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On the Road with Fast Eddie
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On the Road with Fast Eddie |
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| February 24, 2001 Hello from Germany: Lots has been going on since I last wrote you. It seems that I've had some hassles with day-to-day living, like everyone else. As much as I try to keep my life simple, uncomplicated and full of new experiences, I guess one cannot always avoid certain realities of mundane life. Right now, for instance, I'm not only changing jobs but also looking for another place to live. First about my job. I love teaching and have been enjoying my classes, but my schedule has been just brutal. I've been getting up most mornings at 5am and not getting home until 8-9pm and I do SO much traveling to get from class to class. I typically make 50 to 60 public transportation connections per week and there's been just too much time waiting for and riding on buses and trains. At first I managed it ok (read a lot of books), but eventually it started getting to me. By the end of the week I'm toasted! Other than that it's been great. So, I've accepted a position with another company where I'll be teaching "intensives" - all day classes at one location. I'll actually be getting up at and returning home at reasonable hours. And it appears that I can make as much money teaching three weeks a month as I have been in four weeks. I can take one week per month off to travel, thereby not having to squeeze my little adventures into long weekends anymore, which, combined with the demands of work, sometimes leaves me exhausted. Regarding my living situation, I'm being forced out of my flat. There've been some problems with the plumbing for some time now and my landlords must now do some major reconstruction to the point that's it's unlivable. Right now I have no shower or tub, for instance. Of course, a strong case could be made that it's been unlivable for a long time. It seems that I'd attracted the "landlords from hell". They seem to think that entering apartments anytime they want to... unannounced... is necessary and acceptable. They've waltzed in at 7:30am and 12:30am. They do so many weird, stupid and rude things I could (but won't) go on for pages. On top of that, they're pathological liars! Good riddance you say? Yes, but I'm not too keen right now on hunting down another flat. The timing sucks! On to a more pleasant topic - traveling. In late January I returned to spend more time in Paris. Ernest Hemmingway once said that Paris is "a movable feast" and in fact titled a book as such. I think that's an apt description, but the last time I was there I had but a nibble...one day last summer while on my way from the southern coast of France to Stockholm. But it was time to revisit the buffet table and I spent three days there (a mouthful this time), some of it with the guidance of my friend Margaux who I befriended while at Plum Village on a meditation retreat last June. I got a great deal on a return ticket, arrived on a Friday night, and the next day she led me on a brisk and thorough walking tour of this remarkable city. So much has been said about Paris and for me it totally lived up to all the hype. It is a walker's paradise...beautiful and seductive. We started in the Latin Quarter, her favorite area, and after an exquisite lunch visited Notre Dame, which I found to be both stunning and quite moving. On we walked to the Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champ-Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre (which I will tour at a later time). Avenue after avenue of beautiful buildings and parks... history and art staring at you with every turn of the corner. Sitting at a street-side cafe is like hanging out in a museum. Many of you have been there and I certainly won't attempt a comprehensive critique of this city... there are plenty of guidebooks out there that do a better job. But I will share with you that I love Paris and look forward to my next visit there... hopefully in the spring. One additional comment I will make, however, is regarding the reputed "rudeness" of the French. You might recall that I addressed this when I spent a couple of months there last summer. I'd found the French to be so accommodating and friendly then. But the cynical response I got from some was, "Yeh sure, but wait to you spend some time in Paris!" Well let me share this little story. After flying into Paris, and then taking a bus into the inner city, I headed towards my hostel, walking in the rain with the crappy little map I had in my Lonely Planet book to guide me. After getting turned around a couple of times, I stopped a Parisian for directions. After hearing my request in the pathetic French I speak, she shrugged her shoulders, as if to say "Beats me!" But she then held up her hand as if suggesting I wait a minute, reached into her pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and called a friend of hers to get directions for me. In the rain! This was but one example of the kindness and graciousness I experienced while there. A former acquaintance of mine criticized me recently for reporting my travels like some " typical geeky American rubbernecking my way around Europe", implying that I have a Pollyanna type attitude about the world and its people. Maybe so, but I prefer to look for the beauty in places and people... not to ignore the ugliness and bullshit that surrounds us, but rather to strive to attract something positive wherever I go. Maybe it works? At least for me it seems to have done so most of the time. Besides that, I am basically a geeky American rubbernecking my way around Europe. Coming next… my return visit to Berlin. |
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