Cookin' Česky style #4: Bramborák

At every fast-food stand in the city of Prague, you can almost definitely get three things: a big sausage, smaženy syr (fried cheese), and bramborák (Czech potato pancakes). What's great about cooking these at home is that it's a ridiculously easy recipe (all the ingredients are to taste) that's good for parties, because A) it goes great with any alcohol, especially Czech beer, and B) everyone can help tweak the recipe to make it suit their tastes. Here's the basic way we've made it this semester.

2kg potatoes (grated)
1 head garlic, pressed
1 egg
1 Tbsp Salt
Pepper to taste
A bunch of marjoram
1 cup middle grade flour
Sunflower oil (enough to cover the pancakes you’re making)
OPTIONAL: breadcrumbs, or anything else you want

Put everything in a bowl and mix it up. If resulting mixture is too watery, add more flour (potatoes start to sweat when you add salt).

Take big scoops of the mixture and put it in the oil, spreading it out into a pancake. Let it fry until the sides turn brown, then flip. Remember: your first piece is a test, so try it and adjust the ingredients. Serve it hot, and eat it with your hands.

Cookin' Česky style #3: Tomaš's College-boy pasta sauce

Our recipe today comes from the cabinets of apparently every Czech college student. Before, I think I talked about how a lot of Czech cuisine is food from other countries, just "Czech-ified," and here's your perfect example. I wanted to know how to make this because unlike the pasta I make (using sauce from a jar), this stuff tastes great reheated (we made enough for an army last night, or as Tomaš said, enough for his lunch for the next five days).

For about 700g of pasta:
1 big yellow Onion (diced)
Sunflower oil (or olive oil)
5 cloves garlic (diced, but chunky)
Sweet paprika
Sharp paprika
Salt/pepper
280g tomato paste
Lots and lots of eidam cheese (or parm) (grated)
OPTIONAL: rosemary, oregano, basil, or any other spices you want

Dice up the onions and garlic and sauté them in the oil until the onion is transparent (or “pink” as they say here). Add about 5 knife-fuls of sweet paprika, a pinch of sharp paprika, and a little pepper. Sauté it a bit longer, but not too hot (so you don’t burn the paprika). Add the tomato paste and an equal serving of water and leave the whole thing to boil, covered, stirring every so often.

Pour it over hot pasta, and serve it with a lot of cheese on top.

Cookin' Česky style #2: Zuzana's Knedliky

What on earth would svíčková be without knedliky? These are just about as typical Czech cuisine as you can get, often considered the defining aspect of all the food here. They come in lots of varieties (salty: bread and potato, sweet: any fruit in the middle and a lot of sugar), so you never really get bored. With the svíčková I posted before, you use these delicious bundles of joy to sop up the extra sauce once you've finished the meat. Dobrou chuť!

1/3 L rough flour (look for Vondra flour in the US)
10-15g yeast
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
200mL warm or hot water
1 old rohlik (really white bread)

Put flour in a big bowl, creating a reservoir in the center. Sprinkle yeast on the edges of the hole. Add egg yolk and salt to the middle of the hole, making sure not to touch the salt to the yeast. Pour in water and stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes a dough (it’s finished when the surface is smooth and it doesn’t stick to the edges of the bowl, and you see small holes when you stir (ie, yeast is working)…you can add flour while you’re mixing if you’re worried). Leave bowl in a warm place covered with a clean blanket for 45-60min (it’s done when you can push it and it makes a dent that immediately disappears).

Cut rohlik into cubes and mix it into the now risen dough. Leave in a warm place for another 45-60min.

Cut it into two long loaves. Start water boiling with a little salt, leaving the dough covered by a blanket until the water boils. Once water boils, carefully sink the loaves into it, making sure they don’t touch the sides and burn. When water returns to a boil, cover the pot. Boil them for a total of 20 minutes, turning halfway. Then, remove from water and cut one in the middle to check if it’s done (if not, boil it some more). Poke the now-cut loaf to deflate it a little, cut into pieces and serve immediately.

