Carnival and Prague

Hello all,

I haven't written a post in a while, and boy oh boy has a lot happened to me. General Maastrichtian life is swell. For all my griping about sandwich size and scarves, it's been remarkably easy to transition to life here. Everyone speaking English certainly helps.

Starting a week ago Friday, Maastricht became a city of (Rastafarian-esque) red, green, and yellow in honor of Carnival (Mardi Gras). I knew that this took place in South America and definitely in New Orleans, but I was unaware to what extent everyone went to celebrate here. The festival is a bit like scaled down N'awlins Mardi Gras. Everyone is dressed up. The holiday seems to know no age restrictions. There were little kids dancing outside the bars (which all stay open late and jack up their prices) at night, but the people having the best time all had at least 40 years on me. I saw an elderly guy in a wheelchair, dressed as a king (with wheelchair throne in tow), looking as if he was having the time of his life.

Everyone acts, I think, how they would like to act all year. And I don't just mean drunk. They no longer "act normal because normal is crazy enough"; for four days a year, everyone acts crazy. People go to elaborate lengths to create thematic costumes. Many spend all year sewing multi-faceted costumes so they can add a new layer every night leading up to the Tuesday finale. And everyone has a great time. The usually friendly Dutch people are even friendlier. I was pleased to note that they're also louder in public; I first truly felt at home when I passed a group of people drunkenly singing Sweet Caroline. Of course, I joined in.

The festival culminated on Tuesday night with the ceremonial burning of the lady of Carnival. It sounds a little creepy for an entire city to cheer on the burning of an effigy, but... Actually it's kinda creepy. Still, a lot of fun. I dressed up in a shiny, green puffy shirt (think Seinfeld Pirate shirt) and a ram's hat which I named Ram Emmanuel. I was lookin pretty fly. As usual.

This past Wednesday I went to Prague with my roommate Ben, and friendly neighbors Pat and Davis. We somehow managed to stay in a 4-person room at our hostel for only $6 per night each. The bed there was actually more comfortable than my bed in Maastricht. So I might be moving there. If only for the opportunity to chuckle every time I say the word "check." I almost bought a shirt that says Prague: Czech it out, but couldn't find one that fit so, much to the chagrin of Michelle, I bought a Czech soccer jersey. As usual, I look pretty fly in it.

The city of Prague pulls off the double whammy of being cheap and awesome. The city was spared in the major wars, so all the old architecture is still there. It's still weird for me to turn a corner and just run into a castle, and it happens all the time in Europe. The nightlife is also really fun. We went on a pub crawl which took us to 4 bars and ended in the largest club in Europe. I have no idea if the club is actually the largest in Europe, but it says so on their advertisements. I also got a beer in the largest Irish bar in Prague, so maybe their establishments just like boasting. We stayed 4 days and had a great time.

Czeching out of Prague (sorry, I couldn't help myself), I received the handsiest pat-down of my life. In America whomever pats me down is legally obligated to assure me that he's touching any "sensitive" areas with the back of his hand. In Europe, there's no assurance because it's blatantly untrue. I made it through to my gate, and without wasting all my money on absinthe in the duty-free shop. I'm back in Maastricht now, returning to class and normal life. We haven't had any sun in about 2 weeks, but I'm holding out hope. Otherwise, life is pretty consistently great.