What is this? This is the door of a bathroom cubicle on campus. The way they are built has been one of my first experiences at university and I wouldn’t say it’s been an extremely pleasant one. The first time I thought, maybe that was just a strange one but in the meantime I’ve used three in other buildings and in essence they are everywhere the same. The fact that they all are suitable for physically challenged people has to be acknowledged, however, my point is a different one.

As you can see on this photo, there are three gaps, varying from 2cm at the wall to about ½ to 1cm right and left of the door. What you can't see is that additionally, wall and door don’t even attempt to reach floor or ceiling. At the bottom they leave about 25cm space. Likewise they are just as high as necessary, which is about 175cm and a slightly taller man than I could look into the cubicle. Here are two more photos of the cubicle. Left is, what you 9the camera) sees from about 20cm distance, right what you see with eye (lens) right at the door.

I admit having a conservative approach to this matter but for me the bathroom ought to be a very private place. Urinals are yet another story but for the moment I’m just talking about the cubicles. Of course in public buildings it’s not possible to have the kind of isolated bathrooms as in most people’s houses and I don’t really mind hearing other people’s sounds. Did you know that apparently this is an absolutely no-no in Japan? A couple of weeks before my departure an Austrian-Japanese couple called on FM4’s radio chat-show "Doppelzimmer" (Sunday 1-3pm - I can only recommend it) and the husband explained that in order to avoid people hearing each other they play quite loud music in Japan’s public bathrooms. Usually classical music is chosen, which according to him, is one of the reasons why Japanese have a good knowledge of all the famous classical composers. I’ve never been to Japan so I can’t confirm that story, has anyone of you experienced or heard of that?

Apart from the audio-component, which, as mentioned, doesn’t bother me that much there’s also the physical one. In my mind the bathroom should be a place where you sit back and relax and know that you can’t be disturbed. I know that may sound a bit paranoid because who would want to disturb someone during those kinds of businesses, but hey, there are so many alcohol and drug consumers, so many weird and crazy people, thus where there"s an architectural possibility there's also a real possibility and however small it may be it can effectively destroy the notion of privacy and security that enables you to relax. Furthermore, due to the fact that in those bathrooms there’s always only one cubicle, you have to consider that whenever someone enters the room with such needs he will be waiting there for you – and only for you – to finish. In fact when you walk past an occupied cubicle I think you better look into the other direction in order to avoid any embarrassing situation. Well, at least they've abstained from having mixed bathrooms as in Ally McBeal.

So, what about privacy on the bathroom? Is this a symbol of Canadian openness? So far I haven’t found proof for Michael Moore’s thesis in “Bowling for Columbine” that Canadians never lock their doors. At least my landlord instructed me that I always have to lock the door – but he’s Polish and might have a quite special background (just kidding). I could ask some of the Canadians here whether Moore did present realty (which I doubt) but I have decided I’ll definitely refrain from ethnological field studies in form of attempting to enter random houses, because after all that is still Canada’s Wild West and if only one out of 500 owners possesses a gun that could be one too much.

As for now, the fact that I have had the pleasure of proper bathroom cubicles in bars and pubs leads me to the conclusion, that the campus bathrooms are not an expression of Canadian openness but rather seem to be a particular policy of university (or municipality). It may be based on security considerations (no undiscovered suicide attempts or preparations for an amok run), on moral considerations (no sex, drugs and whatsoever) or on ecological and economical considerations (students, do your big business at home and don’t waste the university’s paper and water!).

Having said all this I have to admit that my sample of four bathrooms within a rather limited area is a fairly small one in comparison to the extensive area of the campus and the number of buildings. So additional studies will be necessary to achieve a higher degree of reliability.

Yesterday afternoon Sylwia complained that it would be raining for the next three days, however, she did not warn me how it would be raining. When I was kicked out of the library at 8pm, it was raining cats and dogs (or “Schuastabuam” as we’d call it). I ran to the institute and considered waiting until the rain had abated – but then, what should I have done there without internet, and besides I still had to cook so it might have become very late. Therefore, I decided to leave all my technical devices (Laptop, MP3 Player, Camera – therefore unfortunately no photos of the event) at the Institute and started my march. However, at that time rain was so heavy it was difficult to breathe without drowning and after just a hundred meters I was soaking wet and looked for shelter in the LRT station. (The LRT, Edmonton’s underground consists of one South-North line, thus ranging somewhere in between Serfaus and Rome. According to David, it’s mostly used by the lower classes and using it is a bit of a stigma, because that means your parents are too poor to equip you with a car).