Cookin' Česky style #1: Zuzana's Svíčková na smetaně

With my days dwindling here, I thought it might be the right time to finally reveal some of my favorite Czech recipes. Yesterday, Zuzana and I sat down and worked out my favorite (and JC's), known here just as svíčková (sirloin). So if you're in the mood for some česky kuchyne, here's all you need. Just a warning, these are the kinds of recipes that get passed down through the generations in families, and everyone's is different. So feel free to experiment.

For 5 people…
1kg-1.5kg sirloin beef (or other cut)
2 cans – Special canned pickled vegetables (with carrots, parsley, and celery, green paprika, onion, leeks…NOT tomato or red paprika)
whipping cream – can be 13% (use 250mL) or 30% (use 200mL)
2 Tblsp middle grade flour
Spices – Juniper, allspice, laurel, salt/pepper
OPTIONAL: bacon

PREPARE THE MEAT
OPTIONAL: Broil bacon in baking pan, then put the meat on top and bake it until the surface is gray.

Put meat into big baking pan, pour two bottles of canned veggies (spiced with juniper, allspice/pimento, laurel, salt/pepper) and some water so meat is half submerged. Bake with a lid on at highest temperature for 4 hours or until beef is soft, covering with the sauce around it every so often. Don’t burn the vegetables or they’ll be bitter.

SAUCE
When meat is finished, remove from sauce. Mix remaining veggie/water in the pot with an electric mixer until veggies are a paste. In a separate bowl, mix cream with flour. Over a flame, add cream/flour mixture to the vegetables and stir with electric mixer until boiling, being careful not to burn the cream. If mixture gets too thick, add milk. Increase thickness until you think it’s done.

OPTIONAL: pour the sauce all over your body and rub it on yourself while quietly chanting "I'm a knedlik...."

SERVE
Like in the picture up there, make two small cuts of the beef and cover it with sauce. Serve it with wild berry jam on the side, and maybe some whipped cream. Garnish with lemon if you want.

The reason I'm here, part 9723012938

Surprise surprise, I woke up sick yesterday. Just a standard cold again, but I'm really impressed with how much I've managed to be sick this semester!

I decided that since I had yet to take any sick days, I might as well take one yesterday, since almost no one would be in class (May 1st is a national holiday, so most people took long trips this weekend and came back today). I called in and told them I wouldn't be there, then went back to sleep for the rest of the morning.

Once I woke up, I spent my day actually being productive. I started and finished my final project for my producing class, and wrote the one-page trip report I had to do to get out of going on two trips with school. But before I could do more, it was time for me to accompany the family to a Czech traditional witch burning.


On the last day of April every year, Czechs burn the symbols of winter and welcome spring. I'm not sure how, but I was told that it was a witch burning, which leads me to believe that there was at least one point in history when they really did burn witches. Don't worry, they don't anymore. Now it's turned into more of a block-party type of thing, with villages raising money from their residents and breaking out the grills and the bonfires.

We began the evening with a walk through the "Czech Grand Canyon," a 5km valley on the opposite side of the river from our house that was carved out by a small river. It's a really nice place to walk (or, as Tomas pointed out, a nice place to go with a girl when you're 14. Yes, he said 14). Then we walked through the village over there and ended up at a big soccer field, where the bonfire was already burning.

About a hundred villagers (or village people, as Jonas called them with a smile) were milling about at picnic tables, playing soccer (we had apparently just missed the big match against their rival town), or warming themselves by the fire (it's been chilly here the past few days), all to the tune of a real, live, authentic, cowboy hat and boot wearing, beard sporting, guitar playing, Czech singing country western band. Bad Moon Rising never sounded so good (and the whole "there's a bathroom on the right" thing apparently doesn't work in Czech).

