Illumination.

The weather yesterday was what I would call spastic. At points it was as if I could taste spring, as the trees, the sun and chirping birds all led to the conclusion that "finally, SPRING HAS ARRIVED." Then in about 5 seconds (no joke), foreboding clouds would roll in and drop rain, which quickly turned to sleet, which then morphed into snow, lots of snow. My emotional state fluctuated like wise: happy with sun, sad with snow; happy with sun, sad with snow; happy with sun, sad with snow. Let's just say that it was "frustrating."

My first adult English class started at 4:00 pm, and at the time, the sun was so bright that I had to move the window curtains about three times, as it seemed that my students' eyes were going to burn out of the back of their heads due to the un-filtered sunlight: most of them sit facing a gigantic series of 8 square windows that encompass the whole wall (this Church is 'functional' so square is in).

On a personal note, I was extremely encouraged by the sunny weather; I hoped that it would carry over for the remainder of the night (should have known better), as I was showing a movie at 7:15, which I knew would be well attended if the weather decided to sedate itself into a decision about what it would produce, which I was hoping would be SUN! However, true to it’s from, the clear skies and reprieve from the cold were ever fleeting. Clouds came back, everything turned gray, the winds suddenly became blustery and, finally, the snow fell. Oh, yes, the weather had made decision; the choice would be snow!

I was upstairs preparing the computer, pr0jector, speaker and screen. I was watching the trailer and getting my mind focused and geared toward the film; I'm not going to lie, I was excited about the upcoming program. Then suddenly, on the black of my screen, I saw the reflection of the big circular window behind me and through the reflection of the big circular window, snow was dancing and swirling, as if to mock me. I turned sharply and peered out. It was snowing. It was dark. It looked cold. I was crushed.

You see, I have a hard enough time trying to make the programs in this church well attended, so I didn't need the weather to be against me too. But, I guess that is life. It wouldn't have been so bad, if my last movie wasn't nearly destroyed because of a snowstorm, so the last thing I wanted was this one to be dashed as well. Dejected, I took my leave from preparations and went downstairs to teach my second class. I only had 6 students (not a good sign, as it signaled people were not driving).

I ended class a few minutes early and went upstairs to make sure everything was in order. When I opened the door, I saw one of my high school students sitting amongst the chairs. He was all alone. I asked him if he was excited for the movie and he replied, "Yes! My friends might be coming too." "Good." I thought. But I was still a little bit skeptical. I waited about another 15 minutes and slowly some people came in, but the crowd was only numbering about 13: it is a decent number, but I was really hoping for some more. I began to speak and introduce the film, when sure enough, as it always seems to happen; I was interrupted by a group of 8 people walking through the doors. There were older students, married couples, elderly couples and some people I had never seen before. Jamie and I were scrambling to get more chairs.

Ironically, in parallel fashion to the day’s weather, I went from sad to ecstatic in the space of about 2 seconds. The movie had been a success. And, I had beaten the snow!

In the back of my mind, I knew that Everything is Illuminated would be well received by the Czechs. For one, it is a story about Central/Eastern Europe that was filmed (some of it) in the Czech Republic. Also, this movie plays on stereotypes of both nations, as Ukraine takes the role of the comically-backward, kielbasa-loving, stern-faced eastern European epitomized in the character Alex; and Elijah Wood (Jonathan), plays the role of a sheltered, rich, rigid American. At many parts, the movie is tragic, beautiful and hilariously funny, as both characters struggle to span the cultural barriers that are between them, and attempt to reconcile a long-forgotten past, which will spawn a new understanding of who they are in relation to each other. (After living in the Czech Republic, I relate to this movie on a wholly different, more appreciated level than when I watched it in College.)

In the end, I wanted to spawn reflection on what it means to reconcile. In the movie, all three characters end up on a journey together, as each one of them is searching for truth and reason. Alex might not know it at the time, but his Grandfather- their ornery guide/driver- is also on a mission for meaning and forgiveness: forgiveness of himself and the "illumination" of who Alex is in wake of this understanding. Jonathan (American) was the one who initiated this whole progression, but he is by far NOT the only one with a keen interest into the past.

Fun side note: throughout the course of the movie, a couple in the corner consistently lauged at many of the appropriate times. I was taken back, because I knew that the couple did not speak any English at all; they did not understand my Czech or English when I offered them a seat. Naturally, part of me began to wonder if they were listening to the Ukrainian. When the movie was over, Premek came up to me and said, “I think there were two Ukrainians next to me. They were speaking Ukrainian, I think." As I shutdown all the equipment and walked downstairs to grab my coat to go home, I met an older woman from Policka who started speaking to me in French (read my blog post "Fluency!?"). I informed her that I don't understand French but I can understand some Czech, and when she switched languages, I heard it loud and clear: "These are my friends from Ukraine. I thought they would like the movie. Thank you for having it."