BIBLIOGRIND
The Life of a Wordsmith — Read … Live … Write
Archive for August, 2008
August 31, 2008 at 9:10 am · Filed under The Prague Blog
Robert and Iveta pulled the kitchen table outside in the yard and set it for a picnic barbecue. Their good friend, Varis, had come in from outside of Prague to spend the weekend. He is a big, rugby-size guy (a bit long in the tooth, these days), and very happy and talkative. Varis (VAR-ish) was tonight’s cook. They teased me that we were having “crazy cow” which got me to laugh, but then I looked at the meat in the deep dish, as thought I’d be able to spot a problem. Varis had marinated beef steaks in a spicy liquid, sprinkled with pepper and rough salt. Beside the beef sat ham that I can only describe as steaks cut from a big shoulder or butt roast. On the table sat appetizers and side dishes in colorful bowls: black olives, diced ham & brie cheese, small tomato wedges and julienned red pepper, and grated horesradish. Bottles of Moravian red wine stood in the middle of the table, like church spires.
The party was not big. Jakob strolled into the yard a few minutes after the meat hit with a sizzle on the hot grill. Silva and her husband (I forgot his name), and their two kids, came as some of the meat came off the grill. Birtík and the neighbor girl, and the two new kids, ran around like Berserkers, complete with play swords, battle axes, and shields. Meanwhile, we BBQers sat for dinner.
I obviously don’t speak Czech, so the conversation wound around me like smoke from the grill. The subtitles came from Robert and Jakob. Jakob speaks fluent English. He’s a spindly guy with a light beard and quick smile. He and Robert work together at the bank. Sometimes I could “sort-of-follow” the conversation (once given a short subtext), but that mostly came from watching facial expressions and hand gestures. Every once in a while I picked out a word I knew, or name I’ve heard before. For example, Robert and Jakob talked about “studeny,” which brought Varish into the conversation. They lifted eyebrows, laughed and gave knowing smiles. As it turns out, Robert had at one time, several years ago, had 12 female students living in the house. The coeds were from the agricultural university that’s across the street from the house. Evidently, this happened when Robert and Iveta were dating (or perhaps they were even married). You can imagine, then, what the snickering was about.
I was included in some conversations, of course. That’s the benefit of being new to the group, a foreigner come to work in their home city. Silva, a thirty-something good looking blond woman whose husband sat close (a tall, thin, handsome man whose quiet voice came seldom during the night), wanted to know where I was born, where I had lived. Silva could understand some English, but does not speak much. Half of what I said needed to be translated, otherwise she understood my carefully choses words and non-speedy speech. Everyone was interested why I came to live in Prague, and why I have lived in other countries, too. We also talked about America, where big cities like New York gets its drinking water. This became a big discussion on water recycling. Prague gets all its water from natural springs, apparently. “But that can’t last forever,” I said. In fact, there’s a water recycling facility just a mile or two from the house, used for non-drinking purposes, I guess.
The language barrier was not much of a barrier at all through the evening. If you get frustrated by not being able to understand the language that you don’t know, then being in a foreign country, at a party, will drive you nuts. I took a different approach, since I’m here now, and will be for a while. I let the language carry me along. In 4 hours, I heard or spoke English for maybe 20 minutes. The other time I tried to let my ears hear separate words spoken by the others, to hear repeated words that might give me a “key” to understanding a sentence (didn’t quite happen). I also used expressions, tone, and gestures to give me context (sometimes was successful). At the very least, I think I now have a better understading of what my “elementary” level students will feel as I talk at them and get them to talk, to pronounce funny-looking words, to put words together in a coherent sentence.
We drank a lot of wine tonight. I think I’ve mentioned in an ealier post that Moravia is Czech Republic’s wine region. They make a good red wine, with few tannins. Anyway, the corkscrew worked overtime, and I think we each drank at least one bottle. The church spires began to look like castle bailies, with me hanging onto the stone window-ledge. The beef had an unusual texture, very lean and dense, like game meat, which it was not. Perhaps that came from the cut, which looked like a flank cut, but its tastiness belied that suggestion. My favorite was the pork steak. It had a smokey flavor, and Varis had cooked it crispy on the outside, tender inside. It definitely had a smoked-butt flavor (my new friends had a laugh at that name, of course), but cooked on the grill gave the meat a new dimension to its flavor.
