Bratislava

[indigo_rose99]

I have thoughts.  They are tired and not particularly attached to each other.

• I was expecting more pretty people here.  The people I see on the street are typical for Europe, not unusually model-like.
• I spent my entire lunch break with two students today attempting to turn my traveler's checks into cash.  Yes, "attempting."  *sigh*  Two banks outright rejected it.  The third one initially said "yes" but we would have to wait in line.  The line lasted a long time.  So long that we ran out of lunch break.  I suspect they could still say no at the last minute since the first two banks we checked claim on their and the AmEx website to accept traveler's checks.   But they don't.  By the third bank... *sigh*  I have to laugh.  It is just too ridiculous.  One of my students has started calling it "changing your funny money."  So I am planning for the future.  "Dear American Express,  You know how you claim that your traveler's checks are accepted everywhere?  Let me tell you about Slovakia.  It all started in the Vienna airport when..."
• In theory, 70s and 80s are not so bad.  But I find when I walk 20-25 minutes to work, I sweat out my clothes.  And then walking at lunch in the sun I sweat out my clothes. And walking back to my hotel I REALLY sweat out my clothes.  Ugh.  Sweating in workout clothes is one thing.  Doing this in my really nice work clothes.  Bleh.  I'm ending up washing clothes (not work, that would be dry cleaning) in the sink every night so far.  Yay, woolite!
• My walk to my hotel this evening was the nicest so far.  It was probably in the low 70s.  At after 7pm, I was grateful. I'm tired of building up a suitcase of completely disgusting pieces of cloth.
• My hotel offers a frig of drinks.  Complementary.  I think this is a first in my travels. It includes OJ, water, and wine.  Yay, my hotel has some benefits!
• Sunday when I was walking around I noticed what looked like the remnants of an exploded pillow or mattress on the ground.  I thought, "Ah, 2nd world country.  Poor people."  But I couldn't find the external parts of the pillow or mattress. And I must have walked through two of these.  So I asked a student yesterday about them.  They apparently are tree sex organs.  Not that he phrased it that way, of course.  He said when he was a kid that he played with them by setting them on fire.  He swore he never even burned down a single city block.
• At breakfast this morning I picked a table out of the sun with a nice view and went to order an omelet.  While I was away from my table (with some of my stuff on it), some men sat at the other end.  They just put their stuff down, like I had.  Their table was 2 inches from mine, so I ignored their rudeness. Perhaps they did not see my stuff.  But then their friends came, and COMPLETELY SURROUNDED me.  I hate people.  No, really, I hate strangers in the morning.  Especially strangers in the morning Completely Surrounding Me.  *general glare*  And it was my spot.  I was there first.  And it was the best seat.  I was Not Giving It Up just because they were rude.  ...I had no method of expressing this.  They did not speak English. 
• People here are negatively fatalistic in a way I rarely see spread so widely.  In my experience there are some individuals everywhere who take the negative view of events.  But here it is more like a cultural viewpoint.  Individuals are very nice, especially those I encounter at work.  But the people I interact with briefly at the hotel, at banks, at money changers, at the Tesco, on the street... They are unfriendly.  They will go to a great deal of effort to ignore me.  If they cannot ignore me, they will give a simple answer: "No."  If they cannot give the simple answer, they will not go out of their way to provide me with help.  At least, not in the same way that people in the US would.  In an odd way, people here in Bratislava have a surprising amount in common with people in China.  They will take shortcuts that they know are wrong or illegal or difficult for other people, simply because they can and it is to their advantage at least in the short term.  Someone once told me about this, that it is the result of being under the USSR thumb.   "Best to look out for your own interests, because no one else will." and "Don't get involved." have become part of their society.  I see it.  It is kind of depressing.   And yet at the same time there is so much hope for them as a country; joining the European Union and going to the Euro.  Manufacturing is moving here, they are making a lot of progress.  And yet the people seem so.....

Comments

[ovrclokd.livejournal.com]

*hug* i'm sorry you're having so much trouble changing money - that's just crazy!

any chance you have a ATM card on the star or plus network? if so, might check banks or hotels for an ATM - i've had those work in tokyo, mexico city, various parts of canada, and amsterdam/the hague. of course, none of those are eastern european.

if not, any chance of a cash advance against your visa/mastercard? the issuer will charge you daily interest until you can make a payment, but for a week or two it shouldn't add up to much, and if you pay online you could make a payment immediately.

other than that, i hope you make it through without smacking any of the unhelpful people who so richly deserve it...