University lover

When people visit countries or cities, they usually go to see (and definitely take pictures of) museums, theatres, churches and other, so called, sight-seeings. I'm not one of them. I have this thing for Universities. There's some magic aura in Academic places, isn't it? Air is so full of science, education, freedom, thinking...

G-d, do I love Universities! You have no idea. When I visit a new country, first thing I want to see is a State University of that place. Looking at the buildings and watching students are most amusing and amazing entertainment for me. I love watching enthusiastic and motivated youth. Anyone who's ever gone to University, knows how engaged and excited one can be there. Or maybe I was because I studied Journalism (crazy, how could I do that!) and believed in things that don't quite exist in this corrupt world. Plus they don't really teach you how to write there, just waste of time, all the good writers are NOT even journalists, forget Marquez and Hemingway... But that's not the subject now.

So I like University of Athens a lot (first European country I have visited long time ago), I guess, because it's old and loud :)
Second in my list is the Moscow State University, which is huge and pompous as Russia itself.
Then come Universities of Milan, Berlin and Prague. Sadly my list is not very big because I'll be honest, I haven't really seen all the Universities of the countries I have visited.
[I intentionally do not mention the great ones like Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne and etc, too pop for me ;) ]

Last but NOT least is the University of Leipzig. The pride of East Germany, let me say like this.
Since Leipzig is my (rather Ezra's, he is an authentic Leipziger) hometown right now, naturally its University is the first place to see and be for me.
My 4 years of Bachelor's and 2 years of the midrasha were not enough at all to satisfy my Academic hunger (haven't done Master's yet, sorry, mum!).

 

So today when Ezra and I were walking up the beautiful University street of Leipzig in the very centre of the city, I felt that the sky was wider and higher, than usual, calm breeze was full of University air taking me to my favourite place in the world.

I wonder what are my readers' obsession? Readers' that become less and less like my blog posts :-D It's fine, sometimes it's very useful talking/writing to yourself and making things clear and realising what you didn't actually know before.

Great with Child

Last book I've read is Beth Ann Fennelly's "Great with child".

I am usually very sceptical towards new authors, especially American ones. You know I adore American literature, mostly THE writers like Salinger, Hemingway, Capote, but modern literature is a disaster just like their cinematography, G-d forbid, how could I ever call Hollywood movies Cinema :D

Anyways, Beth Ann Fennelly is one of those rare authors that absolutely got me into them. First, she's got Irish roots and red hair. Second, she's mum of three. Third, she's a poet and not bad either. I've read couple of her poems and liked them actually, but this book I've mentioned above is something that every mother or to-be should read. Not only extremely encouraging and funny, but it's also very witty and non-judgmental.
I've always been trying to be non-judgmental, but not succeed quite often, people bug me anyways and I call them names, or label and even ban them. While Beth Ann Fennelly seems to be so tolerant to any kind of people, mostly mums in this case, that gives you strength to become little bit like her too.

Except all that, Fennelly's also a freak of grammar, like me, should I say. She especially can't stand when people ignore apostrophes. I liked that so much. Even though I am not from English speaking country at all and nobody would judge (hopefully) my English, but I really try to speak and write correctly and when some native speaking people can't tell between "it's" and "its", or "you're" and "your" seems so embarrassing to me.

So I recommend everyone to read this book. I am even going to re-read it, so enjoyable like a friend of yours writing to you and you are dying to respond or ask some advice, but you really can't.
We all need friends like Beth Ann Fennelly, oh I do a lot.

Have a lovely time!!!