When we arrived back in Europe for our second round of teaching in March, Nitra was the first town in which we taught (check out my post “Nice To Meet Ya, Nitra” to read about my first visit.) Back in March, they told us that some teachers would be returning for a workshop in May—as it turned out, we were to fulfill that duty.
Nitra is the 5th largest city in Slovakia and has a lot to offer—a castle, several churches, an attractive town square, a huge theatre, a mall, etc. Last time around, we had been suffering through the annoyingly long winter; a few days had been nice, but mostly I just remember walking to school with terrible gusts of icy wind drilling me in the face. This time, the weather was fantastic and the city really took on a different aura because of it. Trees were in bloom, the large fountain in the square was running again (previously it had just been a hole filled with unwatched children) and pedestrians were out and about everywhere enjoying the city.
I won’t say it’s the most fantastic place I’ve ever been. But sunshine really does a lot to perk a place up.
Our accommodation was different this time. It was quite far from the school, but we did have a 7th story room with a balcony that looked out onto the sprawling city, with Zobor hill rising high and mighty in the background—a hill that we had conquered during our last stay.
The expanse of Nitra as seen from our week’s accommodation.
The students were really fun this week—one of the classes was a group of four seventeen year olds who were brilliant in English. It was a blast just to converse with them on a daily basis. On Friday, we created a board game together based around the concept of sloths (yes, those adorable creatures that you may or may not know that I am obsessed with) rising to power out of Central America and traveling around the world with the goal of global domination. They had to stop in different countries along the way and complete different tasks for the ability to move on.
For example, all players had to stop in Russia for a vodka drinking competition with Stalin, Lenin & Putin. They also had to stop off and see Kim Jong-un for a Gangnam Style dance competition before moving westward.
Don’t judge—sometimes, vocabulary like this comes in handy. You never know.
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I recently reread the classic The Great Gatsby to prepare for the release of the new film adaption. We decided that Nitra, being quite a big town which was bound to have a cinema in it somewhere, would be the place where we would finally see it. The movie was in 3D—this was the only option—and was shown in a massive theatre with quite comfortable seats. I enjoyed it.
Classic ‘waiting for the movie to start’ pose. I’m not sure if that really is a classic pose. They made us pick our seats before entering the theatre, but as you can see from the turn-out, it didn’t matter too much where we sat.
I was expecting to be thrown off by the jazzed-up hip hop soundtrack in place of real jazz, but that didn’t bother me. However, there are three negative things I will say against the film:
1) Oftentimes, it was too theatrical. I don’t mean in the over-the-top, dazzling kind of way that highlights the absurd lavishness and prosperity of the wealthy during the 20s. I mean in a trite, cliché sort of way. Some of the more dramatic scenes were too dramatic—to the point of being unbelievable, in my opinion. And some of the symbolism was thrown in your face too much, making some of the more intelligent aspects of the novel more accessible, and, in turn, less intelligent. Alas.
2) While they used loads of direct quotes from the book (mostly in a narrative way), some of Tobey Maguire’s deliveries of the lines were just plain lame. He did a much better job than I thought him ever capable of, but some lines really stuck out to me as corny in the way they were proposed to the audience—even if they were Fitzgerald’s own words. Interpretation is one thing, but there is certainly always a wrong way to do something. I won’t say this happened often, but it did happen.
3) Isla Fisher wasn’t in nearly enough scenes.
Overall, the movie was really enjoyable. I’d say a 7/10 at minimum.
***
For the weekend, we decided to go visit Brno, Czech Republic. I had already been there (check out the second half of my post “It’s Sometimes Sunny in Czech Republic” to read about this visit) but Lisa had never seen the city. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t amazing while we were there—the beginnings of a huge storm to come. We stayed in the same hostel I was in last time—a small but inviting place. But this time, a hyperactive golden retriever puppy was there to greet us excitedly.
Good places always have the capacity for improvement.
On Saturday, we took a walk around the main section of the city—that is, after some chai lattes and grilled sandwiches. The downtown area is a fun and active place, but the weather was becoming less and less favorable.
Patiently waiting for sandwiches.
Getting antsy…But really. These drinks were phenomenal.
After a little bit of exploring, we discovered a small beer festival. So, starting at approximately noon, that became our event for the day.
Bad weather? Never fear! Czech Republic loves beer!
While walking around the city, we stumbled upon a group of boys of various ages all doing parkour. For those not aware, parkour has often been referred to as extreme walking. It is like a kind of gymnastics that allows the participant to use whatever means around him/her to complete the physical task at hand. It’s sort of a strange hobby, but it’s quite impressive to watch. Here you can see one of the guys showing off his moves.
Another bro showcasing his stuff. A dolled up parkour groupie came by with a video camera slightly after this.
We didn’t realize until the next day how epic this picture turned out to be. I’m pretty sure I was having some sort of moment when this was snapped.
We drank several different kinds of beer outside—in the misty rain that had started to fall—before moving onto a hotel/bar/restaurant/microbrewery recommendation that came from my cousin Karen who lived in Brno. The place is called Pegas and has several different kinds of homebrew on tap. Sometime after the second or third one of these, we ordered a side of homemade potato chips with a garlic dipping sauce.
Nutrition wasn’t a serious concern that day.
Me creeping in the doorway of Pegas for no reason whatsoever.
We then moved onto another bar, but it was a bit empty and boring so we left after one drink. The clouds had started to clear a bit, so we headed toward the main square. I held down a spot on a nice bench—in a rather content, non-cognitive sort of manner—while Lisa went to the store to pick up some more beer and cheese sticks.
Munching on the aforementioned sticks and conversing over beer, we watched a clown entertain children. I stared in amazement. Maybe it was because I was slightly inebriated, but I had this epiphany that I am truly sorry for clowns; they used to be the epitome of joy, a physical embodiment of pleasure and merrymaking in every sense.
Now they have been reduced to creepy, monstrous figures.
It was nice to see this clown in his natural element—the place in which history should have left him and all others like him.
The masses of children untainted by the clown’s societal stigma.
And the bubbles continue to grow…
Today’s Recommended Song: Jack Johnson – “Rodeo Clowns”
I think I ate some bad tuna tonight—wish me luck.
[Update: Approximately 18 hours after I finished writing this post, I am currently home in bed while Lisa is teaching. I was right—something made me very ill last night. Very ill. I won’t be eating tuna for quite some time…]
A WAYFARER'S MURMURINGS 