Jak se mate?

The title means “How are you?”, but one of the first things we learned here was to never ask that question unless you are looking for a true, complete answer. I’ve heard many anecdotes about people missing the metro because they carelessly queried a friend or neighbor. Apparently it’s also considered very rude to just answer positively; one of our lecturers said that the other day she said that she was “good” and her friend protested, “Donna, could you stop this attitude and tell me at least one bad thing that has happened!” The question and the explanation of both good and bad things going on is meant genuinely as a chance to bond through problems. I think it’s cool, and I’m warning you that I may adopt a similar attitude when I return.

This is in part an answer to the question “Are the people there friendly?” To put it simply, no, they are not. That’s not to say they’re not nice. Our first speakers have been about Czech people, assumptions, stereotypes, generalizations, and the truths and explanations behind these things. They often ask for our first impressions of the people, and the most frequently offered words are “unimpressed” “reserved” “skeptical”. It’s true, really. According to our lecturers, there is a notion that people don’t just go around being kind; you have to EARN a smile.

Again, that’s not to say that the people aren’t nice. Once you’re “in” their good graces, you’re really in. And they truly appreciate you not being a tourist and trying to actually learn their culture, especially the language. All of my teachers keep telling me that Czech people know that Czech is a hard language, so they’ll appreciate any attempt, and I’ve found this to be very true. Whenever I approach someone in Czech and first ask my question in the language before switching to English, they’re much more helpful. I think I really like this chutzpah. They are so proud of who they are and what their country is, and so resilient and strong as people.

This sort of relates to my main story of the day: my first experience getting lost. This morning, Jan and Elena took me on the bus and put me on a tram and then assumed I could get back. If you know me, you know that unless I DO something by myself, I have absolutely no clue where to begin. So, on my way back I found the right tram and got off at the right stop, but then everythign was totally blank. I couldn’t recognize anything, so I wasn’t sure whether I had gotten off at the right stop, and there are about 10 bus stops in the same area, so I was going around to all of them and crossing the street and it was raining and I simply couldn’t find my stop. I made sure I was in the right place, which I was, but I might as well have been in Warsaw. Did I mention that it was pouring and freezing? It was. I was determined to not call for help, so I kept wandering around. I tried to ask several people, but I couldn’t remember any Czech, either, so I was really floundering. Finally, I saw a guy watching me who clearly knew I was lost but wasn’t helping, so I got really angry and remembered my Czech and asked him. He was able to point me in the right direction (around a corner), so I made it home, but I was a bit nervous for awhile. It felt really good to get to the house.

Unrelated: I gave the family Jelly Bellies (the jellybeans) as part of a homestay gift, and Simon absolutely loves them. He’s read Harry Potter, but he’s never seen jellybeans, so he thinks they’re from the book. I told him that the book stole them from us, and he was very impressed. He also said that he thinks they taste just like they’re supposed to, though he didn’t know what “root beer” was.

I think next blog I’m going to try to answer questions people have asked me in emails, etc, so if you have any, comment or email me. Dobrou noc! (Goodnight!)