concert and cave

2 things, i dont have a lot of time so ill be really quick (i hate only being able to use the computers during a certain time period, but watever)

1) the concert on friday was a really interesting experience. I've never put on a full length concert vocally by myself. I sang 11 songs, 1 girl read a poem, and I played a flute duet with one of my professors. It was just a bohemian collective of weird music. In any event, the most revealing things about all of it was i sort of got to experience the limits of my voice and how tired I get, and the other was that now my group now knows a bit more about me. There were about 25 people there in the courtyard of our complex. Some people played percussion and we had a guitar player. It was really fun. An australian jazz singer was there with his wife, who was italian, and they were just showering me in 'baci e abracci' (hugs and kisses) at the end of all of it, giving me way to many compliments, etc. It was hard to deal with a little, i think a lot of u must now how terrible i am at recieving/believing compliments... but at the same time, it was really nice to have so many people enjoy (at least abbastanza) themselves and tell me about it. Oh also, i got recordings of each song from the concert, so they'll maybe end up on my myspace in like, a few weeks. if/when i get a computer.

2) on saturday, we went to the place where mel gibson filmed passion of the christ, the part where christ is walking with the christ. It was like, this CRAZY city built into rock faces and stuff. I duno its so difficult to explain, it was called matera, and I have tons of pictures that will surface sooner or later, when I get a chance to use someone's computer. It was called materna. After that we went to a non military-castle that belonged to federico the 2nd (for those of you who know about the origins of the italian literature, he's like the most important figure-his court in sicilia had tons of intellectuals who sort of started the italian language) it was really asthetically pleasing, based on the number 8 because its the infinity sign flipped sideways, i duno, there are like all these symbols of 8, 8 rooms, its built as an octagon with 8 towers, etc. sooo beautiful. It was built on this top of a big mesa that over looks a huge expanse in all directions of flat green valleys. I'll post pictures soon. It was nuts.

Then yesterday, i went like over 180 feet under the grounds surface in these AMAZING grottos called Castellana Grotte. google image search it. its nuts!!! i took a few pictures inside, even though we werent supposed to, and they're all orange cuz there was like hardly any light down there. I dont know, one of the most INCREDIBLY strange things ive ever experienced. It was amazing, but at the same time i was like, HOLY SHiT how is this possible.

lastly, im madly missing california today. first time. first dose of homesickness. whatev. We have a cooking class tonight, im psyched! ciao for now!

ali