life is pouring out of me. i'm dripping everywhere. Prague is
incredible.
I'm at the :i want to live somewhere: stage in my life. Living out of a
suitcase is aggravating me, and learning new cities every 2 weeks is
becoming trying. The answer: Prague. Leaving the train station after my
weekend in Bratislava (pretty, active, honey-filled rumball)
(honey-filled rumball because of its sweet inside core city of old
buildings, cobblestone streets and active nightlife, surrounded by the
gritty dough of industrialism with a punch of apartment flats with style
(if you can believe it)), i navigated my first steps in this city: a
highway crossed by foot towards
the centre. It reminded me of the highways of syracuse and boston
looping
the
city: high investment level. i found the destined hostel, dropped my
things, went for a quick
late dinner, made a dire phone call and then wandered the city for hours
thinking, exploring in a bubble, trying to walk out my life. Eventually
i became too tired and lost to bother anymore and hailed a taxi. He took
me in a big circle and then dropped me off at my door. the "grand tour"
route. The morning brought the journey to find my home, as none was
provided in this metropolis. After a little exploring i found a
Wonderful place. The streets around it are great. they slope a little,
surrounded by parks, tree-lined, i'm 2 blocks from a healthfood store
and an internet-cafe/laundry and a nice market and a nice produce
market... the streets remind me of the gramercy park area but
different. needless to say, for a weary traveller who has been imposing
on people for 2.5 months and LIVING OUT OF A SUITCASE for far too long,
this nook with a window to an inner garden, my own bathroom and a shared
kitchen... all for, hold your breaths, 13.75 US$/day for 2 weeks. i'm in
love with this place. it's calling my name. in my journal i wrote:
**what a lovely day in my life! i am in love with Prague and I am made
to
have an apartment and job in this city right now. It takes the nice
aspects of towns in this region and pumps it up, adds culture, a lively
health scene and NYC gramercy park style places for me to live, on the
edge of the east... i love it. i want to gobble it.**
The prices follow the style, and everything is about twice as expensive
as
east
of here, but manageable. the rent on the apartment is off-season rates,
by the way. half price.
I bought a radio so music may fill my ears.
I am infused with beauty again and again, having just come from the
Alphonse Mucha museum... certainly one of my very favorite artists... i
will visit numerous halls throughout the city which he painted. I
bought a book documenting his best works, and a print of "Dance" from
his set of the four arts (poetry, music, dance and painting). It's
combined worth is a little less than what I've budgeted for 2 days of
expenses, but that's fine. i'll just stay home and read and then walk
everywhere and absorb everything... For me, this city beats out NYC and
Boston. This is in terms of where i want to live for the next few years
of my life. Now i have to turn this all into action. I plan to
continue to work on "development" projects, and tomorrow I will start my
internship with the Centre for Democracy and Free Enterprise
(www.cdfe.cz), run by an American. If I am pleased with the
organization
and its structure,
I will push a job out of it. If not, I will explore EU, UN, or domestic
projects based here. I may focus on EU-accession of Eastern European
countries and the development process they are going through to ready
themselves for accession. I still plan to fly home (to my parents) in 2
weeks, and then finish a survey project in Ithaca with the Telluride
Association, but this city is right for me now. True I have met
numerous
people in this region who have become important to me, and that is good,
but not the full reason of staying here. This city calls me, and
by telling you this, I am issuing myself a command to follow through
with this goal, in the same way I commanded myself to take this trip in
the first place.
I ask for your support and know that I have your love, as you have mine. This trip has changed and developed me in so many ways. My heart and mind and soul and even body have changed over and over since I left the shores of my parents. I have been on the edge of extreme pain, lonliness, exhaustion, exhilleration, beauty, confusion, clairvoyance, love, and exhilleration again. I don't mean to make you jealous, only aware that the world is great and staying at home is no means to experience it.
Finally, I'll include a visual sketch of the train-station restaurant in which I waited for my train to Bratislava from Brasov, Romania:
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Now, I'm in Romania-land/Roma(gypsy)-land/seedy train station bar.
Playing "there she goes, just a walking down the street" dance-club
style on the radio. I definetely stand out, but I feel that as long as
I don't care, they don't care. It's my movie, damnit. I"m really
tired, I have to sleep on a train: worry about safety/cleanliness, etc.,
then I see Adam, which will be nice. He better cheer me up.[he did]
Then I have to navigate Prague for a 2-week spot. Geez, I better
brighten my spirits. I want to study my surroundings, but I know if I
do, they'll study me. This place is crazy (suprise suprise). All a
faded pink in various dirty textures, yellow-stained long lace curtains,
a couple 'youths' who look like if they were cooler, they'd be
elsewhere; lots of long dark dirty hair, dark faded dirty coats,
old cigarette smoke, almost all male. I'm counting the minutes until my
train leaves: 31minutes, 35 seconds. Something strange is going on in
the next room. An arcade I think, and more tables. I know, it reminds
me of the "What's eating Gilbert Grape" family, times 10 to get the
right number of people, at least that last laugh sounded like DiCaprio's
demented one. Yeah, it's the youth. I'm finding it very difficult to
describe him. I'll try. He stands the whole time, but doesn't stand,
walks/dances/claps his hands to the beat occasionally. I think he's
pretty young. 15 maybe. Wearing: yellow ski cap with fringe at the top
and a red band around the edge. Brown sweatshirt, tan sweatpants pulled
over the bottom of his sweatshirt, socks and sandals. He has some teeth
missing and that strange laugh. His face is childish but at the same
time bored/trying to seem something he is not/wanting attention. I
can't tell if he is normal, but no-one here is normal and no-one is
normal, so oh well. The music improved. Turkish with a disco beat and
female voice. 24 minutes and 30 seconds. Actually less. I should leave
soon. It's more like 18 minutes. The pine tree outside the window has
big white and read x-mas lights and small white x-mas lights with a
green "tree" light at the top and a white "star light. I can see it
through the "drapes". Kind'of nice. The man behind me is coughing now
and can't stop; lightly, but the cough is deep and sounds like he's had
it a long time from the slow exhausted way he coughs. He's still
coughing. I should go to my train. Ah life. at least Brasov was
beautiful...
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i am sitting typing next to 2 french guys. we started talking and they
are talent searching for a czech/french jazz festival in paris this
year. I showed my card and told them who my father is and I got an
instant invitation for scouring jazz clubs with them tonight and
tomorrow. excellent. thanks dad! :-)
now to enjoy the city with companionship!
i'll see those of you in nyc and ithaca and cherry valley quite soon!
much love,
angelica