The Good Soldier Švejk - Thursday, 18. August 1994
Thursday, 18. August 1994--
Yesterday I began reading Jaroslav
Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk, the quintessentially
classic Czech novel about a little man who fights the bureaucracy using his
wit, stupidity, and passive resistance. The story is based on Hašek's
real-life experiences during World War I and life under Austro-Hungarian
monarchial rule. It's my hope that reading this book will give me an insight
into Czech culture as well as its national character.
Radka was ill yesterday and spent the
day sleeping until 8 p.m. when I went to her dormitory to fetch her for dinner.
She slept all day again today--probably a sore throat. I managed, thus, to get
out quite a bit on my own. If I've learned one thing so far it is to pay
in exact change in any restaurant. People will try to short
change you if you pay in larger denominations. It also helps to get the receipt
and count your change before leaving the establishment. That way, if you're
shortchanged, you can be a stubborn Švejk and go to bat!
Strangely, I've met just two Czechs so
far: Lukaš and Radka. I think everyone's out of town for their summer holidays.
At least I was able to reach Stan, the director of the school in Příbram. Now
that I've reached him, he can begin the paperwork for my visa.
There are a lot of nice-looking Czech
ladies, but aside from Radka, I haven't met anyone yet. I understand it's not
too difficult to meet a "Czech mate" unless you're a sociopathic
loser. Nevertheless, Radka keeps teasing me that I'll meet a nice girl once I
get to Příbram.
I brought my (soprano) saxophone, but I
haven't played it at all. I haven't even been listening to any of the music I
brought with me, either. I suppose I ought to continue with music, but I really
should invest some time in learning the rudiments of Czech.