Step two: Buy a Czech language dictionary.
Step three: Put dictionary and .5 liters Pilsner Urquell into blender.
Step four: Blend until totally unrecognizable.
That's pretty much what I'm doing to the language here. It's really frustrating for me and probably for everyone I encounter. I don't expect to be proficient, but I feel like everyone just thinks I'm some idiot on work release from a Jersey mental institution. When I get lost in the conversation (usually when the person I'm speaking to quotes the price of something), my mind reboots and goes into Spanish mode. I don't know why.
(A brief note about the computers here: The Z and Y keys are switched, so that's really throwing me off. Many symbols like colons or question marks are scattered throughout the keyboard in places I didn't even know existed. Also, I'm writing this on the Czech version of Microsoft Word, so according to this computer everything I write is misspelled and grammatically incorrect. Please forgive some typos here and there.)
It's been a very long time since I've spent a significant amount of time in a big city like this (Prague has about 1.2 million people in the city limits). I've always prided myself in being able to navigate places like Philadelphia, New York, or Washington, but here I'm a total stranger. The language barrier is only part of it, I think. There's no simple grid, so I find myself not straying too far from the river for fear of getting totally lost. Of course, the people here are nice and many speak enough English to get me to the Charles Bridge (a major tourist attraction not far from the building where my class is). I know I sound like I'm complaining a lot, but I'm really very excited to be here. I love wandering around and finding new things to see and do. I just get a little overwhelmed from time to time. Nothing a cold beer can't fix, to be sure.
Which brings me to the next topic: eating and drinking in Prague. Our Czech counterparts (more on them later) have been taking us to great little restaurants serving traditional Czech meals consisting of meat (usually beef or pork) and potatoes, some vegetables (creamed spinach today) and lots of garlic. The places they've been taking us are away from the tourist areas and very cheap. The most I've spent on a meal so far is about 8 U.S. dollars (160 crowns), but usually the meals are closer to 4.50 (sorry, don't know how to make the dollar sign work).
The beer is tasty and cheaper than water in some instances. The bar near my dorm charges 20 crowns (one U.S. dollar) for Staropramen, which one Czech student tells me is the worst beer in town, but I still like it. Of course, I've grown accustomed to PBR, so my standards probably aren't what they should be.
On Sunday night, I went out for beers with my roommate and some friends of his from the Ukraine and Portugal. We discussed a lot of things, from beer to women to medicine (Alex and a friend of his are both in med school) to politics. Of course, the Europeans were well-versed on the happenings of U.S. politics, and I felt bad not knowing about all of their home countries. But we got away from the specific leaders and talked more about citizens' roles in democracy, about the nature of power, and the right of revolution. Pedro, from Portugal, was almost radical in his opinions that people should free to revolt against the government, resorting to violence if necessary. A lot of what he said echoed Thomas Jefferson's sentiments, though he had no idea who Jefferson was (and why should he?). It was certainly one of the most fascinating coversations I've ever had.
Oh, right. I have work to do.
On Monday, we finally met our Czech counterparts in our first classroom setting. There's five total, most of them grad students. Their names are Alice (pronounced Al-eet-suh), Alex (pronounced Al-esh), Martin, Maria, and Vendula. All seem very nice and very into the project we're going to be working on, and all have different opinions on Roma culture and social status.
I've been partnered up with Martin to study the economic issues affecting Roma people. He's from Pilsen, where Pilsner Urquell is brewed. Next week I'm hoping to take a bus there with him to visit that city, and maybe get a tour of the brewery.
Since Monday, we've been visiting with guest speakers and seeing films about the Roma. I think the issues they face are similar to minority issues anywhere, but also unique to their particular situation. I don't think I know enough to pass any judgements on what I've heard so far, but I'm looking forward to start interviewing people in this country about how they view ideas of equality, racism, state assistance, unemployment, and education.
I think that's all for now. I found an internet cafe in the basement of an arcade that's half the price of the one I used last time, so that's good. If there are certain things anyone wants to know about or wants me to find out, let me know. I'll do what I can.
S
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Fumbling through the continent...
All-
I apologize for not posting sooner, or when I said I would yesterday. The Czech servers at Charles University had trouble recognizing the blog site. I'm at an internet cafe right now, and everything seems to be working fine.
Where to begin? The flight from Minnesota to Amsterdam was probably one of the best I've ever had. I watched movies for free, drank beer for free, and played a trivia game with Zach. All in all, a good flight.
We got to Amsterdam at around 10 a.m., which means it felt like about 2 a.m. Missoula time. We were all tired and a little dazed, but somehow we managed to find our way out of the airport and to the train terminal to get into town. Getting the right train ticket and the right train seemed to me like an act of sheer genius. Then again, thousands of people do it every day...
