I was coming home from work/Tesco yesterday with some heavy bags. Struggling with the door and feeling a bit crabby from the slight drizzle, I set my things down to find my keys in my purse.
As I was fumbling, I heard a stifled giggle somewhere behind me. Going on the defensive, I wondered who thought my actions were so funny. I turned around to see...nobody. That was when I noticed a small pair of shoes/feet sticking out from one of the large boxes that I'd been putting outside the week before. There was a little Czech girl sitting inside!
Now, if I were in the US, I'd have played along and said out loud something like, "I wonder where that noise came from? I don't see anyone! It must be a ghost!" And then the child would giggle more, and I would tease with them a bit more and it would be adorable.
But alas, my Czech is terrible (actually a more fair word would be "non-existent"), so I just smiled to myself, opened the door, and went inside.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Czenglish
As I posted a couple entries ago, I got a radio, which I am loving so much. Tonight they played Step by Step by New Kids on the Block, and it was fantastic.
Every several songs, they play a Czech song. Now, I don't know if these are popular songs or anything, but I do enjoy some of them. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have to understand music to like it - I love Arabic music, Croatian music, anything folksy and ethnic, even if I don't speak the language.
But now that I know a few words here and there in Czech, I start to hear them. Or, rather, IMAGINE hearing them, because there's absolutely no way that they're saying what I think they're saying. Especially when I hear random English words in the same sentence.
The example that caused this entry is a song that sounds like the guy is singing, "freshness sebou". That would mean... freshness to go (to go as in, "I'd like my order to go" in a restaurant).
I also heard the word for the number 4 (čtyři) at least 'deset krat' in that song.
:)
Every several songs, they play a Czech song. Now, I don't know if these are popular songs or anything, but I do enjoy some of them. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have to understand music to like it - I love Arabic music, Croatian music, anything folksy and ethnic, even if I don't speak the language.
But now that I know a few words here and there in Czech, I start to hear them. Or, rather, IMAGINE hearing them, because there's absolutely no way that they're saying what I think they're saying. Especially when I hear random English words in the same sentence.
The example that caused this entry is a song that sounds like the guy is singing, "freshness sebou". That would mean... freshness to go (to go as in, "I'd like my order to go" in a restaurant).
I also heard the word for the number 4 (čtyři) at least 'deset krat' in that song.
:)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Bake a ghoose
Best IM I've ever received.. you can really tell I'm in the Czech Republic:
Petr says:
and i go to bed again, cuz we woke up at 9....bake a ghoose, drunk lots of beers and have a nap at 3pm
I love it.
I wasn't so productive today that I baked a goose, but I did go to a nice middle eastern lunch with Beliza (the kafta was AWESOME) and then to Ikea, where I bought more things than I probably should have. I'm so obsessed with making my apartment look "homey" that I am just going nuts on things I shouldn't. Anyway, I am done for a while. I didn't really buy anything silly, maybe unnecessary at the moment but I'd have to (want to) buy them eventually anyway.
I bought:
-three throw pillows, two for the couch and one for the chair (adds some color to the room)
-a curtain to hang betweeen my bedroom and the kitchen, because there's no door
-a pillow case for the special-shaped pillow I bought
-a canister for sugar, because I am scared I'll get bugs if I leave it sitting in the box it came in
-a canister-ish container to put all my cooking utensils in (spatulas, wooden spoons, etc.)
-a wastebasket for the bathroom, which I keep wishing I had every day
-a picture frame that was on sale
So, nothing stupid. Anyway, I am going to put in some laundry and take a nap, because I found out I am going to meet my friend Shaz (for the first time, since we met on Facebook or something) later. We've been talking on MSN for weeks but he wasn't in Prague for a while, so now that he's back we're going to go get a couple drinks later and do something fun.
Hooray for new friends :)
Later, gators.
Petr says:
and i go to bed again, cuz we woke up at 9....bake a ghoose, drunk lots of beers and have a nap at 3pm
I love it.
I wasn't so productive today that I baked a goose, but I did go to a nice middle eastern lunch with Beliza (the kafta was AWESOME) and then to Ikea, where I bought more things than I probably should have. I'm so obsessed with making my apartment look "homey" that I am just going nuts on things I shouldn't. Anyway, I am done for a while. I didn't really buy anything silly, maybe unnecessary at the moment but I'd have to (want to) buy them eventually anyway.
I bought:
-three throw pillows, two for the couch and one for the chair (adds some color to the room)
-a curtain to hang betweeen my bedroom and the kitchen, because there's no door
-a pillow case for the special-shaped pillow I bought
-a canister for sugar, because I am scared I'll get bugs if I leave it sitting in the box it came in
-a canister-ish container to put all my cooking utensils in (spatulas, wooden spoons, etc.)
-a wastebasket for the bathroom, which I keep wishing I had every day
-a picture frame that was on sale
So, nothing stupid. Anyway, I am going to put in some laundry and take a nap, because I found out I am going to meet my friend Shaz (for the first time, since we met on Facebook or something) later. We've been talking on MSN for weeks but he wasn't in Prague for a while, so now that he's back we're going to go get a couple drinks later and do something fun.
Hooray for new friends :)
Later, gators.
Pozor
Yesterday I was so excited for it to be the weekend and so excited that I finished unpacking that I decided to celebrate in my apartment with some Becherovka. I was happily chatting online when I got a text from my new work friend Henrique asking if I'm going to Rincon Latino, and did I want to meet there around midnight. Hell yes!
