Here in Munich, things are crowded, so people bump into each other out in the street and don't always say "bitte" (excuse me). In this respect, it's like New York City, where I grew up.
But people are friendly here. They make casual conversation with those they don't know, and don't avoid eye contact like New Yorkers and people in Prague.
Public conduct varies by culture. Last week, I was on a tram with my friend Michelle, who hails from Marion Virginia. A man who was making for the door shoved me out of the way without so much as an "excuse me." Michelle was horrified by what she perceived as a total absence of manners. I was not. I'd grown up riding the subway, where people use their elbows a lot. Michelle couldn't get over it.
Later that evening, we went to the grocery store. Michelle bought a great big jar of Nescafe Instant coffee, which is very pricey in the Czech. Somehow, she dropped it as she was leaving the store. Glass and coffee were everywhere. Michelle began to pick the glass up with her hands, but a store clerk ran after her, swept up the glass with a broom, and brought out a brand new jar of coffee, refusing to charge her for it.
We thought this was above and beyond, but we gathered the store clerk viewed this as ordinary decency. As I said, the sense of propriety varies by culture.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Once more, small world
At Rock O'Reilly's in Prague, I met Sharon Cradic, whom I ought to know at least by sight, since she and I are in the same college at ETSU. Sharon works at University School and adjuncts in Kinesiology. Both of these are departments in the College of Education.
An athletics person, Sharon has been working in a rural community doing a baseball camp for teenagers and kids. Her project is in its third year.
Weird that we didn't meet each other 'til both of us were in Prague.
An athletics person, Sharon has been working in a rural community doing a baseball camp for teenagers and kids. Her project is in its third year.
Weird that we didn't meet each other 'til both of us were in Prague.
Dachau
Located on the outskirts of Munich, Dachau was the first of the Nazi concentration camps. It was here that Hitler's people developed the methods of torture and control they would later apply to Jews, Roma, homosexuals, the disabled and mentally ill, and political dissidents throughout Europe. Hitler himself never visited a concentration camp, relegating their supervision to his henchmen. Like Terezin, which I wrote about earlier, Dachau was more of a way station than a death camp, though many prisoners were killed here. In places, its grounds are picturesque, almost like a college campus.
They've replaced the original fence of course, which was electrified when the Nazis were in control. Prisoners sometimes suicided by throwing themselves against it.
Because of its proximity to Munich, Dachau was a training center for the S.S., Hitler's brutal police force. It was here that previously normal German twenty year olds were taught how to torture people. Dachau was a center for human medical experiments. The gas chambers and crematoria which were used so extensively during the Holocaust were developed at Dachau.
They've replaced the original fence of course, which was electrified when the Nazis were in control. Prisoners sometimes suicided by throwing themselves against it.
Because of its proximity to Munich, Dachau was a training center for the S.S., Hitler's brutal police force. It was here that previously normal German twenty year olds were taught how to torture people. Dachau was a center for human medical experiments. The gas chambers and crematoria which were used so extensively during the Holocaust were developed at Dachau.
Munich
Now that camp's over, we have time for a bit of travel. We're in Munich, Germany's third largest city, a place of glorious medieval structures and magnificent red roofs. Decorative bellworks or glockenspiel, mark the hours with processions of quaint metal figures.
It's a place of high energy and marked prosperity, and, though it's difficult to believe today, this was the cradle of Nazism. It was here that Hitler consolidated his power, and this is where he had his headquarters. Kristallnacht, the 1938 attack on Germany's Jews which ushered in the Holocaust, was coordinated from Munich.
Years ago, a friend gave me a Star of David. At home, I don't wear it much, but I've been wearing it here. Because I can.
It's a place of high energy and marked prosperity, and, though it's difficult to believe today, this was the cradle of Nazism. It was here that Hitler consolidated his power, and this is where he had his headquarters. Kristallnacht, the 1938 attack on Germany's Jews which ushered in the Holocaust, was coordinated from Munich.
Years ago, a friend gave me a Star of David. At home, I don't wear it much, but I've been wearing it here. Because I can.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
When you gotta go
Those of you who read my China blog will remember I wrote quite a bit about the Chinese toilet, which is essentially a hole in the restroom floor. My friend Jana Dobesova asked if I'd write something about Czech toilets. I can attest that there's nothing particularly remarkable about the Czech plumbing. But the cultural customs around the use of these receptacles are entirely different. In America, there are on occasion pay toilets, but not that often. We consider charging to use the commode unneighborly. We even provide toilet paper without any charge.
