I feel like I do this every time. I go into the holiday season and think: "I should document all of this - the family times, meals, singing..." I never do. I get tired, overwhelmed, (sick with whatever flu is flying around), and the next thing I know it is Spring of that year.
Anyway, I can sum up most of the holidays I've encountered in the Netherlands in one word: Wine.
Just kidding. (Ish). With each holiday - including my birthday, thrown in there for good measure - there was a dinner party with my closest of friends (and their kids), multiple bottles of wine, and a lot of laughter. Basically, what my idea of celebration has been no matter where I am on the planet.
I'm finding, if you visit Amsterdam for holidays or vacations, you will have a different experience altogether than those who dwell here year-round. Those who live here (Amsterdammers?) tend to have a very low-key way of partying. You can almost always tell when people are just visiting the city, rather than living here longterm, because they are the ones walking in front of you smoking weed openly on the street (those are always Americans, it seems). They're the ones on the tram planning their attack on the city (AKA Red Light District) and which clubs are near which coffee shops, and so on.
Maybe my experience with those who live here is unique to me, but I find that, most of the time, people are happy to have small dinner parties where they laugh and talk, drink a little but not so much that they're stumbling home on the train or crashing their bikes, and in general sort of 'shrug' in the new year or the celebration at hand rather than make a huge deal out of it. It's unnerving at times, if you were born and raised in New York... but I've gotten very accustomed to it.
Christmas was about a million different 'Sinterklaas' holidays (seriously, I felt like I celebrated a version of Santa every day, and I still have no idea what the original story is. All I know is, if you don't know what you're dealing with, you'll think it's QUITE racist...). I sang carols, Disney songs and Strauss all throughout the month - but primarily worked on auditions. It was a trying month because I hit a point where my homesickness was almost overwhelming, and the amount of energy needed for auditions was pretty impossible. I wanted to keep plodding away, coaching rep and hearing constantly conflicting advice about what suits me best, but I was grateful for my time with my silly friends, the stash of 'Oliebollen' we had on hand, and the fascination that is being in Europe during the holiday season.
January came in with a bang (literally). I did not know (though I was sufficiently warned) that people throw fireworks all over the place in Amsterdam the nights leading up to, and on New Year's Eve. Every few minutes, you would hear bangs and car alarms going off, echoing along the streets - more than a little unnerving considering the recent attacks and terrorist threats and blahblahblah. But, I laughed it off thinking "Heh, kinda cool for a tradition - fireworks everywhere! Woo!" -- that is, until I was crossing a street on New Year's Eve and a firework exploded beside me. There is still a layer of my skin on that street corner. (*Metaphorically - I was not at all injured. Just my pride.)
As a person, these months have been intense, hilarious, challenging, you name it. As a musician, it almost seems like I'm not fully in control right now (Jesus take the wheel?). Building a solid, trustworthy network can always be tricky (but I've been lucky to work with many wonderful artists here), each audition teaches me something more about myself, and each application I send makes me feel a little more like a robot. But, the time I get to myself with the music is key. If I could sum up what this year has been so far in terms of my love of music - I would say that it has taught me what a deep love affair it really is. It's the kind of passion that doesn't go anywhere, no matter where I am in my life or in the world. It's filled a lot of lonely days, or helped me communicate with audiences that speak a different language from me, natively. I wish that I could say I know what comes next - another contract, another series of gigs before I head back to New York and resume other work I'm passionate about (writing, digital media, etc.). What I do know is that singing will always be my day to day. It will always be a part of my personal life, just as much as the career track. And, hopefully, it will be even more a part of 2016 than last year.
