(no subject)
It is very rare that we are assigned homework at the AIB seeing as we are in class six hours a day, but today happens to be one of those special occasions and I have now if not the time then the motive to update.
Much has taken place in the eight weeks since I last wrote to you and not all of it is worth the effort for me to relate nor you to read, but I shall try to include some highlights that if are of no interest to you will at least provide some amusement to me later on.
The week after I went to paris the whole group was scheduled to attend the International broadcast Convention in Amsterdam. This was a bus in, bus out affair so a few students and I decdided to travel up there early and check out what amsterdam had to offer. Besides its quiant Dutch atmosphere, this mainly appeared to be prostitutes and marijuana. Since none of us had had nothing beyond an innocent curiosity concering the former, our activities during our weekend center mainly around the latter. The Dutch coffeshps were very comfortable and relaxing enviornments, but for the most part the thrill of legal drug use was not exceptional. I had a space muffin the evening after the convention and was dissapointed in is lack of potency, but my judgement was premature as I woke the next morning unable to brush mz teeth. Upon returning to Dusseldorf I found a ticket stub for the Van Goah museum which I have no recollection of visiting.
the next weekend was spent at home with the host family, attening youth football matches and sneaking into my host father's parent's house to take advantage of their sauna and wine cellar.
I believe the weekend follwoing that contained a 24-hr Oktoberfest trip accoplished by myself and Katie Bode. Munich is six hours away, so It was twelve hours of travelling bookending twelve hours of drinking. For those who have never been, it is a magical expereince- thousands of leiderhosen-clad individuals drinking and dancing in giant tents .
Four litres of beer is a lot to consume in one day but miraculously we managed to make all three of our train connections and arrive back safely at 7am the next morning.
Another trip to Paris followed and featured more sightseeing, museum going, and drug experimentation. The cold and rainy whether limited our picnics to one but a break from the wine was appreciated as I was still recovering from the previous weekend. I did not get to see any of the Renoir retrospective at the newly reopened cinematheque as it was sold out, but I did eat pastries in a park outside Vicot Hugo's apartment. My only dissapoint was that on free-musuem Sunday Napolean still demanded 5.50€ to see his tomb.
Perhaps the most life changing experience so far has been Stockholm because I now posses the knowledge that in no other place will I ever feel as cool as I did when there (and that was just soley by association). Stockholm has a reputation for being "hip," and I must cuncur with the addidtion that hip is a mighty weak term for such a dazzling place. My only companion was Brian Gzowski and, free from the obligations attatched to larger parties, we avoided museums for once and sought out the real life. We found it in two places, the first being a music documentary fiilm festival (and its after party), and the second a mod discotheque. Unfortunately I have no images of that night as words can not do it proper justice. All I can say is that to be young and outside Stockholm is a cruel situation that I am taking steps to remedy.
The week after was a group excursion to Berlin and Prague. Berlin was a magnificent city as all ancient European capitals are. We visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Berlin Wall and other depressing landmarks of the 20th Century.
Prague was less impressive as a city but I really did not see much of it. The focus of our group was mainly cheap beer and absinth.
I decided to make my documentary about film historian/filmmaker Kevin Brownlow and he repsonded somewhat favorably to my intitial letter. It is too early to see how things will work out, but if they do it will be very exciting.
That bring us up to speed.