I woke up about an hour ago because I heard some commotion outside the window. Emerging from my lair, I began to to see emergency lights and smell burning rubber. The dog and I drifted outside where we saw firemen hosing off the last bit of a car on the sidewalk in front of the building two doors down. Needless to say, the car was burnt to a crisp. Berlin is crazy.
Anyway, sorry I haven't posted. I haven't been neglecting the blog. I've been collecting material.
Last night on the way back home from a punk concert, I saw a group of young men walking a baby lamb down the street and laughing their heads off. I wondered where they could get a live lamb. In the city. At such an hour. Then I went home and drifted to bed. I think this place is kinda crazier than New York.
OK, well I have more to report....but not right now.
But soon.
I promise.
If you need more to read, here is a NY Times blog post about how "Slovenians like to party".
The post doesn't even have the dignity to be in the fiction section*.
*Please note: if you are a Ljubljanacan/ka, who wants to write in and argue with me that Ljubljana is indeed a legitimate party town, please ensure that you have been and partied in three or more of the following cities first, then we can talk:
London
Berlin
New York
Los Angeles
I'll even accept Belgrade since I've heard (and believe) that they truly know how to party there.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Berlin Diary Entry Number Five: An Apology
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14 comments:
I'm a Ljubljancanka and I've partied in London, New York and Berlin, as well as several other places not on your list. Berlin is definitely one of the best party spots I've ever been to but New York and London were a big disappointment. I can honestly say I had more fun partying in Ljubljana than in New York and London and I think that night life in Ljubljana sux!!
And Camille - it ticks me off the way you compare Ljubljana (and Slovenia for that matter) to other cities and countries. It's tiny for Christ's sake, it will never EVER be like Berlin or New York. But there are positive sides to living in a small country/city. Maybe you should focus on those more, it might make your life here easier.
Maja
Hi Maja,
I didn't compare Ljubljana to any of those cities (though I know people who have), but I found it funny that something like the New York Times would espouse such a sentiment.
Also, who said my life there was tough?
Also, New York can be disappointing and I am finding Berlin to be so-so. I've had a lot of fun in London though.
It might just be my impression but reading your blog (which I otherwise find very interesting) I get the feeling you don't like it in Slovenia very much.
As far as partying goes I think it sometimes depends more on WHO you are partying with than WHERE you are partying at.
M.
Maja,
Strange that you get that feeling. You are probably projecting, because Slovenian people are some of the most unhappy people I've ever met .
Also on that note, yes, the WHO does matter a lot and I haven't had much fun in Slovenian spaces because they are mostly full of JUST Slovenian people who, as I mentioned, are some of the most unhappy (and thus unfriendly) people I've ever met.
All that said, I am not a prisoner or a refugee in Slovenian. I can live wherever I want (note: I came to Radovljica from NYC), and I live in Slovenia because I chose to. However, I don't have to simply "love it or leave it", I can see it and live it through my own (non-Slovenian) eyes.
wow. just wow. and you think Maja is projecting? i am all astonishment.
as for the lamb: could it have come from a halal butcher?
enjoy the rest of your stay.
barbara
@barbara -
thanks for your well wishes. i wish you a good day too! :)
a halal butcher is a great guess. it's just the late hour and the fact that it was galloping down the street like a pet, that makes me question this theory. i imagine a butcher could only sell it to you AFTER it was butchered, no?
indeed it would make a lot more sense. but i do remember walking in marseille (many years and many legislative changes ago) and seeing a group of kids playing with a lamb, and someone explained that they were growing it for the slaughter. it is certainly true in the middle east still: it's much cheaper to buy a small sheep and grow it and then only take it to the butcher in the end. that's why i thought of it, but it probably doesn't make much sense, i mean were would they keep it? and there must be laws against it. they probably just won it at bingo and were laughing all the way home.
b.
moja draga barbara, srca moja,
i love you. you win. i accept.
the official story is that they won it at bingo.
the question is now: "Where were they playing bingo?"
i don't have much more time left here but i would like to have a chance at winning some livestock!
xoxo,
c
@Camille: Why so defensive? I was only expressing my opinion, I wasn’t attacking you or your life-style. But I guess you are right, it’s very easy to project your preconceptions with these posts, not knowing the person and all. Anyway, there’s this saying in Slovenian – Pametnejši odneha. – so this is where I hold my peace.
All the best to you!
Maja
Agreed with Maja. It *seems* like you're a bit down on Slovenia (not that you have to be a member of the Tourist Board or anything!).
Are you not enjoying the cosmopolitan life in Wheelville? :)
It's pretty heavy in your Berlin diary #3: "Sadly the trade winds almost never blow through Slovenia. I am hoping my being in Slovenia will produce an adequate magnetic force to pull more interesting and fun people from around the world in and around...I need them, Slovenia needs them."
A big plate of hubris and don't hold the narcissism! Thankfully Slovenia has you to lure hipsters such as yourself to its woefully provincial shores!
Sorry for the tone.
J.
Hi J,
Did you see entry#7? Furthermore, have you been reading this blog for the past few years? I think you are getting some misconceptions.
Also I said nothing about HIPSTERS coming to visit me in Slovenia. I said "more fun and interesting people from around the world", and by that I meant MY FRIENDS. Sorry that that was unclear.
Dear J, have you ever lived away from your home? Far outside of your comfort zone? I am a black American woman living in Slovenia, and though I love my home (and I even love the people!) I have every right to want an occasional wind of cultural and ethnic diversity (in the form of MY FRIENDS) to blow through.
Camille,
I have lived outside of my home country (the States) for quite a few years.
I hear you: living in a relatively homogenous place like Slovenia can be challenging. On a variety of levels. Even before one talks about skin color or race.
I think I also understand where I went south: I don't read your blog through the lens of your racial background. You are Camille the American woman who blogs, often engagingly, about a part of the world I love.
Your comments make more sense in that light.
All the best,
J.
@J - Thanks for understanding! It really means a lot that you were willing to engage.
Thanks for reading!
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