Analysis

The Czech Republic is a different place. In the fabled words of AFS, not good, not bad, just different. Here's my list of differences, in no order whatsoever, trying to stick to things that can be measured and that I hear from other people about their lives as well as my own.

• Czech beds don't use sheets. Just one big duvet.
• There are toilets, and bath rooms. Not just one room with everything. Perfect when your little sister (or American parasite) is in the bath and you have to pee.
• Sandwiches= snack. I bring at least 2 everyday as snacks. Instead of apples, kids walk around with subs.
• Chocolate is a treat, but one you can have everyday. My waistline lovehates this difference.
• Young people drink a lot more here. The top three topics we talk about with friends at school: our absolute tyrant of a math teacher, weather, and alcohol. Oh, and the Czech equivalent of American Idol. I haven't seen it, but it sounds exciting :p
• Everyone takes the bus. I can count the number of times I have been in a car since moving to Brno on my digits. I love peoplewatching.
• There's a sink in every classroom, but no soap or anything to dry your hands with.
• You don't move during lessons. At all.
• We sit in the same spots, based on which classroom we're in. Like my French class, just for every single subject.
• Way less tests, and they are shorter than... well...
• Essays are out of vogue here. It's all about presentations. But we have almost no homework.
• The one you always hear about: Changing shoes. Czech people are all about slippers. Not only at home and at school, but in hotels and at rehearsals.
• No ice. Or free water.
• No napkins. Use your hands.
• Fork in left, Knife in right. No knifeless finaggling here.
• Racism is rampant
• You have to pay to pee. Normally about 50 cents. Good thing I'm a camel.
• You bag your own groceries. If you're too slow, get ready for the stinkeye.
• Plastic bags, like everything here, come with a price. I like this.
• Nutritious food isn't the top priority. My diet is beige, though getting more colorful.
• Cursive > print. I can now write like an adult.
• Such old history. Churches that have been sitting there for 500 years. No biggie. I go nuts over it.
• Everyone is the same color. Still a bit scary to me.
• Czech people all seem to have these awesome windows that depending on how you turn the handle can open different ways. Like those magic cellphones.
• Learning is about stuffing as much in as you can and spitting it back. No stewing and adding your own spices.
• Even the smallest stores have probably twenty kinds of sausages and salamis. Yum.
• Soviet bloc buildings. They are hideous.
• People are cold. Physical contact is a no-go.
• Au contraire, Czech people are extremely helpful. Getting directions from a stranger is way better than any map.
• No automatic garage doors
• No suburbs. Villages, and little cities.
• People here eat a whole different spectrum of food. It's normal to eat a whole apple. Like stem, core, everything. But just serving peas with a bit of butter next to your mashed potatoes can seem weird. Oh, and I eat liver like all the time.

So, I know these are mostly just my opinions. But I like to think there's a kernel of truth in here somewhere. Oh, and here are some oldish pictures.

The tip of that is the highest point in the whole Czech Republic. Bylo tam zkurvená zima.
Guess what it is. Once I asked, I no longer needed an answer.
The last few days in October of 1808, Beethoven LIVED HERE (in Opava)! A whole week or so. They named the street after him.
Opava is really gorgeous.
Again from Opava. It was really heavily bombed during WWII, leaving these ugly chunks. The whole soviet and historical beauty clash is a strong theme throughout the country.

This kid is going places. When he wins a grammy, I can say I knew him. Yes.
AFS ball :D
Me and our Prom king and queen, if we were to do such silly things.
I have a thing for Germans.

Wawel, in Kraków
Auschwitz. So many emotions.
Somethings you have to see once in your life.

But life here continues to be lalalalalala wonderful. Letters would make me smile, chicos. I can't believe how little time I have here. The plane ride home will be so miserable, leaving all these people who light up my life and understand me better than I understand myself. At least I have all of you to look forward to! Went to a jazz concert wednesday, and heard a lovely New York accent. It was heaven. Cool concert by the way. Part of the Brno Jazzfest. And the ballet yetserday. Guys should wear skirts a lot more. Very attractive. hahaha

LOVELOVELOVE all of y'all. Take care! Traveling again with my family for the weekend. Not sure where to, but it's an adventure! Hugs!

Who let the dogs out? in? onto?

So, I have a few utterly spectacular friends here who love to complain almost as much as I do. One common "cultural difference" that comes up pretty often is the attitude towards dogs here. They do whatever they bloody well please, most of the time. This means dogs in the metro, dogs on the šalina, dogs in restaurants. The restaurant thing gets to me, but my story:

Yesterday, I saw "The King's Speech" at the cinema with Marina and Erika. A really fantastic film, by the way. Then, I took šalina 4 back form the city center to my bus stop on Mendlovo Náměstí, and got on the bus. Then, a dog hopped on behind me. Everyone on the bus was puzzled. He was wearing a leash, but no one was coming running "FIDO FIDO! GET BACK HERE!". We waited about a minute and looked around, laughing at what was happening, until the bus was supposed to leave. This caused the bus driver to de-attach himself from the seat, which I didn't know they could do, to escort him off. The little boy next to me was crying at the sight of that lonely dog, so unjustly kicked off the bus because he's too short to validate his ticket. Or something.

Well, it was funny when it happened! Rabbit rabbit, though I'm a bit late.

And I love her, I need her

Hey y'all. March has been the month of magic! So many amazing days, nights, jam sessions, and conversations. I love Brno! Spring has really hit, and everything has come to life! I can wear skirts, even shorts!, again, and Žebětín, my village, is full of forests and windy cobblestone paths perfect to wander along. I am living the dream!

