Ode to Football

I should begin by making it abundantly clear that I am referring to American football, not soccer. I hate soccer; it is not entertaining. But before I continue to bash soccer, I want to make sure no one gets the wrong impression. Like any forward thinking, liberal twentysomething who has traveled a bit I recognize that in some ways Europe is now superior to the US, especially in light of the actions and attitudes of the current American administration. A perfect example would be the rising value of the Euro as compared to the rapidly declining value of the US dollar. Professional sports is not one of these cases. Soccer, futbol, football, whatever is a game with low scores and little variety. It is monotonous and dull. Soccer is only worthwhile as a game for children to play in which they can learn valuable lessons about teamwork and competition. [in the interest of disclosure and fairness, I have never seen a live soccer game, perhaps it is more exciting, but I doubt it]
However, football is incredibly entertaining. What plays will be chosen? Will they go for a field goal? A two point conversion? Its full of variety, strategy, and split-second decisions that can determine the fate of your team. The NFL's relatively short season makes each game more valuable and therefore more exciting. Of course having this attitude in Prague is difficult.

Saturday night my new friend Jared mentions that he wants to find a sports bar showing football on Sunday. I, of course, was thrilled. And so Sunday evening we set out in search of the NFL. Jared had already visited three pubs with no luck, we made our way to Friday's hoping that something as American as Friday's was bound to show American sports, but alas it was not to be. But then, the bartender told us that if we went to Jama we could find it. Jama has American football every Sunday. He gave us directions and we were off, it was quarter to 7, and we had 15 minutes until kickoff. (1 pm games are at 7pm here)

Jama was like a dream. It was full of true football fans, who were not only knowledgeable but more than willing to yell at the screen and argue with each other. It had been almost a month since I'd seen football and it was terrific, ideally they would have carried the Giants-Browns game, but I had to settle for watching McNabb and the Eagles crush Harrington and the Lions. Anyway I was able to see the box scores and highlights for the Giants and they won! We even stayed to watch some of the 10 o'clock game (4 pm) because c'mon it was Colts-Packers. That's Manning and Farve, who could walk away? Plus Jama has real Buffalo wings, great burgers (with cheddar - hard to find here) and nachos with a lot of beef. I love Prague, but it was great to have an American night.

The Day of Atonement

Its Yom Kippur and I'm pretty hungry. But to talk about that would only make it worse, so I'll share a story of the black market. I've been reading Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser, who you may remember from Fast Food Nation. Both of which I highly recommend if you have any interest in the true workings of some of America's largest industries. In Reefer Madness, Schlosser deals with American marijuana policy, migrant farmers, and the black market both at home and abroad. I mention this because this is a story in which one topic seems to crop up in multiple unrelated places. This is the first, my personal reading.
The second is in class. My course on Law and Human Rights featured a reading about the Central European black market that flourished under communism and persists as governments try to shift to free market capitalist systems. Three days ago I was talking to an American student I met at Charles University who started telling me about his thesis on, you guessed it, the black market.

On Thursday I had decided to exchange my remaining American currency for Czech crowns. As I walk up to the exchange booth (I asked around and this one had the best rates) I am stopped by a man who asks me which country I'm from. I told him and he then offers to exchange my currency at a better rate and he tells me he is part of the black market. Not wanting to get involved with him I tell him I have Travelers' Cheques so it will be of no use to him. I begin to exchange my money, and lo and behold, he has followed me inside. He then starts yelling at me, calling me a liar and acting ashamed, as if I am the one in the wrong. I told him, I'm not the one doing the wrong thing, you're the one in the black market. He walked away, but as I'm leaving he again tries to offer me some deal, this time showing me his money, which didn't even look like actual Czech currency. As I walk away, he spits at me.
So that's my first encounter with crime here in Prague, if that's all they got no one need worry.

Hungary...Why Wait?

Around 5:30 this morning (local time) I awoke as the train I was on rolled into Hlavni Nadrazi in Prague. I had spent the weekend in Budapest, and as I awoke I realized that Prague is home. Budapest is a beautiful city, and so much of it is like a fairy tale. The castles especially are almost unreal. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Thursday night around 11pm we left Prague. I'll establish the cast now and then refer to them specifically when necessary. Stephanie and Elon, Tisch drama students and musical fanatics (read they sing all the time). Then theres Liz, a Buffalo native and University of Ontario student, Matt, a NYU transfer from UConn and a Connecticutian, and Nika, a Yalie from Chicago. I should note that,inspired by me, Matt and Nika have both made Prague Blogs. You should be proud to be reading the original.

