Gratitude

I hardly know what to say. I suspect that nothing I write to you could fully express the scope of my gratitude, but I shall attempt! The generosity of all the wonderful people who donated to help me get to Salzburg was more than I ever could have imagined possible. I am completely overwhelmed by the kindness that's just been showered by me, and I can't think of many times in my life when I've felt more loved or more grateful.

From the wonderful audiences at both of my benefit recitals, to the fantastic energy of the people who diligently helped me collect cans and bottles, to the random strangers I met who were so excited for me, to my beautifully supportive family and dear friends who all came together to make this possible- Thank you, this is really happening!

I just said goodbye to my family. We're a family of four, and this is the first time any of us has been away for this amount of time. I'm so nervous I'm afraid I've made myself nauseous, but I don't even mind. The adventure starts now, kids :-P I'm sitting in the airport as I type this, waiting for my flight to board (two hours early, as instructed... plenty of time to kill). I can hardly believe I'm so close. Is this real life? You bet it is.

[When I get myself adjusted, I'll insert a picture of me in the airport right here, wearing a scarf and big glasses, because obviously international opera stars wear scarves and big glasses... but there's so much to do!]

My first flight will be approximately seven hours long, and I will arrive in Munich, Germany at approximately 9:45am (their time, that's 3:45am your time!). I'll have a stop-over for a bit before taking the short flight to Vienna. (I'm hoping to find wi-fi before then so you can read this!) I don't have wireless internet at the moment, and I'm not sure when the next time will be that I have it, so I'm saving my entries to my computer to post when I get a chance.

In the meantime, I've got a book of useful German phrases I should probably glance at :-)

That's all for now! If you're still reading, I love you :-)

(P.S. Ended up posting this at the hotel in Vienna. We've arrived safely! In other news, airport wi-fi needs some work... Stay tuned for a post about the hotel, it's practically out of a story book!)