jan svankmajer be CRAZY.

It's come the time where I become horrendously lazy about keeping up with the blog-age. It also happens to be the time when it is TWENTY FIVE DEGREES OUTSIDE. I know, I know, it's going to get worse, that isn't actually that cold, blah blah blah BLAH, I HAVE ONLY EVER LIVED IN PORTLAND AND REDLANDS CALIFORNIA, PEOPLE. Redlands, also known as the land where people think I'm chased if they see me out for a run and it's below 60 (what other reason could I possibly have for leaving my house??!) and I have friends who skip eating for a week because the five minute walk to the commons in the rain is too much to bear. And yes, a week, because it just doesn't usually rain for more than a week.

So. Yes. It is freezing. And so beautiful! Everywhere you look the ground is carpeted with yellows and reds, and in the early morning the fall leaves are under such a thick layer of frost that it all glitters. It really does nothing to harm my ability to pretend to be a fairy princess.

Would you like to know what else does nothing to harm that ability? The fact that my independent study adviser is awesome and told me that my fairy princess shadow puppet should also serve as an 'autoportrait' (which I think is not-quite-fluent-in-English for self-portrait).

I think I should back up now: before I talk about my independent study, I should probably mention a few of the things that have happened since November 1st. Namely, finals and a lot of punching myself in the face. Czech is a really hard language. The history final was actually sort of fun (I mean, that's a huge lie, it was a four hour essay-based test, not even I think that's fun) just because it made me realize HOW GODDAMN MUCH I HAVE LEARNED THIS SEMESTER. Czech history is so interesting. Communism is so interesting. Vaclav Havel is so interesting. We also had our exhibition of our artwork for my studio art elective, which was fun. Here's something I painted!

These are sort of wonky because I took them on my ipod, and I don't have a photo of my favorite one on my computer, but I wanted to put them up here. My artist's statement is too long to put up, but what I was (trying to) do was to use all I had read about in Czech literature/history about the concept of the "other" in Czech culture, but also have fun with it. So I basically just painted a bunch of mushrooms trying to fit in with the crowd. And then I felt guilty for making them feel lonely so I let them hang out with each other, which is the one I put up. (I think there is some sort of joke to be made here about cliches and studying abroad and liberal arts and painting about ostracism and painting mushrooms and alternative education, but when there are too many options I sometimes get overwhelmed, so feel free to go to town) ("Wow, Naomi, studying art in Central Europe during undergrad and painting some mushrooms? When's the lesbian phase!") (Ugh. that was sub-par. Seriously, too many options is the death of me).

It is really crazy to me how used to this city I am. I remember everything looking so foreign when I first got here, and now it looks like a city I live in. It doesn't necessarily feel like home, but it feels comfortable, and I know my way around, and that's a really nice feeling. I hope I can come back someday.

my independent study is, frankly, going to be the most baller shit at the baller parade in baller town. No joke. I am working with this AMAZING Czech woman, who is the landlord of the apartment building our school is in, runs a coffee business, teaches at Charles University, makes masks and puppets out of wood, clay, paper, bronze, everything ever, and just published a book she's been working on for ten years about masks in different cultures. WHAT. 

So, the rest of my time here is going to look something like this: 

I'm spending this week deciding what figures I want to use for shadow puppets (about 6) and which I want to use for masks (about 3). All of them will be inspired by Czech fairy tales. Monday, she's going to take me to the store and help me buy materials, and then that night we are leaving for her cottage ("all you need to bring is something for cold". yeah, man, I am like five steps ahead of you.) so that she can teach me her REALLY INTENSE CRAFT. I guess we are going to make one mask out of this very specific type of clay/linoleum/weird other materials she didn't know the English words for, which will probably take an entire day. While we're waiting for stuff to dry, apparently her cottage is in a village with ancient stone sculptures and a bunch of galleries, including one of primitive Central European art. WHAT THE HELL IS MY LIFE??!

Then, Wednesday night, I return to Prague, in time for Thanksgiving, which my friend Lee and I offered to do all the cooking for, and which I found out today is a 30 person shindig. So, I hope they like eating mushroom gravy like it's soup because I literally have never cooked an animal before. OOOOOPS. 

The rest of my month will be spent working on finishing my pieces, until I return to my adviser's house again (if anyone is wondering why I haven't mentioned her by name, our program specifically asks us not to mention any of the employees on our blogs or facebooks) and she is going to help me film a short using my shadow puppets. She really wants me to write some music for it too (because my Academic Director told her that that was a thing I do, but it's just not. I could totally cover some indie music for it, but I do not write songs) which would be great but I don't know how realistic it is. ANYWAYS, then I will most likely be spending the rest of my time in Prague finishing up any pieces that aren't done and writing my 15 page paper about it. Plus, I'm really hoping to use some of my time during independent study to do the tourist-y things I haven't gotten a chance to do yet.

AND THEN I COME HOME.

The passage of time is horrendously baffling.

oh also, don't worry. i found more cats.