Trying to read a T-shirt, thinks that I'm a pervert...

There's a flurry of drivel coming from me lately. Why? I have more free time (kind of), I'm nearing the end of my traineeship and waxing philosophic more often, things are getting more emotional day by day.

I'm currently sitting in an overpriced coffee shop below my flat listening to Ben Folds and thinking about life. I'm really not getting any culture sitting here, this is an expat hangout. Still, the atmosphere is nice and I can connect to the wireless internet for cheap (have to practice nursing my beer a little bit better). I'm really just killing as much time as possible, hoping the folks back home wake up in time for me to Skype them.

I go out to the clubs/discos nearly every weekend night just to have something to do. Being single can be a bitch. Yeah, I don't have to be super-responsible to anyone, but the club/disco just makes me fear for my love life. I only go for the music and to be with friends anymore. I have to be selective too. American style hip-hop is only featured one night of the week at any given club. I really can't hang at any disco for a prolonged period with European techno blasting in my ears. Sorry, I'm claiming cultural superiority in club music. Deal with it. There was live rap and a break dancing demonstration during last nights festivities. Tonight I go to the national theater (Narodni Divadlo) to see a special Czech opera performed only on holidays, and yes, today is a national holiday. I am paying only 40 Czech crowns for my ticket (less than $2 US). The theatre and symphony are one of the industries subsidized by the Czech government, beer is another one. Did I tell you already that beer is almost always the cheapest drink at any establishment?

Maybe I'll go out to the club again tonight. Tomorrow I'm putting on an American stylHalloweenen party. It's only American because we're forcing everyone to wear costumes. Other than that, it's gonna be a huge, multi-cultural, alcohol-fueled good time for everyone. Alright, I have to go, the waitress just asked me to pay, code for get the heck out of here! Service in Czech restaurants and cafes is horrible. More on that another time.

Until then!

J

(click on the title of this entry to understand the meaning, maybe)

Super happy photo fun time!

Hey everyone, it's cheezy "golden hour" sunset photo time. Enjoy! Actually, we've had really good weather all this month with the exception of it being really cold sometimes. The 1st and 3rd ones were taken at a castle/cathedral near my flat. The 2nd photo is basically looking across the river at my flat, and the 4th was taken last night on my way to the shooting range (that's right, I fired a gun for the first time). Have fun everyone!

- J

In Limbo

The Blogger/Internet Explorer relationship is strained, they have communications issues. My entries keep getting dumped before I can save them or when I try to add pictures. So again, no pictures on this entry, but you can click on the title bar of this entry for a link to my flickr account. Anyway, on to more serious subjects.

Everyone back home may not want to hear this, but I've been planning on staying in Prague a while longer. Nothing is official yet, but I've been actively looking for work for the last month and a half. A few interviews later, I'm sitting here at my desk having a serious decision making crisis. I really want to stay here, and if I'm hired in the next week and a half, I will. If no one wants this hot piece of ass as an employee, I'm going home by default. Sounds like I've made up my mind, but I never know from one day to the next what I want to do. The emotion wrapped up in this is kicking me in the balls on a regular basis.

If you need some further explanation, I like myself better since I came here. This is totally not a knock against anyone back home. I love all of you (well, almost all). Basically, the kind of growth that comes with adapting to an unfamiliar and uncertain environment is addictive for me. It sounds pretty corny, but it feels like I'm living on the edge of stability, and heightens all my senses and makes me glad to be alive. Some mornings it makes me hate the fact that I ever came here. Like when it's 5 below freezing and I have to go to work and leave work literally in the dark. Or when I dream of home and wake wanting to see my family, my friends, the beautiful Bay Area, and instead I have to brace for another challenging day.

But it's the people I meet that keep me here. The ones who've done this before, who are here for the same reason. They keep me going. Don't believe all the hype about Prague. It's beautiful, yes, but without the right attitude, public life can seem really cold and unfeeling. I gradually warm up to it as each day goes by.

Again...nothing is certain yet, except for that return ticket to San Francisco sitting on my night stand. If I hear no good news from employers between now and November 9th, I return to the open arms of family and friends. Sorry if you hate me for not wanting to return so soon, it's what I want to do. Feel free to vent or offer encouraging comments because most mornings I need them.

