Semester 11 Chapter VIII: Back To The Island

Hello world, as I write this thing, I’m sitting in a pretty nice room in Guargacho, Tenerife, where I moved couple of days ago. Which basically means I’m back for some time. Can’t lie, shit feels pretty good. Particularly the weather. I was totally growing sick of that bullshit nonsense in Brno. At this point, it’s difficult to say for how long I’m gonna stick around this time but even if it’s for the winter only, it’s worth it. Big time. 

 

Last Monday, I met up with the whole fam, we had some Chinese food for dinner and in the evening I went out for a beer with one of my bros. I left my hometown after 3am and managed to get some sleep beforehand. At the airport I met up with the boss and his wifey, we hopped on the plane and shortly after the noon we were here. The journey was easy and I wasn’t asked for my covid vaccination QR code once. I guess it’s usually like that…

From the airport, I took a bus and went to my spot. I was initially searching for a flat for myself but that turned out to be a total nightmare. Since you can’t really find anything being advertised directly by property owners, you have to rely solely on real estate agencies who pretty much don’t speak any English, are late with their responses and don’t normally answer questions you ask. Plus they take whole bunch of money if any kinda deal miraculously gets through. Well, after some thinking, I figured I might search for a shared flat for the time being. And then I found this spot… About 10km from Los Christianos, only 1 other guy living here, big bedroom with my own bathroom, spacious kitchen and a living room… Talked to the guy on the phone, we agreed on everything and that was that. So I took it directly here. It’s a flat in this bigger apartment complex and it’s real nice. So far I can’t really complain about much. 

 

I also decided that in order to make my life comfortable (and possibly a bit more adult), I’m gonna need a car this time around. So I spent the next day shopping for that. Eventually went to Adeje to meet up with this Romanian dealer and got this old ass light green Fiat Punto. Not a chick magnet but it works and it consumes very little gas… So I’ve been getting around with that since. My first car ever actually…

Apart from that, I’ve been dealing with all the paperwork that needs to be done in order for me to be able to work here legally. All is in progress. I also had a chance to go for some dives with the dive shop we are going to take over. Two from boat at Palm-Mar, one in Tabaiba and one in Las Eras. Felt good to be back in water. On top of that, I’ve been cooking, working out, teaching my classes and exploring my new village during the evenings... And meeting up in Los Chris to do some light work to get the center ready for us. 

So yeah, shit is moving forward, life’s going on. Can’t wait to get a bit social around here. One step at a time tho… New Wale in my headphones, pretty nice view at the mountains out my window, vibes are correct. Sending some love to all of you. One! 

Highlights:

• The diving.
• The car.
• The apartment.

Semester 11 Chapter VII: Time To Move

Being adult is weird. There’s so much shit we structure our lives around that we rarely question; we kinda take them as given. All the work shit, our little routines, our responsibilities… I have tackled on my relationship with my hometown couple of times before and I have said it’s complicated. Which is mostly my fault. See, when you decide to travel around and make your life chaos, the fact these daemon structures (I’m pretty sure I’m killing this IT analogy) collapse. And I’m realizing that the older I get, the more complicated it seems to create new ones. Let’s say I settle in Brno. I have to find a stable job, I have to find a new group of people and places I somewhat enjoy, I might have to consider doing something about my dating life… Basically getting a fucking life here. Which is a lot. And since I’m not doing that, I can’t really stay here for long. It really feels like a limbo when I’m here. I cherish the time spent here but I also feel the need of getting the fuck out every time. It feels easier to run on autopilot somewhere else with people who might be as lost as me, than to pretend I’m ready for this. Never say never and there’s still a good chance Czech Republic will become my home again eventually but for now I’m good. It is what it is… 

Okay, so last week... I was in Rabac till Tuesday afternoon. The business I went there to assist with went smoothly and it turned out to be a pretty successful effort. Rabac was shit tho. The weather was consistently bad, it was cold and the runs were more of a challenge than a pleasure. It felt good making it back home. My dad stayed awake till the middle of the night and greeted me with some pasta and whiskey. 

During the week I managed to spend some time with my family and with my bro who came from Prague for couple of days. We were hanging out around the town, we went to this skate park/playground with the nephew, we did some great food and we went to the movies to chat the new James Bond. I was also researching accommodation in Tenerife. I don’t wanna jinx it but it seems I found a solution I might be pretty happy with. Gonna tell you guys next week when I’m there… 

I’ve been also teaching as always, I resumed my daily workouts and runs… Feeling good in this bitch. The biggest downside at this point is the fucking weather. I’m so not built for this and I can’t wait to get that shit right in Tenerife. Two days to go… In the meantime… Take care, keep shit positive and don’t entertain bullshit. One!

Highlights:

• Being in a cinema again. For the first time since Bali. Feels like a lifetime ago.
• Squid game. I mean WTF.
• My family. They’re fucking beautiful.