Well then, that was the opportunity for my first ride on the bus, after all one line goes directly from the LRT station to as close as about 100 meters from my home! So I thought. But unfortunately the limitations of my flat – which I’ve learned to like despite its peculiarities and my flatmates – were once again made very clear: The last bus of that line departs at 6pm – so it won’t really be an option during the winter if I would like too keep my present working rhythm (or even adjust it more towards my usual rhythm when the library is open longer during the term). At least Sylwia showed me today, that there are other connections at that time with one change so it isn’t too bad, at least if the connections work as good as the trip planner promises. (The Trip Planner on the ETS web page is actually quite useful. You can even look in advance what the stops and their surrounding look like! Perfect to avoid any unnecessary walk.. – Very American!) Still, travel time with these lines is 15 minutes, which is about half of walking time, so unless it’s freezing cold it’s not that much advantage.

Whatever, I didn’t know about those busses yesterday, so I accepted my fate, acknowledged the forces of nature and started walking as soon as the rain had abated a bit. It was amazing! Just another slalom - this time not for escaping caterpillars but for finding a path which was not completely blocked by puddles of water as most of the sidewalks were. So for some parts the only option was to walk on the road, but even there were little streams and at crossings with (obviously overstrained) drains brown whirlpools built. At some part I decided to do a little bit of kneippism and walk barefoot for the sake of my shoes. Thank goodness when I was crossing Whyte Avenue (which is about half of the way) the rain had stopped.. I don't want to know what's happening here if they had rains as we had last year. Evacuation?

Here we go: This photo is part of a Report in Today's Edmonton Journal on the match yesterday. (Hope the quality is OK, on this computers pics aren't shown properly so I can't tell.) Those two guys on the picture sat only two tables away from me and actually - do you recognise that cheering guy behind the Trinidad and Tobago fan's left shoulder? The one in the white England jersey? Of course: That is ME! Just 21 days in this country and I've already made my first media appearance, that's a good record I'd say.. (It must be something with the genes, mum told be that my dear sister has made it into the Tiroler Tageszeitung these days, unfortunately I couldn't find it online... I wanna seeee!)

OK, I'll be back later..

13:52 - That IS a +++ day!

+ The fairytale isn't over yet: Yesterday the Oilers won 4:3 after extra-time in Carolina, could equalise at home on Saturday and go into a decisive seventh match!
+ I'm just back from the Elephant and Castle - a tough match but England won 2:0, so they're through! And if they don't lose against Sweden and Germany doesn't win against Ecuador we'll have a repetition of the Final of '66 - 40 years later - smashing! Already today atmosphere in the Pub was excellent, although it wasn't packed (after all it's still a working day). And you know what I realised: It doesn't matter at all whether a match is at 10am or at 6pm. As soon as you're inside a pub, have your Beer (which is only served from 10, so a 7am match would miss something), fear and cheer with other supporters, time doesn't matter anymore cause that simply IS the real thing. (Also it was quite funny, during the match it started the rain which I only noticed when leaving the pub. So I said to one of the fans there: "Well, the weather's English now as well." He laughed and answered in deepest English English: "Fucking right. Feel's like home mate.")
+ I've just received my computer ID! Finally! I haven't tried logging in on a "real" computer yet but am confident that finally I'm settled.

PS: Am just working on more text..

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16:10 Sport is all around me....

Nearly a fortnight ago the Edmonton journal featured an article about fan culture titled “What fuels the Oilers fever” - which I only discovered a couple of days ago, because I just don’t find this much time for reading. Buying the news twice or thrice a week is more than often enough! The article didn't come up with spectacularly new findings but still it was an interesting and readable report on socio-psychological aspects of fan culture in general and the Oilers in particular. (Unfortunately I couldn't find it on their website so I can't post a link..)

The article would enrich my vocabulary if I'd manage firstly to memorise and secondly to find opportunities for using terms such as birging and corfing. To birg is an acronym for “Basking In Reflected Glory” (Auf gut Deutsch: Sich in anderer Leute Ruhm sonnen.) and to corf means "Cutting Off Responsibility for Failure". (Auf gut Deutsch: “Ich war’s nicht!”) The basic concept is that if the team wins “we” win (birging) but if the team loses “they” lose (corfing).

