random thoughts of days 1-2

1) why is it that when in an airport, the man with the hacking cough has to sit next to the one girl who has paranoid fear of TB?

2)when touring judaica in jewish museum of prague, i got so excited when i saw these gorgeous regal crowns. i didnt know jews did crowns, but i like it! almost asked if i could try one on for a photo op to make my mom proud that i was a queen.  then was told that they were not in fact crowns but ornaments for the torah.  now i made my mom very un-proud. 

3)i think i look czech.  i blend.  mostly because of my eastern european head, big black puffy jacket, boots with my tight pants tucked in (i guess my weight gain and squeezing into my pants is actually a good look for fitting in here).  if they didnt see my camera attached to me and my name tag lanyard (tourist mode) i might be a local.  people have even come up me on the street and speak to me in czech.  and then i make a strange face and say 'yeah, i dont speak that' and walk away. i dont want people to get too close, they might try and steal my brand new pink camera.

4) the men at the jewish temple made fun of me today.  i went to the 'new-old' synagogue (yeah, they explained it, but i dont really get it either).  really its just frickin old.  not so much new.  but the women sit behind a huge wall with slits that im not sure what the purpose really is because you cant really see or hear.  and i guess it works both ways because the men cant see you (gd forbid, theyd never be able to concentrate with all my sexy skin showing, oh wait) and they wouldnt want to hear the gossip going on.  im sure it was good if i had any idea what they were talking about.  damn it, why didnt i learn czech earlier?  we'll add that to the list of things to do.  so basically with nothing to do back there since i didnt know who to gossip about and i was starting to feel a little weird with the ladies watching me and me creepily trying to spy through the slit, i walked out in lets say less than 5 minutes.  the men who let me in were like 'well, THAT was brief' (i swear, even with the accent and non native speaking, i sense sarcasm when i hear it, its universal).  and i was like 'yeah, well theres not much to do back there and im not used to the wall thing'.  and then he was like 'do you know why its there?' i said 'yes because its orthodox' and he was like 'um, no, its because the place is 900 years old'.  like i was suggesting knocking down the wall for my own comfort, desecrating a sacred historical place.  i sensed it.  dont mock me.