Czechmatediary

Texas Czechs developed a very nice Czech language series on YouTube. I found so far only the first 4 beginner lessons but I am sure more will be coming in the near future. For those who would like to learn this difficult language these videos are a perfect opportunity. They are simple and entertaining.

CZ: Pro ty, co nemluvi cesky a radi by se naucili, Texas Czechs maji vyborna YouTube videa pro zacatecniky:
(more…)

Peter Petrik was featured on these pages in relation to his presentation “From Behind the Iron Curtain to Membership in the European Union”. Thanks to that initial contact we were able to connect for a short interview about his life and the Czech and Slovak community in Dallas, TX.

CZ: Peter Petrik byl na techto strankach uvedeny jiz jednou a to ve spojeni s prezentaci “Od Zeleznej Opony k Clenstvu v Europskej Unii”. Petra jsem pote zkontaktovala a vytvorili jsme spolu  kraty rozhovor o jeho zivote v USA a  jak se ma ceska a slovenska komunita v Dallasu, kde Petr nyni zije.

1) Peter, how did you come to the USA?
I came here to study. I left Slovakia in 1993 when the situation was not the most stable. I didn’t want to start in a place with so much uncertainty. Once I got my bearings in the US after a few months, it was clear to me that I wanted to stay and build my personal and professional life here.

2) What type of career do you have right now?
I definitely have a non-traditional combination. I teach international business and global strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas. I also offer keynote speeches and workshops. Finally, I advise small- and medium-size businesses on operational efficiency. Most entrepreneurs and business owners are very good at what they do. It is not always like that with running the actual business, developing new business opportunities, or technology aspects. In such instances, I implement systems that simplify company operations and allow the owner and managers to focus on the core competency of the business. (more…)

Do you like to listen to the Czech Radio over the internet? Which one do you like the most? Radio Kiss or Radio Blanik? or Evropa 2? A Czech website called www.play.cz has a list of ALL of the Czech Radios so you can test whichever you like the best. We can thank our Czechmate Diary reader Iva who gave us thist wonderful tip :0)

PS: Radio Blanik plays only Czech songs!

CZ: Poslouchate radi ceske radio pres internet? A ktere se vam libi nejvice? Radio Kiss, Blanik nebo Evropa 2? Webovky www.play.cz maji list VSECH ceskych radii, takze si je muzete do jednoho otestovat a poslechnout si je on-line. Muzeme za tento super typ podekovat Czechmate Diary ctenarce Ive )

PS: Radio Blanik hraje pouze ceske pisnicky!

The next interviewee (does that word even exist?) in the new series of Czech and Slovak organizations in the US (and abroad) is the Czech-Slovak American Club of Tucson. Remember the Czech and Slovak Association in Boston? Well, these folks are just as nice and have a 50-year-old history behind them! Once again, I have learned and I hope that you will too…

CZ: Dalsi cesky spolek, s kterym jsem nedavno udelala rozhovor je Cesko-Slovensko-Americky Klub v Tucsonu. Pamatujete si na CS organizaci v Bostonu? No, tak tito lide jsou take velmi prijemni a jeste navrch je jejich organizace 50 let stara! Zase jsem se toho dosti priucila, tak doufam, ze vas rozhovor take zaujme….

(more…)

Diky neustale hrozbe “spam engines” (ktere vyhledavaji volne lezici e-mailove adresy a pak vam posilaji otravne emaily) jsem se rozhodla pro dobro vsech, ze “Seznam kontaktu Cechu a Slovaku zijich v US/Canada/UK/Australia” (kategorie “Czech contacts in the USA” a “Czech contacts in the UK/Canada/Australia“) bude k mani koumkoliv, kdo se zaregistruje na tento blog skrze E-MAIL. Jestlize se tedy chcete do tohoto seznamu zaradit (nebo seznam chcete), kliknete na “SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG BY E-MAIL” (link je situovany hned pod mou fotkou). Ja vas pote zkontaktuji a list vam poslu spolu se “Survival Manual for Czechs living abroad” (bonus!!).

Diky za pochopeni!

Thanks to the constant threat of spamming search engines I decided that the list of “Czech contacts in the USA/Canada/UK/Australia” will be only reachable if you REGISTER FOR THIS BLOG BY E-MAIL. So if you are interested in being part of this contact sheet (or want that list) click on the link that says “Subscribe to this blog by e-mail” (located right under my picture). After you register I will personally contact you and send you (enter you into )the list. together with the “Survival Manual for Czechs and Slovaks living abroad”. I apologize for the inconvenience but I am just trying to protect your privacy.

The first Czech that stepped on the Australian soil in the 18th century was a botanist Tadeas Haenke. His research group was financed by the Austrian emperor Josef II. to find new plant types which no one in Europe had heard of yet. The first Czech that actually settled down in Australia was – now it’s not very flattering, so get ready – a convict Marek Blucher. Mr. Blucher was born in Prague in 1801, later left his homeland to find a better work in England. There he was arrested for stealing and shipped on the “island of convicts” – Australia. The Commonwealth census in 1921 counted 264 citizens of a Czech descend. The World War II brought in about 5,000 Czechoslovakians; most of them, however, had to sign a document that said that for the first 2 years they were to accept ANY kind of work offered to them. Even after their “slavery” time was up most of these people, especially the ones with university degrees, could not find other work. (more…)

Hi Everyone/Ahoj vsichni,

I have made quite a few additions to the List of Czech and Slovak organizations ! I keep finding new additions to the list quite frequently so check back on it every once in awhile.

Just click on the link bellow!

Obnoveny list Ceskych a Slovenskych organizaci v USA!

The list of Czech and Slovak organizations in the US (over 24 pages long!)