A Video!

The quality of this video is no good. In the future, if I post a video, it will be better quality. I promise.

Still, I think you'll enjoy this:

On "How are you?"

In the Czech Republic, much like the United States, people often greet each other with a friendly "How are you." In the United States, we do this by saying "How are you?" In the Czech Republic, we do this by saying "Jak se máš?" "Jak se máš" is pronounced like so: "Yahk seh mahsh."

In the United States, it is customary to answer such a question with things like "I'm well" or "Great" or "Just fine" or "A-Okay" even if the responder is sad, tired, ill, in constant pain, or consumed with grief. In other words, despite how one feels, in the United States, one will tell everyone they are fine.

In the Czech Republic, it is customary to answer such a question with things like "Still surviving" or "So-so" or "Ehhhh" or "Ugh, who knows" even if the responder is feeling perfectly okay. In other words, despite how one feels, in the Czech Republic, one will tell everyone that life is pretty crap.

There is no judgment in this blog post. I think it's a very interesting difference in the two cultures. I also think it says a lot about two cultures. I think it probably has to do with history. In America, always showing your best side, standing up in the face of adversity, and being an optimistic underdog is basically part of the culture. It is something that is considered "good."

In the Czech Republic, however, there is a history of self-effacement. Of rolling over and taking orders in order to literally survive. This had to happen multiple times in the past 100 years here. When the Nazis rolled into power it happened. When the Communists rolled into power, it happened again.

Imagine this: You are the Czech Republic. Your allies are France and Great Britain. It is before World War II. Hitler is crazy and power hungry and everyone in Europe wants to avoid a world war somehow. France and Great Britain meet Hitler in Munich. They say, "Okay Hitler, we'll give you this part of Czechoslovakia and de facto control over the rest if you promise not to invade anywhere else." Hitler agrees (even though he'll later break his promise.)

So now, you've been sold out by your former allies. You can either face Hitler's massive army alone, or you can agree to the annexations.

Does that suck or what?

A lot of Czechs joined the Communist Party because they were the only ones who were fighting the Nazis. They weren't better than the Nazis, as proved later.

Jan Urban, the aforementioned Modern Dissent teacher, talks about how in times of crises, when nations are pushed to the brink, they shift toward totalitarian solutions. These totalitarian - basically extremist - government parties offer a shortcut. A solution. One leader to destroy a common enemy. And people will believe it.

And then, obviously, it fails and people suffer and the whole nation gets egg on its face.



Get this: It is basically considered indecent to ask Czechs what they did before 1989. There is a whole generation here who basically pretends they were born at the age of 35.



This entry really got out of hand. It started somewhere sort of basic and interesting, and ended with what looks to me like a sort of pat, simple answer to a very complex cultural, political, and ideological occurence that we're (and by "we're" I don't mean "Czechs." I mean "everyone in the world") are still feeling today.


So. Sorry for the civics lesson. I don't pretend to understand the complex history of Europe or the (in some cases) more complex history of the Czech Republic (even though I now realize that I actually am pretending to do just that...)


I hope it was a little bit interesting though.



I'll end with a fun fact from from my notes:

Ok, so the German Empire kicked France's ass in the Franco-Prussian war. Bizmarck used an economist to basically calculate how much reparations the defeated France could possibly pay and not be totally and utterly destroyed. Then he made France pay that. It was a way of winning, but not humiliating the enemy. Bizmarck would always have to contend with France's desire to avenge their loss in the war, but this was a smart way to not completely humiliate the defeated enemy. Right?

Ok, so fast forward. WWI has been going on for a while, and we reach a deal: The Treaty of Versaille which effectively ends the war. Now it's Germany who's on the losing end. They've finally been defeated, and in this treaty they lose some territory. Also, they are forced to pay something like 132 BILLION golden marks. That's like 500 billion U.S. dollars circa 2005. This is the opposite of what Bizmarck did.

So anyway, in 1923, the German economy is in the tank. This is one of the most prominent examples of hyperinflation. The money was actually worth less than the paper it would be printed on. I mean, people would instead pay for things with coal money. If you went to a coffee shop, you'd pay in advance. Know why? Because the cost of the coffee could triple right there while you were sipping it! I mean, in December of 1923 the exchange rate was 4,200,000,000,000 Marks to 1 US dollar! The rate of inflation was so high that prices were doubling every two days!

