The Bold and the Beautiful

I’m done. My presentation went well. I am relieved to be done. People keep asking me how good it feels, and it’s sort of like on your birthday when people ask you how you feel to be older and you don’t feel any different and then you worry that you should feel different but you don’t know how you’re supposed to feel because you haven’t ever been that old yet, so you end up not really knowing what you’re feeling at all...that’s how I feel about my being done, I think. I’m also a little wrapped up with wrapping up this whole semester, so being done with school is not at all real to me yet.

Enough of that, it’s time for the long awaited answer to the question “Are Czech people attractive?” In short, the answer is “I don’t know.” Had I (prematurely) written this entry a month ago, I would have said, “No, they are generally very normal-looking. People in Bratislava (Slovakia) were definitely very attractive, however.” BUT, now that I am a month older and many experiences wiser, I’m starting to think that Czech people are inded the most beautiful people in the world. I should be cautious, because maybe the people I’m seeing are tourists (though they speak awfully good Czech for being tourists), or maybe I’m just so desperate for good-looking people that I’ve lowered my standard (though that usually doesn’t happen at Carleton, where it is much more necessary, haha), but I really think that I’m just now able to objectively say that the Czechs seem to peak in the wintertime, and they are certainly lookin’ good now.

From the beginning, all of the (3) guys in my group decided that they were crazy about Czech girls. They said that every single Czech woman they saw was gorgeous, and that even Czechs with “flaws” (their words) were more beautiful than any other people without. I think that they were responding to a certain “real-ness” that the people here have; the women don’t wear much makeup, their clothes aren’t extravagant, provocative, or even particularly flattering, and they aren’t worried about something being out-of-place—they are extremely confident and clearly comfortable with themselves. When I’m out in the US, sometimes I feel like other females are constantly judging my appearance or are perpetually thinking about their own, and here I have none of that sense at all. How attractive you are is just not as important, and that’s nice. This does lead to some strange choices, like the old women with pink or blue hair, but even that is endearing.

That said, while this “real-ness” does wonders for a woman’s beauty, it can’t accomplish as much for men, who generally aren’t as fake or as worried about appearance as women anyway and therefore can’t gain as much from losing those traits. Men are constantly grumpy-looking or uninterested in what is going on, but when they finally do engage or smile they do have a certain charm and genuity that is refreshing. Pozor (“pozor” means “beware”), however, because with men this real thing can go too far very quickly. First of all, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve noticed a cute guy on the metro only to realize that there’s a girl sitting on his lap. Even worse is when I notice that he doesn’t give up his seat. But the WORST is the hair issue. Frequently, frequently, I will see a guy on the tram or outside waiting for the bus and start to think that he’s cute, but then he turns his head to reveal a gigantic rat-tail. I am a laid-back person and I can deal with many things, maybe even a mullet (which is also quite popular among Czech lads), but a rat-tail is a solid deal-breaker, no questions asked.

In conclusion, Czech people are definitely good-looking, especially when just focusing on facial features, but also taking into account how awesomely genuine their appearances are. However, before you enter a relationship with a cute Czech boy I would make it clear that while you support him and his choices you will never, ever, under no circumstances, be seen with a rat-tail. (even though your host family has a rat.)