Czechs in New York

‘Emigration is terribly hard, one does not realize that it is forever’ / Emigrace je hrozne tezka; clovek si neuvedomi, ze je to navzdy’

One of my friends told me about this Czech TV program called ‘Ctyri v New Yorku’ (Four in New York), which is a heart-felt documentary about 4 Czech women who have immigrated to the USA later in their life and how hard it was for them to get adjusted to a completely different way of life.

I have had a chance to watch only the first 2 women (both are involved in art) and both films are phenomenal. You won’t be able to stop watching it! The only downside is that the movies load really slow so there are long breaks where you just wait for the movie to start playing again :(

The movies are in Czech – sorry! BUT I did translate some of the sentences which resonated with me:

CZ: Jedna ma kamaradka mi doporucila VYBORNY dokument ceske televize, zvany Ctyri v New Yorku. Urcite se na nej podivejte a pripravte se, ze to s vami citove zamava.

 

First lady: MONIKA ABBOTT…..(emigrated to the USA at the age of 38)

‘I have to be connected with the Czech Republic, I cannot live without it. Only abroad I realized that I was (a true) Czech.’ [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: Czech immigrants, Czech TV, Czechs in New York, immigration

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Czech and Slovak group in New York is immortal! (english version) / Ceska a Slovenska skupinka v New Yorku je nesmrtelna! (anglicka verze)

I have done an interview with the following Meetup group a couple of years ago so it is time to re-visit them and see how are they doing. For those who don’t know what Meetup.com is,  it is a social network of local groups with shared interest and/or nationalities. Once a group has an organizer, those people actually physically meet and hang out. It is not uncommon, however, for groups to break up because there is a small fee one has to pay  or people get too busy or some other obstacle gets in a way.  But the New York Meetup is still – after so many years – alive and well! It is not surprising that one couple in the group actually got married and now lives happily ever after :) .

1. Why are you interested in being part of the Czech-Slovak group in USA? What do you like the most about this group?
Answer 1: I guess it is a natural desire to be among people who have something in common; in this case it is the language, culture and often even the typical political atmosphere in which we were growing up. Even though I think that Slovaks have a bigger need to meet with others than Czechs do. The Moravians are somewhere in the middle. Besides the CS Group in NJ we are also a part of the NYC Meetup CS Group because we live in Brooklyn. What I like the most about the NJ group is their home like atmosphere since they meet in people’s homes rather than in bars/pubs like we do in NYC. [click to continue…]

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Tagged as: Czechs and Slovaks abroad, Czechs in New York, meetup.com, Slovaks in New York

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Great video on the life of Czech-Americans! / Vyborne video o zivote Cecho-Americanu!

This is a must-see movie! It is entertaining and educational, you get a close look at one Czech-American family, learn how to make Czech puppets and discover how to cook a true Svickova or Bramboraky from a Czech chef himself.
Get a bowl of popcorn, make yourself comfortable and here we go! Click on the link below:

CZ: Toto je opravdu super reportaz of zivote Cecho-Americanu. Nejen ze se seznamite s Cesko-Americkou rodinou pana Jacoba Simonse, ale naucite se take, jak vyrobit ceskou pohadkovou loutku nebo se muzete naucit varit Svickovou a Bramboraky od sameho sefkuchare restaruace Zlata Praha. Takze se hezky uvelebte a jedem! Klikntete na nize uvedeny link.

http://www.ebru.tv/en/genres/LifestyleCulture/world-in-america/episodes/5/505-czech-americans

If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

Tagged as: art, Czechs in New York, food, traditions

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The perfect Czech/Slovak group from NY / Vzorova CeskoSlovenska skupinka z New Yorku

Today is a big day! I am bringing you an interview with what I call the “Perfect CzechoSlovak Group” because they are just great. They come from New York/New Jersey and the organizer Michaela is always  on top of things (for what she was recently awarded bunch of flowers) – organizing Czech/Slovak Movie nights, going to restaurants, cooking Czech/Slovak food at someone’s house….you name it! They created a true “extended family”, as they like to call it and they are just loving it! I made an interview with them and it is just a joy to read something like that:

CZ: Dnes je velmi vyznamny den! Proc? Protoze vam prinasim rozhovor s mou tzv. “vzorovou Cesko/Slovenskou skupinkou” z New Yorku. Jejich organizator Michaela nikdy neleni (take za to nedavno dostala od svych “zacku” krasnou kytici) a kazdy mesic neco krajanskeho se skupinou naplanuje: bud se divaji na ceske filmy, nebo se sejdou v restauraci na pokec, nebo vari ceska/slovenska jidla…Nejdulezitejsi je ale to, ze dosahli to nejdulezitejsi – citi se totiz jako ze ted nekam patri, a ze tady za tou velkou louzi nasli novou rodinu. Rozhovor s touto skupinou me zahral u srdicka: [click to continue…]

If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

Tagged as: Czech/Slovak groups abroad, Czechs in New York, Slovakia

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