Tomaš and Zuzana have friends in this village, and they were there with their daughter. We all treated ourselves to a sausage and a beer and settled down on a bench near the fire (two fast-food style culinary delights I will miss: sausages and gyros/doner kebabs. How will I live without them?). Jonaš and I got to have some really nice conversations about movies and other stuff, and he was doing a prodigious job switching between speaking to me in English and to the other couple's daughter, who only spoke Czech.

The man of the couple spoke English very well (he's a businessman for an American company's branch in Prague), and he was a really great guy, so we got to talking quickly. He was really interested in what I thought of Prague, if I liked the food, what I thought of living with the Jančářiks, and about me in general.

And of course, with a little alcohol, the conversation quickly got very interesting. Things I learned last night:

-When asked what my favorite part of living in the house was, I quickly answered that it was my morning breakfasts with Tomaš, where we try to talk to each other about important things like politics, but have so much trouble understanding each other that we end up just resorting to "I think it's stupid!" "I agree!" Tomas, however, then told everyone that he always thinks we understand each other perfectly, until he finds out later in the day that he hasn't understood a word.

-On just about a nightly basis, I tell Tomas and Zuzana as I'm leaving the house, "I'm going to Dan's." Well, for the past three months they've apparently thought I was saying "I'm going to dance."

Which got me wondering...what on Earth did they think of me all these months...

The night wore on, the fire began to turn into embers, and I of coursed felt it the appropriate time to ask Jonaš where the marshmallows were. "Oh, we don't really do that here." WHAAAAAA???? Yes, that is correct folks, they don't roast marshmallows by the fire outside of the US and Canada. With the fire at the perfect temperature, I was dying for a s'more, and I said so to Jonas. "What's a s'more?"

It feels like I've been waiting a lifetime for the proper time to actually use this quote in context. "YOU'RE KILLING ME, SMALLS!"

The evening ended with a delightfully enjoyable, though slightly awkward for both of us, dance with Zuzana. Apparently I'm a good dancer. They certainly think so, with all the practice I've apparently had.

As midnight approached, we headed back to the tram...but there's still time for another drink right? (Jesu Maria! Zuzana cried) Two bars later, we resorted to a Herna bar (the ones open nonstop with casino games in them) down the block. When even that was closed, it was time to head home. We had a family snack, and all went to bed.

May 1st is a holiday in a lot of places, and here it was started as Labor Day during communism. Since 89, it's not called Labor Day, but they still get the day off. Everything closes, and people just kinda chill all day. I took the cue, woke up late, and then had yet another productive day. With only two papers between me and the end of my semester, I decided today was the day to just crank out one of them. So I did. Unfortunately that also meant I didn't post any pictures...

By the way, the Prague Post tells me

The Czech Republic and other East European countries serve the world’s unhealthiest fast food, according to a Danish study. Nutritionist Steen Stender said that fast food here contains some of the highest levels of trans fat, which he called a “silent killer.” (Don't believe me?)

My thoughts are with VA Tech

After I finished my last post, I went to Dan's and walked into an apartment of guys crouched over a computer screen, using the SlingBox to watch coverage of the VA Tech massacre. It didn't really hit me at first how far reaching this is. Along with all those people gone, something else came to a screeching halt on Monday - going to college in the US will most likely never be as free, just like how going to high school changed after Columbine. I won't say much more here, since I'm sure you're tired of reading about it and I don't want to talk politics on this blog (if you're not tired of it, check out my sister's thoughts from Australia and I've found Xeni Jardin's ongoing analysis on boingboing.net really interesting. And the wikipedia article on this thing is really astounding). I think it'd be accurate to say it's the end of the age of innocence for the American college experience.

On to sunnier topics...

Yesterday, as predicted, was spent roaming around town with Mom and Dad, making some last purchases, and then finally taking a nap. I got a phone call at around 5pm from someone involved with the Prague Playhouse (the group that produced my play). They want me to play a role in a staged reading they're putting on in a few weeks. The part seems really fun, full of improv; I hope I'll be in town to do it! Had a great dinner last night with Mom, Dad, and Dan, then said goodbye till May, and went out on the town with Dan and some other folks.

