That's right, I have been here for almost a month. It seems impossible to believe that 30 days ago I was sitting with roommate, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes on our little back patio, or was I at coffee with Anci talking about art and our profound love for Simon Schama or was I was dancing with Cav, or was it Monday nights with my Alameda family or maybe I was in the Castro watching some old movie with Dan, joking about....well the things we joked about? Who knows? There are times when I barely remember that other life, and I feel like I have been living here forever, despite the fact I don't speak Czech. Then there are times when I miss it so much I can barely breathe and the people sickness (as I have come to refer to it, mainly because I don't miss home, I miss the people) is so completely overwhelming I am unable to notice the beauty of the city around me. It is in these moments I feel the need to flee to somewhere, anywhere, where I can read the signs and I can listen in on the conversations happening around me.
However, these moments tend to be fleeting. The longer I am here, the more I start to realize the universality of people. Sure we may have different cultural aspects to how we act, but people in love look like people in love all over the world, starry eyes and glowing to be with the object of their desire. A couple fighting, looks like every other couple fighting, rapid angry gestures, crossed arms, and tight faces. Parents look like parents, teenagers act like teenagers, and junkies look like junkies. It is these similarities which help me from going completely insane when I'm in one of my moods. There is something incredibly comforting about how alike we all are.
I am also starting to be a regular certain places, which helps too. There are people here who are used to seeing me and will smile and wave when I walk by. Whether is it is the guy who works at the Gyros place by where I catch the bus to get home, who likes to practice his English with me and often gives me free salad, or the great older ladies who work at the bakery where I get my morning espresso and pastry and always, ALWAYS, correct my Czech, it is comforting to know I am part of this reality, at least for the time being, that people who live here accept that I am a Pragueladyte too.
However, these moments tend to be fleeting. The longer I am here, the more I start to realize the universality of people. Sure we may have different cultural aspects to how we act, but people in love look like people in love all over the world, starry eyes and glowing to be with the object of their desire. A couple fighting, looks like every other couple fighting, rapid angry gestures, crossed arms, and tight faces. Parents look like parents, teenagers act like teenagers, and junkies look like junkies. It is these similarities which help me from going completely insane when I'm in one of my moods. There is something incredibly comforting about how alike we all are.
I am also starting to be a regular certain places, which helps too. There are people here who are used to seeing me and will smile and wave when I walk by. Whether is it is the guy who works at the Gyros place by where I catch the bus to get home, who likes to practice his English with me and often gives me free salad, or the great older ladies who work at the bakery where I get my morning espresso and pastry and always, ALWAYS, correct my Czech, it is comforting to know I am part of this reality, at least for the time being, that people who live here accept that I am a Pragueladyte too.
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