Semester 11 Chapter VI: Swan Song

So the elections in the Czech Republic has just taken place. And you know what? Fuck it. I’m done pretending that shit’s gonna get better. It ain’t. We have an alt-right party winning that motherfucker (they don’t really portray themselves as such but in terms of their stance on social system, immigrants, LGBTQ+ issues, environmentalism, and basically everything I consider somewhat important, there’s really no doubt), we got this fucking oligarch billionaire who’s been running the circus for the past decade or so coming second. Tax evasions, tax heavens, stealing from EU funds, pumping his business with public money, lying and saying basically whatever to get people’s votes. Then we got the Pirates in coalition with this center-right party third. The whole coalition is a tragedy for Pirates who, in my opinion, are the only element in the parliament that makes any kind of sense (although I’m so not aligned with lotta shit they do). And the last but not least… Neo-Nazis led by this Japanese immigrant. I shit you not; that shit has become an evergreen of our political landscape. So fuck it. There’s no taxing the rich, there’s no supporting those in need, there’s no sustainable social system, there’s no responsible environmental policy, there’s no marriage for my sister and her fiancee, there’s nothing but more injustice, more capitalism, more homophobia and more pain. And you know what? I’ve been done… Maybe it’s time to sit back, grab a drink and watch the world burn in flames. Cause whatever happened here happens all over the world. And trying to see any kinda hope in this bullshit is a full-time fucking job. 

 

Okay, on a lighter note… I’m still in Rabac and I’m managing. The place is almost empty; most tourists left are in their 70s and like half of business are shut. Off-season. I’m staying in the boss’ flat up in Rabac but I literally only sleep there. I work and operate from the dive center and I use the van to go up and down. Not gonna lie, I’d rather be back home with the family and all but I understand that the shit I got called for over here is important so it’s all good. 

 

The guys to whom the dive center is being handed over arrived on Wednesday and since then we’ve been meeting up on the daily dealing with shit that needs to be deal with in such situations. My role is mostly translation which can be a motherfucker as sometimes you're the guy who speaks twice as much as everybody else. And I’m not talking only informal regular conversations… We’ve also been at the notary’s office so shit gets proper. Here and there, we get a coffee somewhere and yesterday we went out for a dinner to this fish place up the hill. I was in full vegan mode as usual so I’m sure they loved me over there. First, I was hoping for some pasta with truffles but since they fucked it up and put eggs and dairy in it, I ended up with spaghetti with tomato sauce and some veggies. So the most basic food you can imagine. Yay! Then we headed up to Labin for a drink in the old town. 

What else. I went to get a haircut in Labin for one last time and I even managed to get myself a t-shirt with the city symbol that is so socialist realism it’s crazy. Plus I did some runs (which is bit hardcore as whatever the weather is here these days... it has nothing to do with summer; cold and strong wind all the way) and I’ve been teaching my classes. All is good but I can’t wait to get this shit over with and head back home. And look… Even though shit looks ugly as fuck in the world, let’s not give up on love and kindness. It’s all we got after all. One! 

 

Highlights:

• Top Boy. What a series.
• Kojey Radical. Some great music right there...
  
• Running by the sea again.

Semester 11 Chapter V: Old Town Road

Hello everybody, greetings from Rabac. Yes, that’s right, I’m back in this motherfucker. Last week has been quite eventful so let’s get right into it. 

I had a great time with my sisters down in Montenegro. We enjoyed the rest of Monday, visited Tivat and some of their friends in the area, had dinner in Budva and Tuesday morning, we drove back to Podgorica. I experienced some of the infamous Balkan hospitality as their mum made sure I’m taken care of. Fruits, almonds, herbal tea… All the good stuff. Then it was off to the airport, back to Budapest and eventually back to Brno by train. Although all the covid shit looks tough on paper, the reality turned out to be a piece of cake once again. I got asked for a negative covid test in Podgorica and that was literally that. 

 

After I made it to Brno, I stop by at my sis’ for dinner and some drinks. I spend the rest of the working week catching up with work and socializing. Friday I managed to grab a beer with my neighbor and on Saturday, my bro from Prague arrived. In the afternoon, we hopped on our bikes and rode to the town of Bílovice just outside of Brno. One of our friends from back in the day joined too and that whole shit was magical. See, it’s a route we used to take all the time like forever ago and doing that again… The three of us specifically... Felt great. The ride back was in the dark already and had a great vibe. We spent the rest of the night bar crawling and hanging out outside. What a fucking night. 

 

I spent most of Sunday hanging out with the bro again. Having lunch at home (courtesy of my dad), visiting his sister, riding around the town checking some graffiti spots… Serious old school shit. In the evening, we did a nice little family gathering, some food and some drinks. Overall, a dope weekend. 

 

This morning, I went to get my second covid shot and after that I met up with the dive shop owner to get back to Rabac. The drive was smooth and we got here before 6pm. I’m here to help him out with the sale of the join which is supposed to get down from Wednesday till sometime next week. And I’m sure there’s gonna be stories. 

 

So yeah, all is good. It took me a while to touch down from all the emotional roller coasters in Montenegro but I managed. And everything else was just beautiful. Hope you guys are doing well too. One! 

Highlights:

• The rest of Montenegro.
• All the weekend bike rides.
• Being able to calm down my nephew when he cried. That’s a first right there.