So I headed out and met up with him and his girlfriend (who was a total sweetheart). I danced quite a bit, mostly with Pablo who decided to magically stop being creepy, and with some others as well. I had some awkward times with my Bolivian friend and at the end of the night, after many drinks and a great time, I decided to head home.
But I wasn't tired, and I hate going home early (is 4am really early?) on a Friday night, so I texted Petr with the following: "Hi! Are you sleeping, or drinking?" He called just a few minutes later to say that he and his friends were awake at his place, and that I should come over. He said they had plenty to drink, and I mentioned I had Becherovka. So (and why I thought this was necessary, I'll never know) I went home, got the Becherovka (which I ended up NOT drinking and neither did they, because by the time I got there the two friends were passed out and Petr and I ended up just sitting at his kitchen table and chatting about nothing), and went over to his place which is about two buildings away from mine.
I got home around 6:30am, took a shower, set an alarm for 10am, and here I am having some breakfast. Soon I'll get ready to go meet Beliza for an Ikea day (I might as well just move in there).
So I headed out and met up with him and his girlfriend (who was a total sweetheart). I danced quite a bit, mostly with Pablo who decided to magically stop being creepy, and with some others as well. I had some awkward times with my Bolivian friend and at the end of the night, after many drinks and a great time, I decided to head home.
But I wasn't tired, and I hate going home early (is 4am really early?) on a Friday night, so I texted Petr with the following: "Hi! Are you sleeping, or drinking?" He called just a few minutes later to say that he and his friends were awake at his place, and that I should come over. He said they had plenty to drink, and I mentioned I had Becherovka. So (and why I thought this was necessary, I'll never know) I went home, got the Becherovka (which I ended up NOT drinking and neither did they, because by the time I got there the two friends were passed out and Petr and I ended up just sitting at his kitchen table and chatting about nothing), and went over to his place which is about two buildings away from mine.
I got home around 6:30am, took a shower, set an alarm for 10am, and here I am having some breakfast. Soon I'll get ready to go meet Beliza for an Ikea day (I might as well just move in there).
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Missing Link
Before I left for Prague, my mom was working on a jigsaw puzzle - a Springbok (we are puzzle snobs, and Springbok is the best) - that I had bought her as a just-because gift.
Well she continued and continued after I left, working on it by herself, with a friend, with a couple friends, and then finally came to the end: there was a piece misssing.
Now, I had a lot of stuff out on the kitchen table (where the puzzle was) to pack - and the day the movers came, we said, "Boy I hope they don't pack any of the puzzle pieces by mistake."
When a piece went missing, we had to assume it was in one of my 20 or so boxes of stuff.
So here I am in my apartment, unpacking and listening to the Bob FM of the Czech Republic on the radio, when I finally got to a fun box - the spices!! I opened it up, removed a piece of packing paper, and lo and behold sitting on top of my two giant bottles of Frank's Red Hot was a tiny puzzle piece.
Mom, it will be in the mail soon. :)
Well she continued and continued after I left, working on it by herself, with a friend, with a couple friends, and then finally came to the end: there was a piece misssing.
Now, I had a lot of stuff out on the kitchen table (where the puzzle was) to pack - and the day the movers came, we said, "Boy I hope they don't pack any of the puzzle pieces by mistake."
When a piece went missing, we had to assume it was in one of my 20 or so boxes of stuff.
So here I am in my apartment, unpacking and listening to the Bob FM of the Czech Republic on the radio, when I finally got to a fun box - the spices!! I opened it up, removed a piece of packing paper, and lo and behold sitting on top of my two giant bottles of Frank's Red Hot was a tiny puzzle piece.
Mom, it will be in the mail soon. :)
No mo'
Mo' as in...motivation.
I do not feel like unpacking anymore.
As I was walking home from work today, I imagined a night full of hard work, and at the end of the night, a completely clear living room. But then I got inside, closed the door, and couldn't think of anything besides going to sleep. It was such a gray day and looked all day like it was going to rain. I thought, a 20-minute nap won't hurt. 20 minutes turned into an hour, and the snooze button turned an hour into an hour and a half.
It felt awesome :)
But here I am, living room still messy and covered in boxes. Oh well, it's only 8:17.. there's still time.
I do not feel like unpacking anymore.
As I was walking home from work today, I imagined a night full of hard work, and at the end of the night, a completely clear living room. But then I got inside, closed the door, and couldn't think of anything besides going to sleep. It was such a gray day and looked all day like it was going to rain. I thought, a 20-minute nap won't hurt. 20 minutes turned into an hour, and the snooze button turned an hour into an hour and a half.
It felt awesome :)
But here I am, living room still messy and covered in boxes. Oh well, it's only 8:17.. there's still time.
Hallo-weenies
I don't think the Halloween party is going to happen :( I was chatting with some friends today and found out that Czechs like to call the police after about 10 or 11pm if you have a party, and then they may or may not give you a fine. I am American so they would give a big fine for sure, thinking I have money (this is how it works here - so many people try to screw me out of money. I want to get a T-shirt that says "I earn a Czech salary, too".)
I know that from the guest list and how much my friends like to drink that we could NOT keep the noise level down, especially if there is Wii going on. Oh well.
I'll still think it over, I guess.
What a downer.
I know that from the guest list and how much my friends like to drink that we could NOT keep the noise level down, especially if there is Wii going on. Oh well.
I'll still think it over, I guess.
What a downer.
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