My daughter is in her junior year in college. She attends U/M in Ann Arbor, but is spending the entire school year as an exchange student in Prague Czech Republic. My Veryzon service allows me to call her for 20 cents a minute, so we speak often. And more often than not, when I do reach her, she is sitting in some sidewalk cafe' drinking beer for 50 cents a glass! She is only 20, but the legal drinking age is 18, so according to her it's OK. I'm not really cool with this but what the hell, I can't slap her. She claims that beer is cheeper than water anyway, and she is on a strict budget, so she is saving money by drinking beer! ......Now I've had many reasons in my life to be very proud of my daughter, but honest to God, to actually say that with a straight face to your overly-protective father? Thats my baby!!
Now with that in mind, I was watching a Travel Channel program on the Czech Republic last week, and they claimed that the country with the highest per/capita beer consumption in the world was...........The Czech Republic!! I thought HOLY SHIT how much beer are you drinking, to drink more than an Aussi, or a German, or a Canadian for Christ sake? Listen, I went to grad school at the University of Windsor in Ontario, and we had 3 pubs on campus alone. We had many Aussi students attending there, and let me tell you they can Pound Them Down! So if a Czech drinks more than those guys, they must certainly deserve that honor. I'm going somewhere with this story folks so please be patient, but you know it's kinda late and I am tired, so I think I'll save my destination until tomorrow...........Sorry.....Galen
27 comments:
g-man, thanks for posting this post about your daughter.
To be able to attend UofM is an honor and you have much to be proud of.
As far as her drinking at age 20 and not being of legal age, this has never stopped college students anywhere here in the States.
In regards to how much beer she may be consuming just think of it this way, she could be going to MSU which has the distinction of being known as one of the leading party schools here in the States.
Thata girl!!!! She's a smart cookie, just like her daddy.
TC, the one saving grace is that she is quite frugal, and too cheap to really get booze crazy..
Yeah Jenn, You want your children to glean your good points, not your dark side!
Wow, UofM Ann Arbor. Very impressive. That is not the easiest school to get into and also not a piece of cake to stay in it. Congratulations it sounds like you have someone to be very proud of.
Back when I was a youngin' the legal drinking age was 18 and it was not until my Sister was finally able to drink that they raised the age to 21 and she had to stop drinking for a little over a year. Yea right... Anyway as long as she is being responsible about it there is nothing wrong with that. I think the fact that you two have openly talked about it says a lot. She is doing fine. How fun will that be when she comes back and finds out water is cheaper than beer here. :)
Congratulations and miss G-man, sounds like you have one wonderful daughter on your hands. That didn't just happen by accident you know.
Thanks Bryan for those very kind words. She's done everything on her own. A very independant young lady. I'm not real concerned cause she's very level-headed.
Morning G-Man!!
Hey, I can think of many, many other reasons to not be as proud of your daughter about - but, this is truly something wonderful! (this coming from a cheesehead who sends her kid to UW-Madison - and we all know about that place!) LOL
She's living life and having a blast - and being very frugal - great kid I say :)
Have a great day!
Meg
Hey - did you guys get all the snow like we did? Shit howdy we got dumped on!
Megalicious! Mornin baby.
Naw it passed us down in the lower part. But some areas up north got 10+ inches. And I've been to Madison. You gotta love a place that serves beer in the student union!
hehehe, she sounds like a remarkable young lady and a girl to be very proud of. what an experience she must be having and not just with the beer!
LOL @ her 'frugality' in drink choice. gotta love it.
if the czechs have the highest beer consumption do they also have the highest number of urinals per capita?
oh darn, now why'd you have to go write about a subject near and dear to my heart? (no, not alcohol consumption...but our kids studying so far away from home, AND college partying...)
firstly, congratulations that your daughter is branching out into the world and studying in beautiful europe of all places! what is she studying there? she sounds like a smart cookie, that one!
when my son has allowed me access to his facebook photos, its pretty much the norm to see quite a large percentage of party photos in amongst the impressive other stuff he is doing...i think it is a right of passage in fact, to drink ones face off on weekends at some point in one's college career, if not later, in our 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's...see, even you old kids seem to enjoy speaking of your drinking and partying sessions...kids really do love being just like the grownups...having known some pretty well known jazz musicians over the years, i dare say partying seems to go with the territory, not that my kid has a Gin 101 credit included in his course of studies at the Institute, but i've heard a few funny stories about the older more seasoned veterans you'd get a giggle out of, that would be best not aired out in a public forum! but i must say i am shocked at the quantities of liquor these kids manage to keep down...not to mention the other stuff...and i've heard stories about college kids from the north in canada down to the south in california (where my kid is) who it seems could "compete" with MSU's party reputation!
interesting point you bring up about wanting our kids to learn from our better sides, certainly not our dark side, and yet they almost always seem to incorporate all of our sides of us into their life learning...
when my daughter says "i'm becoming more and more like you", i dont think i've ever cringed as much
by the implications of it all...
even the parts of our shadow side we think we have cleverly hidden are almost always detected by our smart kids....sheesh...
do people say your daughter has picked up some of your clever ways with words? beer is cheaper than water? ha! thats a good one, kid!
one wonders what they must put in the water that makes it so expensive...
Dear G- Man ...& my Father Drank the Water of Michigan when he was at the university there...
& do you know, my father being MY father after all Was very Naughty. Once at the university, he told me, he & his batch mates 'raided' the girl's hostel & they escaped with girls' underwear. They actually framed and Hung the bras & panties as 'trophies'.
