Reading (For Dummies)

Losing the way?

The strangest thing about being in a foreign country has to be language. You start off trying to speak the foreign language, failing miserably, then settling in with people that speak your own (well, if you're unambitious like me, anyway).

But it's strange, because your language deterioriates as though you have to pigeon through it. It de-evolves into some primordial goo, losing its beauty and being completely utilitarian in purpose. You stop talking all the time just because you can. Communication becomes a tool, useful only for saying things like, "I'm bleeding," or, "Nice shoes." Every extra sentence just means having to explain it to your listener, and provides more opportunity for cultural misunderstanding.

Then one day you wake up and start talking normally again. People get a little confused, you're difficult for them to follow, but it feels better.

Two days ago I woke up. It feels good. People are having some difficulty understanding me, but I don't mind anymore. I run circles around people in logic class. "It's not the case that not P doesn't have the negation of all the formulas of P," or, "It's not the case that if Not P is necessarily false on A, then it's necessary that the possibility of Not P exists at B. [Referring to System K]."

Tuesday was the usual student club, with my laptop. It's impossible to sit in a corner and just write notes if you have a laptop...too many eyes staring at you. I'll be sure not to make that mistake again next week. Anyway I met up with the usual crowd there, Andreas, Nick (American), Toby (German). Toby turns 23 on Thursday and is throwing a huge party on Saturday.

Toby...

The big cans on his left are 5.0 Liters of beer each. The cases on his right are full of 0.5L cans. Quick math says he has over 150L of alchohol for Saturday. I think things are going to be a little bit crazy....

I can't drink too much Saturday, though. I went to meet a couple on Monday, to learn a little more about Soka Gakkai. I am going back to their house on Sunday morning for a Dresden-area SGI chant. Who knows if that's the right way? I guess we'll see.

Posted by reid at November 7, 2002 12:17 AM