Sorry for the roughshod hamfist posts of late. It’s like the old joke. Two old ladies are sitting in a nursing home cafeteria. The first complains, “The food here is the worst I have ever eaten.” Yeah,” replies the second,” and the portions are so small.”
Here’s the lowdown, of late. I’ve been in the PRG for almost two months. I’ve got my own place in scenic Žižkov; Fourth Floor, No lift.
Teaching is going well. It’s easy, and I think I’m pretty good at it. Half the time, my students just want to talk, to have me correct things that don’t sound right. Sometimes they want to know how to describe carrots that have been steamed.
Constantly speaking with ESL students has severely affected the meter of my voice for the better. I speak at a tempo that, while not necessarily robotic, is more easily digestible for ears of another mother tongue. I have less of a tendency to ramble, and I always try to avoid saying 5 things, when 1 will do, as was my wont. In all honesty, it can get a little Shatnerian.
M to the W, my mate, Mark and a completely unpimpt auto!
I need to spend a day taking really tourist-y pictures, just to get it out of my system. All of my shots here have been of graffiti and my old flat-mates, and not of, oh say, Castles and cathedrals or hip art nouveau architecture.
I used to go to the Art Institute in Chicago on weekends when I was in High School, and sit for hours, trying to get De Kooning. Sometimes I went with my friend Tom Barry. Sometimes I went alone. I’d take the train, and, most when I was alone, try to adopt a don’t-sit-next-to-me demeanor. Two of my favorite movies at the time were The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Taxi Driver. You get the picture. Walking from the train to the museum, my condition always worsened. Making a fist around my jacket across the front of my chest, I’d hunch up like James Dean in Rebel without a Cause. I still have a hard time shrugging that off that pose. It’s why all my pictures are taken sneakily or among friends… Plus, it’s a digital camera. The sound of SLR snapping, as it becomes less and less common, just seems to mean business.
Kellie’s coming in a week. I’ve been holding off on going to the big sights until she gets here. On the short list, I want to got to Kutna Hora, Prague Castle, the TV Tower… Hell, I don’t know. The zoo?
As for learning Czech, it’s hard. My students are very friendly, and one class in particular likes to teach me new words. Check this out: strč prst skrz krk. It means “stick your finger through your neck.” It goes a little like shtir-dch purr-sdt skirdtz kirk. I made them say “Three Hundred and Thirty Three Thirsty Lithuanians want drinks.” They think the “th” sound is tough. I laughed and told them I thought it was hard to pronounce “Ř”. “Zis is an easy sound to make” they said. “Just say rdzh.” “This is an easy sound “I corrected, adding “and no, it’s not.”
