Košice-Don't forget your Slavic blood

Everything must come to an end and this film festival was no exception. The festival was certainly coming to an end, but it had not reached it quite yet. There would be two more days and two more nights of films and then everyone who had come for the festival (mostly the filmmakers themselves) would leave sometime the next day.


We saw many more films, many more people, and I sat through (without understanding) many more Q and A sessions. As is common when something like this comes to a close people want to party and have fun.


After the films ended for the day everyone went to have dinner. Everyone was responsible for their own dinner and went to go buy some food somewhere. After dinner everyone was going to meet at this place called "Madrid" for beer.

Yummmm

Madrid was a pub. The door was locked the first night when we came and one of the people already inside had to come and open the door for us. We shuffled slowly one by one through a extremely narrow but relatively short hallway. We rounded the corner, and came into a small room, the light and even walls in the room were red, not bright red, but the same color as red sand or red stone. There were two rows of small tables pushed together to make two extremely long tables there were chairs all around the tables, many of them already occupied. All the people in the that room of the pub had some connection to the festival and my father knew many of them.

Left to right: Jan Gogola, Mišo Suchý, Marek Šulik

Mišo and Jan

Smoking is much more common and publicly accepted in Europe so people were allowed to smoke in the pub. Since people were allowed to smoke in the pub they did, when we arrived the air was thick and hazy from cigarette and hookah smoke. We sat down at one of the tables and ordered kofola (coke only better) and looked around.


My father started talking to one of his fellow filmmakers, who I have no idea but I know he did. Šimon started talking to someone to, if you wanted to know who you would have to ask him. Eventually I started talking with a man from Prague, (Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic) we talked about all the differences between the United States and Europe. Although he did not speak good English nor do I speak any Czech we were able to communicate fairly well, we only had to use hand signals once or twice.

Šimon

After our conversations ended and our glasses emptied we figured it was about time we went to the hotel and went to sleep. When we got back to the hotel it was around 2:45 in the morning, fortunately there was still a receptionist at the desk and we were able to get in. Everybody showered and then went to sleep.


The next day was very similar, we saw a lot of films then in the evening went to the pub "Madrid" as we had the night before. The only difference there was that we sat at the other table on the other side.
Everybody started talking, I had a conversation with one filmmaker named Adam that was very.....inspiring and interesting, I'll give you a summary.


This conversation was a while ago and very confusing, even at the time so this may or may not be in chronological or an other sensible type of order but I think that's okay.

Me and Adam

We talked about the different regions of Slovakia, how if you travel just short distances you will be in a completely different place with its own pronunciation of words and its own customs and traditions. We compared and contrasted this to the USA. The USA is similar but definitely not the same.


According to Adam western Europe is more logical and progressive, while eastern Europe (Slovakia is in eastern Europe) is old and traditional often disobeying simple rules of logic or common sense in tradition.


We also talked about how people work together and become friends. Conflict is a problem, just by its definition. Since conflict is a problem it must be solved or bad things will happen. Conflict can come in any size or shape, but when it is big it usually involves many people. These many people must solve the conflict and by doing or not doing this they form bonds that we know as friendship or any relationship like it. At the time that is was spoken this made perfect sense, if  you don't understand what you're reading that's okay, I don't understand what I'm writing.


This is an example of tradition, I mean the thing about conflict. There are some very old conflicts in Europe that have been existent for a very very long time. Two people will unite to conquer a common conflict and then become friends, maybe. This is the theory, this theory applies to everyone with Slavic blood, that means me and maybe you.


This theory is not mine, and I'm not going to tell you what my opinion is on it because right now my opinion is very confused.


As we were leaving the pub Adam out to me "Myko, don't forget your Slavic blood". Since then Slavic blood has been an interesting topic to my father, Šimon and me. All I know is that most certainly, not now or ever will I forget my Slavic blood.


We came back to hotel after braving the streets which were full of drunk hockey fans (The world championship was to be partly held is Košice and is going on there right now). After we came to the hotel we were greeted by the same man as the night before. It was about the same time as we had gotten back the night before (2:45) and we went to sleep gladly.

Šimon asleep next to a nun.

