Category: Culture

It is pretty interesting how different cultures spend their weekends.  In the Philippines, most people flock the malls.  Our main activity is going shopping  or going to the movies.  Growing up in the countryside, I used to look forward to Saturdays because that meant going to the big city for our big shopping day.  I remember being excited by the hustle and bustle of the city.

In California, there is a good balance between those who prefer the malls and those who prefer the outdoors, be it at the beach or in some hiking trek.

Here in Czech, the cities and towns are mostly abandoned during the weekends. Most Czechs prefer to go to their weekend houses or spend their weekends in a cottage in the woods.  This past fall as we were visiting my in-laws for the weekend, I was really amazed at how they love to spend time in the woods. Instead of going there for an hour, we spent 3 hours.  Since it was a good season for mushrooms, the short walk easily turned into a mushroom picking activity.

Given this, I am easily able to predict how my son will spend his weekends.  One weekend he will be at some mall.  On another, he will be in the woods.  We’ll see.  Maybe he wants to go to the beach or to the desert.

As I was discussing house designs with my husband a few nights ago, I noticed 2 admirable traits of Czech people.   The women are domestic divas and the men are builders.

The women do amazing jobs at home.  I attended a birthday party once where the woman of the house cooked/baked everything that was served in the party, including the birthday cake.  I think that is just amazing considering that she has to keep the house clean, prepare utensils and decorations for the party, and souvenirs for the attendees….all by herself.  I don’t know how she did it, but it just simply blew me away.

In our old place, we once had a neighbor who did a major renovation for his mother’s house.  Day and night, he would go there and work till the sun settles.  At first I thought he lived there, but there were days when we saw him  drive in with his bike at 6am, then leave at 8pm.    He insulated the whole house and made a balcony complete with French windows.  I thought  that was awesome but little did I know that my own husband, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law did the same.  My husband insulated the house and rebuilt the garage.  My father-in-law built a room and a garage in his house.  My brother-in-law renovated his whole house.  And they did these with little to no help.

I realized all these because when I told my husband I wanted a Japanese style door, but not sure where I can get them, he simply replied:  “Oh, I can make them.”  Hello, Bob the builder!

One of the things that I really like about Czechs is their straightforwardness.  What I mean by this is that everyone is responsible for taking care of their own.  When going out with friends, one cannot expect the person inviting them to pay the bill. Everyone pays for the things they ordered. In Philippine culture, it is almost expected that whoever makes more money pays. In American culture, whoever makes the invitation pays, unless otherwise agreed upon. But in Czech culture, it doesn’t matter what social or financial status you’re in, you foot your own bill. It also doesn’t matter if you got invited to somebody’s birthday party. You are still responsible for paying everything you ordered.

I like it this way. It makes people responsible. There is nothing like a free lunch.

Another thing I have noticed is that everything out here is really functional. You don’t own just for the sake of owning. Big cars are for big families. Small cars for single people or for a couple. I haven’t seen anyone driving a big pick-up truck without a load of hay or workman’s tools. In LA, pick-up trucks driven by single guys flood the streets. I may be wrong, but it almost seems like these guys do it to prove a point — I am a man. Oh well, different culture, different means of expression.

Several months back, I snapped this photo of preschool children taking a walk with their teacher. This may seem a little bit harsh for some, but I totally like how this teacher wanted to prove her point. There are no words that can beat the message she wants to relay: “Don’t stray away from the pack.”