The following entry is a description of my reactions to one of my professors, Václav Cílek, and his class entitled “European Mentality.” He will most likely never read this post, so do not think I am brown-nosing. I am simply reflecting the opinions shared by many of this great man.
Really quickly, I would like you, he/she who reads this (thanks by the way!), to click on this link, the Wikipedia page for Václav Cílek: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Cilek. It is not a very long page but the first sentence about him describes how cool he is. It is written: “Václav Cílek (born 1955 in Brno) is Czech geologist, climatologist, writer, philosopher, science popularizer and translator of Tao and Zen texts.” Not only is he a leading expert in geology and climatology, he also translates Tao and Zen texts. That might be the coolest addendum to any biographical statement ever. Cílek has written countless articles and books which are revered as intellectual genius. He shows incredible humility in his lectures, alluding to his published book on the Charles Bridge or his television series on the lost caves of the Czech Republic, but never letting his work define his being. One day as we walked down Národní street, one of the main streets in New Town Prague, a man approached Professor Cílek. After a brief and very smiley conversation, we asked our professor who the man was: “Was that one of your fans, professor?” we said jokingly. He was very embarrassed to answer our question affirmatively. The fan had recognized him from his aforementioned television show on caves. Incredible. There are not many things we quote from Cílek (though we learn a lot a lot) but the fan story and the next one are favorites. As we sat in the grass one day during class, he lectured us on Václav Havel, the first president of the new Czech Republic, as his birthday had been in that week. He told us all about Havel's office calling him for certain consultations on such and such an issue. Then he said our favorite line: “I was invited to Havel's 75th birthday party but I did not go. I do not play the social games.” He is very in touch with himself, his likes, dislikes, and beliefs about the world. He believes in the energy of spaces, in apparitions, and very strongly against love locks (a couple will put a lock on a bridge or a fence to symbolize eternal love; Cílek hates them because they are mostly empty promises made by young people). European Mentality is based outside the classroom. Better yet, Prague is our classroom and our teacher knows a hell of a lot about his subject matter. Every class, save for two or three, this semester has been a cool field trip to a new part of Prague. Missing class is actually devastating; these field trips are amazing. If you do not mind, I want to share a select few stories from our trips.
One of the most interesting classes we have had our trip to a homeless art exhibit. If that sounds weird, then you are getting into the right mindset. It was incredibly weird. We walked for a while along the river in a random area just outside the city center until we came upon a construction site. Apparently, developers thought the area could be profitable so they started construction on a housing project, I think if I remember correctly. They quickly lost funding due to a lack of interest in the area and it became abandoned. Recently, people have started to leave pieces of “art” on these grounds. There was some graffiti, some photography, organized rubble and tires, and playing cards to give examples. A few sections were wrapped in VHS film that the artist had set free to shake in the wind. The empty tapes were then arranged in a cool way. When looking at the film, we were actually watching classic movies from our childhood! I am pretty sure The Lion King was there, Home Alone, etc. Classics. Another artist, or maybe the same person/s, had then taken pictures of the tapes, printed them on big coasters, and arranged those in an artistic way. It was all very natural and cool. Anyone who came added to the overall experience, there was nothing commercial about it at all. In one section of the grounds there was a little hut with a cloth door. The class was pretty hesitant about going near it for fear that an aggressor lay waiting behind the curtain but Cílek was anything but that. He turned to us and asked, “Do you know what to do when there is no door to knock on?” He started clapping, saying something, and then pulled back the sheet. We were all scared for his and our lives. Luckily, or maybe not luckily but just so, the inhabitant was not home. I think that class, only a few weeks into the semester, was when we really knew how awesome a professor Cílek would be. We had inklings of his genius but then it was definite that we were going to go way off the unbeaten path's unbeaten path, and we were going to love it.