That's craziness.


So here's the best part:

It is now October of 2008. World War I ended in 1919. About 90 years ago. The last part of the German reparations ordered in the Treaty of Versaille will be paid from Germany to the United States in - wait for it - year 2010! Yeah, in many ways it's just silly symbolics and a sense of pride. But still. It's kind of funny. The first world war is not yet over.


The world is funny. Enjoy your day.

Northern Bohemia

Bohemia is a place. A lot of people know this. But not everyone, I don't think. Maybe that's because of the hit Broadway musical Rent (which just closed, RIP). In the hit Broadway musical Rent, they often refer to Bohemia as an ideology. A haven for artists and lovers and other people with abnormal lifestyles. Those young artists and lovers and other people with abnormal lifestyles are Bohemians. Bohemians are chic.

According to the dictionary widget on my trusty MacBook Pro, the definition of a "bohemian" (the one that means "one who has informal and unconventional social habits") comes from the French word for "gypsy," since gypsies were thought to come from Bohemia. Or something. I didn't research this too thoroughly. I don't know these things for a fact.

Either way, Bohemia is a region of the Czech Republic. I know this for a fact. I know this because I was there over the weekend. We took a day trip. It is a really boring, really pretty place. Maybe those two things are incongruous. I wasn't bored there. But if I was there for longer than how long I was there for, it would have been boring. A day is the perfect amount of time to spend in Northern Bohemia.

There are caves there. The Bozkovské Dolomite Caves. I am not going to post a lot of pictures of the caves in this post, because we went caving in Budapest, and I think it's important for you to see the comparison. So instead, I will devote a post to comparing the two caving experiences. It will make you smile, I promise. Cave pictures are always funny.

The Bozkovské Dolomite Caves were really pretty, but super touristy. Lots of stairs and railings and lights and lighting effects. The best part, though, was the tour guide. He was a little, old man who didn't speak English, so he carried a tape player from which an Australian woman's voice told us everything we needed to know. He had certain parts memorized though. I know this because he'd point with his flashlight on places that the Australian woman was describing RIGHT when she was describing them. Sometimes, he would punctuate something she would say. She would say "This cave is called 'The Surprise Cave.'" Then the little, old man would say "Surprise." He made everyone smile.


This is what he looked like:



Doesn't he look little and old and great? This picture may be better:





Those are all the cave pictures you get.

What's that?

Oh, okay. Here you go. Here's just a few:







Phew, enough of that. We're done with caves for now.



After caves, we went on a four-hour hike through the woods and mountains of the area. It was pretty spectacular. Words don't really justice. Hell, these pictures don't even do it justice. But here are a bunch, anyway. Enjoy.

That's Amanda and Becky. They are good people who are in the Microcosm.

Are the leaves changing in the states, yet? Cause they are here. The weather is weird.






This is Lenka, my R.A. She is awesome. She taught us how to say a dirty phrase in Czech ( "Dito prdele!"), which is sort of the equivalent of "Kiss my ass." Then she got embarrassed cause we were saying it a bit too loudly on the ride home.






What is Dave looking at?






Oh. Awesome mountains!

There was a bunch of original art carved into the rocks in this area. Poetry, too.






They looked like this.






This looks like the entrance to Pan's Labyrinth. I wouldn't be surprised.






Lenka took this photo. It describes our relationship pretty well, I think.





Lenka took this one, as well. Some guys from the Microcosm. As you can see, my beard is growing in quite well. I recently trimmed it, so now it looks a little bit more like I grew it on purpose, rather than grew it because I lacked any means with which to shave.

That's all for now. Be well!

Prague Agog

I went to Budapest this past weekend. It was very amazing and I will tell you all about it. But I thought it'd be weird to tell you all about Budapest, which was very amazing, without telling you more about Prague, which is also very amazing.

You may be thinking, "But you told us about Prague already. About the food and the people and the public transportation." But what good is all that if there aren't any photos? So, without further ado.... Prague, which is very amazing (note - click all pictures to see larger versions):

Ah, Prague. The City of a Hundred Spires. (You can see at least six in the photo above.) Do you want to know how to offend a Czech person? Tell them that they're Eastern European. The Czech Republic is located about as close to the center of the continent as possible. In fact, think about Vienna. Would you call that city "Eastern European?" Because it's east of Prague. OH SNAP I JUST BLEW YOUR MIND, YO!

