Prague Journal

Tuesday, November 30, 2004.

I had received a notice in my mailbox about a package, so I went to the post office to pick it up. Expecting a similar experience as last time, I did not bring my passport. However, this time, the woman at the counter would not let me pick up the package without it, so I ended up going home and coming back, adding a wasted hour to my day. Naturally, when I returned the second time there was a line, but this time I was able to retrieve the package. No apology, no “sorry for the inconvenience,” just “sign here.” Everything is recorded, as before, in a ledger. I wonder what they do with all those paper records.
On my way home, I stopped at the Delvita near Dejvicka, to see if they had marshmallows, graham crackers, cilantro or salsa, things that John had said he couldn’t find. I did see some frozen turkeys (and frozen geese), but no marshmallows or cilantro. I may ask Vicki to bring some things from the US when she comes next week.
Rick has added another wonderfully funny language story to our collection. He had come down with a case of athlete’s feet, so he made a point of stopping at a pharmacy on his way home from the gym. He looked up what he thought would be the appropriate word in the dictionary, and he did his best to convey to the pharmacist that he needed something for a fungus. He was a bit frustrated by the puzzled look he received, until I told him that what he had said to the pharmacist, as he pointed to his feet, was, “I have mushrooms.”

posted by JWinn @ 10:49 PM