Which made today, my classically busiest day of the week, quite the experience to get through. It certainly had its highlights, though - my Cinematographer's Influence class, while being a large waste of time for all students involved, has established a kind of irresistible charm to it. There's something so cute about how drunk our professor always seems, the way he'll ask a question, and then in the process of explaining the question will suddenly ask another question (completely unrelated), and then expect the class to know which one we're supposed to answer. And when we do answer, as I did a few times today, if we get it wrong, we get one of a few classic responses (today, I said something was the index of reflection and he responded by looking me straight in the eye and saying "I go to kill myself now." I'm still not sure if I was wrong or right). And then my last class was canceled.

At home for the evening, I read some more news articles and took a nap before dinner. With Zuzana gone, I'm being introduced to a whole new side of Czech cooking, what Tomas says are all the dishes college students all make for themselves. So we began the week with that Slovak dish, and tonight we had another new delicacy: fried bread. Bread, soaked in garlic oil and fried like French toast, served with beer of course. The great thing about Czech food is it's all comfort food!

Tomorrow I'll relax some more, and probably Friday too. This weekend, Dan and I are thinking of spending a day at the spa town of Karlovy Vary. Assuming we go, it will be our last weekend trip together...I know I'm upset, and I'm sure the thought of no more stories of Dan seriously injuring himself is upsetting to you too.

Settling back in

After a whirlwind few weeks, today I finally started to settle back into things back in Prague, knowing I'm not traveling this weekend. Phew!

So I relaxed a bunch all day. Went to a lecture in the afternoon by a renowned Czech folk singer named Jaroslav Hutka who, surprise surprise, was another figure in the Underground (yep, that's him over there. I love that picture because he was so mild mannered in person). He released two records before 1977, and the guy's lyrics were so influential that they deported him (real folky stuff like "Powerful is the weapon, more powerful is the truth. What's the most powerful? The truthful word"). He spent 10 years in Holland, traveling the world with his music, before moving back to Prague after 1989. Now, he's still got no record label, but he publishes essays all the time, and sells his music at his concerts on home-made CDs (if you search for his image on Google, you find one of him making the CDs...of course I bought one).

I love talking to incredibly intelligent people like that. And it was a perfect compliment to the book I started this weekend, Brave New World (Man, I'm gettin into this utopian community stuff...). I read for a few hours today, all outside thanks to the absolutely unbelievable weather, then headed home for dinner.

Zuzana's at a conference kind of thing all week, so Tomas treated me and himself to a typical slovak dish - small chunks of boiled dough in a sauce of sheep's cheese and pieces of salty pork. As I started to open a bottle of water to have with it, I heard "ne! ne! ne!" ("ok fine, I'll have beer with it," I thought). "With this, you must have milk!"

Needless to say, it caught this little Jew off guard. But judging by his pouring milk into a glass for me, I knew he was serious (realize that milk here is not actual milk. The Czech value of fresh foods means no preservatives in their milk, so the real stuff goes bad in a day or two. Everyone uses a kind of artificial, 'plastic' milk. I think it's soy...but it might not be). And you know what? Just like every other meal I've had here, it was delicious.

Tonight I'm heading to Dan's place, since I haven't seen him in a week. Tomorrow Mom and Dad are back in town for one last day, and I'm sure it'll be as busy as they all were last week.

It's still light outside

Spring has most certainly sprung now, since the clocks changed. I'm completely thrown off by how late the sun is out! It makes me feel guilty for being at home, inside. I'm going to start carrying a book around with me so I can always stop in a park and do some reading whenever I find myself with nothing to do (I'm trying to read more books. I feel like I don't have time to read for pleasure at home).

