JHU/Peabs

Oh man. I love Peabody. And JHU. I like much. Much much much. Gah. <3

ANYWAYS... time to be rational. So we flew down on Sunday morning, took the train into Baltimore, walked 3 blocks, and were at Peabody. So easy. So nice. So cheap ($1.60 for the train... :D). We got there, wandered around some, and they let us into the hotel around noonish (we weren't supposed to check in until about 2). It was cool because they have an "Elderhostel" program, where old people can stay for a week and take classes about music and stuff. So they reserve that space for a week for auditions. So it's on campus and centrally located and you get a key to get into campus and all. I found a practice room on campus and practiced and picked out a reed; such a good use of 2 hours. I then met up with Hillary and we (her, me, my mommy, her parents) met up and ate dinner. It was a good time. And then we went back to hotel. And then we sleep.
Monday: AUDITION DAY! So yes. It was audition day. I was scared. Yet not crazy scared. It was weird and hard to quantify. So we got up and checked in, which gave me official times and places for everything I needed. I couldn't start warming up until 10:55. My mom and I went to the dining hall and got way overpriced food (hey, it's college). And then she went to a parent's meeting and I went to the hotel and tried to stay calm. I got my warmup room. I warmed up. It felt good. I went up to my audition at 11:40 like I was supposed to. Hillary came out. I went in. It was really cool because he treated it like a lesson. He let me play a lot (I had about 20-25 minutes of music) but also offered good tips. In total I was there for 35 minutes. It was supposed to take 20. I hope that's a good sign. I then took my theory test and my ear training test. I think they both went well. I hope. :D.
So then we went back to the hotel (I know, we lived there...). I crashed for a bit and tried not to think about my audition. I didn't want to freak out too much. Anyways. My mom and I walked some more through Baltimore and ate and stuff. All very good.
So the next morning, my mom and I got up, ate breakfast at the "Maestro Cafe" (yay for music schools!), and got a Peabody t-shirt and packed up and checked out of the hotel. We left our stuff and took the bus over to JHU. I really liked JHU as well. It was almost weird how much I liked it. It was this really pretty campus right in the middle of the busy city. It was like its own little pretty paradise. I liked a lot. I did the typical info session and tour thing and I really solidly liked the campus. Way more than expected. Top choice now? I dunno, maybe.
So then we took the shuttle back to Peabody, picked up our stuff, walked to the light rail station, took the train into the airport and flew home. Great trip. Really solid.