Moje Rodina

A major part of my assimilation into the Czech culture is learning their language, which I might add, is quite challenging. I bought a book called Czech Step by Step. It's supposedly the best book around. It comes with a pocket grammar guide, a CD with some listening exercises, and a workbook to reinforce the activities learned in the textbook. I also have a tutor, Josef, who I just started seeing about once a week. Once I get more of the basics down I'd like to meet with him more often to practice conversational skills, but I'm definitely not at that point yet. However, I thought you might like to see how far (or how little) I've come in the three months since my arrival.

Here's a slideshow of moje rodina, or my family, and me speaking about them in Czech-- all good things of course :)

Cesky Raj

One of the most beautiful locations in the Czech Republic is Cesky Raj, which translates to Bohemian Paradise. It's the oldest nature preserve in the Czech Republic and is now a protected UNESCO sight. Rosie and I took our mothers there to go hiking while they were both visiting.

Autumn

Trosky Castle Ruins From a Distance

Fallen Leaves 

Me and Mom

Cesky Raj is known for its large sandstone structures that formed from the extreme weather conditions in the area. We enjoyed looking at the various formations and imagining their true identities, just like cloud watching!

A Man's Head on a Pedestal

A Face Wearing a Winter Hat

The Mask 

We hiked a total of 8km, or 5 miles, in roughly two hours from Hruba Skala to Vezicke Udoli and back. Our original plan was to hike to from Hruba Skala to Valdstejn, but apparently Rosie and I are not good at reading maps, which we discovered last time we went hiking in Plzen. It's actually quite ironic because we've been told the Czech Republic has the best marked trails in Europe and there's no way to get lost, but we seem to prove the Czechs wrong each time. Perhaps we'll have better luck next time!

Me in a Cave

Me and Rosie

Unfortunately, our hiking adventure only offers a small glimpse into the Cesky Raj area. We would have liked to go further and see more, but dusk was approaching so we decided to head home. Rosie and I plan to go there again in the Spring to check out some of the rock towns, castles, and chateaus. There are also a lot of outdoor activities to do in the area, such as rock climbing, so I'm definitely looking forward to more adventures next year!

Culture Shock

I have been living in the Czech Republic for nearly three months now and have felt plenty of culture shock throughout my stay. Some aspects of the Czech culture still baffle me, while others have simply become part of my daily routine. Here are some examples.

Mobile Phones. In the 21st century, most people would say they could not live without their mobile phone. Well, when you move to a new country and you don't know anyone, it's pretty easy to function without a mobile phone. I obtained a Czech SIM card within a week of being here, but felt like there was no point. I became friends with some of the other Fulbright ETAs, but we're scattered all over the Czech Republic, so I really only meet with them about once a month. Then, I finally made some Czech friends, but they don't use their cell phones all that often. Most people are on a pre-paid plan here, so they'd rather go online and use Facebook to communicate and discuss plans beforehand so that it's free. Also, many places have WiFi, so it's not necessary to have a data plan. In general, Americans are way more attached to their mobile phones and various other forms of technology than the Czechs.

Tumble Dryers. I'd say this appliance is one I truly miss from home. No one has a tumble dryer in the Czech Republic, which implies they are very environmental and economical. After you wash clothes, everything has to be hung on a drying rack/clothesline. To my dismay, I have lines right above my shower, which proves to be a problem when I actually do need to shower. Generally speaking, clothes take about two full days to dry completely, so I have to take the damp clothes down to shower, then put them back up again after I'm done. Also, drying clothes on a line makes them super wrinkly, which means you have to iron absolutely everything. At first, I would just iron an outfit everyday in the morning before work, but that became a problem as I found myself pressing snooze more times than I should. If I ironed at night, sometimes I would have to change outfits because the weatherman was wrong the night before (who knew!?). After consulting with Jana, I was told to just iron a whole load of laundry in one day while watching a television show. After one or two times, I discovered this was a very clever idea. The washing machines here are about half the size of the ones back home, yet it still takes me about 40 minutes to iron an entire load of laundry, but like I said, it can easily be done while watching television. Plus, you can decide what you want to wear in the morning without a hitch.

