TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Friday, November 18, 2005

9:57 PM
Posted by jodi rose

bridge still standing

friday 21:29
yep my favourite two trashy radio stations are battling it out tonight
during the day nex (or new) duna keeps me entertained with the latest top 40 eurotrash and classic 80's hits
but tonight feeling a little mellow, and slager has enticed me with it's weird mix of gypsy, folk, bananarama (manic monday) and the eurythmics. all part of my cultural acclimatisation.
and is it really so wrong to eat fried camembert for entree, mushroom and blue cheese main and finish with tiramisu icecream? I do have stewed apple from the pancakes yesterday, and strawberries so that is some fresh living food. had a great time at the supermarket, located soy milk, aforementioned pre-crumbed camembert, my fave mini ricotta and jam pastries, and various other delights.

today is good. I'm very happy with my bridge guarding, the bridge is still standing and doesn't appear to have been threatened. I think of it often and send love and white light when I'm not there to protect it.
Starting to collect myths and folktales and rituals for protection, so if you have any spells or strange saftey rituals please send them to me.
Thinking about buying one of the hideous witch dolls I've seen lurking in the hardware store and knick-knack shop windows - around 500 sk, they have straw brooms, hook noses, warts and an evil cackle. Not sure if this is a local custom, or leftover from halloween but I think one nestled under the bridge would be quite a deterrent to any wrong doers. Until I get my uniform sorted out and set up the winter room.

Had another early morning, sunny again - bliss. It's not the blue sky I miss so much, realised today, but the pink orange gold silver clouds. All grey all the time really isn't much fun. Gave my talk at the highschool this morning, part of the program for matriculation - another student mayhem day by the looks of it! Had eight or so of the brightest and smartest kids come along, three of the girls in red/white face paint (they just started or something, I can't work it out, but saw the whole class later parading down the hlavna stanica (main street) singing in their headscarves and painted faces) and two boys who are in a band called 'california'; one of whom philippa and I spotted having an intensive pink floyd lesson the other night but will forgive that as they are very keen to make some music with bridges. possibly avant jazz. And I'm planning to set a composition exercise to make a variety of alternative tunes we can blare back from the slovak side at 16:35 for a week.

Sad to miss their concert tonight at the school disco, but had already arranged with Gyuri to see a performance of traditional hungarian, slovak, rom and jewish dancing - it was absolutely gorgeous. the young girls in their white dresses were so beautifil it actually made me cry - some memory of 'the good master' hungarian story I had as a kid- the part with the special easter skirts, layer upon layer of coloured pleated fabric and the boys sprinkling water on her.

** quick kitchen dance break **
schlager just played natalie imbruglia 'torn' and for some reason I had to get up and dance. her new single not having the same effect though.

back to the traditional dancing; the shepherd one was hilarious, all the men in furry jackets on hands and knees being sheep, and then drunk shepherds; and lots of spinning twirling skirts; thigh and heel slapping and foot stompin' - now maybe I could invite a dance troupe to come and perform under the bridge and scare away any lurking demons.

introduced to the head of the border guards, who apparently is arranging a special bridge passport for me next week. we'll see.

this afternoon selected and put up lots of maps, pictures and fliers from stuff i brought with me to things collected in glasgow, budapest, ljubljana, sturovo and bratislava. lordy and I only left home a few weeks ago. crazy how the places stack up. but it's good to have images from all my homes on the walls, feels much more lively.

meeting people here too, which is lovely. starting to feel that I might make some friends - and getting used to the way people stare at me all the time; a few girls smiled today, friendly not ohmigod what does she look like?! ran into kristina from the very select film audience last night, who is waiting for a job and bored - her eyes look tired, I invited her to drop in for tea anytime. Chatted with Gabriel at the lavazza cafe - who warned me some of the other places advertise lavazza but use cheap slovak coffee - it's all about making money here, he said. We connected in our mutual loathing of london - he worked in a chocolate factory outside manchester for a while, but likes being back in sturovo, even if 'time passes slowly sometimes' and he always wanted to be a barman/waiter. Both were very curious about what it is exactly that I do, as bridge guard. Which seems to be the question everyone wants answered, from sydney to sturovo, bondi to bratislava! The short answer is, we make it up as we go :)
For the long answer, I am inspired to do some writing on a more philosophical poetic praxis over the next few months.

Thinking about turbulence for the sarai reader, which posed some really excellent questions (will add later) and realised that I am addicted to disorientation. really love the sensation of being in a new place where every street is completely unknown - they become familiar so quickly, and routine sets in. But there's really no danger of that here, going to warsaw for cake next weekend. Seriously. and only $60. the airfare, not the cake.