By ten o’clock, only myself, Robert, and Varis stood under the stars (side note: I was able to spot the north star, and now I now which direction my windows truly face). Varis had consumed a huge amount of meat and side dishes, plus half of a dessert pie (a caramel and chocolate tort bought from IKEA), and lots of wine. He was getting chumy with me, and Robert did a bit of translating as we congratulated each other on, 1) having met and become friends, 2) eating and drinking well, and 3) being “nice” American and Czech guys. And, actually, the Czech people are very friendly, hospitable, good natured, happy people. Life is good for them, a bit short of a full generation after 50 years of Communist rule, and they are enjoying economic growth, good jobs, happy families, kids, cars & shopping, weekend parties, and meeting new people. I think they have a better sense of freedom than do many (but not most) Americans, who take for granted so many things (which of course means that we do get the politicians and government that we deserve). Far be it from me to point out America’s ills, as I’ve left. So be it.
I didn’t bring my camera along, so no photos have captured the evening. But then, I didn’t want to be the unknown guy snapping pictures in people’s faces. There is one photo I just took. I call it “The Morning After” …
August 29, 2008 at 10:56 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Tosca is a beautiful, stuck-up, vain woman who tortures her lover with prideful and spiteful remonstrances. When the lover capitulates to her whimsical demand for sobering affection, he touches her long black hair. “Don’t mess up my hair!” she screams. This is Puccini’s heroine, whose fickleness ultimately ends in tragedy. And why not? Scarpia saw her vanity as a the sliver of opportunity for which he could leverage to arrest and murder her lover, then take Tosca as his own lover.Now that’s entertainment.
The music was beautiful, as is found in all operas. This night was particularly special for me because the production took place at the Prague State Opera House, a magnificent, 120-year-old building. Inside, the auditorium is a small space, by comparison to huge arenas of the modern variety. The stalls are gilt trimmed stucco creations. The ceiling has frescos painted by a famous Czech artist. The accoustics, as one might imagine, are superb.
The spectacle, the opulence, the very cool stall a sat in, and the good champagne at intermission, made the already cheap, “opera for the masses” price a night to remember. Saw a pretty good accident on the road outside the opera house, too.
Most of my teaching schedule is set. The classes sound fun. One gentelman, a lawyer in the center of Prague, wants someone he can converse with for 45 min each week. He just wants to speak English with an American so he can stay in practice and keep up with the idioms and nomenclature. That could be really fun.
August 28, 2008 at 8:39 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I’ve learned a lot in seven days: My apartment looks a lot homier with a couple of IKEA rugs to pull together the bedroom and warm it up. I can get around much of the city in under an hour. I don’t think I want to teach 25 hrs of classes (sanity sake, really). There are good Indian and Thai curry pastes to be had. Beer is cheap – too cheap for my waistline! The only true way to enjoy a city is to immerse yourself in all the available cultural activities. I don’t have to use as much soap in the clothes washer as I had thought. Most of my classes will be one-on-one tutoring. I’ll need to learn some Czech. They have good wine in the southern region of the country. There are ski resorts in the north, along the Polish boarder (some w/as high as 2300 meter vertical). The tennis courts at the Univ across the street are open to the public. I have lots to learn to get up to speed with this TEFL teaching (but in a fun way). Czech cuisine is quite tasty, and if you find homey places on side streets, lunch/dinner is cheap and good. I like living in Prague.
I took in a strings and piano quintet concert at the National Museum tonight, held in the main stairway hall. Four young men, dressed in black; three violins, cello, and piano. “The Greatest Hits” program included Mozart’s “A Little Night Music” (da, da-da, da-da-da-da DA); Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” (Winter), Strauss’ “Pizzicato Polka” and of course Dvorák (he’s Czech). The accoustics were actually great, as the hall is solid marble, and stone has the best accoustical properties. The musicians were each talented, and by their movements and expressions, really seemed to love what they were doing … all in front of perhaps 25 people. What band, no matter the instruments held in their hands or songs sprung from lungs, won’t take any opportunity to perform?
The concert lasted an hour, and I recognized all of the pieces played; though without a program in hand, I doubt that I could have named the pieces. Odd how we so often associate song titles with their lyrics. That’s so 20th century, no?
