How I Like Jazz; or How Many Slovaks does it take to help a Canadian fix his zipper?
16 January, 2006. 8.45 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.
Sunday was an eventful day. After spending a good part of the morning and early afternoon writing up the syllabus for my English Conversation class at Slovak Technical University, I met my good friend Janka in the centre of town for hot chocolate. Hot chocolate here is thick and smooth, just like pudding. And I love it. No question. We talked a little about the "Kristina situation" (or lack thereof), and Janka's opinion was insightful. Drawing from her own experience, she offered the opinion that I'm basically out-of-luck when it comes to women here because they know I'm a foreigner. It will automatically be assumed (with good reason) that I'll be going back to Canada one day (not if Harper is elected!) so no one is really willing to get involved. It seems that most Slovak women are pretty serious about their relationships....at least, that's the sense I'm getting....
After my afternoon with Janka I hurried off to meet a friend of my colleague Mila (from the Slovak Technical University) at the MAX shopping centre. Upon meeting Erika, we walked to Mila's flat and then progressed, by car with another one of Mila's colleagues, to a reconstructed mill on the outskirts of Trnava. This old mill has been refurbished to act as a restaurant and hotel. It's lovely. There we watched a concert by the jazz percussionist Jozef "Dodo" Sosoka. Only, I didn't know that he was a jazz performer until AFTER a TV camera and microphone was thrust in my face and I was asked "How do you like jazz?" As the token foreigner I'm sure to be on TV now, but I performed like a stuttering idiot! This "interview" took place before any music was even played, and even if I had known he was a jazz performer, I'm still not sure I could have answered that question.... Nonetheless, I don't have a TV, so I won't have to witness my own shame..... The concert was interesting. Sosoka is internationally acclaimed in the jazz percussion field. He's about 60 and by the end of the evening he looked physically exhausted!
To make the evening more interesting, the zipper on my otherwise perfectly suitable (and warm) winter coat broke! It was a good thing we had a ride, because I might otherwise have frozen. Mila was kind enough to lend me her son's overcoat and she offered to take my broken coat to her tailor. So, how many Slovaks does it take to help a Canadian fix his zipper? Five. 1. Mila's colleague, Daniella, to drive me home; 2. Mila herself to offer me the replacement coat and the services of her tailor; 3. Mila's son, Michal, for the use of his spare coat; 4. Mila's grad student, Petra, to help me buy a new zipper; and of course, 6. Mila's tailor. Funny how simple things like a broken zipper can be so complicated in a foreign country where you don't speak the language.... Thank goodness for good friends.
Sunday was an eventful day. After spending a good part of the morning and early afternoon writing up the syllabus for my English Conversation class at Slovak Technical University, I met my good friend Janka in the centre of town for hot chocolate. Hot chocolate here is thick and smooth, just like pudding. And I love it. No question. We talked a little about the "Kristina situation" (or lack thereof), and Janka's opinion was insightful. Drawing from her own experience, she offered the opinion that I'm basically out-of-luck when it comes to women here because they know I'm a foreigner. It will automatically be assumed (with good reason) that I'll be going back to Canada one day (not if Harper is elected!) so no one is really willing to get involved. It seems that most Slovak women are pretty serious about their relationships....at least, that's the sense I'm getting....
After my afternoon with Janka I hurried off to meet a friend of my colleague Mila (from the Slovak Technical University) at the MAX shopping centre. Upon meeting Erika, we walked to Mila's flat and then progressed, by car with another one of Mila's colleagues, to a reconstructed mill on the outskirts of Trnava. This old mill has been refurbished to act as a restaurant and hotel. It's lovely. There we watched a concert by the jazz percussionist Jozef "Dodo" Sosoka. Only, I didn't know that he was a jazz performer until AFTER a TV camera and microphone was thrust in my face and I was asked "How do you like jazz?" As the token foreigner I'm sure to be on TV now, but I performed like a stuttering idiot! This "interview" took place before any music was even played, and even if I had known he was a jazz performer, I'm still not sure I could have answered that question.... Nonetheless, I don't have a TV, so I won't have to witness my own shame..... The concert was interesting. Sosoka is internationally acclaimed in the jazz percussion field. He's about 60 and by the end of the evening he looked physically exhausted!
To make the evening more interesting, the zipper on my otherwise perfectly suitable (and warm) winter coat broke! It was a good thing we had a ride, because I might otherwise have frozen. Mila was kind enough to lend me her son's overcoat and she offered to take my broken coat to her tailor. So, how many Slovaks does it take to help a Canadian fix his zipper? Five. 1. Mila's colleague, Daniella, to drive me home; 2. Mila herself to offer me the replacement coat and the services of her tailor; 3. Mila's son, Michal, for the use of his spare coat; 4. Mila's grad student, Petra, to help me buy a new zipper; and of course, 6. Mila's tailor. Funny how simple things like a broken zipper can be so complicated in a foreign country where you don't speak the language.... Thank goodness for good friends.
posted by BFRE at 8:42 p.m.
4 Comments:
It's really too bad about Kristina. But who knows, maybe it'll be different than you think (can you tell I've been watching romantic comedies? sorry about that!).
As for the TV thing, at least you weren't taped eating. Well, maybe that is better than an interview though! Either way, it really can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be on the wrong side of professional cameras. At least, I hope it's once in a lifetime, eh!
Thanks for the great update - excellent writing as usual. :)
So silly, I completely forgot something in my post! Do you people in Slovakia tend to marry young? I know they do in Ukraine, and I think that makes them (particularly the women) look only for long-term candidates from about age 16 on. I wonder if it's common in Europe, Eastern Europe or if this is particular to Ukraine or former Soviet republics (even though Czechoslovakia was in the Eastern bloc, I still think it was a bit different outside the Soviet Union, so that may have created a different cultural influence).
I have the answer to love in Slovakia.......aim young! If you target people that are "marrying" age, they will not want to put there effort into something that will eventually leave. So, focus on the ones that have all the time in the world...Perhaps you should set you sights on Janka instead of her sister!! Or, all those nice girls featured earlier in your blog. ;-) Jean
kristina is dumb. yup. dumb as a post. or stephen harper. one in the same.
-jenny
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