Also, some girl from your Michigan gave my father a haircut & he had to wear a cap day & night for about a month!
Lime, this is a true story. I asked her upon her return from Paris if she had seen any of the infamous street urinals.
She said no, but in Prague, every bush is a piss bush! She claims that at any time of day, mostly men, but sometimes women too, simply finds the largest available bush and disappears behind it.
Very Cosmopolitan!!
Mona? Your dad participated in a panty raid? How awesome is that?
...the leaders and best!!
Nice to see you....G
JavaJazz, you always comment so thoughtfully. I'm sure your children are very cool if they take after you! I do realize that more than a little trickles down to your kids, lets hope that they can discard much of the bad crap and learn from our mistakes.
Thank you so much JJ, I feel better pestering you on my my post!(wink)
apparently it is WE (us?)
who must learn from
our own mistakes...
though sometimes things are
tossed "coincidentally"
into our way so that we
may learn from what is
being shown to us...those
little cosmic messages
that whisper gently to us,
"open ya fuckin' eyes buddy!"
things like that...
JavaJazz, thats is indeed a cosmically conveyed message. But you know, I think I've conveyed it more than once verbally!!
Attention All Commenters!
G-Man has to work today till 8 o'clock. Please comment and chat all you want OK? I will respond caringly to all when I can get free....Galen
g-man that is too long to work.
Give me your supervisor's name and I will write you a note excusing for part of the day to blog.
tc
love this post. I am sure she is smart enough to know when to stop consuming the wonderful amber liquid. ;) You are a good DAD, I can so tell. Morning my friend, no way you can be 1st today on my comments, go see why.
As much as I don't like the taste of beer I think it is probably better than the water and she is correct about it being cheaper than bottled. My thing is...you have a 20 yr old?? You don't look old enough to have a 20 yr old child!
It is awesome to hear a father's side of the story. So many don't care these days that to hear there is another overprotective father (besides my own) is always great!
Happy Tuesday GMan!
ok, so if i am everin prague i will definitely NOT stop and smell the roses as it is likely theu will smell of piss
and your angle going into this post was that Lady R toasted us some beer just last night!!!
hehhee
good girl your daughter.. we should hang.. she sounds smart and shit..
Love ya!
Lucky you then G-Man (missing all the snow) got a question - so if and when you do get a bunch of snow - who has to go out and clean off all those cars? You??? That would suck, cause I hate just cleaning off my own.
Java - I've seen a picture of you and your daughter and if she is becoming more and more like you every day - she is one lucky girl!!! And, she is quite the beauty - tis true!
G-Man - I feel like we completely got off on the wrong foot :)
HUGS,
Meg
ha! Meg! you make me feel brand new baby! so sweet, thanks...
but i'm not sure sarah wants to be an old hippie with gray hair and "grey teeth" as she accused me of having...plus, i dont drink, and apparently, she does...aint that charming? what we wish and what is, are often 2 different thangs, aint they? xo
g-man asked me to announce that he is experiencing technical diffiuclties at work again. he won't be able to comment until he gets home after 8.
in the meantime we are to carry on withouth him.
we also have some alternate programming. so without further ado may i present....
the amazing vaclav and his gigantic bladder!
Hey Galen,
I come from a long line of alkies ... my father's father was found dead in an alley from drinking related issues ... my father died of liver failure from drinking related issues, my uncle went head over heels off his motorcycle cracking his collar bone in 3 places and taking a 1/4" of meat off the back of his heel driving it DUI and it took him years to figure out how to be a functioning alkie .. his son, my cousin, can't hold a job and can't pass a drug/alcohol urine piss test to save his ass -- they both walked into my grandparents' on xmas morning with a beer in hand at 10am ...
if that doesn't knock some sense into her that drinking doesn't get you anywhere, it holds you down, and it causes really bad things to happen ... I don't know what would. You have every right to worry.
I'm here for ya.
DA
Gman all I have to say is "I remember when, I remember when I lost my minda. There was something so beautiful about that phase."
;) I will be back later....much later!
Awwww gotta love a protective daddy! Your daughter's lucky in several ways. I'll just point out that she inherited her daddy's wicked mind and sense of humor!
Now I'll forever be watching for stuff on the Czech Republic!
Hi everybody!
What a lousy day at work with the PC web block. I really don't know when this crap will go off, so please be patient...
TC, Things didn't get too bad today I see Thanks a bunch..
Jodi I'll be over tonight babe, and I'll take my proper spot..
Hi Imp, I don't care much for the taste of beer either, but i've chugged a few in my day.
I don't look old enough?
Your so sweet to say that.
Limey, I knew you'd get a kick out of the Piss bush story. That does give a new meaning to that phrase.
Thanks for being my announcer today, I think they all understood. xx
Meg, when it snows, we do have to go out and clean all the cars off. All 400 of them!!
And what wrong foot did we get off on?
BG, Yeah she's a chip off the old block Lip-wise also! But she is a daddy's girl.
Roxi, you 2 would get along real well. And I saw your toast post. Thanks baby, for comming around more often. I love you lots....always.
Angel, my girl is very level headed, and I did not want to make it sound like she drinks all the time! I'm sorry that this subject was so dear to you, but please don't worry, she's quite sane...Your so sweet for caring enough to share that pain with me....G
Imp..Is this a quiz?
My son who is now 22 went on a 3 month exchange in Dijon France when he was in Grade 11 and the boy from Dijon spent 3 months with us in the Toronto area. A totally worthwhile experience.
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