Quotes, Devils and Fire
Some great quotes from my students lately:
Asking me about my other students: "Do your other students speaking English good also?"
Talking about holiday gifts: "A new refrigerator is important because cold beer is necessary for life."
Talking about why this one student doesn't make New Year's resolutions: "When I was young, I was conceited. But now, I have no flaws."
This past Monday was St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated as a combination of Halloween and Christmas. The same St. Nick that we know as Santa is honored, but little kids get candy if they've been good (or, depending on the household, if they sing the song they're asked to sing) and either a lump of coal, or a potato, if they haven't (or don't). Instead of the kids going from house to house, parents typically arrange for friends or family to come to the house dressed up as either a saint, a devil, or as St. Nick himself. The visitor(s) generally scare the kids into singing a song or reciting a poem before giving them what they've earned. I wish I had my camera on me, it was pretty hard to walk anywhere around town with out seeing a devil and a saint walking hand-in-hand.
That night, my roommate dragged me to the bar across the street for a late-night drink. As it turned out, I was glad she did. If the devil-and-angel dressing up wasn't enough of a connection with Halloween, as we walked in to the pub, some locals (aided by the sole bartender) were TP'ing the place, with the heaviest concentration of toilet tissue on the ceiling fan, letting it hang down pretty far. The bartender then proceeded to take a swig of the nearest bottle of liquor, and blow a ball of flame onto the (now spinning) fan. It's not often you experience Flying Flaming TP. Again, disappointed to be camera-less.
In any case, Prague has put up its Christmas tree. First blue tree I've ever seen. These pictures don't do it justice, but it's actually pretty cool down in Wenceslas Square. The only poorly-designed part is that it's tough to get a good camera angle on the tree to get a full sense of its size, and capture any part of the square. In any case...
This past Monday was St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated as a combination of Halloween and Christmas. The same St. Nick that we know as Santa is honored, but little kids get candy if they've been good (or, depending on the household, if they sing the song they're asked to sing) and either a lump of coal, or a potato, if they haven't (or don't). Instead of the kids going from house to house, parents typically arrange for friends or family to come to the house dressed up as either a saint, a devil, or as St. Nick himself. The visitor(s) generally scare the kids into singing a song or reciting a poem before giving them what they've earned. I wish I had my camera on me, it was pretty hard to walk anywhere around town with out seeing a devil and a saint walking hand-in-hand.
That night, my roommate dragged me to the bar across the street for a late-night drink. As it turned out, I was glad she did. If the devil-and-angel dressing up wasn't enough of a connection with Halloween, as we walked in to the pub, some locals (aided by the sole bartender) were TP'ing the place, with the heaviest concentration of toilet tissue on the ceiling fan, letting it hang down pretty far. The bartender then proceeded to take a swig of the nearest bottle of liquor, and blow a ball of flame onto the (now spinning) fan. It's not often you experience Flying Flaming TP. Again, disappointed to be camera-less.
In any case, Prague has put up its Christmas tree. First blue tree I've ever seen. These pictures don't do it justice, but it's actually pretty cool down in Wenceslas Square. The only poorly-designed part is that it's tough to get a good camera angle on the tree to get a full sense of its size, and capture any part of the square. In any case...
posted by David at 1:53 PM
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