But the Czechs apparently view the provision of restrooms as a SERVICE for which the client pays. In the train station restroom above, you purchase a pass for a specified number of visits. Pretty straightforward. But what if you're at a concert in the castle area, and you feel a call of nature?
St. George's Basilica has no public toilet. I waited until after the concert and started searching.
It's amazing how far you can walk WITHOUT sighting a public toilet. And at this point, I REALLY needed one. Finally, I sighted one, though the gate in front of it was closed.
No matter. I deposited the requisite 10 crowns (about 50 cents) in the box provided and proceeded to the restroom. A humorless woman barred my way. She spoke no English, but I gathered the area was closed. The floor was wet. She'd been mopping.
My Czech was not up to the task so, waxing dramatic, I spoke in impassioned English. I begged and I pleaded. I said I was tired and old. I offered to pay extra money. I took some out of my purse. She remained impassive. I told her to think of her mother, her grandmother. She shook her head.There was nothing to do. I was on her turf.
I turned to go. But then she called out, "OK, OK!" She made it clear she wanted no extra money for the extraordinary favor she was extending. But I gave her a handsome tip and clasped her hand.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Constituency
The plan was to focus on four groups in our English Camp: Pastors, church office workers, University and high school students, and the general public. I imagined I'd be teaching a lot of business English, helping people to edit papers and modify accents-- things you do with advanced English learners.
We never imagined that our major constituency would be young women who were now mothers of small children. Most of the women who came to camp of necessity brought their children. All had been excellent students of English and felt they were forgetting the language because they had no opportunity to practice.
In the Czech Republic, women have paid maternity leave. Employers are required to rehire them if they want to return to work within (I believe) a year of giving birth. But the government pays women a stipend for staying home with their children until the children are three. Who wouldn't take the stipend.
Thing is... it's a trap. Employers are not supposed to discriminate against young mothers, but they do. Once a woman is out of the workforce, it's hard for her to return, even if she has excellent education.
The women we worked with believed that English was their ticket of return to the workforce. With only 12 million speakers of Czech, the international language is essential to tourism, commerce, and the service industries. It's hard to get a job in the Czech without English. Even a job in a restaurant or department store.
The women we worked with viewed English as a form of cultural capital essential for their success.
We never imagined that our major constituency would be young women who were now mothers of small children. Most of the women who came to camp of necessity brought their children. All had been excellent students of English and felt they were forgetting the language because they had no opportunity to practice.
In the Czech Republic, women have paid maternity leave. Employers are required to rehire them if they want to return to work within (I believe) a year of giving birth. But the government pays women a stipend for staying home with their children until the children are three. Who wouldn't take the stipend.
Thing is... it's a trap. Employers are not supposed to discriminate against young mothers, but they do. Once a woman is out of the workforce, it's hard for her to return, even if she has excellent education.
The women we worked with believed that English was their ticket of return to the workforce. With only 12 million speakers of Czech, the international language is essential to tourism, commerce, and the service industries. It's hard to get a job in the Czech without English. Even a job in a restaurant or department store.
The women we worked with viewed English as a form of cultural capital essential for their success.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Fruits
People signed up for our English camp week by week. Students could come for as many weeks as they wanted. We held a recognition ceremony every Friday, which celebrated our own and our students' hard work, as well as our developing friendships.
Soup culture
As part of our program, we offered lunch. To us Americans, this meant sandwiches, cookies, and fruit. But as we quickly learned, lunch to the Czechs meant soup, even on a very hot day. I of our crew, had the most experience creating these big stewing potfuls of meat, veggies and noodles. My family is East European, so maybe it's in my DNA.
By default, I became the camp cook, arguably a more vital position than that of head teacher. I rose early each morning and started a broth. Tastes vary by culture, but over time I figured what the students would eat. I learned to use pork to flavor my cooking, which I never have, when producing borscht, leek and potato soup, corn chowder, and mushroom soup with potatoes. I won't bore you with the recipes, but I'll be happy to share them.
These dishes were money savers as well as crowd pleasers, and talk about food and cooking helped build a bridge to our students. Meals in the Czech are pricey if you eat out or buy a lot of prepackaged food, but the produce here is extremely inexpensive. I'll miss that.
Friday, August 3, 2012
After the circus
Well, that's it! English camp ended yesterday, and we're mopping up. We held our final recognition ceremony yesterday. There are signs to take down, dishes to wash, materials to put away.
Of this period in any project, Joe likes to say, "If you're having a circus, someone has to sweep up after the elephants."
Of this period in any project, Joe likes to say, "If you're having a circus, someone has to sweep up after the elephants."
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