Once again, I love everyone back home and I will see you sooner or later.

Peace out!

J

If you want me to speak English, you better mean it!

I'm definitely getting accustomed to normal public behavior in Prague. When I first arrived, my big American smile was confusing/embarrassing to strangers. We're used to smiling at everyone, especially women, no big woop. Except here the women think you're coming on to them. I'm not saying I'm not coming on to them, but jeez, give a guy a break. I only want a smile in return. Instead I would get a cofused or scared expression from others, totally not sexy.
So I've learned a little. Specifically, I act like I'm not paying attention to anything. If you do stare at a woman (and they are nice to look at around these parts) just give them a blank stare until they crack a smile or look away. A couple of my friends who happen to be women tell me that not all men in Prague are so staid (look it up) and that they routinely get hit on in public. I don't know what they're complaining about, we should all be so lucky.

I'm pretty self conscious about speaking English in public, especially if I'm by myself. When I first showed up here, I would have jumped at the opportunity to talk with another native English speaker. These days, a traveler would have to be lost, in trouble, or really pretty for me to strike up a conversation in English. Any other situation is gonna need a direct request and you'll have to take the embarrassing risk that I might be Czech and not speak your strange foreign language. Maybe I'm being an ass, but it makes surviving in public a little easier.

I get a big kick out of people carrying on loud conversations near me in English, because they assume that nobody speaks. Mostly I have to try and keep a straight face when the tourists on the tram are talking about what a hot piece of ass I am. On the tram last night a girl actually said, "it sucks that nobody speaks English around here." I was standing right next to her. There was also an incident a few weeks ago where two girls (see the recurring theme) got on the tram and walked right over to me and asked me some questions in English. Maybe it was the American flag necktie I was wearing, but props to them anyway for recognizing a fellow citizen.

That's it for now you crazy cat(s). Really, I don't know how many people actually read this.

I'm out like a fat kid in dodge ball!

- J

Who has time to be funny?

What's up y'all, time for another post. You know, it's really hard to be hilarious all the time. What with the not getting enough sleep, not eating my vegetables, and my soul fading little by little under the flourescent lights in my office, it's amazing I can type anything coherent. So I hope everyone else is having a good week, because mine gets more boring and more tiring day by day.


I have some pictures for everyone, but blogger won't publish them correctly. They come from a creepy church in a town called Kutna Hora. I can't figure out why they're creepy, it's just that all the professional models I hang out with told me they are. Basic recepie: two parts cemetary on prime builing site, one part no place to put the bodies three parts insane monk and one million parts human remains. Bake on very low heat for three hundred years and in no time at all, you'll have your very own creepy historical monument. In case you're wondering, all the bones are from real human skeletons.

There may or may not be a big party at the flat this Friday. Maybe if you're good I'll have some rejection stories for you. I almost promise. And maybe I'll figure out how to get the pictures up...maybe.

Later,

Jeremy

I couldn't agre more, but why do Czechs still listen to so much bad techno?

Cultural science experiments gone wrong

Breaking news: After a controlled science/drinking experiment, more than a few Aiesec researchers/trainees from Prague have sworn they will never do that again!


Like the guy who tried to see how many times he could get a slinky to slink (fell of a cliff), or that dude who put Chinese finger cuffs on all his digits, we were inspired to do something great for science.

The question was innocent enough. How many traditional drinks from how many countries can you slog down before you start speaking your own brand new language? Unfortunately the results are corrupted because in our excitement to start researching, we forgot to assign a control group. The only conclusive evidence points to Czech Republic as having the largest variety of oddly collored and equally odd tasting traditional "drinks." Of course they had an unfair advantage as the liquor store was just down the street. This led to just about anything highly alcoholic becoming a "national" drink. In any case, we are hanging up our lab coats as we all seem to prefer being lab rats to scientists.

And no, I don't have any party pictures for you. I left my camera in the hotel room that night, but you can click on the title of this entry to look at another trainees photos. I'm in a few of the shots.

The photos I've posted here are from the normal waking hours that weekend in the towns Pardubice, Kutna Hora and Seč.

Ciao,

Jeremy