On the train ride there we discussed both team names and Matt brought up the legal status of aliens and spirits in Iran, the country of his ancestry. Somehow we decided to call ourselves Jin Jihad, Middle Eastern Ghostbusters basically. As I type this I realize it doesn't make a great deal of sense but you should let it go, sleeper cars breed a bizarre humor. When we got there we soon found ourselves in the Mellow Mood hostel which was both clean and well situated in Pest (the most important factors). It also had a bar upstairs and was furnished entirely by IKEA.

We decided to head up to Castle Hill on our first day. We visited the St. Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion and were generally amazed by the beautiful neighborhood and terrific view on the mountainside in historic Buda. We also found an underground labryinth that had served as both a wine cellar and a bomb shelter and is now decorated with recreations of cave drawings and bizarre statues. We discovered that Nika and Stephanie are both easily freaked out in dark places like that, and of course had some fun with that. That night we ventured out to the Old Man's Pub. It was recommended by the hostel staff and we were told they had live music, which they did. However it was full of old people (I'm using the word "old" as a 20 year old, so we're talking people in their late 30s and 40s - no offense intended to anyone in that age group, especially you Mom) We later went to a karaoke bar to hear awesome Hungarian renditions of American classics, the guy who did "New York, New York" was particularly good.

The next day we split for a while and I spent a few hours in the Budapest Historical Museum. I could go into detail, but I'll spare you. I'll only say the Turkish conquest was fascinating and their influence is still seen in Hungary. When we met up we checked out Hero's Square, the Parliament buildiing, some churches, a lot of historic stuff. Saturday evening's highlight was definitely when we heard a lot of music in the woods. We ventured in to discover an outdoor Hungarian rap show. This was definitely the place to be for all the cool kids in Budapest, so we hung out for a bit. I actually wish I had stayed longer. Anyway, Sunday found us starting our day with a trip to Statue Park. Its a bit out of town, but so worthwhile. Many of the Communist statues that once filled the streets of Budapest have been relocated there. Not only that, they play Communist songs and have awesome USSR souveneirs. We spent the afternoon on Margit Island. They had beautiful gardens, live music, bikes and carts to rent, etc. It was here that Nika, Matt, and I had two GIANT cotton candies and perec, which was basically a giant soft pretzel.

This leads me to Hungarian food. Upon arriving early on Friday morning we just went to McDonalds and good news a Sausage and Egg McMuffin tastes the same. Actually Matt and I returned to McDonalds for their internet acess and I ended up having a Royal with Cheese as well. Anyway, Friday afternoon we found a relatively cheap local restaurant where I tried the creamed veal polok? (it definitely ended in a k and had os) It was awesome and came with great potatos. Nika's wild boar was also pretty delicous. My culinary highlight of Saturday was the, to quote the English menu "Favorite meal of the highwayman Sandor Rosza and potatos." I'm still not entirely sure which meat the cutlet was, but it was topped with extremely hot peppers, cabbage, and pieces of fried goose liver. Goose happens to very big there. I love adventorous eating and I was super thrilled by my gastronomic choices in Budapest. Especially the funnel cake at the train station when we were leaving Budapest. All in all it was an awesome trip, but now I'm back and I must do some reading.

L'Shana Tova

Today is Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) literally Head "Rosh" the "Ha" year "Shanah". You'll have to forgive me, but having taken Hebrew for the last two years, I like to use it when I can. (on that note - Tov means good and the a is part of the declension) Okay, so thats out of my system, now.
Four of five guys who live in Apt. 11 are Jews, so we went togehter with some of Barry's friends from Duke, as well as Rachel and Sam. The Spanish Synagogue had a Reform service so we chose to go there. This way Rachel and Sam wouldn't have to sit in the back. The service was led by a Rabbi from Stockholm, who sounded remarkably like Mel Brooks and his Czech translator. We had two siddurs, one in Hebrew and Czech, and the other in Hebrew and English. A lot of the service was very familiar, but many of the tunes were changed. It was a bit disheartening, especially if like me you are a huge fan of the High Holiday melodies. I'm sure it is no coincidence but the portion of the service that was least changed, was the Torah service. However I've always read the portion on the Sacrifice of Isaac and here it was about Isaac's birth and the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Of course I'm familiar with both portions and would be happy to converse about either. Seriously merely send me an e-mail, and I'll prove my Talmudic scholarship. Seriously though, it was really nice to spend Rosh Hashannah in such a beautiful and historic synagogue. The congregation was small but very friendly and they were very pleased to have a group of students there. Rabbi Mort cordially invited us to come back at 6 for Tashlich.
I promise I'll write on more secular issues, but first I would be remiss if I didn't mention the sermon. I know I've been spoiled by the excellent sermons my Rabbi at home is known for, but this was pretty crazy. He discussed the differences between faiths founded on truth and faiths founded on lies. He went on to say that a faith that asks you to kill in the name of G-d is not based on truth, and then he went right into an anti-terrorism speech specifically citing Muslims. He really needed to do a much better job distinguishing between religous extremists and the regular religous people. Most of us were a bit shocked.

