Ninth Installment: He doesn't speak the language, he holds no currency... (06/04/09)
We woke up early, like you're supposed to when you have an eight hour drive ahead of you. I accidentally poured yogurt over my cereal - I guess in retrospect, it was more plausible that time was out of wack and the milk was just traveling very slowly?
We trudged into the grey Netherlands morning to discover that our van ("Sanjay") had been, yes, towed. I felt very much like a foreigner: sure, there was some sort of sign, but how much use does a sign have to us when we can't read the language? Why can't every nation cater to US? The private company who hauled off our means of transportation was predictably dispassionate about the whole affair, and we despite our most benign cajoling, we were suddenly out two nights' worth of pay for us and Blakfish.
As we venture further from the British Isles, we've been exposed to more and more of the alien and unknown, for better or for worse. I've been striving to find local delicacies and weird customs, but globalism conquers all: our hosts in tonight's city of Copenhagen prepared curry and Pakora, and when Scott and I went looking for adventure, we mostly found commerce. Strange moments come more in more subtle forms: a non-QWERTY keyboard in France (talk about frustrating), being asked to remove our hats at a random coffeeshop in Holland.
A note about our new tourmates: Blakfish is a terrific tech metal band from Birmingham (SABBATH!) who has been a band for 10 years and whose members are all in their early 20s. Along with their hyperactive manager Kirk, they have the half-spoken, crass communication style of old, old friends, and they're good guys. And: they fucking love Paul Simon's Graceland. We'll be getting along just fine.
Jeff Tobias, We Versus The Shark. Blog courtesy of Flagpole Magazine: Colorbearer of Athens, GA Star Power!
We woke up early, like you're supposed to when you have an eight hour drive ahead of you. I accidentally poured yogurt over my cereal - I guess in retrospect, it was more plausible that time was out of wack and the milk was just traveling very slowly?
We trudged into the grey Netherlands morning to discover that our van ("Sanjay") had been, yes, towed. I felt very much like a foreigner: sure, there was some sort of sign, but how much use does a sign have to us when we can't read the language? Why can't every nation cater to US? The private company who hauled off our means of transportation was predictably dispassionate about the whole affair, and we despite our most benign cajoling, we were suddenly out two nights' worth of pay for us and Blakfish.
As we venture further from the British Isles, we've been exposed to more and more of the alien and unknown, for better or for worse. I've been striving to find local delicacies and weird customs, but globalism conquers all: our hosts in tonight's city of Copenhagen prepared curry and Pakora, and when Scott and I went looking for adventure, we mostly found commerce. Strange moments come more in more subtle forms: a non-QWERTY keyboard in France (talk about frustrating), being asked to remove our hats at a random coffeeshop in Holland.
A note about our new tourmates: Blakfish is a terrific tech metal band from Birmingham (SABBATH!) who has been a band for 10 years and whose members are all in their early 20s. Along with their hyperactive manager Kirk, they have the half-spoken, crass communication style of old, old friends, and they're good guys. And: they fucking love Paul Simon's Graceland. We'll be getting along just fine.
Jeff Tobias, We Versus The Shark. Blog courtesy of Flagpole Magazine: Colorbearer of Athens, GA Star Power!
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