August 27, 2008 at 8:19 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I bought sugar today (cukor) for my tea. I looked through all the sugars available. I wanted to get raw sugar, not white refined. I chose a nice looking, dark sugar.
It’s bakers brown sugar.
But… sugar is sugar, No?
Hmmmm.
August 27, 2008 at 7:30 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I thought there would be more teachers at St James Language School orientation, but alas there were just five of us. In a field of some 130+ teachers the school employs, I will be 1 of 40-or-so full time teachers. At the orientation sat, along with myself, Teresa, Tom, Paul, and Sacrat. Three Brits and a returned Czech-American (Teresa, from Oregon).
The first thing I noticed is the professionalism of St James’ owners and directors. They all have worked in TEFL for many years, and so understand teaching from the side of the teacher. This includes the administrative paperwork that any teacher knows well can weigh heavy on their already limited time. It seems that St James has streamlined this to benefit teachers, the school, and clients. Now, this is first-day-thinking, but I have a good feeling about this group, as I’ve experience with not-so-”with it” education administrations.
Classes begin Monday. I don’t yet have my schedule. I’ll get that and maps to the companies, by Friday.
Here’s the last pic taken of me before I left Apple Canyon in USA. I call it “Leaving Day”:
August 26, 2008 at 9:36 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I’ve pointed out previously that good American whiskey is expensive in Europe. So, being in a land where vodka is prominent (not quite as much as beer, a drink, however, they use to chase vodka), I’ve decided to switch to martinis. Good vodka is inexpensive, and olives, lemons and dry vermouth is abundant. I don’t have a martini shaker, but I do have a glass pitcher that resembles a 1950′s-style cocktail pitcher. I dug out a couple ancient champagne glasses that themselves resemble martini glasses. I think I’m set. Necessity is the mother of invention.
And let me tell you: a stirred martini is just as good as 007′s shaken variety. Here’s my new recipe: douse 1 cup of ice with 4 parts vodka and 1 part vermouth in a glass pitcher. Use a spoon or, if you have it, one of those glass martini rods, and stir vigorously. The idea is to hear the ice crackle together, and the glass tinkle. The combination of sounds gets you excited about drinking! Load up a toothpick with olives and drop into a martini (or champagne) glass. Pour a measure or two of the cocktail onto the olives. Enjoy your libation.
So on a not-entirely-antipodal note, I was thinking that one should try to learn something about oneself every day. This goes along the same lines as the adage, “you learn something new every day,” only you need to put a little introspection into motion to find out something about yourself. A lot of people don’t bother with introspection, I think; they like to bitch about other people, but did you ever hear someone say about him or herself, “I can be a real fuckhead sometimes!” Not hardly.
I think introspection scares people. They are asking themselves to think about who and what they are. Or perhaps they just don’t give a damned, and so never really think about making adjustments based on what they might see if they did look closely. Anyway, you might think this leads to something that I want to say about myself … like what I learned today or yesterday or looking foward to learning tomorrow. You’d be wrong. All of that is much to personal, and since this blog is very public, I’m not exposing myself like that. Do you think I’m crazy, or something?
August 25, 2008 at 6:57 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I don’t know how much time I’ll have to myself on a Monday-Friday schedule once I start teaching, so today I went into Staré Mesto (Old Town) and some other interesting spots.
August 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the infamous Prague Spring, so labeled because in the spring of 1968 the Prague intelligensia encouraged each other and thus the people to proceed towards a softer form of communism, one that allowed free expression of artistic and individual tastes. At first, the reformist Dubcek government went along, but as the small-beer freedoms turned to protests demanding for democracy (more of less), the Russians decided that the Czech government wasn’t able to ratchet back what they had started. So on August 21, 1968, Soviet tanks rolled into Prague to crush the “rebellion.”
This month the city celebrated that anniversary with television retrospectives, government symposia, exhibits around the city (and country, actually including Slovakia as it was part of the country back then, and its capital city, Bratislava, saw its own Soviet Invasion), and a special exhibit at the National Museum (which stands atop Wenceslaus Square, an icon of Czech nationalism). The Museum is an apt place to hold an exhibit, as it is itself an exhibit, because you can still see bullet holes in the facade where Soviet tanks shot .50 caliber bullets into the building. I suppose they thought the “Rocks & Minerals” exhibit was going to come to life and throw themselves at the tanks.