Totally new topic, I've finally decided which class to drop. I've been taking 5 so far and I had to choose. I knew I was keeping Czech. And I really enjoy my Cultural History of the Central European City as well as my Modern Jewish History class (big shocks there) I was trying to decide between American Literature from a European Perspective @ Charles and Law and Human Rights in Central Europe. The reading list for the lit class had a much more interesting reading list, but was horribly inconvenient for my schedule. So I dropped Lit. Usually it wouldn't be a big deal, BUT I got an internship at the East West Institute. The EWI is not merely a think tank, but a think and do tank. I'll be working in with the Historical Archives as well as handling a few HR tasks. So very soon I will be an expert on the conferences, initiatives, and programs the EWI has done in the past. Anyway it sounds exciting to me.

Thats probably enough for now, tonight I'm taking a sleeper car to Budapest, so I'll have some stories soon.

Expectations and realities

Before traveling to Prague, I experienced an onslaught of information. There was the information NYU sent, various guidebooks, and info and advice from friends and neighbors. Thus I came with many expectations. I've decided to give everyone some insight into Prague by highlighting I few things that were expected and unexpected.

I'll start with the unexpected. The top of the list is Czech Mex. Throughout Prague and I'm told in the rest of the country as well there are restaurants specializing in Czech Mex. They have burritos, enchiladas, tacos, nachos, etc. Of course its doesn't really taste authentic, but it is good. You may be wondering if I as a New Jerseyan (Jerseyite?) am qualified to judge the authenticity of Mexican cuisine. I assure you I am. Most of you know I have strong opinions on food and I will be happy to supply references upon request.
I also did not anticipate the extent to which American pop music and American TV shows existed in Prague. The pop is in every store and bar. As for TV, I watched a bit of Czech "Friends" this week. And my Czech teacher, Jiri Novak, translates scripts for dubbing. He has worked on "Step by Step" and "The Simpsons" ( He loves Homer and received an award for dubbing on the Simpsons)

Other things I had been prepared for. Smezeny Syr (fried cheese) is outstanding. Imagine a mozzarella stick in patty shape on a bun with ketchup and mayo. There really is no better way to end a long night out.
Also the classes here are really awesome. I had been told this by the few people I know who studied abroad in Prague and its true. Besides Novak, I have an Urban sociologist who survived both the Holocaust and the Communist occupation. The classes are all small and although the traditional Czech educations focuses only on lecture they are all interested in hearing our opinions and having real discussions.
I could go on, but I need to get going theres talk of some ultimate Frisbee in the park.

Lastly, I am trying to discover how to post pictures on the blog, so that's something to look forward to.

What do I have to do to find a hedge maze?

Most of my weekend went as planned. I visited a 5 story dance club Friday night. My favorite floor was oldies (Where else can you rock to Deep Purple, hear "U Can't Touch This", and sing along to "In the Jungle") And on Sunday, I toured the beautiful Prague Castle, and found a mall/supermarket to stock up for the semester. Saturday's plan was to go on a picnic to Petrin Park. It has gardens, a maze, and a huge tower resembling the Eiffel Tower which provides a spectacular view of Prague. But this plan was dashed by a simple message on the whiteboard in our residence hall "Martina has flu"

First question you should ask is Who is Martina? Martina is an RA in the Machova residence hall (my home in Prague). Martina is also the focus of many crushes due in her large part to her being Czech and having adorable mannerisms. So as you would expect there was a great deal of anticipation for the trip.
Second question is of course shouldn't it be "Martina has the flu"? Yes, it should. Many Slavic languages, Czech among them, lack articles. As such many native speakers often struggle with them and either leave them out or overuse them.

