The First List of Prague-isms

My transition into Czech life has been a little more challenging than I expected. Because I am not taking classes, and none of my roommates are in the same situation as I am, I don't have somebody by my side going through the same things I am, or anybody to go through those things with me. So, I definitely have not been as adventurous as I would be with a friend (it might be kind of weird -and unsafe- to go to a club by myself), but, I have the trams and metro pretty well figured out, I found an English-based church that I am so excited to check out, and I have had a really really good day today! I didn't do anything particularly special, but today is the first day that I have been completely on my own, and I managed to make my way around the city, find some stuff I needed, and discover some new places.

The language barrier is still difficult, and it makes me feel a little bit isolated, but most people generally seem nice (I haven't gotten any angry stares or been yelled at, yet) and just talk at me in Czech while I mime and butcher the handful of phrases and words that I do know. It all works out in the end.

A big part of my problem has been being afraid to try to say something in Czech, or really even trying to communicate at all. Today I went to a store to try to find a grounded outlet adapter for my laptop, and I was all ready with "North American outlet adapter" translated and written in my notebook. When I gave it to the man at the counter, he laughed and after conferring with his colleague in Czech, said to me in English, "See, the way you have this written, it would mean you have a Czech appliance that you need an adapter to use in North America." Oops. But see, if I hadn't tried, I wouldn't have found out that the man speaks English, and I definitely wouldn't have gotten my adapter! No pain (or embarrassment or swallowing of pride), no gain! He even helped me pick out an iron that I desperately needed, and gave me a discount on the adapter because he "doesn't get Americans in here everyday." He honestly might have ripped me off, and I don't even care: I got my adapter, and it was worth the extra koruna to have the man help me in English. *The adapter is actually global, and works in over 150 countries around the world. If I am in Cambodia, I can plug my appliances from Nauru in with no problem. I can also, in fact, take a Czech appliance to the United States and use my adapter to plug it in! Haha!*

Things are looking up =)






So, even though I have only been here for four days, I have found out some neat tidbits and noticed some quirky things. Check out my first list of "Prague-isms," which are listed in no particular order.

The First List of Prague-isms:

1. People are really careful about crossing the street. I'm not kidding. They seem to always wait for the little green walking man, even if there are no moving vehicles in sight. In my (limited) experience in big cities, people cross the street, even the busiest street, whenever they please. People here also seem to look both ways, thrice, every time before crossing. There are a lot of trams, busses, and cars around, but they seem particularly careful.

2. Public transportation in this city is amazing. I really do not think there is a city in the United States that compares. There are three underground metro lines, tons of trams, and busses, too. The best part is that you don't have to worry about buying separate tickets for each different mode of transportation. You buy one ticket that is valid for a certain amount of time, validate it by getting the time stamped on it at whichever mode of transportation you use first, and can use any of the systems for as long as the ticket is valid. This is extremely helpful, because you might have to take a tram to the closest metro station for the red line, go to your stop, and then take a bus to your neighborhood, for example.

Many people buy extended passes (mine is for a month), and with those you don't even have to worry about validating anything: you just carry it with you in case someone asks to see your ticket, and get on and off as you please! The one-use tickets are pretty cheap, while the extended passes can be expensive, but they do give hefty discounts to students for the extended passes.

I have seen tons of little kids with backpacks using both the trams and metro by themselves. They definitely learn how to do it at a young age, and it is certainly safe enough for them to do so by themselves during the day. I take that to mean that it is safe enough for me to do it by myself, too!

Map of Prague's Metro and Tram Routes
(Click to enlarge)
http://mappery.com/maps/Prague-Praha-Metro-Map.jpg

3. People really do give up their public transportation seats for older people.
Every time. No matter how old you are, if someone older gets on the vehicle, you give up your seat for them.

4. People still smoke in restaurants here, ashtrays provided. My grandma warned me not to be surprised by this, but I still managed to notice and be slightly surprised when people lit up next to us at dinner in a nice Italian restaurant.

