Czechmatediary

I have great news for you! Now you and your kids can watch Czech movies on-line! One of you guys, the awesome readers of Czechmate Diary, contacted me and fed me this tasty morsel (thank you Katka)! It is really simple:

1. Log on to the Ceska Televize website (click here)
   
2. Download the Video Download Manager (it’s free)
   
3. Register
4. Charge your virtual account with an amount of your choice
5. Watch a Czech movie!! [continue reading…]

I thought I would give you an update on how is my bilingual experiment with my daughter going (for part I click here). Since it is an experiment with no way of knowing how is it going to end, I thought I would put it into a scientific format this time – to make it more interesting :o) :

CZ: Tak jsem si rikala, ze je na case, abych vas aktualizovala na nynejsi maminkovskou situaci a to zejmena co se tyce uceni me dcerky cestiny (pro cast 1. kliknete zde). Jelikoz je to vsechno jeden velky experiment (tedy nemam vubec poneti, jak toto moje snazeni vubec zkonci), napsala jsem to tentokrat v podobe “opravdoveho”  vedeckeho dokumentu :0):

Introduction:
Hahna is 17-month old toddler and she stays home with her mommy (me). Once a week grandma comes over to play with her for couple of hours while mommy and daddy go get a big cup of Starbucks and stare into the white wall to decompress. Mommy talks to her in Czech pretty much all day until daddy comes home and then everyone talks English. Mommy also switches to English when her American friends are around. [continue reading…]

Hi/Ahoj!

So this is the best of the best of the best of Czechmate Diary for 2008 as far as the number of visitors and number of comments go. The top winner became “Christmas at our house: Czech style” (filed under “My stories” category bellow), receiving the most response ever. There would be however no Top winner if I didn’t have you guys, the readers. So thank you so much for making this happen!

CZ: Tak nasledujici clanky jsou to nej, nej, nej, nejlepsi (jezkovy, vzdyt to zni, jako kdyz koktam! No vite, co se tady snazim docilit..) z roku 2008 a to z hlediska navstevnosti a poctu komentu. Naprosty kral vsech techto vyhercu se stala povidka “Christmas at our house: Czech style” (pod kategorii “My stories”), ktera obdrzela naprosto nejvice ohlasu. Je nutno si ale pripomenout, ze by zadni vyherci  nebyli,kdybych nemela vas, me oddane ctenare. Tak vam mockrat dekuji!

Czech News/Ceske zpravy:

• What does it mean to have a visa-free status for the Czechs?
• Are Czechs racists? [continue reading…]

The magnificent fireworks above Prague were not just a celebration of the New Year, they were also celebrating the fact that the Czech Republic has taken up the European Union rotating presidency and it will “reign” over Europe for the next 6 months. Besides making all of the EU members eat dumplings for dinner and prohibiting the use of deodorants (I don’t think the French will have a problem with that) it will also be facing  big challenges such as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement and the energy crisis in former Russia. Many European countries are doubtful of our capability to fulfill this honorary presidency role mainly because the Czech PM Topolanek’s political position is currently quite weak and the Czech president Vaclav Klaus has a major anti-Lisbon-treaty attitude. [continue reading…]

January seems to be a sleepy month – everyone is recovering from last year, I guess. Either way, there is still plenty to do (especially in New York!)  and if you have a Czech activity that you would like to include in this list, let me know!

CZ: Leden je mesicem ospalym, co se tyce ceskych/slovenskych akci. Lide se asi zotavuji z minuleho roku nebo co. V kazdem pripade je tu stale z ceho si vybrat a jestlize mate neco, co byste chteli na list zaradit, sem s tim!

1. North Miami, FL

What – Lecture on “Prague Coffee House Culture”

When- Jan. 18 [continue reading…]

Can you believe that it’s already the year 2009??? I really feel like we live in some kind of sci-fi, U.F.O. age or something. Pretty soon we will be flying around, buying a second vacation home on the Moon, traveling back in time to visit our great-great-great-great parents….but I will still hate peanut butter!!!

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

HODNE STESTI,ZDRAVI A LASKY DO NOVEHO ROKU!!!

I like this article; not only does the writer not call the Czech Republic “Czechoslovakia” anymore (yes!) but he also defends our side! Hot Air made a post on the Munich Agreement (1938) arguing that it was never OK to carve up Czechoslovakia, like other people (i.e. the Seattle Times) seem to think so…to read the whole heated debate, click here.

CZ: Nasledujici clanek se mi opravdu zamlouva; nejen ze autor nenazyva Ceskou republiku “Czechoslovakia”, ale take se nas zastava!! Jak se rika po cesku, zabil dve mouchy jednou ranou :0). Onen spisovatel se tu zabyva Mnichovskou dohoda (1938) a obhajuje byvale Ceskoslovensko pred “hulvaty” jako jsou Seattle Times, ktere v jednom jejich clanku naznacili, ze Hitler mel plne pravo rozkrajet Ceskoslovensko na kousky. Mate-li zajem precist si celou vasnivou diskuzi, klikntete sem.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/17/it-was-never-ok-to-carve-up-czechoslovakia/

Brno is a very special Czech city of its own but ever since the last month it has become even a more special. It is a brand new home to the Museum of Exile. It commemorates all of the Czechs and Slovaks who during the 20th century emigrated abroad to escape the evil claws of Nazism and/or communism. The museum idea was inspired mostly by the life of a very talented Czech sculptor, Jan Kratochvil. His father and uncle – two very important figures of the anti-communist underground movement – managed to flee the country in 1948, meanwhile the rest of the Kratochvil family suffered for it very deeply. [continue reading…]

The thought of flying with my little daughter has always terrified me to death. What the heck do you do with a baby/toddler during an 18-hour (overseas) flight? Do you just get drunk while  your 2-year-old runs in the aisles and climbs all over everyone until he burns himself out? The more I researched on how to fly with small kids the more calm I started to feel. There are actually a lot of tools you just have to be prepared to use them.

CZ: Kdyz jsem si v nedavne minulosti jenom pomyslela na letani s mou 2 letou dcerou, zacli se mi uzkosti potit ruce a chtelo se mi zvracet. “Co clovek vubec dela s batoletem behem 18-ti hodinoveho letu?”, pomyslela jsem si. “Proste se opije a necha milou ratolest behat mezi ulickami az mu dojde energie?”. Cim dele jsem toto tema ale studovala, tim sebejisteji jsem se zacala citit; vzdyt to nic neni!  Doufam, ze vam tyto cestovni rady alespon trosku ulehci na mysli, jako se to stalo mne.

Things to think about prior to your trip:

• Airline regulations currently allow children under the age of 2 to fly free as “lap children” (i.e. not required to have their own seat). International flights charge a 10% fee for lap children. Try to book a bulkhead (front) seat where there is more room and hopefully also a bassinet present (they are not available on every flight). You cannot use bassinets during take offs, landings and turbulence. This is NOT the safest way to travel, however. Many airlines offer half-price tickets for children under 2 so you should consider that option as well. [continue reading…]