The next day we left the city. We went by train, it is a five hour trip from Košice to Bratislava by train and five hours on a train suck. We were in a cabin with two middle aged ladies and a nun. I tried the whole way to fall asleep but alas my attempts were in vain, I couldn't sleep because it sounded like somebody was trying to saw through the floor of the cabin with a metal filer. Soon, well not so soon actually we were in Bratislava.

Košice-First Films

As we had come for the film festival we decided to see some films. There were two film theaters, one was very large and grand with many lights, many seats that were the kind that if you shift your weight, even the slightest bit the seat switch from being on two legs onto the other two legs, on the first night there was even an opening with lots of food and wine and things of that nature.


The other theater, though much smaller was much more to my liking. It almost seemed slightly darker, as it probably was, also the seats were a heavy upholstery not a cheap plastic, they didn't rock back and forth or dig into your back.

Master class of Jan Gogola

All or mostly the all of the time we were watching films. Being the fact most of the time we were there we were watching films, and we were there for a while I cannot remember half the films or any sense of order; chronological or other.

Stopping for something to eat

My father had three or four of his movies screening at this festival so I got to see his movies and watch him talk about (I didn't understand anything; it was in Slovak). Since I can't remember the other movies, or writing about the ones I do remember would be extremely hard (Mišo and Šimon will understand) I'm just going to write about a few of my father's films.


When my father came to the US for the first time he didn't speak any English.Anyone who's have been to a country where they speak a different language that you do not, will probably understand the feeling of mute-ness that he felt. One of my fathers earlier jobs, before we was a professor, was a assistant dog handler.


My fathers movie "About Dogs and People" is a documentary that is, you guessed it, both about dogs and people. It shows things from a point of muteness and has very little dialogue. I personally really liked this movie because the situation I was in forced me to relate to it. It is both very funny and very sad at points. I was born after this film was made


 "Home Movie" as you probably didn't guess is not a home movie. It is about my father adapting to life in the USA and all manner of different things about it that arose. I generally think of the movie as very humorous and warm, but there are some very sad and emotional parts, especially for our family. One of the most memorable scenes, is of my father getting a ticket because he didn't have his seat belt on, coincidentally the he got the ticket on the way to my baptism, it was also his birthday.

Mišo Suchý master class

I saw many movies I didn't understand because of linguistic problems. I also saw many movies I didn't understand because they were above my head (I'm still not sure if it was only me or most of the people felt the same). After all this misunderstanding I had to sit through many Q's and A's with the film directors. I couldn't begin to even hope to understand these discussions. This may sound miserable and unbearable, and it was, but only a little bit at certain times. After having seen these films I feel that I know my father,and what he does better, I even feel as if I know myself a little better from the films he made about our family.

Košice-Mr. Mušinka

In Prešov lives an esteemed anthropologist by the name of Mykolaj Mušinka. As you probably realized he shares his first name with me. Mr. Mušinka was born in Slovakia, but by blood is Ukrainian.


Šimon, Mišo and I walked down a nicely cobbled side walk till we arrived at a small cozy looking house with a short sturdy looking green wire fence running around its small yard. We rang the doorbell and were greeted by a older women who practically pulled us inside. Inside was a man with lots of bright white hair with a big, bushy, jolly looking beard.

   
We came to a room where nearly every inch of the wall was covered by a painting, photograph or anything else that can be hung from a wall. There was a plush couch on one side of the room, directly across from a small old looking television. Directly in between the TV and couch was a small square table with for chairs. We set our packs down on the couch and sat around the small table and then Mr. Mušinka sat with us.

Mr. Mušinka and me

Mr. Mušinka was a anthropology professor who was very well know in his field. When the Soviet occupation army came to Slovakia in 1968 he disagreed with its ideals and opposed it. Because Mr. Mušinka did not agree with the oppressive Soviet regime he was forced by it to give up his position as a University professor.


 Mr. Mušinka returned to his native village in Slovakia and became a Slovak cowboy. He had lassos and horses just like the American cowboys, only he was Ukrainian . As a cowboy he made more money then as a university professor, he kept working.


Mr. Mušinka still had his opinion and thoughts which the Soviets were not able to take away. Many free thinkers who opposed the regime frequented Mušinkas home in his village. Soon the regime noticed this and after five years he lost his job as a cowboy.