5. Toilet paper is colored. I am sure that not all of it is, but you would be hard pressed to find yellow or blue toilet paper in the States, both of which I have in my bathroom right now. It is, however, just as soft as back home (another warning from both grandmas).

6. The architecture here is beautiful. Tereza was laughing at me when we were on our way to my apartment from the airport, because even on the outskirts, in non-downtown areas, the buildings have character, and I think they are affecting compared to the architecture I am used to seeing on a daily basis in the States. The architecture downtown, in Old Town, is absolutely stunning. Prague is peaking right now with its building restoration, and you can absolutely tell. Many of the buildings are in their original styles, but restored and/or preserved perfectly. Old Town square is walled by some incredibly beautiful and eclectic buildings.

Old Town Square (edited panorama)
(Click to enlarge)
  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Old_Town_Square%2C_Prague_-_Starom%C4%9Bstsk%C3%A9_n%C3%A1m%C4%9Bst%C3%AD%2C_Praha.jpg

7. The architecture in Prague is also extremely varied. From Gothic** to Baroque to Art Nouveau, to Parisian, to Cubist. It is a mish-mash of incredible, detailed, and inspiring architecture, and somehow, it all works together to be charming instead of overwhelming.

Týn Church in Old Town Square
(Click to enlarge)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Old_Town_Square-Prague-2.jpg

** I learned that in the gothic style, when buildings are erected with two towers, the towers are not the same size. When looking at the Church of Mother of God Before Týn (Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem in Czech) or Týn Church (Týnský chrám in Czech) from Old Town Square, you can see that the right tower is slightly thicker than the left tower. This is a representation of Adam (right tower) and Eve (left tower), and signifies that Adam should always protect Eve, man protects woman. In the picture above, you can see that the right tower is, indeed, thicker than the left tower.

8. The Czech people have learned that no matter what, they must live their lives, because the clock is always ticking. There is a giant (I mean GIANT - 75 feet tall and on top of a hill) metronome that can be seen in the distance from Old Town Square rising above the city and the Vltava River. The metronome actually sits on the spot where the huge Stalin Monument (notice the people at the bottom) sat before it was blown up in 1962 under orders of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. After so many different regimes, so many revolutions, the Czech people decided to remind themselves that even though their country may be in political turmoil, or changing hands too often, their lives must be lived, because time is always passing. The Prague Metronome was erected in 1991.

Prague Metronome
(Click to enlarge)
http://pragueinspires.blogspot.cz/2010/09/pragues-metronome.html

9. Speaking of clocks, the Prague Orloj, while being incredibly beautiful, also teaches us lessons. First, a bit of the clock's history and legend. The Prague Orloj was not originally built as it appears today, but has been repaired, altered, and added to throughout its existence. Clockmaster Mikuláš of Kadaň and mathematics and astronomy professor Jan Šindel designed and built the clock in 1410. In 1490, the Gothic sculptures were added, and in the 17th century, the moving statues and opening windows and Apostles were added. Even though the clock has stopped working several times, and was bombed in 1945 by German troops, it has always been repaired and is still one of the most incredible clocks in the world. The legend goes that Jan Hanuš, who was originally believed to have built the clock, but in fact only helped repair it at one point, was blinded by the command of Prague Councillors so that he could never make another clock that would rival Prague's time-keeper.

The lessons come from the statues on either side of the clock. On the far right is Delight, who reminds us that we cannot only seek delight in life, we must also work. Next to Delight is the skeleton, Death, who pulls the cord for the clock and reminds us to live our lives, because time is running. The miser with the bag of gold reminds us that there is more to life than just seeking riches, and on the far left, Vanity, the man with a mirror, reminds us that there is more on this earth than just ourselves, or even just humans. There is so much more to the clock, but it could take up a whole book!

Praguealacarte.com shows a cool, sped-up computer model of the Prague Orloj. The increased speed helps you see how all of the different parts move together!

