the terrors of expat living

truly bad times are few and far between here, but stepping outside your comfort zone (and your lingusitic homeland) comes with its inevitable moments of anxiety. generally, the mundane tasks are the most difficult. especially if, like me, you are overly independent and insist on trying to do everything yourself. for example, haircut days are always incredibly tense.

this time, I decided to chop off most of my hair and get it dyed as well. I was bored and needed a bit of a change. It occured to me about twenty minutes in that attempting to negotiate this transaction in what is my thritd or fourth language, depending on how you count, might have been a touch optimistic. As sometimes happens, the conversation was going surprisingly well until I suddenly just ran out of vocabulary. I found myself unable to explain any further the details of what I wanted and could only half coprehend what she was telling me. So, I did what any self-respecting expat would have done. I feigned understanding and just agreed with her until she felt we had reached an appropriate conclusion.  Now, blindly agreeing with a central european barber is not something one should ever do, but if you've ever lived abroad I'm sure you've done the same. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the result. Its rather shorter than I intended, but at least its different.

czech haircut: if its not a mullet, it counts as a win.

I also braved a bike trip with my ridiculously athletic co-teacher and her boyfriend. They're rather stereotypically czech in that the seem to spend every weekend in the mountains (climbing them, skiiing them, biking them, whatever) and  when they go riding they go dressed like pros. When I showed up in tennis shoes and a skirt, they should have realized what they were in for. I had to borrow a bike from their neighbor, which i suspect was a child's bike. With the exception of two rather disasterous attempts in Berlin and Vitenam, I haven't touched a bicycle since I was about 12. But, after a practice lap around the block, I was ready for what they promised would be a smooth, easy ride. It was great. We rode around the Olesna dam, which is lovely, and I managed to remain on the bike without maiming myself or any innocent bystanders. Nor did I fall into the lake.

Of course, by the time we got to the lake my hands ached terribly because I was clutching the handlebars for dear life. Really, I was so nervous that even though we were just gliding down a hill my heart was pounding like we were skydiving. Such was my confidence level when we set off at 10:30 this morning. I don't think I'll be heading into the mountains any time soon, but future bike rides are looking much more feasible. Well done czech republic, for making me do one thing every week that scares me. I think its good for me.

Bohemian cooking with Rajčel

So here's my first attempt at making Bramborak, traditional czech potato pancakes. They looked a bit messy, but tasted pretty good. (As I'm my mother's daughter I ate these with applesauce, something no Czech would ever do.)

The recipie, which I got from a colleauge, is fairly simple:

-grate some potatoes, then press all the water out.
-grate a clove or two of garlic.
-add marjoram, salt and cumin
(the cumin/carroway seed is optional, but recommended)
-add a bit of flower, to help it stick together
-add an egg or two, and mix.

Fry the whole thing and tady to je! Bramboraky.

Pissing Sophie and other czech lessons

Today is sunday and, as everyone expected, its raining rather vigorously. I knew it would rain today, not beause weather.com told me so but because of the czech legend of the three frozen men and pissing sophie (or, as she is called in czech, Zofie).

To back up for a moment, for our non-czech readers, the czechs have a long tradition of name days. Each and every czech name, from Aneta to Zbysek (and yes, that last one is a real name. it should have a hacek over the s though) has a special day ascribed to it on the calendar.

The weather here is fairly changeable in spring, but the czechs have a traditional way of gauging when the weather will make a definitive turn for the better. This is where the legend comes in. In early may, the weather is subject to sudden changes, and a freak cold spell is not unheard of. Thus Pankrac, Sverac and Bonifac (otherwise known as May 12, 13 &14) are often refered to as the "three frozen men", either because it is often cold on those days or beause these names are so odd and oldfashioned that not even czechs will use them anymore.

Today, may 15th, belongs to Zofie, alias Sophie. Because it almost always rains on her day (this year being no exception), she has picked up the rather unfortunate but amusing nickname mentioned above.

Tomorrow should hopefully be, er, dryer. =)

First May in Moravia

Hello friends!

Today is May 1st (what, already?) or, as my students like to call it, first May. In addition to being labor day (which was a big deal when they were a communist country) it is also czech valentines day. I tend to like the Moravian version better, becuase there are no Hallmark cards or obligatory roses. All you need to do to celebrate first may is to kiss your sweetheart under a cherry tree. I'm told any blooming tree will work, but the cherry tree is preferable. Cute.

Sadly I have no boy this first may and, my botany skills being somewhat lacking, I probably couldn't identify a cherry tree anyhow. Something to keep in mind for next year. Those of you playing on US soil, however, still have plenty of time.

Enjoy!