Namesti Miru is a big square just south of Wenceslaus Square. Its centerpiece is a big Gothic Church, surrounded by tram stops, and a few nice sidewalk cafés one can sit for a beer or coffee. Namesti Miru is also the site of St James Language Center, where I start work in two days. The pink building in which the school is housed can’t be missed, so my quick commute from Suchdol can be made through the haze of morning.
Old Town Square has several sites worth mentioning, the most important for this entry is the astronomical clock’s ascension toward Virgo’s zodiac sign. The clock has been in continuous movement since 1410. Its specialty is the moveable King figure opposite the embodiment of Death. The metaphor: time is your enemy, King-dude, so don’t fuck up your responsibilities towards the people. Tourists gather each hour to watch this spectacle. I grabbed a pistacio gelato and oggled college girls in short-shorts.
Prague has lots of shopping, just as you’ll find in every city around the world. What you won’t find everywhere is the abundance of arcade-style malls that you come upon in central Prague … sort of like picking gum off your shoe, but with a gold coin stuck on the end. Most of these arcades cater to tourists these days, but you’ll still find the odd boutique that has some quality stuff.
The subway system is clean, well lit, and fastly functional. People are mostly polite, and the automated voice giving stops is loud and clear. I note all of this as contrast to such places as Chicago, London, New York, and Paris. Though they function, you’d better know when you need to get off the train, or else you’re going for a ride.
Home-sweet-apartment is coming along, and there’s nothing better to have waiting for you at the end of the day than food, wine, and a nice place to sit for some music and read a good book. And, of course, when Buckcherry’s “Crazy Bitch” comes on the iPod, you just have to reach for the wine (see the Buckcherry x-rated version of this video).
August 25, 2008 at 8:22 am · Filed under The Prague Blog
Suchdol is virtually a suburb of Prague. The photo here shows the house in which I live (top floor, overlooking the street, nice sun in the afternoon). Suchdol sits behind Hradcany Castle, about 3 miles up a hill. If I stood on the roof of this house, I would see Prague down in the river valley.
Suchdol is really a community unto its own, and has that feel—blocks of free-standing houses. Up the street from me is a small crossroads with a couple restaurants, couple bars, wine shop, post office, mini-mart, and hotel. That is Suchdol, basically, surrounded by homes, hugging a huge university complex that begins just across the street from me (behind trees and a few apartment buildings).
I take a bus and metro to get to Prague center, about 30 minutes away. The bus stop is just down the block. One comes every ten minutes. It terminates at the metro station, so I only need to be half conscious to get where I’m going. Dejvická (DAY-viska) is the end of the green line, and I take that 6 stops to Namesti Miru, where St James Language School has its building. A 30 minute commute is not bad, I think.
So today I went into Prague to walk around. Not much is open on Sunday, but there are lots of tourists around the main attractions, which I avoided. I stopped into the Globe bookshop and coffee house, had a beer and watched a bit of the Olympic closing ceremonies. Boring. The beer was good, though.
Beer is cheap in Prague, but beer is fattening. So I’m sticking with red wine, and there is a good supply of French & Czech wines for decent prices. Jack Daniels goes for $40+ for 750ml. This is a ridiculous price. If I had had room to carry some, I’d have bought duty free at Chicago O’Hare: $40 for two 1-litre bottles. So a call out to all potential visitors: bring me whiskey!
August 23, 2008 at 11:06 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Bertíke is fiesty. He likes to play Wii fighter combat. The on-screen details of missions and pilot info is completely lost on him, as is the constant “chatter” of the game audio, because all is in English and Bertíke speaks only Czech, though for 6 years old he blisters through that language. Nevertheless, the little urchin explained to me how to play the game even though I don’t know Czech. I think the level of ignorance between the two of us balanced things out.
I didn’t get into central Prague today. Instead, Robert and Iveta took me to IKEA and bought a bunch of stuff I needed for the apartment: cutlery, drapes, drinking glasses, a lamp. IKEA seems like a way of life for some of the Czechs. I’m told that Czechs like to shop on the weekends (could this be a bi-product of having more money than the communist regimes allowed? And that actually having so many goods from which to choose makes shopping a real joy?). I asked Robert if he could ever take for granted the fact that he now has freedom of choice … and soooo many choices at that. He told me that anything is better than living under communism.