Which is exactly what happened today. Class ended at five and the sun was still bright in the sky, so I took a walk around the Vysehrad area and found myself gazing, once again, over this fantastic city. I love how familiar the skyline looks now - between my Art and Architecture of Prague class and my own sightseeing, I've managed to get at least a little background on almost all of the most prominent buildings. That familiarity that was missing at the beginning of this trip? Well, when I got off the plane yesterday and took the bus back into the city, I suddenly felt at home, relieved to be not understanding Czech again (as opposed to not understanding French and German). Guess I'm familiar now.

Another sign of this: Zuzana's cooking dinner right now, and told me we'd make garlic mashed potatoes again, like last time. I said "but Tomas didn't like them!" And she replied "he'll have the plain ones, we'll have the garlic" and smiled in that sneaky way mothers do that seems to say ain't he boring?? Familiarity and family. And I'm thousands of miles from home. (Or am I? Oh now I'm going back to a very old argument of mine...)

The warmer weather reminds me even more of home, as in Northbrook home. I'm remembering how much I always loved that first day of warm weather in high school, the first day when you could take off your jacket on your way to your car and leave the windows open while you drove home, music loud, drumming on the steering wheel. And around Vysehrad today, there was a smell of a grill coming from a restaurant that to me could only mean Memorial Day or July 4th.

I love this time of year, if you can't tell, and I'm excited to spend it here. This weekend I'm traveling with my program to southern Bohemia, a town (and UNESCO World Heritage site) called česky Krumlov. The next weekend, Dan and I hit Amsterdam. And then, before I know it, my parents are visiting and we're driving to Budapest. With less than two months remaining here, I'm just excited to let it all happen!

Spring break begins

Midterms are over, the temperatures are still balmy (for now), and I am officially on spring break. Not a moment too soon - it's high time I did some traveling around Europe, don't you agree? My trip to Switzerland is going to be awesome.

There's nothing truly like waking up in the morning (afternoon) in a foreign country, where you've been living for only two months (as of Friday), and opening up the newspaper to see your own face staring back at you. No, I wasn't arrested (yet), but there's an ad for the play in this week's Prague Post, and my picture is in it. This whole experience just keeps getting more surreal.

Yesterday, I went with Tomas and Zuzana to a family gathering of sorts, celebrating a cousin's birthday (and, we found out, to announce her pregnancy). I always find it really fun to be in a room full of people speaking Czech. I've become a master of people watching and pantomiming as a result. The food at this little lunch affair was absolutely incredible (pork, cous cous, ridiculous cakes, including JC's favorite babovka, beer, espresso), and it's always interesting to see how people react to me, the first student this family has ever hosted. Highlight of the afternoon, though, was when the five-year-old son of Tomas's cousin (the one who directs the wonderful Baroque music group) tested out his English skills by calling me "small." I said "you're small!" He pointed at me and said "Taky [also] small!"

I rushed from there to the theater, and had to take a nap in the dressing room. The show went very well again last night, and the audience was our biggest yet. Afterwards, Dan and I met some people from his program (they had come to the show...everyone from my program is on vacation already, remember) and along the way, we were recognized by a few people who had seen the show. Now, admittedly, we're a pretty physically memorable pair of guys. But I'm still kinda floored.

Last night was a great night. I love hanging out with Dan's friends (I can and do call them my own friends at this point, but it's easier to refer to them as "Dan's friends" so you don't get confused), probably more than I've enjoyed people from CIEE. We hopped from bar to bar to club last night, dancing and talking the whole way.

My hair is really long. Not like really long like it was when I left LA, really long like when it's wet it easily blocks my vision. When it's dry, it's the same length, only sticking straight up, and there's nothing I can do to make it do anything else. On the sides, it sticks out like a pair of wings, but no matter how fast I run I haven't been able to take off yet. Rob made a great comment about it on my Facebook wall: "i was perusing your photos, and noticed that your izro (israeli fro) paired with your new glasses makes you look more jewish than jesus."

Today will be a day of recovery, filled with basketball and doing as little as possible. If USC beats Texas, I might be able to recall my hitmen from their "murder Vince Young" mission. But only maybe.