We had big plans for Amsterdam: visit the Van Gogh Museum, go see Anne Frank's house, maybe take a water taxi through the canals... but it didn't work out that way. First-off, Amsterdam's streets aren't in a grid like Philadelphia or New York, but rather in some weird spider-web shape that I didn't understand. None of us did, and we were all too tired to try to figure out a map. We ended up wandering around aimlessly for about two hours, just watching people be people. One thing that was interesting about the town: there are open-air urnials in some squares and on some street corners for passers-by that need to relieve themselves. Israel took a crack at it, and said he actually felt like he had a little privacy because of the side walls on the urinal. Good for him.
Following the Amsterdam excursion, we went back to the airport and passed out on these cool lounge chairs that they had at the airport. True, they were airport chairs, but at least you could lean back in them and sleep.
Slept through the flight to Prague, and made our way through customs with no problems. We were met by Vendula, one of the Czech students who we're studying with, and Jan, the professor teaching at Charles University. We had about a half-hour bus ride to the dorms, and got situated in our rooms pretty easily. The rooms are... well, dorm rooms. Zach and Israel are rooming together, Mary and Ashley are rooming together, and I've been paired with a medical student from Belarus named Alex. He speaks English pretty well, and I went out for beers with him and a couple of his friends the other night. Good people.
The dorms are co-ed. So are the bathrooms. I went into the bathroom to take a shower, and there was a woman the sink brushing her teeth. I asked her if I was in the right place (I had used the bathroom before) and she said that both sexes use the bathrooms, the showers, everything. Weird. I think a friend put it best when he joked: "I'm just going to respect the culture, and if that means I have to shower with college-age girls, so be it." It still freaks me out.
Sunday, we spent the better part of the morning trying to figure out how to use the phones. Apparently it's not as easy as we thought it'd be, and none of the payphones here take change. You have to buy a phone card, which you can only do at certain places, and those certain places are far away from our dorms. The language barrier didn't help either.
But finally, Sunday, we went to downtown Prague. I can't even explain just how amazing the city is. Many of the buildings pre-date Columbus' journey to America, and they are still in pristine condition. Unfortunately, I don't know what any of them are called yet, but more on that later.
There's a lot more I need to write here, but I've got to go to class in 20 minutes, and it's a bit of a hike from the cafe, so I'm going to jet. Hope all is well in the states, I miss you all.
S
I apologize for not posting sooner, or when I said I would yesterday. The Czech servers at Charles University had trouble recognizing the blog site. I'm at an internet cafe right now, and everything seems to be working fine.
Where to begin? The flight from Minnesota to Amsterdam was probably one of the best I've ever had. I watched movies for free, drank beer for free, and played a trivia game with Zach. All in all, a good flight.
We got to Amsterdam at around 10 a.m., which means it felt like about 2 a.m. Missoula time. We were all tired and a little dazed, but somehow we managed to find our way out of the airport and to the train terminal to get into town. Getting the right train ticket and the right train seemed to me like an act of sheer genius. Then again, thousands of people do it every day...
We had big plans for Amsterdam: visit the Van Gogh Museum, go see Anne Frank's house, maybe take a water taxi through the canals... but it didn't work out that way. First-off, Amsterdam's streets aren't in a grid like Philadelphia or New York, but rather in some weird spider-web shape that I didn't understand. None of us did, and we were all too tired to try to figure out a map. We ended up wandering around aimlessly for about two hours, just watching people be people. One thing that was interesting about the town: there are open-air urnials in some squares and on some street corners for passers-by that need to relieve themselves. Israel took a crack at it, and said he actually felt like he had a little privacy because of the side walls on the urinal. Good for him.
Following the Amsterdam excursion, we went back to the airport and passed out on these cool lounge chairs that they had at the airport. True, they were airport chairs, but at least you could lean back in them and sleep.
Slept through the flight to Prague, and made our way through customs with no problems. We were met by Vendula, one of the Czech students who we're studying with, and Jan, the professor teaching at Charles University. We had about a half-hour bus ride to the dorms, and got situated in our rooms pretty easily. The rooms are... well, dorm rooms. Zach and Israel are rooming together, Mary and Ashley are rooming together, and I've been paired with a medical student from Belarus named Alex. He speaks English pretty well, and I went out for beers with him and a couple of his friends the other night. Good people.
The dorms are co-ed. So are the bathrooms. I went into the bathroom to take a shower, and there was a woman the sink brushing her teeth. I asked her if I was in the right place (I had used the bathroom before) and she said that both sexes use the bathrooms, the showers, everything. Weird. I think a friend put it best when he joked: "I'm just going to respect the culture, and if that means I have to shower with college-age girls, so be it." It still freaks me out.
Sunday, we spent the better part of the morning trying to figure out how to use the phones. Apparently it's not as easy as we thought it'd be, and none of the payphones here take change. You have to buy a phone card, which you can only do at certain places, and those certain places are far away from our dorms. The language barrier didn't help either.
But finally, Sunday, we went to downtown Prague. I can't even explain just how amazing the city is. Many of the buildings pre-date Columbus' journey to America, and they are still in pristine condition. Unfortunately, I don't know what any of them are called yet, but more on that later.
There's a lot more I need to write here, but I've got to go to class in 20 minutes, and it's a bit of a hike from the cafe, so I'm going to jet. Hope all is well in the states, I miss you all.
