If God Lived in Europe...

When I was an undergrad, the ever-humorous Yale Record put out an issue lambasting the residential colleges. Their bit on Silliman was as follows:

If God went to Yale, he'd be a Sillimander. "That's right," he declares. "I love the blend of Georgian and shitty architecture. It is in keeping with the diversity of my creation, which ranges from the restrained and tasteful Bengal tiger to the ugly-ass manatee."

If this is, indeed, how God chooses real estate, I think he would be thrilled to live in Ljubljana. Rome? Please. Last I heard, pride was a sin. Plus, we're talking about architectural diversity, here. Exhibit A:Ah, yes. That pleasing blend of Baroque/Art Nouveau (right two buildings) and, as the Record so nicely put it, "shitty" (left two buildings). I don't know whether this stuff is left over from the Soviet era or just their idea of cool, functional building, but, in any case, it's hideous, especially next to the rest of the gorgeousness.

This morning I went to an "American Breakfast" at the Marine House. There weren't too many people my age there (the marine I spoke with most was 34 and married with a 13-year-old daughter), and it seemed like everyone I spoke with wasn't actually from America. First was the nice and dorky Slovenian couple who had spent five years in New York while the wife did her post-doc at Columbia. Then there was the British man who just decided to settle in Slovenia, since his consulting job takes him all around the world. When I told him what I was doing, he mentioned he thought the Slovenian legal system was one of the worst in the world, citing judges who gave out disparate sentences for horribly silly reasons (the relative ages of two adult perps). I then told him about America's sleeping lawyer rules, and I don't think he was any less appalled by the Slovenian system, but he was certainly more appalled by American courts. I'm such a bad ambassador.

I chatted with two girls around my age who were from Venezuela, one of whom had lived in the states for a while. The marine I spoke with was from Trinidad & Tobago via Brooklyn. I did speak with a few always-American Americans, including a Colonel who reminded me just a little of Josh Brolin's Bush in W.. They were all good people (and very family oriented...so many little kids), and hopefully I'll see them at another social event. And maybe then the Marines will be in uniform.

After that I did more article reading (not for pleasure, sadly) outside at Cacao, where I had a mean hot chocolate and this view:
I then walked up to Ljubljana castle, where I sat overlooking the cloud-covered Alps and the red roofs of Ljubljana. I'll post Alpy pictures when there are fewer clouds...it's pretty awesome how well you can see them on a clear day. And now I am back in my room an blogging, soon to head back over to England for a Lasko. It's raining and I don't want to go far...plus, maybe I'll drink up an appetite for burek.