Prague Orloj (Prague Astronomical Clock)
(Click to enlarge)
http://shutterdo.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/anatomical-clock-_01.jpg

10. Food and drinks, whether in a restaurant or grocery store, are super cheap here. Other stuff is kind of expensive. Bedding, towels, appliances, etc. are definitely more expensive than in the States. I have not bought any clothes yet, but I did get a nice purse for around 250 Kč, which is about 13 USD. That is pretty cheap!

11. Czechs absolutely do not wear their shoes in the house! This was actually a rule in my house growing up, but I know a lot of Americans don't adopt this rule. It seems like most Czechs, however, do! This rule is actually part of my lease agreement - go figure!

12. At the bigger grocery stores here, customers select and put produce into bags, just like in the States, but they themselves weigh the produce, select the product from a list on the touchscreen attached to the scale, and print out a barcode label right there in the produce section. I am sure that there are grocery stores that have this in the States, but it seems that typically our produce is weighed on the checkout line and the cashier types the code in for whatever product we are buying. Here, if you do not print out a label, even just for an item like a single bell pepper, they cannot weigh it and type in a code at the check-out line (found this one out the hard way). EVERYTHING that is not prepackaged is sold by weight, and you MUST label it! Luckily, the scales in the produce area have pictures of all of the items, so I can use them easily!

13. I see Czech people running all the time to catch a tram or metro train, but that is about all of the running I have seen them do. Nobody goes for a jog down the sidewalk, or even through the park that is next to my building. I have seen many people walking through the park, whether for a stroll, walking their dog, or cutting through, and tons of people walking throughout the city, but I have not seen one person running for exercise anywhere that I have been. Good thing I get a gym membership through my internship!

14. The Czech Republic categorizes its beers based on the Balling scale. There are different categorizations based on the amount of sugar in the liquid before fermentation, and can therefore help determine the amount of alcohol in each type. However, while the Balling scale measures how much sugar is present before fermentation, it does not take how much sugar present is not able to ferment into account. Therefore, where a beer falls on the Balling scale does not hard and true tell how much alcohol that beer contains. It is possible for a beer that rates 16° on the Balling scale to contain a high percentage of sugars that do not ferment, and therefore have only the same alcohol by volume of a typical lager (usually up to about 5.7% alcohol by volume).

While the Balling to alcohol by volume correspondence  is not perfect, it provides a general guideline for how much alcohol each category (based on the Balling scale) typically contains. The categories are differentiated by degrees (i.e. 8°, 10°, etc.). The lightest category, lehké is 8°, and typically includes beers containing about 3.5% alcohol by volume. Most Czech beers fall into the výčepni category, which is classified as 8° to 10.99°, and tend to contain 3.5% to under 5% alcohol by volume. The ležák, or lager, category usually runs up to 5.7% alcohol by volume, and is classified between 11° and 12.99°. Beers classified on the Balling scale above 13° are known as special, or speciál, beers.

Tereza was trying to explain the whole degree thing to me the first night we went out to dinner, but I did not understand it completely until I happened to stumble across an article explaining the different categories and their corresponding degrees. She told me that at a concert one time she had a speciál beer of 18°, and she was on her butt after two! You definitely want to be aware of what you are drinking here!

BONUS:
15. I saw an advertisement for the Fifty Shades of Grey series of books printed in čhesky. Yikes.






Okay, so I am sure you noticed that absolutely none of these pictures are mine. The day I went on my tour was rainy and gloomy, so I haven't actually taken any. Don't worry! I plan to go back very soon, and since my tour was only an hour, that day I only saw .001% of what Prague has to offer! Pictures will come soon!!

Lastly, I just want to say that I am really starting to like this place. Prague and I have had our ups and downs over the past few days, but we were thrown into our relationship pretty quickly, and even though we were a little skeptic of each other at first, we are really starting to warm up to one another! I am praying that this is the beginning of a fervent love affair.