Wow....so here were are, week 1...well a little more than a week here in Macau...and thus far i must say things are incredible!
right off the bat...training has been a little either grueling and hard nosed....or relatively chill. there was a lot of character work(things like accents...background information....stories....etc) to work on...and then the memorization of actual Venice landmarks and the history and the things that we would be singing. however...with that out of the way..we could finally focus on rowing and the actual "ride" itself.
it wasnt until yesterday...saturday...friday for most of you that are reading this...that we actually got ALL of our boats in the water...which meant we were practicing with only 3 boats as opposed to 7...which is huge! but for the past two days..things have integrated nicely...there are those that are really taking to the water...have become smooth...can focus on creating an atmosphere and nice "ride" and there are still those that have not found that confidence yet...but it will come..just hopefully by tuesday....the grand opening.
let me just say that this "hotel/resort" is GIGANTIC! it houses 4 large casinos...is the first in asia to offer VIP/high roller rooms.....everything is pristine from the paintings on the ceilings to the carpetry...i will hopefully get some pictures up...but not until the opening...as it is a confidentiality thing.....the suites in the hotel are amazing...they are having special intro rates for 1800 petacas a night..thats about......200 dollars american dollars.
the grand canal shops are exquisite....the canal itself is unbelieveable.....the facade(the houses and aging bridges, background) has been detailed beyond belief....from cracks...to chunks of wall missing with brick underneath...to shadows in windows....flowers..pots...it looks like a real city there...more importantly...Venice...which is awesome..the outside...well...is about the size of a small city...and houses a lake....yes...a 3 foot deep lake....hahaha.
as far as the characters go...sooooo many awesome people here that i am working with...there is soo much talent on the water its amazing..from opera singers...to professional actors/actresses...its awesome..and such a privilege to be working with them...(i hope they read this!)
everything else...geese...is awesome...im living in whats called the grand waldo(check out
here) which is about a 200+ american dollar a night hotel...the host a breakfast for us and we recieve regular maid service/cleaning. which is awesome... we also get another free meal from the venetian..so we only have to spot one meal for ourselves which is not bad at all considering all i have to do is walk down the street..pick up some dim-sum for 30 petacas(about 3.50 american) and im good to go.....they have really treated us like royalty here...we have been working very hard...but it has all been very worth while.
culture wise...some of the food has been difficult to stomach...i give props to whomever first decided that the head of a duck/pigeon/goose/rats was a good idea to cook and eat......man......but for the most part..i have grown a little accustomed to the food here...some of it is really good! for the american food cravings i get though...there is a pizza hut down the street that probably has my room number/order memorized so all i have to do is call down....there is a mcdonalds..but i stay away from that...and there are 3 starbucks here.....we have been very lucky to find some amazing italian/mexican/spanish/portuguese restaurants here..for quite cheap...which by the way...food is really cheap here. so thats a good thing.
wow....there is still soo much to say...about this whole experience that i could not possibly begin to type without going into another essay...but it is all an awesome experience.
please...be on the lookout for TV specials...NBC,ABC,CBS, FOX, ALL and i mean ALL the news stations will be here...well are already here...i have been on national geographic so far..and even got to film for them which was rad! but keep an eye out the next few days for the coverage of this huge grand opening. there is media from over 40 countries here....and there is a projected estimate of about 40,000 people supposed to be gathering for the grand opening...30,000 gathered for the sands here in Macau...i feel this will generate more......by the way...the SANDS casino here...makes more money in one month than the ENTIRE vegas strip....and it only has 45 rooms......
the lowest gambling bets here are about equal to 30 american dollars.
wow.
yep...this is where i work.
anyways...ill be back soon.
Rob
(Giovanni Sarducci...Gondolier)