Hot Chocolate. In America, hot chocolate is usually a liquid substance. There's a packet of cocoa powder and it's mixed with hot water, milk, or a combination of both. In the Czech Republic, there are two versions depending on the cafe or restaurant. Some places serve hot chocolate that is literally like a melted chocolate bar in your cup. It's usually pretty thick and it's not really a beverage. The other kind is more of a warm chocolate pudding. Again, not really a beverage, but more of a snack. I prefer the later.

"To Go". Ordering beverages or food "to go" is a relatively new idea to the Czechs, or to them "For here, or take away". They don't really understand why one would not want to sit down, relax, and talk with friends/family over a nice cup of coffee, tea, or even lunch. In fact, there are only two places in my town that offer beverages to go, and most people don't even use it. Even Prague, the biggest city here, does not rely on "to go" options. It's very different from America, where everyone always seems on the go and in a rush to get to their next destination. The Czechs have a way more laid back society and seem to enjoy life more.

Living Arrangements. Alright, perhaps this isn't really a "culture" shock, however, this is the first time I have ever lived alone. Growing up I lived with my parents and two older brothers. When I went to college, I dormed with other athletes, then rented an apartment with some of my track teammates. Afterward, I moved back home. There are pros and cons to living with and without others. I miss having family or roomies to talk with at the end of the day, watch television/movies, play games, or make dinner with whenever I want. On the upside, I don't have to worry about other people's messes, being "too loud" when others have work the next day, or getting yelled at for using all the hot water in the shower! I can do whatever I want whenever I want, still it sometimes gets lonely. Often I find myself venturing into town to sit at a cafe and read a book or practice my Czech by myself, because hey, at least I'm sort of surrounded by others.

Atmosphere. I'm from New York. You know, the "city that never sleeps" and the "concrete jungle", where a variety of places are open 24/7, you can shop til 9/10PM, and bars/clubs close around 4AM. In particular, I'm from the Town of Brookhaven on Long Island, which has a population of about 410,000 people. I currently live in Strakonice, which has a population of about 24,000 people! This is the biggest culture shock of all. Now, don't get me wrong, the people I surround myself with back in the States are extremely family-oriented. Of course, this means my friends and I are all adopted by each other's families, too. We are almost always home for dinner, we don't mind spending the weekend at home with our families, and we definitely don't mind hanging out with our parents (although there may have been a point in our lives when we hated it). The Czechs take this to a whole different level. Every day after work, they just go home to their families to have dinner and relax. I mean, every shop and most cafes close around 5 or 6PM. The only places that remain open are pubs and restaurants, and even these are closed daily around 11PM or midnight. Usually, the town center is like a ghost town after 6PM. The worst part is that it's not just Strakonice; even Prague becomes dead at night, especially now that it's November and most of the tourists are gone! In addition, hardly anything is open on Saturdays, and you can forget about running errands on Sundays. Most Czechs spend the weekends at their "weekend cottages" or having day trips to the nature. I love the family-centered lifestyle, but often find myself missing home. Perhaps I'm just a spoiled New Yorker.

Petřínské Sady

After Valdštejnská Palac Zahrada, we headed towards Petřínské Sady, or Petrin Hill, which is located in the Little Quarter of Prague. Our first stop was Pomník Obětem Komunismu, which is the Monument to the Victims of Communism.

As you can see, the sculptural figures represent the victims of the totalitarian regime. They do not die, but slowly disappear one limb at a time. On the steps, statistics are inscribed that read: "From 1948 until 1989, in Czechoslovakia alone, 205,486 people were imprisoned, 248 were executed, 4,500 died in prison, 327 were shot attempting to cross the border, and 170,938 left the country." The monument warranted a moment of silence on our behalf.

I decided Petrin Hill was too steep for mom to climb, so we rode the funicular to the top instead, which was definitely the right decision!

Here are some of the beautiful views of Prague on the way up.

We became aware that Petrin Hill is the most romantic place in Prague, which would explain why this is the first statue we encountered when we got to the top!