Iveta also bought me a loaf of bread, she and Robert’s favorite in all the city, and they want to see if I’ll like it too, so we can split a full loaf each week. I’m going in for this deal. The bread is a big wheel of dense rye like no other one can find outside of eastern Europe. You put a little butter on a wedge, have it with milk or wine and a side of meat or cheese, and you’ve had a meal that will stick to your intestines ’till morning.
So then I moved up into my top-floor apartment today. It is large, and I’ll have pictures to show soon (I want to sort of finish the decor before showing its normal 1940′s “style”). All in all, the apartment is a good deal, and I think I’ll like the area better than noisesome and distracting Prague 1 area. I am thinking of joining an expat group, because the language barrier is so much greater than I can even have imagined. I can hardly think how little I’ll be able to grasp Czech. I couldn’t even get French, for fuck’s sake.
August 22, 2008 at 3:50 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Thirty-six hours and running on only 4 hours of sleep, I’m at the keyboard, in Prague, my new home while I teach English in “the city of 100 spires.” There’s thunder outside, and the night has turned cool. I’ve not yet got a feel for my neighborhood, Suchdol (pronounced “SO-dahl”) because I’ve only really just arrived, taken a load off my feet, cleaned up, got wired online, and fixed a Jack ‘n water.
But let me back up. The UAL flight from Chicago to Frankfurt had its nice touch, cuz I got on BUSINESS CLASS, where the chairs are soft, and the children are back in cattle class where they belong. For lunch I started with the prosciuto and chilled prawns w/dill, sidebared by julliened summer squash; then I got into the salad, a nice bed of greens with Asian dressing. These were complemented by a Cote du Rhone, whose robust bouquet was reminiscent of a handful of mixed berries. The main course I decided to have the pecan-crusted chicken breast w/risotto and zucchini (frankly, the risotto could be best described as rice pilaf). More wine! Then for dessert, a spread of cheeses, highlighted by a Machego and a Rosenborg Noble Blue, beautifully blended with a 10-year-old port. Yummie!!
I took a train from Frankfurt to save a bundle (the short-hop flight to Prague ran $300+), and even that turned out okay because the train station is within the airport. I was grateful, because with two 50-pound bags, and a heavy backpack, the fewer steps the better. The 7-hr trip started smoothly, and I had a two-seat area all to myself. This is a quiet train, a German train, and though the carriage springs squeaked like the Tin Man asking Dorothy for a shot from the oil can, I quickly drifted into sleep. A quick transfer in Dresden at 3 o’clock (I had 8 minutes to drag my two bags from track 14 to track 3, up two flights of stairs, etcetera), then ten minutes more on the rails and we were into the Czech Republic. There are high bluffs along an an unnamed river which the train skirted for most of the way, and I saw rafters, kyakers, sailboats, and on the opposite shore many bicyclists. On the train I spoke to a few Brits, college kids on the lamb for a couple weeks. One of them sounded just like my friend Jonno that I had to ask the guy where he came from in England. Sure enough, he’s a Devon boy. I also met Mario, a New Yorker who moved here in ’95 “to escape the first Bush’s recession,” only to be caught by Baby-Bush’s insult to America’s economy. 
Teens and college backpackers crowded the platform at Prague’s Holesovice Station. I lugged my luggage behind me down a long ramp into the terminal, checked the going exchange rates (14.50 Kc to 1 USD) and decided tomorrow will be soon enough to hunt a better figure. I waited only a few minutes for Robert and his wife, Iveta, to ramble up to me (we had not met beforehand, and only had a photograph from which to go). They are a young couple with a 6 yr old boy, Bertík. Robert’s English is pretty strong, while Iveta has barely any words in command. Hand gestures and smiles go a long way in communication. Anyway, they own a home in Suchdol (remember the pronunciation?), of which I stay on the top floor: 1 big bedroom/sitting room, an eat-in kitchen, another sitting room that neither Robert nor I can really describe why it stands alone nor why it sits in the place that it does. Tomorrow I move into the apt, but for tonight R & I set me up in a guest bedroom.
My Prague life really begins tomorrow, Saturday, Aug 23, when I venture out from Suchdol and into central Prague to shop for necessities and a few things to make my apartment “home.” With five days until school orientation, I’ll have the much needed chance to get my directions right, scope out the nearby markets, drop in at a coffe shop and otherwise local bar, and perhaps meet a few people.
