Morava očima Amy

Myslím, že to zde nesmí chybět. Představa, jak je ČR vnímána očima Kanaďanky. Pro strojový překlad klikni zde, bohužel překlad je fakt otřesný :)  

I would consider myself a true die hard Canadian girl. A real toque wearing, snow loving, plaid shirt lounging, maple syrup eating, untamed hair flying in the northern wind kind of girl. This is why the adventure truly begins to start the minute this Canadian girl only begins packing for a trip to visit the alluring Czech Republic, the country that not in a million years would I have imagined would play such a huge role in my life. 

I struggle with fashion, or style (is it the same thing?) in my own country, and now I was placing expectations on myself to fit into a European culture? I should have told myself tough luck from the beginning and just went with my Carhartts and plaid shirt. Would have saved a lot of room in the end. But ambitious Amy threw in her fancy New Years Eve dress that would make her husband drop to his knees, just in case it was an elaborate event that evening. It wasn’t until the day we arrived and I was unpacking that my husband casually questioned the fancy shoes I had in my bag…apparently the vision I had dreamt of some fancy European cocktail New Year’s party would never happen, Czech done the Soudek way is always sporty. So those shoes and that dress never made it out of the bag. It was at this point that I decided to throw away the ambitions of a Canadian fitting into a Czech world, and focused on just being me, the oddly goofy, wild at heart Canadian girl that married a Czech…

You do not quite realize that what is normal to you is not normal to other cultures until you step into their world. I realize that my very short experience in this new culture was exposed to me through the routine’s of one family, and that not all people living in the Czech Republic live life this way. Regardless, my wandering eye was able to speculate a lot of interesting ways of life about this new environment I was in. Things that made me grateful for the land I come from, and ponderings that had me questioning why my homeland could not adopt such ways of life. 

  

I had been in the Czech Republic before, but as I have been told, not the true part of the country. Three days in the capitol doing touristy activities came no where close to revealing the hearts of the people. My first experience living a “normal life” in the city of Brno, started at a grocery store. It is nice to see that the concept of gluten free foods has spread far and wide and I found the variable selection of rice cakes at a local Billa even more desirable than those offered back home. With instructions to fill the cart with all of my special dietary needs, one hand with peanut butter and the other bananas, I was all set. Which leads me to a jaw dropping realization about Czechs. But first, a little bit of history. I grew up in a society where everyone knows the acronym PBJ, you know, peanut butter and jam sandwiches…it was a trading staple at lunch time on the play ground, the best Saturday afternoon snack or lazy Sunday dinner. Peanut butter is as part of my world as brushing my teeth 3 times a day! And half the Czechs have never even had this piece of heaven on their tongue! Peanut butter is as common over there as Goober is here (see? You probably don’t even know what Goober is!)! I was flabbergasted. 

Due to our short stay in the Czech Republic, there was obviously no time to sleep away our jet lag, we hit the ground running I guess you could say. Making a first impression is something maybe I care too much about, usually. I am used to allotting myself the amount of time needed to feel put-together enough to be introduced as the most privileged married woman, or my husband’s wife…unfortunately, I do not even want to know the impression I left on not only my husband’s friends, but my father-in-laws prestigious acquaintances and business partners in those first couple of days. I am pretty sure I was a walking zombie in a red coat, shaking hands and smiling, too eager to be a part of every experience I possibly could, to stay home and sleep. I remember a lot of looks that said “oh she is so adorable, and trying to speak our language too.” The laughter at my ambitious attempt to even pronounce “Cau” could have been one of two things. I will tell myself the latter.

I will never fully understand because I do not speak more than one language, however I can imagine that being in a conversation and trying to be engaged as well as translate so another may have a hint of understanding, must be incredibly taxing on the brain. No matter how many times I tried to convince my husband and father-in-law that I was completely ok with just listening and trying to pick out words for myself, or that I was not awkward in a small social gathering when everyone was laughing at a joke but me, they insisted on translating as much as they could, whenever they could…and for that I am infinitely grateful.

You can observe a lot about a land and its people by just slowly walking down the cobblestone streets, glittered with holiday lights, dusted with freshly falling snow and a warm KofiKofi in hand. People in the Czech Republic have a way of keeping themselves bound. They are not free to just be. There is way too much history, ancestry, stories and collective pride that still sets the rules and guides the people to live in such a way that is so structured. It shows up in the language, the way people conduct themselves, the traditions and age old customs. Walking down the streets with such monumental architecture everywhere, the structures that date back past the 15th century stand with almost a personified presence to their name. Like an all seeing eye looking down on it’s people ensuring etiquette, timeliness and poise. The buildings that create a fairy tale feel in these lands also make their mark in a sort of structural wisdom sort of manner. As if they are great great great grandparents making sure the behavior in the social culture exemplifies the hard work and application that has brought them to where they are today.

In no way does this mean these people do not know how to relax and enjoy socializing. When there is work to be done, they work. When a time calls for being merry and enjoying one another’s company, no one knows how to do that better than the Czechs. I have never experienced so much sitting and talking and drinking of wine and eating of such tastefully tantalizing foods. Gathering after gathering with friends and relatives and food, presented such rich engagements and new flavours my tongue has never experienced. Back home if you are invited over to someone’s home for a visit, you may be offered tea or coffee or maybe if you are lucky a plate of goodies to go with the hot drink. But in Czech! Oh boy, no matter what day, what time of day or where you have come from, you better find your 3rd stomach and be ready to fill it. A dazzling spread of food and wines are spread out before you and there is no tolerance for saying no… to anything. These people know how to host.