Slightly Off Topic: Isn’t it curious how easily they create new words in English? Did you know that the title of that United States anti-terrorism law which is infringing civil liberties is actually not called “Patriot Act” but “USA PATRIOT Act” which is an abbreviation for the full official title “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism”! (Cirka: Einigung und Stärkung Amerikas durch Gewährleistung angemessener Mittel zur Behinderung und Unterbindung des Terrorismus).

That being a sports fan is more important for men than for women is rather a commonplace than a revelation. The Text quotes Joe Queenan (author of: True Believers. The Inner Life of Sports Fans): “It is my honest belief that without sports, the average man would have no emotional life whatsoever.” Well that seems a bit exaggerated to me, but then again, I’m not an average man but the very special one, so how could I know? Still, I agree that in the end being a fan is simply about emotions.

A deep feeling of agreement arouse inside me when I read their paragraph dealing with the difference between the hardcore fan and the bandwagon fan. It’s easy to support a winning team and celebrate the victories. But the real feeling of joy of victory can only feel he who has felt the misery of many defeats. Oh, yes that is so true. Don’t worry, I won’t give you an account on all Barcelona defeats between 1992 and 1996 because this would fill pages. You are save – for now. (In fact already earlier this year have I contemplated that it could be an interesting experience for me to look back, remember and reflect on those nearly 15 past years which constitute more than half of my life. But I think I have to postpone that project until I’m unemployed and have plenty of time.)

Presently I'm wondering how long it will take until there won’t be people with Oilers clothes, cars with Oilers flags and buildings with “Go Oilers Go” posters all around Edmonton if the team doesn't win. I suppose it will take some time - because nobody would want to admit that they mainly joined the hype and that they don't really care about ice hockey – but I'm sure slowly it will all be withering away and only the real cracks will remain faithful.

I understand the hardcore Oilers fans who criticise and reject the bandwagon fans. However, one shouldn't be too strict. It’s nice to be a hardcore fan. It’s fine to be a just normal fan. It’s also OK to be a bandwagon fan. You don’t have to be interested in sports in order to inhale the atmosphere of real fans, to feel (and to some extent share) the thrill and anxiousness and hopes and joy. Sometimes experiencing the fans is more interesting than the sport itself. That is actually my only reason for wanting to go to a Pub while the Oilers are playing. I hope to watch Saturdays match together with Kamilla - the Slovakian Postdoc - and their friends and that they can give me an introduction into North American ice hockey. If that doesn't work I hope to overcome my laziness and go to a Pub all alone. It might be the last chance in this season.. Of course I would never dare to call myself a fan or pretended that I would know anything about ice hockey. People should be honest about their involvement and whether they really care about the sport or rather about the atmosphere.

Although I like soccer I’m perfectly fine with the fact that other people consider it boring or even loath it. That’s perfectly OK to me. My problem is that some people (according to my experience especially women) from time to time seem to feel obliged to pretend that they are interested in soccer although they aren’t and that they try hard to launch very clever remarks, which in reality sound very flat and stupid because in the end it’s not as easy to be an expert even not in something as trivial as soccer. Trivial? Oh no, I suppose that was utter blasphemy!

I have to admit that - partly due to the exam related short preparation time - I'm still struggling to memorise which team is in which group and with whom and all that. David’s brain on the contrary seems to have saved most of recent World Cup history and he knows all the main players’ clubs and all that. I don't. I’m enjoying the thrilling atmosphere and of course the interesting matches but I'm not too interested in data, statistics and background stories. Still I would call myself a soccer fan. I think it's just a different attitude towards it. I am feeling soccer not thinking it.

I would like to end with a sincere plea to everybody who is not an everyday soccer fans but maybe just big event fan. That is perfectly OK. Enjoy the event, enjoy watching in company, enjoy the atmosphere if you want to, ask questions if you’re truly interested. But please, don’t try to pretend being something that you aren’t. That is just annoying.

Yesterday during the Poland match I've experienced probably the worst transgression ever and – to contradict all clichés - the sinner was a man. That expert claimed: “You know, it will be pretty tough for Holland in their group. I’m not sure whether they can overcome the Netherlands.” Neither am I, it will certainly be tough for them, especially because they will be facing the Oranjes in their last match. And listen up, there are a couple of other top matches on the schedule which you shouldn't miss: Italy had no problems in their opener and I’m quite optimistic that they will rout the Squadra Azurra. In contrast, France only achieved a goalless tie, so I expect their crucial match against Les Bleus will be dramatic. Brazil's first 90 minutes were not really convincing but they are a strong team and I’m sure they’ll show us some of their tricks against the Selecao.

Keep it real!