S
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Setting the stage...
To friends, family and other curious parties:
I’ve set up this blog as a way to keep in touch with people while I’m in Europe and to give a little bit of insight into what I’m doing while I’m over there. I’ll be leaving for Prague on Friday, May 25 at about two in the afternoon as part of an exchange program through the University of Montana School of Journalism. I’ll be away until June 18.
Some quick background info… This spring, the School of Journalism selected five students to travel to Prague to cover minority issues in the Czech Republic. Charles Hood, a former dean of the J-School and our professor leading this project, chose two photographers (Ashley McKee and Mary Rizos) and three writers (Zach Franz, Israel Tockman, and myself) that will work with five Czech students at Charles University, reporting on the Romani (Gypsy) population in Europe for three weeks. Following our time in Prague, the Czech students will join us in Montana to report on the Native American population here. We’ll create an Internet publication of stories, photos, and audio slideshows.
For the past three days, Ashley, Mary, Zach, Israel and I have been taking classes to get ready for the trip. Monday we concentrated the Web site itself and started brainstorming different ideas for the site’s layout. We also went over nuts-and-bolts types of things like the exchange rate (one Czech crown is roughly equal to a U.S. nickel), the public transportation system, and tips on where to get a cheap meal and a cold beer (the first word of Czech I learned is “pivo,” which means “beer”). Yesterday, a student who did her senior project on the Romani people in former Czechoslovakia gave us a brief lecture on the history of the people and their treatment under socialism and the evolving issues of being a minority in a young democracy. Most surprising to me was the fact that many Romani have fond memories of the Communist era because the state provided basic health care, education, housing, and jobs. While the jobs, housing and health care were not what we would consider to be adequate, it was an improvement over the persecution of years before, especially during the Nazi era.
Today, Jana Hood (a native Czech and Professor Hood’s wife) gave us a crash course on the Czech language. It’s a soft language with lots of “juh” and “yeh” sounds in it, very different from Spanish or German. But so far, the rules of pronunciation are fairly simple and don’t deviate nearly as often as English does. While I have no delusions that I will master it, I’m fairly confident that I’ll be able to order a beer at a pub without making a complete ass of myself.
After the language lesson, we started hashing out some story ideas for the project. The overall idea is to compare and contrast the situations of two very different minority groups in two very different countries. What sort of social problems to do they face? What sort of benefits do they have access to, and are those benefits being taken advantage of? Issues like education, health care, and criminal justice loom large, and I’m looking forward to meeting our Czech counterparts and getting to work.
That’s all for now. More tomorrow, methinks.
I’ve set up this blog as a way to keep in touch with people while I’m in Europe and to give a little bit of insight into what I’m doing while I’m over there. I’ll be leaving for Prague on Friday, May 25 at about two in the afternoon as part of an exchange program through the University of Montana School of Journalism. I’ll be away until June 18.
Some quick background info… This spring, the School of Journalism selected five students to travel to Prague to cover minority issues in the Czech Republic. Charles Hood, a former dean of the J-School and our professor leading this project, chose two photographers (Ashley McKee and Mary Rizos) and three writers (Zach Franz, Israel Tockman, and myself) that will work with five Czech students at Charles University, reporting on the Romani (Gypsy) population in Europe for three weeks. Following our time in Prague, the Czech students will join us in Montana to report on the Native American population here. We’ll create an Internet publication of stories, photos, and audio slideshows.
For the past three days, Ashley, Mary, Zach, Israel and I have been taking classes to get ready for the trip. Monday we concentrated the Web site itself and started brainstorming different ideas for the site’s layout. We also went over nuts-and-bolts types of things like the exchange rate (one Czech crown is roughly equal to a U.S. nickel), the public transportation system, and tips on where to get a cheap meal and a cold beer (the first word of Czech I learned is “pivo,” which means “beer”). Yesterday, a student who did her senior project on the Romani people in former Czechoslovakia gave us a brief lecture on the history of the people and their treatment under socialism and the evolving issues of being a minority in a young democracy. Most surprising to me was the fact that many Romani have fond memories of the Communist era because the state provided basic health care, education, housing, and jobs. While the jobs, housing and health care were not what we would consider to be adequate, it was an improvement over the persecution of years before, especially during the Nazi era.
Today, Jana Hood (a native Czech and Professor Hood’s wife) gave us a crash course on the Czech language. It’s a soft language with lots of “juh” and “yeh” sounds in it, very different from Spanish or German. But so far, the rules of pronunciation are fairly simple and don’t deviate nearly as often as English does. While I have no delusions that I will master it, I’m fairly confident that I’ll be able to order a beer at a pub without making a complete ass of myself.
After the language lesson, we started hashing out some story ideas for the project. The overall idea is to compare and contrast the situations of two very different minority groups in two very different countries. What sort of social problems to do they face? What sort of benefits do they have access to, and are those benefits being taken advantage of? Issues like education, health care, and criminal justice loom large, and I’m looking forward to meeting our Czech counterparts and getting to work.
That’s all for now. More tomorrow, methinks.
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