Truthfully, I'm finding that the differences between Western, Central, and Eastern Europe are more idealogical than geographical. In any case, just watch it if you're here. They're Central European. Pssh.



This is the Astronomical Clock:

Every day, we walk past it on our way to class. It was built a long time ago. 1410, I think. But it was damaged by Nazis at one point. So some of it is rebuilt. Every hour, a little skeleton rings a bell which is creepy, and then those two little windows above the main clock portion open up. Little wooden apostles scroll by. It is really lame. They don't even come out. Apparently, the original clock didn't have these irrelevant little figures to entertain the commonfolk. Originally, the clock only featured "the pure art of astronomy" as Jan Táboský -- the clock's curator in the years 1551-1572 -- said. I think that's nice.

Every hour, starting about twenty minutes before the Apostles do their dance, a huge crowd gathers. To those of us who take the clock for granted, it's one of the few drawbacks of going to class every day in the prime tourist area of Prague. It's crowded and things are expensive. Still, you can't argue with the sheer history and beauty of that place. People don't flock there for nothing. Here's a picture of it:

(Click the picture to see a larger version. Seriously, this tiny pic doesn't do it justice!)

Now, does that look like fun or WHAT??


Moving on...



For my friends in New York. You know how the Halal food from the carts can be super cheap and super delicious, but there's something gross about hot dogs from the street? Or, I don't know, maybe that's just me. Maybe you love New York hot dogs. You can have 'em. Even Gray's Papaya skeeves me out unless I'm on my way home at 2AM and I'm...tired. (A euphemism? I'll leave it up to you. My grandparents read this blog...)

Anyway, in Prague, the street meat is vaguely similar. They usually offer a wider variety of things. You can get fried cheese with tartar sauce, fried chicken with tartar sauce either as a sandwich or plain (Czechs love tartar sauce), some bastardized form of a hamburger, a potato pancake, or my personal favorite, a potato pancake with bits of roasted chicken inside. All these are usually really cheap. One thing they don't have, though, is regular hot dogs. I think this is because they don't have hot dog buns. Instead, they sell what they call "Eurodogs" or "Euro Hot Dogs." It's a regular weiner, sure. But they use a sub roll (hoagie for my Philadelphia brothers and sisters) which has been impaled on a metal rod. This metal rod is hot, which serves to heat the hole it makes in the bread. They squirt mustard and/or ketchup (if you want) into the hole, and then drop the dog in. Then they add more mustard and ketchup for good measure. It's interesting to say the least, and only costs 15 Kc, which is less than a dollar. Still, I wouldn't call it filling. Me and some friends have been taken to getting the sausages in Old Town for 50Kc instead. It's still cheap, and feels more gourmet. It's not a hot dog. It's a sausage.
Mmmmm.


Or, if you want a real meal, you can go for something more traditional. Roast pork, cabbage, and dumplings. Don't let "dumpling" fool you. Dumplings here aren't like the dumplings you'd get in a Chinese restaurant. They look kind of like slices of bread and are very doughy. Commonly, they're just potato or bread dumplings. But you can also get them with meat in them, too. They also have "sweet dumplings" which have little bread cubes in them. It's a Czech specialty.
The dumplings above are bread dumplings. They had something like croutons in them. But softer. The pork was delicious. I'm not a huge cabbage fan, but I couldn't complain.



Speaking of food, last week we found an amazing little cafe that is rarely occupied and has free wifi. It's our favorite place. It's called Kavárna U Prstenu. Hard to pronounce. "Kavárna" just means "cafe" and "u" means "by" or "in" or "at," so you'll see a lot of restaraunts and cafes called Kavárna U blahblahblah or Restaurace U blahblahblah. Often, it's just the street name. Sometime's it's the owner's name. Here's a picture of our favorite Kavárna:



What else? Oh. Charles Bridge. Charles Bridge is also one of the biggest tourist areas in the city, and it really is wonderful. It's one of a bunch of bridges that gets you from one side of the Vlatava River to the other. But this one is like the Times Square of bridges. Also, it's pickpocket central. So be careful. You can see the bridge behind us here:

And here's a view from below, after we crossed to the other side.



I go to school at Disney World or Universal Studios or something. It's like out of a fairy tale. Come visit.