Yesterday I observed the German holiday Fastnacht. It was a lot of fun. I got about 30 different explanations about the holiday from my German friends and host family, and I thought I was completely confused about it, but then I checked it out on Wikipedia, and it turns out, it's about as complicated as I understood it was. So, it wasn't just a language thing.
Basically we watched the parade where they marched all of the winter spirits away, and then there was a giant party with plenty of alcohol in the middle of the city. It was really fun to watch a place, that I'm not gonna lie, is usually kind of up tight, become completely chaotic and wild.
I watched the movie Bodysong yesterday, and I'm reading The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond, so of course the whole time all I could think about was the human animal, and why we do all the bizarre stuff we do blah blah blah. That's the problem with Diamond, he just messes with your head, and then you can't just mindlessly enjoy watching witches and liquor flow through the streets.
1 comment:
I find myself in a constant state of questioning the bizzar behaviors of man. It is definately due, in part, to Jared Diamond, but I have to admit Richard Dawkins has done a number on me too. Although there are times I wish I could just sit back and watch the witches and liquer flow, for the most part, I find it far more interesting to view it with greater objectivity. Such objectivity prevents you from taking things for granted and allows you to fully appreciate how complex the human animal and its social structures are!!!
Post a Comment