Today I played in a volleyball tournament with 6 other teachers from my school–the first time I’ve played serious competitive volleyball in… almost 6 years. Needless to say, it didn’t go too badly. I saved myself from being completely shamed and having to flee the country.
However, it was what happened during the tournament that reminded me (yet once again) that I do not, NOT live in the United States. Case in point: the choice beverage during said tournament was not water. Neither was it Gatorade, Powerade, Red Bull nor any other kind of athletic liquid. No, my friends, we are in the Czech Republic. Beer is the only answer, whether it be for pizza with comrades, a fancy evening out, 7 a.m. breakfast, or participation in sporting events of any kind. I would also like state that this tournament started at 9:30 in the morning. Now, for the average summer town softball team in the States, this is no big deal. However, I find a bit of a difference between an evening ball game between Has-Beens of the eighties and a Friday morning volleyball tournament held in a public high school gym, composed solely of teachers from surrounding schools. As I chugged my own liter of water, I got questioned on why I wasn’t also drinking beer. I gave what I thought was a quite logical answer of only drinking hydrating liquids during a sporting event. But when I jokingly asked, “Does beer work better than water?” I got the serious response of, “Eh, it does the same thing.” Aha.
It must not have done too much damage though, because at the end of the day we found ourselves in the championship game. (Or maybe it was actually the reason for our success.) But in order to ensure ourselves of a final victory, one of our teammates whipped out a bottle of Fernet for a “good luck” shot. I must say, I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping open. (Apparently the Fernet was to celebrate said teammate’s wedding anniversary, but I wasn’t fooled. Why couldn’t we wait until after?!)
***IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: According to Wikipedia… “Fernet contains 45% alcohol by volume. Because of its list of ingredients (including herbs and spices), a number of home remedies call for Fernet, including for the treatment of menstrual and gastrointestinal discomfort, baby colic, formerly cholera… and hangovers.” Wait… what? Drink alcohol to cure hangovers? and baby colic?! Of course. Why didn’t I think of that myself?
But, okay. So the herbs and spices kept us… healthy… during the championship. And again, it helped us soundly whop the opposing team for the Ultimate Awesome Incredible Fernet-And-Beer-Induced Championship Win.
And what was the prize for first place? A bottle of wine.
Getting a feel for the place 