A fantastic dinner conversation

Dinner tonight was awesome. Food was great, of course, but conversation!

First, Vaclav talked about his night last night, where two female friends of his got very drunk and started making out, then asked Vaclav to be their...um...he asks, "How do you call a man who owns bitches?"

Then, we talked about my parents' visit (in a month). Mom and dad want to take the Jančařikovi out to a nice dinner to thank them for hosting me, of course, so I suggested we go to Kampa Park, a very nice restaurant, expensive for Prague but normal for its status. This seemed fine, but I became aware of Tomaš not really approving. He gets uncomfortable in restaurants like that, Vaclav and Zuzana explained. They spent a few minutes trying to explain why, but Tomas was getting more and more frustrated, feeling like they weren't representing his views fairly.

So he got up and tried himself, and I finally understood. In his words, he can't go to a place like that and pay that much for a meal without thinking of all the meals it could have bought someone more deserving. He grabbed a dictionary and looked up the word he was trying to use, then asked me if I thought he was stingy with his family, with his house, and of course I said no, because he certainly isn't. A place like that seems really wasteful to him, he explained with lots of hand gestures (for a minute I thought he might accidentally hit Zuzana) and a raised tone of voice. Vaclav explained that for a special occasion, it's ok to go somewhere like that. But still, Tomas stuck by his opinion of being economical, environmental (we never waste water or electricity here), and generally conscious of using too much of anything.

Well, there you have it. Tonight, I pinpointed the major difference in culture between Americans and Czechs, the one to which all other differences can be related. For my family, going to a nice (read: expensive) restaurant for a special occasion is second nature -- we celebrate by consuming more than normal. But this is not a very consumerist-oriented society (yet). They've only started to get that kind of Western influence since 1989. So, as Tomas explained, go somewhere with a nice view, have a beer or a coffee, and that is more valuable than going to a nice restaurant.

I've been trying to find a way to best explain to all you readers how the effects of Communism and totalitarianism are still very visible here, and I think this is a perfect example. Of course! We can't go to Kampa Park, that's the restaurant for Westerners visiting Prague; the average Czech probably wouldn't set foot in it unless he or she was working there. So instead, we'll go to a nice restaurant on Petřin hill, where you can eat outside in nice weather and get the unarguably best views of Prague. That will be a celebration.

I got lost again

But this time it was purposeful!

Back up - yesterday was a very lazy day (well deserved in my opinion after three days of rehearsals, classes, and general running-around. Plus it was raining). After dinner, I headed into the city and spent some more time with Dan and the folks from his program. Honestly, I see them more than people from my own program - is that an issue?

So today I woke up -- actually I don't think it should be called that. We need to invent a word that implies what happens when you wake up but you're still sleeping and staggering around everywhere. Let's say...began to re-enter consciousness.

So today I began to re-enter consciousness and went to class, where I inadvertently discovered how to tell someone, in Czech, that I want to have sex this weekend.

After class (and a heated self-debate over whether I was more hungry then tired or the other way around. I have those more and more frequently), Steph and I headed to Bohemia Bagel for lunch (I was craving some lox). When about five other people showed up, none of whom had a point of conversation with me, I decided it best to call it a day and either head back home for a nap, or head to a park for some reading (another beautiful day today). I found my body compelling me toward the funicular (that's like a tram, only...funicul-er?) up to Petrin hill.

When I reached the top, I started walking. I don't really know why, but I just kept going and going. Maybe it was the weather - it reminded me of those fall days when my dad and I always used to take walks around the block and call it exercise. Whatever the reason, I just walked through the labyrinthine trails around the hill, happening to stumble upon some of the best views of Prague Castle, an observatory, and meandering around a big, old wall. It was a great walk.

