With one last glance over the wrinkled notebook paper, I stood backstage, peering behind the curtain to see 800 pairs of eyes eagerly waiting for the concert to begin. I took my place in line as the choir members around me whispered among themselves while I took several deep breaths.
"What if I mess up?" I thought to myself nervously. "What if I accidentally mispronounce something? That would be so embarrassing!"
The next thing I knew, I was in front of the microphone on center stage, spotlights blaring into my face. I looked up at the people of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and let my tongue take over.
Vi presento il coro onore del Suono d'America" my voice rang throughout the auditorium. "I present to you the honor chorus of Sound of America."
I could hear a murmur of surprise among the audience members, but I did not let the distractions waver me. I explained that the choir had about 100 singers from across the United States and was also traveling to five other European countries. I spoke throughout the night as I introduced each song more comfortably than the last.
Before I knew it, we were singing the very last song, during which the choir walked through the auditorium and shook the audience members' hands. My heart
couldn't help but flutter up in pride as the natives firmly shook my hand and said, "Complimenti nel tuo italiano!" ("Congratulations on your Italian!") or "Bravissima, bravissima!" ("Excellent, excellent!").
I breathed a sigh of relief. They actually understood me! All of my hard work teaching myself Italian for the past two years had finally paid off!
Before the end of the concert, the man who formally introduced the group in rapid Italian came up to me and asked, "Come ti chiami?" or "What's your name?" I told him, "Ariel, come la sirenetta." He laughed, and when he walked back out to the audience, he introduced me as, "Ariel La Sirenetta!"
"La Sirenetta" is "The Little Mermaid." Ironically, I hate that nickname.
Nevertheless, I'll never forget how flattered I felt as I awkwardly blushed my way onstage to the audience roaring with cheers and applause.
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