eat cake, b*tches.

adding to the long list of poor decisions being made by the now-dominant right in the name of ideology, we have this gem... deny people food stamps!

sure, it wouldn't really save us much money and would wind up costing us more than we save, economically (there is a multiplyer effect with programs like this were every dollar spent by the gov't almost doubles in impact as it moves across the economic food-chain) but it makes our conservative hearts feel all warm and fuzzy inside. that's a sound basis for policy, right?

(NYT oped here)

I'm just wondering, who will the right blame once it is done decimating all its rhetorical bogeymen? At this rate, labor unions, planned parenthood and any form of social welfare will be all but non-existent come the next election. (forgive the hyperbole, its just how I roll.)

If they were smart, they'd let liberals open the borders and legalize gay marriage in all 50 states. at least then they'd have a platform. Until today's right wing movements find something to stand FOR, they will need a new cast of things to be against. and standing for something is not exactly the road most traveled of late.

1am philosophizing

just now I was brushing my teeth and, as often happens during this activity, my mind began to wander. I found myself thinking about my colloquium, as I do from time to time (probably because when people you respect ask you questions you can't answer fully they tend to stick with you until you can solve them. either that, or I need a new hobby.) and I somehow wound up back at Socrates.

the thought that specifically sent me running back to the computer was that what Socrates really understood and we seem to have lost is the importance of understanding for the polis. not this sort of narrow, overly-rational understanding of our personal self-interest as defined for us by parties and politicans whereby we as voters are supposed to choose almost automatically the platform that will best fill our bank accounts or defend our borders or restore morality or something along those lines. calling such A plus B equals C thinking 'understanding' seems to stretch, if not dishonor, the meaning of the word.

No the understanding Socrates wanted to give birth to in others was something broader, deeper, more fluid and alive. Understanding transgresses boundaries and escapes the limits of rationality, utilitarianism and even the self. Understanding dares to ask not just "which is best?" but "what is the good?" Understanding means asking questions without answers. It is ceaseless and exhausting and will yield no political platform or program of governance. It produces no tangible results or marketable skills.

And yet,

and yet without understanding all our rational choices and good intentions and polling and platforms and political maneuverings are all useless. I look at the political scene and I find my self wondering how this could possibly be happening. How can people believe and act the way they do?

Sometimes its an honest disagreement about values and priorities, and that I can accept. However, I think much of the nonsense we hear is allowed to dominate only because we lack a certain fundamental understanding. We do not understand the world, or our role within it. We do not understant those around us or the complex web of interdependence we inhabit together. We do not even understand the role of government in our lives; what we should demand from it and what we should never allow it to do.

So, I'm going to keep at this philosopy thing for as long as I can. Giving up on understanding just feels too much like giving up on the world.

photoautomat

Berlin indulges my love of the photobooth.
(as do Anna and JoEllen. thanks ladies!)

고맙다

On the bus from Berlin back to Prague, eating gummy bears and sipping a Becks. In other words, as I watch the lanscape roll past my window I'm feeling incredibly thankful. Thankful for the sunshine in the trees, the pictuesque clouds in the sky, above all just thankful to be alive. Why should a landscape lift my spirits or the view from my window elicit gratitude? Who knows? I like it though. :)

choose one...

Suddenly I find myself wondering, why is it so hard to tell the difference between treading water and getting somewhere?

I'm rather restless these days. Unsure if its growing pains or boredom. To je jedna? (perhaps its all the same?)

Maybe the trouble with having a wide open path for your life is, its impossible to know if you are actually getting anywhere. Is the place I'm heading somewhere worth going? And how on earth does one measure progress in that respect anyway?

힘들어.힘들어. Growing up is more difficult than I thought. *sigh*

I once got to see Slavoj Zizek speak, and he mentioned how he liked to read disparate news articles side by side. He found the contrasts revealing, I think. Anyway, whether its his influence or just ADD, I find myself doing this often enough.

Today I read two articles in quick succession. One seemed to justify every cynical feeling I've had about the american political landscape of late. the other reminded me that there is still hope, that human beings haven't totally forgotten how to care for one another. (thank goodness I read that one second, eh?) Both touch on topics of diversity, political action and the power of collective action/inacction. Both came from Good, whose website I enoy for the sleek layout as well as the content. Links below.

1. California City Councilwoman called for muslim americans to be killed
2. Feel Good Story: Muslims Show Solidarity as Human Shields

Czeching In

first off, I apologize for the pun. its not very witty, and all the czech/check jokes made possible by the english language have long since been played out. but really, it was just too appropriate.

I also need to announce that today is international women's day. I myself was unaware of this fact, until someone mentioned it at lunch today. This launched a round of hand shaking and congratulations among the women (mostly in jest) and a somewhat more serious discussion of how the meaning and celebration of the day has evolved in the CR from communist times (where female workers in factories got red flowers and the men went out and got drunk- in celebration of the women, obviously) to today (when fewer people celebrate it, either because of its associations with communism or just out of indifference). Anyhow, next year I plan to prepare a currently-undecided-but-suitably-badass celebration. Its time we celebrated all that is women properly, don't you think? Suggestions welcome.