Came home, took a nap, and then helped Zuzana with a new recipe - last night, we had mashed potatoes with a big kielbasa, and when asked if we had mashed potatoes in the US, I replied that it was a personal favorite, especially with garlic. Garlic?? In mashed potatoes?? It seemed so strange to them! So we made some tonight, just like they are at home - nice and fluffy with butter, cream, and sauteed garlic. They were really delicious, and it was nice to expose the fam to a new piece of American culture. But I think Tomas will stick to the Czech kind.

It dawned on me today that my play opens tomorrow. Crazy! Makes me feel like I've been here for so long.

A beautiful, relaxing, lazy Sunday

Finally posted new pics on Flickr! Including Krakow stuff. So check it out!

Woke up late, had some coffee, hung out for a while, then enjoyed a feast for the ages prepared by Zuzana to celebrate Dan's and Vaclav's birthdays (both today). An awesome meal of one of my favorite Czech dishes (I forget what it's called now, but it's beef in a sweet cream sauce, served with jam and bread dumplings....oh wow...), followed by a compulsory nap (seriously, nothing could keep any of us awake). Rest of the day has been emails, posting pictures, and reading the news...glorious.

Tomorrow is more class, then rehearsal. I've been trying to get some shopping done, maybe I'll do that too...

Food, Fun, Friends, and a workout

I have to say, writing this blog has been quite the interesting experience so far. My host family reads it all the time, and clears up any confusions I have about any of the Czech things I write about! It's an interactive experience.

I haven't yet described my typical day so far, which is actually kinda interesting. I start every day with a shower, as always...but Czech showers are not the stand-up-and-rinse style. The shower actually isn't a shower at all - it's a bathtub, with no shower curtain and a shower handle faucet. One has to sit in the tub and run the faucet over the body, turning it off to put on shampoo, etc. Makes me very very happy it's not cold outside right now, or this would be a freezing experience.

Then, there's some breakfast (more about that later), and about a 45min trip (walk, bus ride, metro, walk) to the CIEE study center in Vyšehrad (I got my computer to type in Czech!). The house is on top of one hill...but at the middle of another, bigger hill...so to get to the bus stop I have to climb about 150m up a hill that, I swear, has a 60 degree grade. And teeth. Then it's a short bus ride to the metro stop (public trans is fantastic here, and immaculately clean), followed by another 15 min walk. So I'm getting my exercise. (Pics of this are on the flickr)

Which is a good thing, considering the food. Now, I'd never knock any food of course, and, surprisingly enough, I've had absolutely no gastronomical problems since I've been here (which, if you know me, you know is incredible). But Czech food is a completely different experience from anything else I've ever eaten. For three days now, I've eaten just about nothing but bread, meat, and potatoes, with one or all of the above food items having been fried. Tastes incredible. But WOW that whole trying to stay away from bread thing has gone out the window! So, considering the food and the excessive beer (more on that later), I'll probably come home with calves of steel and a stomach of down feathers.

So after our short tour with our Czech buddies yesterday (I went into Old Town square. Incredible pics on the flickr of that too), our housing director, recognizing that the people in homestays will have a more difficult time meeting people, brought us all to a pub to hang out for a bit. After some drama (Jonas was supposed to pick me up from school and guide me back home, and also give me a house key. and I was supposed to meet Dan earlier), it was a great time. There are some awesome people on this trip who I'm excited to spend more time with. I tried not to order very much, because I kinda figured I'd still be getting dinner at home. But...they knew I'd be here, so maybe they had eaten without me...my hunger got the best of me. I ate the endings of several people's huge meals (a pork chop, some fantastic fried bread, and a bite or two of duck). And, of course, a beer.

Then I went home, managed to get in contact with Dan, and was heading out the door...just in time for dinner to be ready!

Now, let me explain the most important of Czech customs. No means yes. Saying no implies with it the assumption by the other party that you're just being modest, you're embarrassed to say yes. So when offering food, "no" is followed by piling food on your plate. I said no. And ate a lot more (fried meat and rice).