We have gone on a lot of light and playful field trips, like the homeless art gallery, or the time we sat on the hills near Jinonice and Cílek talked all about public urination (one of my favorite lectures of all time), or the time we climbed under a bridge, like above us the highway, below the creaky grate catwalk under our feet was the river... yup, I should probably explain that one. Cílek took us on a tour of the abandoned port near Holešovice when we came upon a bridge. Professor turned to us and said that he would normally do something next with his Czech students but American students are normally not brave enough. We obviously demanded the contrary, so he took us to the base of the bridge. He hopped up onto a ledge, climbed up the ladder, and told us to follow if we wanted. We proceeded to walk over countless grates, holding onto the railing for dear life the whole way down and back. It was thrillingly nerve-wracking. It felt as though we could fall through into the river below at any moment. I have a feeling this sort of adventure might be frowned upon by parents and schools. It may or may not have been a little dangerous, but since nothing happened, it does not matter, it is all groovy. These are the types of little adventures he takes us on and they are always fun. On our recent visit to Vyšehrad, we walked through passed and talked about all of the standard sights. Then, in true Cílek fashion, he hopped the brick wall protecting people from falling onto the highway 50 feet below and motioned for us to follow. We stood where they used to import goods to the castle complex directly from the river as he explained the process of it to us. I like learning about things much more when they are right in front of me, when I can see them, hear them, and touch them; that is the way Cílek teaches.
One last short story about how awesome this man is comes from our lecture a week ago, Thanksgiving day, when we visited the Infant of Prague in the Church of Our Lady Victorious. The Infant of Prague is a tiny wax figurine of baby Jesus dressed immaculately and surrounded by lots and lots of gold. Supposedly, the Infant saved the city from being destroyed in war and by the plague. Because of its miracle powers, it has international fame and is a frequently visited church by Spanish and Italian believers who want to pay homage. Anyway, as the class approached the church, a cameraman was in a ready position and immediately started filming our professor. Cílek just went along with his business, in true Cílek form, and went on lecturing. Inside, he apologized for the cameramen, saying that Czech national television wanted to interview him but he refused, “so the least I could do was tell them where I would be.”
I do not wonder for a second why anyone would want to capture every word out of this man's mouth. The other night, I looked up Cílek on YouTube to see if he had any interviews in English. I found zero in English but listened to three or four in Czech. I could not understand 99% of what he was saying, after the greeting words from interviewer I could not keep up, but I listened to the whole interview. Cílek spoke about environmental policies. Again, I knew not a word he spoke, but he has this voice and sense of composure that is soothing in a way, and you know that what he is saying is prophetic. This is particularly funny for me to write because Cílek's least favorite topic is himself. He will tell us all about his archeological excavation project in the Sudan but only because we ask him to do so. Professor then takes that opportunity to speak about the people there, their interactions among their community, and their interactions with foreigners to teach us about them, not himself. He would probably dislike this entry. Cílek is an inspiring man who truly follows his heart, does things he wants to do, sees things he wants to see. Hell, what is cool about European Mentality is that most of the places we go are sights he just finds on his walks and thinks are interesting. They may not be the most significant places in Prague but they are unique to the area and Cílek is always able to find a humanistic lesson in them.
Cílek never brags so I guess I have to on his behalf. On one of the first days of class he told us that most of what a student learns in the classroom is not what is written on the board or assigned for homework. The student is most influenced by the teacher's attitude. Professor Cílek has taught me a great deal about how to walk through a city and really explore it. If something catches your eye that is not on the itinerary, who cares, goes see it. Walk through alleyways that seemingly lead to nowhere; some of them will prove to be nothing but down one of them lies a treasure chest of some sort. I have come to terms with my readiness to go home, all the Christmas lights and music just get me ready for my birthday (12/24) for which I am normally always home. I will be home again soon, which excites me, but it also means that I will probably never get to go an adventure with Václav Cílek again. I guess I can take solace in the fact that I still have a couple more classes with him. I am especially excited for our last trip, a nighttime visit to the Prague Castle, one of the most beautiful places on top of the city. It will be nice.
Anywho, thanks for reading. I'll post again very soon (as my completed journal assignment is due in less than a week!).
All the best,
Than
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