We continued walking to find Petrin Tower, which the Czechs say is a replica of the Eiffel Tower. It was built in 1891 for an exhibition, but is now open to the public. The tower is 200 feet tall and only one fifth the height of the real Eiffel Tower, which was built two years earlier (1889). However, since the tower is located on the hill, it sits at the same elevation as its Parisian brother. Though I enjoyed the views of Prague, I was in Paris, France about  four years ago, and I must say, everyone should see and climb the real Eiffel Tower!

Petrin Tower

Mom was cautious because it was 400 steps to the top, but with a few quick breaks, we did it!

This is a nice picture with Prague Castle in the background.

This is a picture of Charles Bridge. If you look closely, you can even see the thousands of tourists on it!

This is possibly one of my favorite pictures because it epitomizes autumn.

Once we climbed down, we headed next door to a mirror maze. 

We were definitely confused in the beginning. The mirrors distorted our perceptions and we couldn't tell the mirrors apart from the open doorways that led to the next corridor. 

We were amused by the last room in the maze, which had mirrors to distort different parts of your body. We were giants, midgets, aliens, and more.

Instead of taking the funicular back down the hill, we decided to enjoy the walk since there was lovely weather. The paths down the hill were zigzagged, which made the journey longer, but much safer. We then adventured towards Lennova Zed, or Lennon's Wall.

Before Josef Stalin came to power, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks started the Russian Revolution to convince Czar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. Little did the people know they would rid themselves of a King in favor of a Communist dictator. With Communist ideas all around, John Lennon gave hope to the Czechs with his rock songs and their lyrics. When he died in 1980, this wall mysteriously appeared in Prague. Night after night, the police would paint over the graffiti, and day after day, it would reappear. The wall gave hope to locals who craved freedom and better days.

Today, many young people continue to portray Lennon's lyrics by putting new graffiti on the wall. I'd like to go back with spray paint in the spring and add to the wall myself!

Pragueitis

Of course, there are many other ideas and pictures on the wall as well.

Boston Strong

The Little Quarter of Prague is one of my favorite areas to visit due to its beautiful sights and creative artistic works. Petrin Hill is a great place to relax with friends and enjoy the nature while Lennon's Wall is very impressive, and changes on a daily basis. 

Valdštejnská Palac Zahrada

At the end of October, my mother came to visit me for ten days. We saw numerous sights and attractions during her short visit, of course, due to my impeccable tour guiding skills. I even made it official by creating a travel itinerary for the entirety of her stay!

One of our first destinations was Valdštejnská Palac Zahrada, or the Wallenstein Palace Gardens located in Prague. It is said to be the largest and most beautiful of all the palace gardens in the city. 

The palace and its surrounding garden was commissioned during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) by the Hapsburg general and Czech nobleman Albrecht z Valdštejna (Albrect von Wallenstein in German). Although the war spurred from religious conflict, it ultimately became an egotistical battle for power among rulers in Central Europe (as usual). Valdštejna was virtually a double agent. During the war, he worked for both sides in order to see whom he could reap the most benefits from at the time. Ultimately, someone must have discovered his motives because he was murdered in his bedroom in 1634. Today, the palace is the Czech Republic's Senate building.

Peacocks aimlessly wonder around the palace gardens throughout the day. Unfortunately, the peacocks, who are males, only show their train (opening their feathers) during mating season in the late spring/summer. The peacocks try to impress the peahens (females) with the intricate designs of their trains, in hopes that one will fall for him and produce offspring.

Peacocks are actually very peaceful, tame animals. He didn't mind getting his picture taken with mom at all.

Throughout the palace gardens, there are various statues depicting Greek mythology. These were created by the Danish artist, Adriaen de Vries, who was perhaps the best Renaissance sculptor outside of Italy.

This path leads to a theatrical stage, the sala terena, for drama and music, which was inspired by the Greek amphitheaters. However, the architecture is unique. Although the column design was invented by the Greeks, the Italian architect Andrea Palladio designed this building with the unusual pairing of the columns (two columns side by side). 

On the ceiling, there are scenes depicting the famed Trojan War. 

On the far left of the palace garden, there is a bizarre grotto wall. This part of the wall connects to a living owl's cage. It looks like a strange animal's face.

This one reminded me of Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The wall is full of hidden treasures and creates an illusion of caves and holes, stalagmites and stalactites, and hidden stone goblins, frogs, and snakes among other things.