Christmas is such a great time to visit Europe because of the way the communities come together and celebrate. The well known festive markets set up in every center square create an environment of community, warmth and cheer. However, part of me is skeptical the last three ingredients are all just inside the little cup of turbomost that you can find everyone holding. This delightful, but potent little drink, along with mulled wine and spiked apple cider, as I learned, can heat up much more than your hands! Another eye opener is the ability for these people to drink legally and openly in public and not abuse or misuse this way of life. Vendors of handcrafted everything and homemade anything all come together and sell their items through wooden shelters stacked one by one beside each other. A band plays Christmas songs on a local stage and Christmas in the sense of togetherness, relationships and thankfulness is formed. The actual celebration of Christmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th with immediate family. The day leading up to this is busy with decorating the tree, food preparation and ideally a fasting until the big feast. This is an old tradition that if you do not eat all day, when the big meal finally comes you will see a golden pig on the wall which will bring good luck. I believe the Canadian girl in the Soudek family was the only one that carried out the tradition this year, and to her dismay there was no golden pig on the wall. Instead though she found the most delicious fried carp, potato salad and schnitzel, all done in a gluten free batter on her plate. What a meal!

To say I was blessed to visit my new family over the holidays in this country is an understatement. The rest of our trip was filled with meeting people that have all played some role and continue to in my husband’s life and was incredibly enlightening for me. It was an honor to meet his family and friends that have shaped him and bring him so much joy. Through these many diverse engagements I also learned what not to do in the Czech Republic. I found myself at an intimate gathering with my father-in-law’s side of the family, meeting my new aunty and grandmother for the first time. Grandma is pronounced “Babicka” in Czech or for short “Babi.” I kept repeating the pronunciation of these words over and over in my head, because the smile on my new Babi’s face when she heard me call her this was irreplaceable. When you are a Canadian girl trying to speak Czech terms everyone watches you and all attention is on the quirky way the words come out of your mouth. This was the case as I was saying “Ciao” and “Dekuju” for the wonderful visit and food and gifts. Feeling pretty bold at this point, in a loud voice I proudly looked over to “Grandma” and said “Baba.” A mortified expression came over this poor woman’s face and the room went silent as all smiles disappeared. My husband kindly leaned over and quietly informed me to never say Baba as I just called her an ugly witch in a very rude way. 

 

Another engagement with a very close and dear friend brought us to a lively pub in the center of Brno. Great conversation and reminiscing with laughter and catching up had the three of us in a healthy mood. Fortunately for my husband, this friend spoke English so he was able to catch a translating break. At one point during the visit I realized I had become quite hungry. At home I am always prepared with some sort of snack in my bag because often restaurants do not accommodate my dietary needs. It was never abnormal for me to pull out a small granola bar or piece of fruit and eat it along with the drink I had ordered. Maybe it was the thick haze of cigarette smoke I was breathing in that clouded my judgement as I casually brought a teeny tiny mandarin orange out of my purse and was about to peel it. I stopped and looked up when I realized the conversation had suddenly halted and both men were looking at me with appalled expressions. Apparently this act was a disgrace to society and I very quickly put that orange back in my bag and decided to befriend the strange growls coming from my stomach. Then I wondered this whole time if I had missed the boat with a rude social behaviour back home as well?

One of our last days in Brno had us running errands, saying final good-byes and attending a couple formal business meetings. I was a pro by this time of greeting my husband’s close friends and family with the familiar “Cau” or “Ahoj” which is correct when greeting familiar and close relationships. I completely forgot to switch gears when attending a formal bank meeting and greeting the financial advisor I exuberantly smiled and gave her a “Cau!” My face turned a bright red when I was corrected that “Dobry den” would work for this setting, very politely by my husband. In the end I was told that my casual greeting had turned the whole meeting around into a more relaxed, casual conversation because it broke down the walls of formality instantly with the advisor.

I could write for days about the cultural differences between my husband’s homeland and my own. Little things noticed in marketing, or the fact that men open doors for women and hold their jackets for them to put on or the pressure felt in society to fit in or belong in the way that everyone dresses the same, acts the same and fears to be viewed as not acceptable in society. These people advocate a real genuine adoration and gratitude for respect and friendship. A real pride for their country flourishes, so much so that the joking in often a very rude manner about other people and ethnicities is enough to make any Canadian blush. The way older generations value their freedom to be, the difference in value systems between the East(Moravia) and West(Bohemia) part of the country and the stern, unfriendly masks the people initially wear, are all aspects of this unique, but majestically beautiful country. I am thankful I was able to go beyond these masks and experience the true, big hearts of these people, their giving spirits and just like everyone else in this whole damned world, a society that needs unconditional love.

My life is more colorful, embellished, and enriched from this entire Christmas with my family in Czech…however the one thing that stands out the most, is the eyes of the people in this country. I do not know if it’s the air they breathe, the food they eat, probably, most definitely the wine they drink…but whatever it is, I have never seen a people with more brightness in their eyes. So to me, the Czech Republic will always be known as, Land of the Bright Eyes.