made up song about the Superbowl. It was very exciting. And his prediction was right! (I already forgot which team won though)

Jung's apartment was super nice and her dog, Creamie, was really cute! The best part was that Jung had a HUGE bathroom  and a really nice tub that we didn't get to use as planned. We also went to a Vietnamese restaurant and we're that nights entertainment for the old ladies. They obviously thought we were loud and retarded, but were glad to show Ryan how to mix some sauces together.

At our audition we ran into an ECU student, which surprised us. The music world is too small! There were however no practice rooms; we were lucky to get two next to each other since we came in around lunch time (even though I think they were for the current students use only now that I think about it). The building was very 60's and was shaped like a three story toilet bowl. Liz also had a serious nosebleed around the time of Ryan's audition and had to run to the bathroom barefoot and it was overall not a pleasant experience.

Our auditions were fine, good for what is expected in the first audition. Afterwards we met with a perspective teacher that was a very interesting experience. However, we both learned a lot from the experience.

Here is an inside look at the Indiana practice rooms we were in:

What was taped behind our stands that we thought was entertaining...

Next trip: Cincinnati, Stony Brook, Eastman!