If you look closely, there's a face hidden in this picture.

A snake here.

A bobcat.

A goblin's face.

A door to a cave.

We spent over half an hour analyzing ever inch of this wall, but we could never find any frogs that were said to be hidden in it! The wall reminded us of our own little Where's Waldo? game. 

My mom really enjoyed this first destination, especially because the weather was so gorgeous. Also, I had three days off from work during her visit. On Monday, October 28, the Czechs celebrated their independence from the Hapsburg empire after World War I. This is the day Czechoslovakia formed, which lasted from 1918-1993. In 1993, Czechoslovakia became two independent nations: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Then, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 29-30 was the Autumn Holiday for Czech public schools. Yes, I made sure mom's visit coincided with my vacation days :)

Prachatice

During the week Jana informed me that the Czech band Charlie Straight has decided to break up. This was one of the first Czech bands I heard here, during the beer festival in Pisek in September. After seeing them perform only once, I genuinely liked their sound and became a fan, plus they sing in English. Fortunately, they had about three concerts left that they already had planned, so last night we went to see them perform live for one of the last times in Prachatice, a town about twenty five minutes from Strakonice.

The venue, Prachatice National House, was newly renovated (or so it smelled) and had two floors. At first we stood on the second floor because it was less crowded, but we soon realized the sound from the bands would be better from the first floor.

Jana and Me

This is a picture of the crowd (more like teenage girls) during the opening band's performance. 

Four of us went to the concert. Thanks Rudolf for being the night's official photographer!

Jana, Martina, Me

Here are two videos from the opening band, No Distance Paradise. We thought the instruments overpowered the singer, but the second video was my favorite song from this band.

Of course, everyone was really there to see Charlie Straight. The band formed in 2006 and released two albums, She's a Good Swimmer (2009) and Someone With a Slow Heartbeat (2012), over the last seven years. They became an international sensation while attending University at the same time. One of their biggest achievements was performing at the 2012 Olympics in London. Their most famous song is Upside Down. My favorite is Someone With a Slow Heartbeat. In addition, I found out that their music video, School Beauty Queen, was shot in New York! They have decided to break up to go in different directions, but they all plan on continuing with musical careers. Here's some of their songs from last night.

At the end of the concert, we stuck around to meet the lead singer, Albert Cerny. 

Me, Jana, Martina

No doubt my American accent asking him to take a picture with us sealed the deal! He was genuinely interested in me and where I came from. This is how I found about about the video shoot in New York!

Jana, Me, Albert, Martina

I'd like to point out some of the main differences about going to concerts in the Czech Republic versus the United States. First, concerts in the Czech Republic are super low key and laid back. Often, the bands complete sound check right there in front of the fans before they perform. Albert Cerny, the singer from Charlie Straight, was even listening to the opening band right with the rest of the crowd. 

We bought tickets in advance so they were only 150Kc ($7.50) each, otherwise they were 190Kc ($9.40) at the door. This is insanely cheap for a popular international band. In the States, it would be anywhere from $50-$150 per ticket. 

Let's discuss the fact that we decided to use the bathroom between the acts, and Jana and Martina were just going to leave their drinks on a table while they went to the bathroom. I freaked out! "You're just going to leave your drinks there? Alone?" They told me it's perfectly safe and that nothing would happen. Perhaps if they were in a bigger city, like Prague, they wouldn't, but in the outside villages it's totally okay. Since I freaked out, they got Rudolf to watch our drinks, and then returned mocking if he put any drugs in them. It was unfathomably to me. In the States, I would never leave my drink alone, ever. This situation made me feel paranoid as well as lose respect for the United States. My everyday antics, precautions, and worries seem nonexistent in this country.

Lastly, Charlie Straight is super down to earth and friendly. All four members of the band came out after about twenty minutes (so only die-hard fans remained) and went to talk to fans, sign autographs, and take pictures. It was so nonchalant and none of the fans were fighting or pushing for their turn either. Everyone was patient, but mainly because they knew their turn would come. The band didn't just cater to a few fans and then stop, everyone was acknowledged. It seems like fame never went to this band's head, which is fabulous.