Warm Bread and Street Justice

When I decided to write this blog, I told myself that I wouldn't update it every day because honestly, who wants to hear my thoughts that much. But a few things of import happened today that need to be discussed. Let's proceed.

1. I ended up standing next to a couple of gypsy kids on the subway today. They giggled and pointed at me a lot and it was very disconcerting. I kept a tight grip on my wallet, but from the stories I've heard about these crafty Romas, it wouldn't surprise me if they managed to get a couple bills out of it. Apparently they've used knockout gas before on people? Interesting.

2. I bought fresh baked bread at the grocery store today and it rocked my socks.

3. Jan Urban, one of the professors here, is by far the biggest badass I have ever met. He gave a talk today on being a dissident over the course of the 20th century in Prague and it made me really fucking excited for his course. Here's what happened during the Q and A session at the end.

Student: What were the dangers facing dissidents in Europe.
Jan: (walks up to the kid so he's face to face) Have you ever been handcuffed?
Student: No...
Jan: (dramatic pause) I figured. I have.
Student: OK...
Jan: Picture total humiliation. I would rather die than be handcuffed again. I would go berserk.

Then he went on to talk about how it's always the family of the dissident that pays the price, and how if you want to be good at this game, you have to be a fighter, and to be a fighter you must abandon all you know and love, you must not exist. It was like something out of a movie. SO COOL.

4. STREET JUSTICE: On the way home today we stopped at this little asian store for some fruits and veggies. While some of us were outside waiting, a shifty-looking guy walked up to the side of the door, reached up, yanked off the security camera, put it in his pocket, and walked away. A minute later, this little asian woman storms out and asks which way he went. She yells to some guy inside, and he runs out with a big-ass metal pipe. They took off running after this guy, caught up with him a block away, and proceeded to beat the shit out of him until he dropped the camera. The woman even took off her heels and was smacking him with those. OUCH. They absolutely wrecked this guy. When they got back to the store, we cheered for them. It was glorious.