I was in the museum part of the castle, looking at some ancient fabric fragments, when I heard a rousing Czech version of "I Saw Her Standing There" being performed outside. The museum workers got very agitated and closed all the windows, but the music could still be heard throughout the museum. The band's repertoire also included some Stones, Bob Marley, and what sounded like traditional folk music.
It was fun to hear the cultural mash-up - it was something both so familiar and so different at the same time - and it got me thinking about a passage from Rick Steves' Prague guidebook that I really like:
"Globe-trotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Regrettably, there are forces in our society that want you dumbed down for their convenience. Don't let it happen. Thoughtful travel engages you with the world - more important than ever these days. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop."
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| Oh Rick, what would I do without you? |
Cheesy yarn metaphors aside, I think Mr. Steves has some great points here. I'm not even a week into my Magellan and I can already sense changes in myself, and I've seen so many sights/strands of this culture already that I want to "knit" into my character.
I was walking through the Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Prague today when I saw something that I'll never forget: the art of Jewish children who were deported to Terezin, Czech Republic, during WWII.
The drawings and paintings all have a child's name attached and date from 1942 to 1944, showing glimpses of life in that ghetto: from innocent flowers and trees to people on train transports and in food distribution lines.
The art of these children, many of whom ended up being sent to Auschwitz, is brutal in its honesty. They drew and painted what was everyday life to them and created powerful images in the process. I won't forget these pictures because of how simple and truthful they are. It doesn't always take complicated art to move an audience; simple pencil and paintbrush strokes were all these children had, and what they created is sad but astounding.
Like Rick Steves explained, the best souvenirs aren't always physical objects. The experiences, like hearing loud Czech Beatles covers boom through a quiet museum, and parts of other cultures, like the Terezin children's art, that I'm finding here are surprising and I know I'll always cherish them.
I want to be like the Czech cover band and mix everything I'm experiencing into my own character, one yarn at a time.