After friday night's debauchery, my suite had a collective late start and a delicous brunch around 1pm. Afterwards, we gathered some other friends and decided to take the tram across the river and explore "Lesser Town" [I wish New York had such literal names for the Boros, I think Staten Island should be Lesser Island] Well wouldn't you know, that the first thing we find on the other side of the river is a huge hill. We start to climb and discover that we have happened upon the very park we had planned to go to. So we opted not to take the tram up the mountain, but instead to walk. It really paid off, we saw some beautiful gardens and nature trails and were able to preserve a spirit of adventure and discovery that would have been robbed from us by something as direct and mechanical as a tram. We were a bit tired by the time we reached the summit but the view from Petrin tower was well worth it.

I wish the maze had been as exciting. Martina had told me about it last week and mentioned that there were mirrors to both confuse you and to distort your image. But it turns out that it was merely a lame path of mirrors that I don't consider a maze because there was only one path to follow. The distorted mirrors were fun, but nothing new. I had my hopes set far too high, I was hoping for a real hedge maze with sculpted topiary and all. And is it too much to ask, to get a minotaur in the center? I'm willing to settle for a statue.

Anyway thats enough for now, and a decent summary of the weekend. Stay tuned for info on classes coming soon.
Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day, we don't have that here in Prague.

OY! A story of mishigas in the Jewish section of town

The majority of this post will concern today, but I'm gonna start by jumping back to the early afternoon of yesterday. My new friend Sarah, who happens to be a friend of Alex Valentine (A-Val - why wasn't she at your party this summer?) and I decided to walk through the old Jewish section. Within minutes I hear a phrase I've become all too familiar with hearing around campus: "Excuse me, sir, are you Jewish?" Not being one to deny my heritage, I tell him yes. Next thing I know he's putting tefilin on me and we're doing a little "Shema" and "V'Ahavta" The Chasid proceded to ask if I was from America. I said yes and his next guess is Brooklyn. Once I told him that I was from New Jersey, he replied "Teaneck?"

Anyway, today I took an actual tour of the Jewish section. The tour guide was terrific, he is from the area and he was not only very knowledgable of local history and Judaism, but he told some classic Jewish jokes. (i.e. Why do Jews wear kippas? Because so many Rabbis are bald)
I made the mistake of revealing my knowledge of Judaism. He was discussing the history of Jews in Prague and mentioned a travelogue of sorts that cited a population of Jews in Prague. I recognized the book from a Jews of Muslim Spain class I took last year and discussed it with him. Now he thinks I'm this macher and I have to prove myself by stating the date of the destruction of the Second Temple, translating Hebrew inscriptions, explaining the purpose of a Mikvah, etc. I think the height was when he asked if I knew how to chant Torah, I was a bit worried he would make me demonstrate. It worked out well though, he invited me to services so I just might see him again.
We saw some truly incredible temples, and I think I will definitely have to attend a few services at the Old New Synagogue (High holidays, at the least) Plus there were some cool Golem statues, one of which I must own.

Goyim - Its possible there are jokes you didn't get, or phrases you didn't understand in this post. Leave comments or e-mail me and I'll be happy to clarify

Don't be spoiled by the posting frequency thus far

Due to the good responses I've already received I've decided its time to post again. Its Wednesday afternnon and I've been having a great time.

Yesterday I watched "Kolya" a Czech film from the mid 90s which won the Academy Award for best film. It was a beautiful film and I highly recommend it. It takes place in the late 80s and its about a green card marriage with a "Big Daddy" twist. Kolya is just as cute, and the movie is more serious. I was also really impressed by some of the imagery in the film.
Last night, I saw the Emil Viklicky Trio perform. They fused Moravian folk music with contemporary jazz and were really awesome. It always great to see live music when you can watch the improvisation by the look on the musicians' faces.

I'm really getting to know the neighborhood both by the center and the residence. I've found my favorite ice cream at Cream & Dream and my favorite coffee at Kava Kava Kava (literally coffee coffee coffee) I've discovered that the Czechs can be a very shy and reserved people. Unless they are under 30, in which case they have been raised by the same pop culture as Americans (side note - all bars seem to play pop music that was big like three months ago, which is good because I already know the lyrics) Anyway, the youth are definitely louder but still not as forward as I'm used to in New York.

Although most of you were not awake as I wrote this its already time for me to meet the group for a tour of Kafka sites in Prague, such as the house he lived in, the school he went to, and his favorite bar.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last few days before the semester starts.