Easter

I just walked home from Globus. It was as busy as Wal-mart on SuperBowl weekend!! I had to pick up some food for the weekend. All shops and transportation are closed Sunday and Monday. I think transportation is limited tomorrow. The cafeteria near the dorms and the cafe at the University were closed today due to the holiday. We even had to have Czech class in a different room because ours was locked and all the offices were closed.

Before I get to the specifics of their holiday, I wanted to share an experience I had at Globus. We still have yet to learn a lot of words for food. They don't sell a lot of pre-packaged meat here, and I wanted sandwich stuff, so I had no choice but to brave the butcher counter. I didn't want to bother with the deli meat, so I went to the sausage case. There are literally hundreds of sausages. Beef, pork, chicken. . liver, gizzards etc. There were samples sitting on the top of the counter with specials. I saw a couple of people grab these samples and walk away. I assumed this was normal, and I figured it would be a good way to see what the hell it was I would be eating. I grabbed one and took a bite. Not even kidding, I think it was raw. I almost threw up in the meat case. It was soo disgusting. In the end, I went back to the deli case. I wrote the amount I wanted and copied the words from some salami that looked good. A butcher lady weighed it and I was on my way.

Okay, so we learned some about the holiday in Czech class. The holiday starts on Wednesday when children get out of school and women start the spring cleaning. Thursday, which is called 'Green Thursday' is actually a misinterpretation from German. The Germans call it 'Geine' Thursday. Geine means to greive. The Czechs thought it was Grun, the German word for green. Thus, it has been 'Green Thursday' ever since. I don't think we went over Friday and Saturday, but Sunday's events are based on an old Pagen holiday. Men and boys run around whipping women with branches decorated with ribbons. The guys must recite a poem or saying while whipping the girl. The longer the poem the longer he gets to whip the girl. Girls like to be whipped, as it is a sign that they are well liked and attractive. The girls give the guys chocolates in return. As revenge however, it is not uncommon for girls to splash the boys with water. I'm not sure how much of this I will see, but that's what our Czech teacher told us.

Easter candy is popular. I've even seen some chocolate Easter bunnies. They're also big fans of hand painted eggs. Our Czech teacher gave each of us one to celebrate.

Other happenings:

Movie theaters here are used similar to the back seats of cars. Actually, people make out everywhere!! On the tram, on the train, in the theater and on the street! We went to see Step Up 2. This was fun because it was IN ENGLISH!! I'm getting a little frustrated with the fact that I know barely any Czech. I should've studied somewhere were they speak German, French or Spanish! Anyway, we had assigned seats at the movie. The seats were very comfortable. More comfortable than the ones in the US. The couple next to me however, made out the entire time!! They were like 13.

McDonalds in the Czech Republic is better than the US! My sandwich had a beef patty, a hashbrown patty, swiss cheese and bacon. I was really good.

Sorry to talk so much about Globus, but the place drives me crazy. Every aisle has either candy bars, alcohol or tea. There are seriously candy bars next to the pickles. Ketchup has an entire aisle. I don't even like ketchup that much, but that's funny.

The Czech Republic is a place of smells. As you walk through the city, you either smell wonderful food or some anti deoderant person's body odor.

I slept walked for the first time the other night. My roommate stumbled in about 4 am. I remember waking up, but I think I went back to sleep. Sometime before 6 am I woke up and head-butted my cement wall. No idea why. Pretty sweet knot on my forehead to prove it!

As some of you may have noticed from comments, I will probably be going to Egypt for spring break. The next couple of weeks will be hectic. In the next three weeks I will be visiting Budapest, Vienna, Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo.


Wish me luck!!