He was made a heating technician. All while Mušinka was being oppressed his writings were being published around the world. In Czechoslovakia no one was allowed to say his name, to the  government he was non-existent. Around the world in the field of anthropology he was extremely well renowned.


A university in Toronto, Canada offered him a position as a guest professor, he more than gladly accepted and was ready to go until a few days before his departure some KGB agents came and confiscated his passport, he was unable to go to Canada and stayed in Slovakia. 


In 1989 when the oppressive communist regime fell he went back to working as a professor at the same university as before. He has more than 70 world wide publications, and although he was persecuted for having an opinion he still kept it. Even though as an intellectual he was forced to do physical work he kept working and maintained his spirit, he showed amazing vitality.

Košice-Lunik IX

I went to school on Monday, but not on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Instead of going to school I went to a city in Eastern Slovakia named Košice. I went to Košice with my father and Šimon. We were in Košice for a documentary film festival at which my father had some of his films playing. Although most people think of documentaries as boring, I don't think these movies were boring, well some of them weren't.


We took a train from Bratislava to Košice, it was to be a four hour long journey. Soon after getting on the train I fell asleep. I woke and read a little bit then got bored and started to wander around the train. After wandering aimlessly around the train for a while I returned to my seat and sat there and tried to go to sleep. In the end I succeeded in falling asleep. I awoke when the train stopped at Košice. we exited the train and were soon found by the people who would be driving us to the hotel we would be staying in. There were two people a boy and a girl whose names escape me. The two people were working for or helping or doing something along those lines for the film festival. They took us in a car that was the festivals sponsor. They took us to the hotel and helped us put our bags in our room then left.   


The first movie we were to see was titled Lunik IX. Lunik 9 is one of if not the worst gypsy ghetto in Košice. The special part about the screening was that it wasn't in a movie theatre, it was in Lunik 9. We were taken to the ghetto by the same people who had also picked us up from the train station in the same car, a baby blue car that closely resembled an ice cube. I think everybody in the car except my father for some strange reason I don't understand was extremely nervous.


As the car pulled to a stop we got out and I set foot for the first time in a gypsy ghetto. Gypsys for all you who don't know are the darker skinned people in Europe and are often times victims of unfair prejudice. Me being very white stuck out very obviously, somewhat like an elephant at the grocery market. We watched the film above on the projector in a small huddle. Soon my father started taking pictures of not only the film, but also the surrounding buildings and landscape.

The apartments of Lunik IX

Soon my fathers camera flash started getting attention, he got a few funny looks and then a drunk man came up to him. The man asked my father why he was taking pictures of the apartments and not the movie. My father told him some nice thing that was meant mostly to appease him. The two talked for a while it was hard to detect hostility or friendship in ethiers voice or comments. After a while the drunk man left leaving us alone.   


We started to wander around, just my father, Šimon and me. A group of teens spotted us there were about six or seven of them. They came towards us, we kept giving each other nervous looks. They were right next to us and they started talking to us about the ghetto and how things were in it. It turns out that the apartment rooms where no light shown out the windows was not because all the lights were off, it was because the inhabitants were unable to pay for the electricity. We often saw the lights all around flickering on and off. The whole place felt very eerie.


We walked with the boys all around the buildings. They told us about the school and the other luniks, there are other such neighbourhoods but I'm not sure how many. We talked and what they said was very interesting, they told us about a rich gypsy who didn't live far away they also told us about the various problems of living in lunik IX.


Soon the movie ended and we soon after that left in same car we had come in but with many more people. We were packed in extremely tight. The car ride was uncomfortable, but when we got back to the hotel we took a very comfortable shower then fell on our beds and slept like logs.  

School

Today was my first day of school at any other school but Ed Smith. I was petrified. My father and I went in his old friends (who I am staying with) car. Before school we went to the Slovak equivalent of Wall Mart and bought a small notebook for school. When we arrived at the school My father, Maros (my fathers friend) and I stepped out of the car. We were to meet with the director of the high school. After a long discussion about what classes in what languages would I take and what grade level would I be in the meeting was over. All my classes for the day would be in English.


The meeting took all of first period or block or whatever you want to call it. After first period the students have a ten minute announcement period. I shuffled slowly into the classroom stood in the center of it and told them my name, I even managed to smile a little and look at the people I was talking to, how extraordinary. As I finished I almost sprinted to the farthest away from all the other students, then I started staring at my shoes.


