December 2012 – Czech the Flip

Precious Moments

Published on December 29, 2012December 29, 2012 by Grace20 Comments

Another Christmas tradition here in Czech is to take a walk with the family on Christmas Eve. In our case, it became a post Christmas activity.

Since we were celebrating with the extended family, and the boys love trains, we took them out for a short train ride in a neighboring city. We then went on the back roads that connected one train station to another. I was lucky to snap a couple of pics of my little boy with his cousins.

Precious little moments….

I tried to coax them into looking at the camera, but wasn’t very successful.

Someone is always looking away.

A simple thing can also be a reason to play.

In this case, a simple bottle cover became a soccer ball.

Although the walk was not in the nicest part of town, it is one of the most memorable walks we’ve ever had.

Happy New Year, everyone!

‘Twas a Merry Christmas

Published on December 27, 2012December 27, 2012 by Grace13 Comments

Whew! It almost seems like such a long time since I have updated this blog. After moving to our new house 2 weekends ago, most of my time has been spent cleaning and fixing up the new place….and we are not finished yet. With Christmas just around the corner, I found myself even busier. Needless to say, life happened.

I will have a separate post regarding the house. Meanwhile, here’s how we spent our Christmas.

On Christmas day, we drove to my in-laws’ place in Moravia in this weather.

Just looking at the frozen fog was enough to frighten me a bit, but it really is a way of life over here. Everything seemed normal.

That same day, my husband’s brother and his family also came. It was a time for opening the gifts from Ježíšek (Little Jesus). Instead of Santa, Czechs believe that Ježíšek is the one bringing gifts. In our family, the children were asked to go with Grandpa and watch a pohadka (fairytale).

Meanwhile, the adults prepared the gifts and staged the room to appear like Ježíšek just left. This was done by opening one window and tolling the bell. When the children ran to the living room, they found presents under the tree.

Since they were too young to read, the adults helped tell them who the presents were for and they distributed the gifts.

Everyone was then busy opening their presents.

My little boy was very happy with the biggest gift he got from Ježíšek (a.k.a. grandma) – a toy digger.

At around 5pm that same day, we went to my husband’s grandparents to celebrate with the rest of the family.

There was another set of presents to open. But the best part was just bonding with the family.

While the kids were busy distributing presents from the tree, the adults were doing their thing.

The kids got toys, candies and chocolates, the men got wine…..

…. or slivovice (plum liquor).

No matter what generation, it is always a hit.

In one corner, I was chatting with my father-in-law and his mother.

Although there are a lot of nice material gifts, I guess that the best gift of all is family. Even though, my own Filipino family is too far away and I didn’t get to spend this Christmas with them, my Czech family provided me the necessary “warmth” I needed this winter season.

Integration

Published on December 13, 2012December 13, 2012 by Grace16 Comments

Yesterday, it was -4C (25F) outside. But I found myself enjoying my homemade guláš and downing it with a mug of cold beer. A year ago, the idea of drinking cold beer on a cold day was quite repulsive for me. Having been raised in a tropical country and spending a lot of time in a temperate country with very mild winters, snow was very foreign to me. But the longer I stay here in Czech, I am starting to appreciate it now. Somehow, dealing with the cold temperature has become a way of life. I guess I am now integrating.

Another tell-tale sign is that I am starting to dig Czech humor. Although I still don’t understand everything, I somehow get the drift. Here is one popular Christmas commercial that touches on a Czech tradition and is presented in a very humorous way.

During Christmas, some people still practice the old tradition of fasting prior to midnight. Little children are told that if they don’t eat anything, they will later on get rewarded with a sighting of a golden boar. In this commercial, the little girl is asking her dad what the boar looks like. She further mentions that she doesn’t need to wait for later since she is already seeing one.

I hope to awaken the Christmas spirit in me, as we are moving to our new place this weekend. After the long wait, it is finally here. The place is not fully furnished yet, but it is already “habitable.” But we don’t have a tree yet. I hope we don’t end up like the dad in the commercial. Ironically, we live close to the woods.

