He used to tell us great stories about his amazing life. One of them was about the differences between North Americans and Europeans. The idea was that in the Canadian culture people are reluctant to say what they believed about a subject (let's say a movie). If it sucked, they don't tend to say that it was bad, but that it was 'different'. What does that mean?
He went on and explained that this something 'different' it's kind of like getting home one day and his daughter would tell him that she's a little bit pregnant. Was it bad or not?
Well, the old man touched me with the stories from his old country - he was from the ex Checkoslovakia, now Slovakia. Through him I discovered what I believe to be the best writer alive - Milan Kundera. His story book Laughable Loves is a masterpiece and I highly recommend it. Peter Petro is a friend of Kundera's. If you are in Vancouver, you should try see him lecture at UBC.