Now I had biology class. In the bio class I was assigned to where two people I already knew; Jano and Filip. Jano was supposed to come and find me and take me to the bio room, I had (and still have) no idea where anything is. I waited with the high school director (more commonly called the principal) every second seemed like 1000 years every person that looked at me seemed like a bomb that was about to explode and kill me. Just when I thought I was going to go crazy Jano came.


In bio the teacher was not present so we had a sub. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but as you have probably figured out it was. I wanted to learn as much about the school, teachers and kids as I could, and as I already said the teacher was absent. Apparently the teacher had left plans for the class to watch Filips presentation. Filip didn't like, believe or enjoy this idea. After quite a while of arguing Filip won and we were to take notes on a packet about the digestive system of many different animals. We were to highlight all the things we thought to be interesting or important, although I don't think of any of the things I highlighted as interesting or important I still highlighted many things. Everybody highlighted and didn't do much else.


In the next class I had there was  nobody I knew. Filip introduced me to one of his friends (I later found out I actually knew him from when I was very little and just didn't remember) and then left. We talked for a little while before class started, mostly people just asked me about the USA. The class was about writing, they were working similes, metaphors and then special types of poems of which the name I am unable to remember. After we practiced the poems for a little while the class ended.


I had geography right across the hall and this time it was with Jano. I thought that in geography you were supposed to learn about political boundaries, capitals and populations, apparently not. We learned how, when and why desserts form and about different types of sand dunes. This was interesting for I have never had a geography class before.

  
I was time for lunch but I was not going to eat lunch here at school. I was getting picked up and then leaving. I waited for my father by the main entrance, Filip and Jano went with their friend (who can drive and had a car) to McDonalds. They offered that they could take me to but having to be picked up I was unable to accept. Just as I was getting impatient my father showed up at the door. The secretary opened the door for him, he came in told her I was leaving and I walked out with him as my first day at C.S. Lewis high school drew to a close.

Trip into Slovakia

We drove to the airport said our goodbyes, my father and I went through security and sat down and waited. The first plain ride was uneventful and quite boring. We arrived in the O'hare airport and we were greeted with a sight of a long static line standing in front of the check-in counter for our plain. After we had stood in line for roughly twenty minutes we realized it was not going anywhere any time soon. It turned out that the plane we had to take from Chicago to Warsaw was five hours late and everyone who had a connecting flight after that had to be re-booked. To make matters even worse only two of the many available flight attendants knew how and were able to re-book flights. After three hours which felt like more than infinity and a stone cold, angry, tired and frustrated flight attendant we finally made it through the line. Instead of going straight from Warsaw to Bratislava we would go from Warsaw to Vienna, which is a short drive from Bratislava.


Now all we had to do was go through security and then get on the plane. The line for the security checkpoint was even longer than the line for the check in. Even though this line was moving much faster than the check-in line we had had enough of long lines. My father and I were also concerned that the security workers would completely disassemble all our bags because we had lots of camera equipment. We simply ran to the front of the line. As we came through security we had to explain that we had film, not bombs and that my father was a film maker not a terrorist. The security workers seemed more concerned with the possible government shut down then defending homeland security, we heard many people complaining on more than a few occasions. We came through the checkpoint and made our way to our gate.

The plain was already in the process of boarding so we didn't have to wait at the gate which was a relief. As soon as we were on the plane I simply fell asleep. When I woke we only had one more hour till we arrived in Warsaw. I ate the dinner I had missed yesterday and then the breakfast they had just given me. The plane landed then taxied over to the unloading point. I was still groggy and my ears hadn't popped. We got off the plane and I sat down and guarded our luggage while my father tried to persuade the flight attendant into allowing us on an earlier flight to Vienna, somehow he succeeded. As we were on our way to the bus that would take us to the plane we were stopped by another flight attended. Apparently we had to many carry-ons and the plane supposedly not enough room. After quite a heated debate we managed to somehow get onto an earlier plane even with to much luggage.


As it turned out my father and I did not sit together as I had hoped but had only just gotten the two remaining seats. Soon I fell asleep when I awoke we were in Vienna we were picked up then driven into Bratislava.