Some exchange friends I have here made such great friends when they landed at school and activities that they don't pay much attention to their host families, or at least it seems that way. I practically don 't want to go home, I love my family here so much. They are far too nice to me, and put up with all my heaps and heaps of problems, and heaps and heaps of stuff :p I spent one afternoon complaining about missing bagels, and that weekend, my host mum made homemade poppy seed bagels. Unbelievably delicious with a bit of goat cheese. Ňamňam :D I can sit at the table and talk to them for hours. So funny, thoughtful, and far more clear-minded than I have ever been.

School is a bit different here. I have a few teachers who think I am interesting and talented, and a few who think I am the devil incarnate. Most of these feelings are mutual though, so no worries, really. We have one teacher who does absolutely everything I have ever taken fault in in any former teachers. She is an utter basketcase. Only 3 months from Saturday though! Holy cow! But like in Nový Jičín, people at school are so helpful! I get tired of asking for help before they seem to get tired of dealing with me!

I don't really feel like sitting here typing for a year, I want to go play accordeon :D

Mějte se, my loves!

Title note: I miss you Shayneeeee. Our facebook chats are too short.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

Spring is here!

Well, it will be tomorrow. This week was spring break for us here in Brno, and man was it great.

Saturday, we woke up at like 5 in the morning to catch our bus to the mountains for our ski trip. It was my host mom, my slightly older brother, my two little sibling sand me, along with a friend of my host mom's and her two children. The snow was wet because it was like 12 degrees out, but the trip was great. It is a totally different experience to travel with everything you need on your back. Fortunately, I didn't end up sick this time!

We left the mountains tuesday and shifted our base to Opava for the night. We stayed with some more of my host mom's friends, who have a beautiful home full of great art and great people. In the morning, my host mum took me out on a tour of Opava, which is a really lovely city, by the way. Unfortunately, they get hit by the Ostrava smog, so the air can be a mess, but the buildings are beautiful. It was bombed quite heavily during WWII, and you can see the ugly block replacements where beautiful, historical buildings once stood, but that doesn't ruin the charm. And, we got there right in time for the book stores to open, and I bought the last two-thirds of the Millenium Trilogy. I love those books!!!

When we got home, my good friend Marina came over to stay because her host family wasn't home from the mountains, but she had had enough skiing for one trip. It was great to have her over, and then together, we stayed Thursday night at Vinny's house. We stayed up late jamming together, and it was real nice.

Friday night, we made it back to my house to sleep before we took the bus up to Ostrava for Aurelie's, my friend from Germany, birthday party. I have to say, it was probably the best party I have ever been to. Amazing people, good food, and of course, good music. Her parents were visiting from Germany, and her mom has the same huge laugh as me! It was fabulous! Also there was Aurelie's friend Jean, who is one of the six AFSers in Poland this year. He lives in Kraków and is absolutely wonderful. Hearing his stories about Poland makes me want to visit again! I didn't get a single minute of sleep last night!

Anyways, vacation was wonderful. I am not looking forward too much to being back at school,

but it will be nice to see everybody and brag about how great my break was :D

Lots of love always, and when possible, eat cheese from the Netherlands!

Oh, and 7 months.

Guessing game

So, my Czech Language teacher is one of those cool teachers. I could see him working in Harley, if we taught Czech literature. Anyways, we had the coolest assignment ever! We had to translate a famous song, he provided us with one, from English to Czech, while keeping the poetry. Here's my gift to you, now guess what the mystery song is!!!!

Musí být nějaká cesta ven

Klaun zlodějovi říkal

Je tady uplný chaos

Ale nikdo kdoby mi pomahal

Podníkatelé pijí moje víno

Oráčy v mé zemi kopají

Tam na hranici neví nikdo

Kolík to stojí

Nemáš důvod být rozčilený

Řikal ten yloděj mile

hodně tady jsou okolo nás

kteří ví že žívot, žert je

Ale to náš osud není

Tak, nemáme mluvít falešně

Je pozdě, půlnoc už zvoní

Všudy na ty věží

Princy hlídali

Všechny ženy přišli, odešli

Sluhy bosi, taky šli

Ven, dost daleko

Lev zařval

Dva lidé na koních na cestě byli

vítr húlakal

Have fun kids!!!

So here's my hint:

And my apologies about the horrible Czech!

I'm pretty sure this goes beyond a pet peeve

Let's get this on the table. Prejudice isn't, has never been, and never will be funny. So, when we are walking around the place that was a hell on earth in a way you will never experience, don't laugh. Don't pose and take silly pictures with your friends. Don't jokingly call each other racist slurs, when that prejudice was responsible for half a million deaths where you stand. I believe all opinions are valid in that what you believe is what you believe, but prejudice is not something open for debate. It is an abomination.

stuff

So, you probably all know by now that I can ramble on for ages with my complaints. Finding problems with things has never been hard for me. But I realized something I really appreciate in Czech people. They really understand the value, or lack of value, in stuff.

As a culture in the US, we love our stuff. Our gadgets, toys, those cure-alls to keep us from getting bored, or wasting too much time or effort. I am for sure in no way above this adoration. I live a life, even here, buried in all the things I "need." Czech people, based on the ones I've met these 6 months, are less caught up in all of that. We eat really well here, but our fridge and freezer for 8 people living at home is probably about half the size of the refrigerator half of the fridge in our kitchen, and beyond that, we have another fridge and 2 more freezers. And we have only had three residents for a few years now.

All of this is really making me think about my carbon footprint. I mean, I have been involved with efforts to go green and have felt like I try pretty hard, but I have done nothing. I mean, if you have enough clothes, why do you need a dryer? Clothes get just as dry if you hang them, and this way, I have no worries about shrinking my socks. Rags clean up just as well as paper towels. Buses give you time to read, listen to music, or write while you travel. No worries about driving or helping to navigate.

So, that is my life-changing blog post for today.

Love you all, as usual.

Tak ahoj!