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| Rock Concert in the Divadlo Archa feat. The Plastic People of the Universe |
It’s 3:52AM and I’m currently on
a Meinfernbus from Prague to Berlin
typing the first draft of this post while listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club album, provided free of charge through the bus’ built in media
center and wifi.
We’ll come back to this later on
in the post, but keep these small details in mind as we backtrack to a few hours ago.
At about 6:00PM on Friday night, my Alternative Culture class met at a Starbucks about 10 minutes away from my apartment. This was not our usually scheduled class time - although our last Wednesday class was cancelled for this so it made up for it - and there was a general sensation of discontent as our one free Friday evening during our program was taken away from us. And yet, there was also curiosity - the concert was the 2nd annual one held for the late Filip Topol and Czech rock bands of all times and ages were coming together to honor him; including the acclaimed and well-discussed about band The Plastic People of the Universe.
Plastic People of the Universe was, in a nutshell, a Czech rock band during the 70s and 80s that defied the Communist regime for as long as they could until enough of their members were deported or imprisoned. Their music became a message that many people in the underground culture scene could relate to and as such, they are probably the only Czech band to date that gained worldwide acclaim. They were also performing at 9:20; the concert started at 7:00.
I bought myself a rum & coke and with other classmates, proceeded to listen to some of the other bands. "What was this concert going to be like?" we wondered, pondering if we would be cringing for the next 2 hours and scrambling for as much cheap beer as we could to make the time more bearable. Fortunately for my liver and my wallet, these fears never came to be - the first band was absolutely brilliant, with a cellist that reinvigorated my appreciation and love for my chosen instrument, and so was every other band to date. Standing in that crowd, rocking out to tunes that I couldn't understand but still feel was an experience that I won't soon forget. That experience became richer once Plastic People of the Universe started playing.
When you read history books about people and their great accomplishments, you sometimes begin to wonder what those people were like in person, alive and in their craft. Getting to see the PPU perform was along those lines - throughout our class, PPU was mentioned over and over again. Why? After last night, I know now why and see those old musicians rocking it out on stage not only helped me understand more of the Czech culture and what they gave back to it during their most active years, but it also made me realize that these guys had won. They rebelled against something they knew was wrong and despite many setbacks and obstacles, they overcame them all and now they've survived and living life to the fullest. I can think of no sweeter victory other than that.
Being at that concert last night, I had this epiphany - my classes with USAC end in one week's a time and after one last 5 day trip with them, my study abroad program will be over. Although I'll still be traveling around Europe for a bit after that, there is still a sensation of finality; many of the other students that I've gotten to know and appreciate these last few weeks are people that I probably won't be seeing again anytime soon. And who knows when the next time I'll be in Prague will be. When I decided to do this USAC program, I did it in the hopes of finding out more about me - who am I really as a person?
I don't believe I've answered this question, but I do think I've at least discovered another part of me and rediscovered another. I'll touch more upon this later as my departure from Europe gets closer, but suffice to say I know that this trip has been worth it.
Okay, now returning to Germany for a bit - for this weekend, I decided to take a day-and-a-half trip to Berlin with some of my Squadmates. Everything was going well until I actually got to Berlin; with no Euros, no WiFi, and a broken ATM, it took me until about 11AM to meet up with everyone else even though I had already arrived by 8AM.
Being lost and confused in another country sucks, but it teaches you a lot about what you need to do in order to get around, should you ever have to. One, don't hesitate to ask for help from anyone and everyone. Two, get used to walking around everywhere until you find something that can help you out - in my case, I was able to find an ATM at a gas station after walking along the freeway for a bit. And three, don't give up and get frustrated! Finding your way again, especially without any maps or communication with people, will take time - don't worry about it. Just keep calm and plan out your next decisions; otherwise, you might find yourself getting more lost than you originally were.
Anyways, after finding everyone else, I was able to walk around for a bit and a take a snazzy photo with a tank. Not much history behind it right now, but more pics to come!
I'm going to end this post here for now because I want to explore Berlin some more, but I will be posting again pretty soon as my time in Prague comes to an end.
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