The Russians are Coming!!!

I’m in Zittau. After an hour and a half train ride, an hour bus ride and a thirty minute walk through the city center filled with “ruins” neglected by two consecutive regimes, I find myself in a white box that once served as DDR (East German) military barracks. At no point in the journey did I really understand where I was going or how I was getting there, I simply pushed everything aside and went. So here I am. I teach here, Zittau, every Wednesday. Or at least I’m supposed to, though I’m still not exactly sure what’s expected of me.

Last night, Tuesday, I treated my liver to a couple of pints at the International “Tuesday Night Pint Night”. I suddenly found myself in the throws of an exhaustingly boring conversation with a mildly unattractive Russian girl. She was demanding interest in the face of my attempts of rebellion and escape until her friend Igor showed up. Igor comes from East Russia, as in FAR East Russia, as in the border to North Korea. Igor insisted on speaking to me the entire evening in Ebonics. While doing so, he would bounce around and wave his arms. “Yo beetch. What’s goyin’ on?”. My particular favorite “East-SIIIIIIDE RUSSIA, mane!” American Culture at its finest.