Then I went to meet Dan and Sheldon at their hotel in the center of town. And had another dinner (well this time I didn't really eat. I just had a beer.)

Which brings me to my next point (this is turning into quite the lecture!). When you come to Prague, people tell you that you must expect to drink beer. They are lying. Don't expect to drink beer. Start drinking it, constantly, now, so you can develop a tolerance that might (...might) enable you to still function as a human being here. Rejecting beer isn't really taken seriously here (see above custom). So, when you're on your third, fourth beer of the day (was it that many?) and you didn't mean to drink one (at least not on an empty stomach)...let's just say this lightweight needs to learn to go to class with a buzz.

This post is getting long. I'll end it here and start a new one for today. Dobry den!

Lucky

Alright, now that I've caught up on all the posts I wrote but didn't publish, I can finally talk about the rest of the day. And trust me, you want to hear about this one.

Of course there were people form the program on my flight from London to Prague. I didn't get much of a chance to chat though, since I attempted to sleep the whole flight (with some success).

After customs and baggage claim, I walked into the main terminal and found a group of 20somethings that was clearly the CIEE group. I found Paige, said hello, and went to check in with the important people, figuring I'd be sitting there for a bit waiting for my fam to pick me up and would therefore have time to talk some more to Paige. What do we know about assumptions, friends? Vaclav (VAHTS-lav), my 23-year-old host brother, was waiting for me and quickly whisked me off into a car with my host father, Tomas (to-MAHSH).

On the way back, Tomas took the scenic route and showed me "Czech Hollywood" (the town's name escapes me now). Very cool - it's like a small studio city!

I couldn't have been placed with a better family. The house is right on the river at the top of a hill, making the view at sunset just about the best in the city. The whole family is full of energy, constantly doing things and helping other people. Vaclav and Jonas (YO-nahsh) are awesome guys with great senses of humor. Jonas is the man with the plan on the computer - he hooked me up when the wireless wasn't working.

Oh yeah, they have WiFi.

I haven't met Zuzana quite yet, but I spoke to her on the phone and she seems to fit into this pattern quite well. Tomas is completely insane. Not in a "this guy is a threat to himself and others" way, but more of a "this guy doesn't even realize how fantastically hilarious he is" way. I am in love.

A few Tomas quotes from day 1:

Tomas (in broken English): "Czech people are all atheists. I'm a Christian atheist, my wife is a Jew atheist"
Vaclav: "And I'm a Muslim atheist"

after talking about a man who had been in the news lately who had raped 11-year old boys:
Tomas: "We don't do 11-year-old boys here. 20 year old girls, on the other hand..."

Tomas: "I speak fluent German. Most Czechs do"
Me: "You don't speak Russian?"
Tomas: "Ech! I can understand it, of course, I'm probably fluent, so is probably everyone. But it's not our language. Communist language!"

He and I took a bike ride ("WAIT, Ev. A bike ride? You're 5 feet tall. There's no WAY they had a bike that fit you." Ah, but you forget Tomas's bike from the 1960s, the one with the wheels of radius 3in and the lowrider handlebars. There will be flickr pics) Anyway, we took a bike ride around the neighborhood, up a hill that I swear was about a 60 degree grade, and around to a really amazing lookout point. After pointing out the sites (you can see all of Prague) and mentioning the spot on this hill where he and his wife used to make love, we were off back down the 60 degree graded hill (did I mention that this bike only has a front break? cuz yeah almost died) toward a really nice trail by the river.

I woke up at 2:45am. I don't know what time it is in my head anymore. For lunch, before the bike ride, I dunno what we had, but it was delicious and (not surprisingly) filled with ground meat (it was turkey though!) and topped with fresh cheese. Then I proceeded to have the most physical activity I've had since Honors Gym class in high school. And tonight Tomas is taking me to a pub (or "pop" as the call them. and then they mock me by repeating over and over "PUHHHHHHUUUHHHB"). Holy fuck do I need a nap.

Prague is siick.