Mikuláš Day: A Czech Tradition

Published on December 9, 2012December 9, 2012 by Grace13 Comments

These past few days, my son has been playing this game where he says “Čert”, then runs off and hides under the covers. The first time he said it I didn’t understand what he was talking about until it occured to me that he was actually referring to a Czech christmas day tradition, the celebration of Mikuláš name day (St. Nicholas’ name day). Although Czechs don’t believe in Santa Claus, they believe in St. Nicholas, his other personality.

Because I am still not used to this name day tradition, I completely forgot about Mikuláš Day, which is a tradition that is widely celebrated here in Czech. When I saw one of my friends’ picture of the celebration, I felt bad about not giving Jakub the opportunity to celebrate this tradition. But what I saw in their school’s photo board brought a smile into my face. He was able to celebrate Mikuláš Day after all.

Earlier that day, they were drawing angels.

Then they were out for a walk. It was snowing that day.

On their way back from the walk in the locker area, the mascots for Mikuláš Day were there.

It was funny to see my son’s apprehensive face beside the devil (Čert) mascot. So this was the reason for the game.

Here in Czech, the whole celebration starts on the early evening of December 5th. Traditionally, three personalities “Mikuláš, Anděl a Čert” (St Nicholas, the angel and the Devil), visit children at home to ask them if they have been good or bad. If they have been good, they will be rewarded with candies or chocolates. Otherwise, they will be rewarded with coal or potatoes.

Mikuláš Day signals the start of Christmas. In my household, we haven’t even put up a tree yet since we are in the process of moving to our new place. I’m glad that he’s in school and got to celebrate Mikuláš Day nevertheless.

Jsem řidič

Published on December 7, 2012 by Grace16 Comments

After passing all my driving tests last week, I guess I am now eligible for a Czech driver’s license. I only started getting serious about obtaining a Czech driver’s license 4 months ago, after living here for more than a year now. One can get by with an International Driving Permit, but this is only good for one year. Since we are here indefinitely, there is the inevitable need for me to obtain a Czech Driver’s license. Obtaining a Czech driver’s license is quite a process.

In the beginning, I thought I could convert either one of my “other” driving licenses, since I already own 2, from 2 different countries. I tried. Unfortunately, I learned that I still need to go through the whole process all over again. Classes in English were only offered in Prague. Hence, I had to periodically endure the 1 hour commute to attend my classes, although I missed most of the theoretical lessons and only completed the compulsory behind-the-wheel sessions. In retrospect, I think doing it all over again was well worth it.

Unlike the other cities where I obtained my other licenses, testing here in Czech is a tad more complicated. One has to undergo three tests – a computer test on rules of the road and first aid, a verbal vehicle maintenance test, and finally a behind the wheel test. Honestly, I have to say that these intimidated me a lot. First, because my language proficiency is not at an intermediate level. Second, because failure was not an option. With the help of a court appointed interpreter, I managed to answer all the questions of the rules and vehicle maintenance tests correctly. Then came the behind-the-wheel test the following day. Although it was freezing that day, I managed to sweat. That’s how nervous I was. The examiner only spoke Czech so my driving school teacher had to give me the instructions in English. After probably 10 minutes of driving, (which felt like forever to me), the examiner told me to pull over to one side and flatly said I passed the test. I almost squealed with joy, but the mood inside the car was so serene, I had to conceal my emotions.

After going through the whole process, I feel like a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. Sure I can drive, but I feel more confident now that I am fully aware of all the rules of the road and its possible dangers. Now I am proud to say that I am a Prague driver, a Los Angeles driver and a Manila driver. So sit tight. Buckle your seat belts. Let’s go!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

Published on December 1, 2012December 1, 2012 by Grace9 Comments

The view of the landscape is better seen from the bottom.

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