As you may have guessed from the title, today's update will be Cesky-centric. Because, really, its about time. I've got four months left here. Gotta make them count.

So, in that spirit, I'd like to recount to you my afternoon adventure at the Kavarna (coffee shop). To understand this story, those of you playing at home (in America) will need two bits of background information. Number one is that in Czech, when you want to pay at a restaurant, bar or cafe you do not pay the bill and leave the tip on the table. Instead, the waiter or waitress brings you your bill and tells you the total, and you respond by telling them how much you will pay (including tip) so they know how much change to give you. (this always feels a bit like an odd version of barganing to me. 25? ok 30. weird.) The second thing you need to know is that in Czech, like in English, the teens and tens are confusingly similar. (Don't believe me? think about it. how many times have you had to ask someone to clarify- fifteen or fifty?)

So, I'm in said Kavarna studying away with my czech notebook and festive assorment of multicolored pens. I finish my coffee and am ready to pay the bill. I walk up confidently, ready to be on my way. This part of the transaction used to make me nervous,  but I've been here long enough that paying and numbers are old hat to me.

"sedumdesat devet" she tells me. (that'll be 79 crowns)

Czech tipping style is to basically round up. this is also something that made me anxious in the beginning, mostly because I feel like i am heinously undertipping even when being generous (by czech standards). Another thing I've since gotten under control. So I think to myself, "ok the bill is 80 crowns. round up to.. 90?"

"devatenáct," I say.

no response. maybe she didn't hear me?

"devatenáct," I say again, making sure to speak up and with a decisive head nod at the end.

a brief pause.

"devadesát?" she offers, helpfully.

... and this is the moment that i realize, I've been offering to pay her 19 crowns (or a little less than 1 USD) to settle my entire bill. Oops. I quickly agree with her, taking the proper amount of change with me. Its a rookie mistake, and I walk out the door laughing out loud at myself, and the comedy of errors that is my life. It may be a mess, but at least its entertaining.

na zdraví! (cheers to that.)

spring fever comes early this year

Just when I was so sick of winter that I thought I might go crazy (Literally, if I saw snow once more i was contemplating loosing it), good news has mercifully arrived. What has me so elated? the simple fact that yesterday, as i was leaving my czech lesson with irena at 5:10pm, it was still light out. Not crazy bright, obviously. The sun was decidedly on its way towards the other side of the world. However, not having to walk home in the soul crushing blackness of full-dark-before-dinnertime made my heart leap, and i may have tried to sneak in an inconspicuous victory dance. Sweet is the approach of spring. Do I sound like a crazy person? perhaps. But in this life, it really is the little things.  Today is friday, the sun is shining, my students are behaving themselves (and actually learning, to boot!) and ahead of me is a weekend with highs touching 40F. Life is good.

 

Also putting a smile on my face are my kiddos. Today we were discussing american culture so i gave them a worksheet on Core American values. I was pretty sure this was going to be waaay to hard for them and was planning all sorts of ways to level it down, but i´m glad that i gave them a chance to surprise me because they really, really did. We wound up having a really productive conversation about the different values held by americans and czechs, as well as where they tend to overlap, and i think they learned something new and importaint. I love feeling like a real educator and not just a substitute teacher with native pronunciation.

 

So heres to you, March. i´m beginning to like the looks of you.

cue training montage...

So, in case you needed proof that my horrible obsession with K-dramas has survived my shift to European soils, I've been watching a new one lately called Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Set in a famous university for noble kids/future government ministers in Joseon (aka anceint) times, the show is sort of a Yentl-meets-Dead Poets Society-meets-the West Wing fusion in K-drama form, although its much better than it sounds. promise.

Basically, friendships are formed, philosophy is studied, feminist and progressive principles are acquired and asserted with increasing confidence, and hijinx ensue. Plus, everyone is adorable! And the cinematography is surprisingly good. And a healthy dose of Korean temples as setting never hurt anyone. Did I mention the part with a recurring bit about hiccups? Inner fan girl, meet inner philosphy student. Yay for unlikely common ground.

I usually try to keep my k-drama habit (which I'm slightly embarrassed about) out of my blog (which I'm also slightly embarrassed about. if only because the phrase "my blog" still feels unbearably awkward and pretentious to me). The reason I bring it up is that all this televised studying has me itching to get back to school myself (sad, right?). So I've decided to start circuit training my brain. If it works for physical exercise, why not right?

So after two hours of lesson prep and an hour of internet surfing, I moved on to dreaded GRE prep. Much as I greatly dislike math, its just something that has to be done. So after glaring at the table of formulas and mentally pouting "싫어!" at it for a minute, I dug in. Only to find mistakes in the practice examples they'd worked out for us. Now, I'm the type of person who really needs this review. Its been years since I've had a proper math class or really needed to do anything more complicated than make change. I had to get out a calculator and check that it was actually their mistake and not mine. So, if I can catch these mistakes, surely someone with actual mathmatical knowledge should have caught them. Which leads me to wonder, did Baron's even bother to proofread their book before selling it to me?


Good thing I'm too dense to retain most of the information in there. Who knows what else I am learning wrong. sigh.