Just got back from the holidays, which we spent in Northern Moravia. We had snow the whole time, so it was nice to have a white Christmas. We arrived back in Prague yesterday and there was no snow, but it started snowing last night and there’s now a fresh white cover on the ground and on the roofs. They’re predicting a heavy snowfall for today and tomorrow (it’s just getting going in fact!) and the temperatures are supposed to drop to crazy levels. If you’re coming to Prague for the New Year’s and plan to be out in the streets, you’d better carry a flask of rum with you.

Here’s the weather forecast provided by Meteopress:

THURSDAY, Dec. 29 Low: -5/-8 °C High: -3/-1 °C FRIDAY, Dec. 30 Low: -8/-12 °C High: -7/-3 °C SATURDAY, Dec. 31 Low: -11/-15 °C High: -4/0 °C SUNDAY, Jan. 1 Low: -10/-14 °C High: -7/-3 °C MONDAY, Jan. 2 Low: -8/-12 °C High: -6/-2 °C

Old Town Square December 28, 2005, 4:15 p.m.

By the way, the Christmas market on Náměstí Míru is gone. The square is bare and looks weird. The markets on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square are going to stay through Sunday.

     Why is it that things that are meant to be substitutes for the real stuff are considered “the default” in the Czech Republic?

     I’m at a party and the hostess comes out of the kitchen to take orders for coffee. The question each guest is faced with is “normální, nebo zrnkovou?” where normální refers to instant coffee from a plastic jar and zrnková means coffee made from ground coffee beans. Everyone asks for normální and I feel strange.
     When it’s my turn to be the hostess, I buy fresh Brazilian coffee beans and make sure there’s enough cream and sugar for everybody. When the time comes to serve coffee and the guests find out there’s no instant coffee in the house, one of them opts for tea instead. (As a side note, I was visiting with friends once and was served normální coffee creamer, which came in the form of a white powder.)
     I was in a grocery store with a couple of Czech friends. They wanted to help get stuff, so they asked what all I needed. I said I needed butter.
     ”You mean margarine?”
     A minute later they noticed me looking around helplessly, so they inquired what I was looking for. I said I was looking for milk.
     ”Why, it’s right here!” and they pointed to the boxes of trvanlivé mléko, a nearly non-perishable, strangely tasting white liquid with an expiration date several months in the future. I specified that I was looking for normal milk. They didn’t understand and I quickly realized my mistake. The perception of what is normal can be very subjective. So I explained that I was looking for fresh milk. There was none to be found in the store and again, I felt strange.
     I have been called a beer snob by my American friends who drink nothing but Bud Light. I have been called a coffee snob after I fell in love with Hawaiian Kona coffee and wouldn’t want to drink any other kind for a year. I must be perceived as a tea snob since I buy specialty loose teas, store them in airtight tin cans and brew them through a cotton filter. Now I can safely add two more categories to the list. I’m also a butter snob and a milk snob.

In one of my posts back in October, I wrote that customers are presumed thieves in the Czech Republic. Now I know why. According to the Czech daily MF DNES, the guards at an average hypermarket (a large supermarket) catch thieves trying to steal products worth a total of 300,000 - 500,000 CZK (roughly 10 - 20 thousand EUR/USD) every month. Products worth a similar amount are actually stolen on a monthly basis.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who’s noticed this, but it seems to me that Czech women don’t know how to accept compliments. You make a compliment and they don’t know what to do with it. They either try to downplay your praise in an attempt to show modesty, or they start explaining how they achieved whatever it is you’re praising, or they just change the subject.

I’m not one to throw compliments around, but it just so happened that I have complimented three women this past week. Not to be “nice” or to make conversation. My compliments were sincere and the words of praise came out of my mouth in real admiration. It struck me that all these women somehow avoided dealing with the compliment.

Last Friday, a girl at a class I go to showed up with a new hair color, one that I thought looked great on her. I noticed her as soon as I entered the room and I said, “Nice hair color!” She gave a flattered smile and said, “Oh, it’s just a color shampoo. It’ll wash out.” I continued, “Well, the color looks really good on you.” She answered with an apologetic expression on her face, “It’s supposed to last for about a week but my hair is so weird, I don’t need to wash it very often, so the color will probably stay in forever.”

A few days ago, I had lunch with a friend whom I hadn’t seen for several months. I thought she looked particularly good on that day. Her hair was done and had flattering highlights in it and her face had a healthy tan. As I sat down, I commented on her looks by saying, “You look nice today, the hair, the tan…”. “I went to the hairdresser,” she explained. “And the tan is probably still left from the vacation,” she added pragmatically. “Probably. Anyway, you look really good,” I repeated. My friend changed the subject. “So how have you been?”

On Saturday, I went to see a play with a friend of mine and her husband. My friend turned up in a beautiful red blouse, which looked just perfect against her blonde hair. I couldn’t help exclaiming, “Wow, what a great blouse!” She smiled, turned to her husband and told him, “See, and you’re wearing these horrible pants.”

The group draw for the 2006 World Cup in football (soccer) took place tonight. The Czech Republic was placed in Group E with Italy, Ghana, and the United States. The Czechs’ first game will be against the U.S. on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.