Some recent Berlin (February 2011 Trip)

Some Randoms from the Year-so-Far

Learning the Czech Language, teaching rambunctious teenagers something like English, struggling through hours of "conversation" lessons (fishing, sports cars, road kill, Janet Jackson at the Superbowl...) visiting some of Europe and scowling at old ladies scowling at me, I haven't been taking photos or writing or blogging or...I hope it will change.

(First three photos: September in Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie. "Now the place is crap," our British tour guide told us recently, on a return trip to Berlin. "Just a place to buy hats." I like that the American sector is fitted, so characteristically, with a McDonalds. Next three: Madrid. At Retiro park at Sunset, in the underground, and at the palace garden. Next photo: At Medusa Cafe, Prague. Next: Orienteering map from September, and finally: Fashion show Karlovy Vary at Grand Hotel Imperial. We got a VIP table cuz a friend of a friend did the podium. But let's just say that KV isn't where the fashion is at....)

Nikola and Adela

In Central Europe, the Devil, an Angel and Mikulaš, or St. Nicholas to us, come a-knocking on the night of December 6th. Children must sing a song to the trio, while the Devil watches, slinging a chain around menacingly. The angel hovers, and I guess is supposed to be reassuring. My father, who spent one year of his childhood in Austria, tells a story of being left in the car with his brothers on this night. The devil came by and howled at them, trying to open the car doors. All three characters started rocking the car back and forth. Luckily the doors were locked. Terrifying. Really.

In English lesson and or hour of pantomime and minorly English games, we make masks. "Sarah is scissors?" Adela asks. She doesn't seem to know any other verb in English besides the third person form of To Be. "Sarah, Nicole is scissors!" (Frown). Nicole meanwhile is pasting a child's foot into the sack that her Devil is carrying. "In his sack, small childrens," she cackles (Big smile). Let's just say Disney hasn't gotten a hold of the story of Mikulaš yet.

Madrid in November

Madrid in November. Cold. The Spanish of Spain is like snakes, all this "thhh". My Slovakian friend Zita lives in a cupboard and learns Spanish at an anarchist squat, and the rest of her classmates are Russian. "Thita," the instructor would say to her. The Russians squawked and laughed. We went to a sandwich shop near the museum. Hair of the dog, you can order a cana (that is can-ya by the way), which is a small beer, and they give you a tiny plate of something. Mussels, chorizo, bread. "Order the escalope," said Zita, "It means scallops." A sandwich arrived, stuffed thick with deep fried pork. "Woops," said Zita. The barman wrapped it and we gave it to a thin old man, begging on the corner of Retiro Park. 'Grathias!" He said, a look of joy on his face. This surprised me, cuz once I tried to give a French Canadian begging some maple sugar candy he looked disgusted. Maybe he didn't like sweets. When I had a look at the Presidential Palace, there was a street violinist playing the theme song from Titanic. Mucho Dramatico.

Svatba means Wedding

Petr and Teresa got married over the weekend at a Chateau near Plzen. There was a band from Prague, the lead singer looked like young Elvis Costello, and they played the Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dusty Miller. But they also played a lot of Slovak and Czech songs from the 70's and 80's, and as I danced, I watched the room full of people, singing along passionately, like maybe we did to Madonna at Putney School assembly hall dance parties, only this time, I hadn't a clue what these songs were.
When you watch three people step up and down repeatedly on three chairs, to emphasize something in a song you don't understand, and the crowd is laughing hysterically, you feel a bit like an anthropologist from a far away land, so far removed from the culture at hand, that you just might jot down some factual notes, or document with a camera.

But then again, it's not something shots of Becherovka can't fix :)
Watch a clip from one of these aformentioned songs:Madrid