I was interrupted…
These were my priorities / main interests, that led to my failure in math during the 11th grade, centered around the café known as Forbidden Arizona, a popular meeting place for individuals from cultural and academic spheres such as writers, philosophers, actors, painters, and students. The name of the café was “invented” by a gymnasium student who was initially refused entry due to restrictions on high school and gymnasium students. Nonetheless, with the help of a classmate, a talented writer, now a published author, I gained access to the café. I was introduced to the Arizona crowd as a prospective medical student, but a year later, after failing the medical university entrance exam, I redefined myself as a “failed yet optimistic prospective medical student.” We spent hours in discussions ranging from literature and movies to medicine and philosophy, all while sipping on “coffee” – a brown liquid made from oat or barley, which we called “whinny”; at that time it was difficult to find real coffee – even on the black market.
The movie marathons, spanning from 12 to 24 hours, were organized by the son of a local university dean, a student at the University of Agriculture, specialised on cactuses/cacti (the best fit for a place called Forbidden Arizona). Taking a democratic approach, he presented a diverse selection of genres, from cartoons (e.g.: Donald Duck in Italian – incredibly hilarious – more than the original) – to art movies. The forbidden genre was also on the palette represented by Tyrolean soft-erotic films – likely included for his grandpa’s amusement – Infinite Laughs, Infinite Love.