Martin, Minsk, and Kyrgyz Cognac

Yes, we all have our secret crushes. NO, mine is not Martin Crouch. Not by a long shot! This is the product of my brother’s wicked sense of humor. Here I am in Prague, admiring sunglass advertisements with David Beckham, walking around town in a bit of a glow following my recent, yet disappointing viewings of the England side during the World Cup. When Mark set out for South Africa by way of England, I asked if he’d just sent me a postcard or something of Becks. And, this is what I received! Yes, Mark and I had emailed back and forth a few times during the Cup, and I did make a few disparaging remarks about Mr. Crouch, but little did I think I’d get a nice-sized poster with his well, ‘interesting’ face on it. But, I do have to appreciate my dear brother’s sense of humor. It is always a joy to be remembered on one’s birthday, and it is especially nice to receive a gift with a special meaning and thought attached to it. I have to admit that I’m a poor gift giver; I’m usually overwhelmed by indecision. I should have learned a lesson long ago from some friends in Germany who simply buy presents for people as they find them, and not necessarily only before a birthday or the like. That sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Today was full of many firsts. Through the course of lunch, and later dinner and drinks I made my first friend from the country known as the last dictatorship of Europe. She related some rather heartfelt stories about life in Minsk, conveying how depressing life is there. She comes from a country, which if it’s not careful is in danger of losing its national identity for that of its neighbor Russia. There is no higher education in her mother tongue, Belarusian. National symbols are being stamped out and the language is undergoing ‘reform’, coming closer to Russian. But this is only one part of the story. Besides the trampling of national identity and language, there is the lack of freedom of expression and the encroachment of the state in private lives. And, there is the president who maintains the pipe dream of becoming president of Russia, cozying up to his Big Brother neighbor, even so far as to push for a state union. Actually, this reminds me of my Canadian friend Tyson from good ole Dining Services at Penn’s Hill House who shared with me one day over lunch his desire for the U.S. to annex Canada so that he could become president of the United States one day.

While it was no Orange Revolution “tent city” in Minsk, what happened with several hundred protestors in March of this year after the presidential election (I think Lukashenka ‘won’ with 86% or something like that) was truly monumental. These men and women braved freezing cold temperatures round the clock for four days until police broke up the crowd and began to arrest and imprison people. Recently, several protesters received prison sentences of 2-3 years for their activities. In short, I am immensely humbled by these activists and their desire for freedom, liberty, and justice.

Besides receiving a first hand account of life in Belarus, I also tasted my first Kyrgyz cognac. All this time I thought the French and Armenians were the main purveyors of this spirit. Well, I have to tell you this cognac from Bishkek was very smooth, warm and overall quite lovely. I have yet to try any Armenian, but the Remy St. Martin I sampled several years back from my friend Florence (a fellow Bosch tutor in Frankfurt Oder) whose grandparents contribute grapes to the production was just too much for me. Perhaps, the Kyrgyz variety is for a lightweight like me, but I would really recommend it.

Oh, by the way, Mom, I might just put Poland's neighbor to the right on my travel agenda :)