The Color of Fall in Prague

Prague's trees don't turn spectacularly crimson or orange, but for a week or so each November, they do line our streets with gold. This weekend the trees and the sun conspired in a final fling of color. Everywhere we walked we saw people taking pictures of the leaves, and the children ran beneath the trees to try to catch a leaf before it reached the ground. We wound up at one of our favorite nearby parks, Grebovka, where the fallen leaves made carpets of color, perfect for scuffling through.

Breakfast with Pumpkins

Is it just me, or do these jack-o-lanterns look like they're plotting to take over the breakfast table?

Reading Times Two

Liz from Lizardek asked about the books in my post office tower. Because I read mostly on a Kindle now, only a few were for me – Mariana, by Monica Dickens and a book on Chinese brush painting. The rest are Christmas presents for Will and Caroline. Caroline's stash includes The Saturdays, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Horse and His Boy. Will reads kolokolo, so I'll keep quiet about his ;-). I love to give and get books for Christmas, and before I bought a Kindle, always looked forward to the days after Christmas when I had enough to read, and more! So satisfying.

Now that Caroline is reading English fluently, having lots of English books around for her to choose from gives me the same satisfaction, and we pour through online book lists to figure out what we can find for her to read next.

"Reading English fluently." Three words to savor even more than a tower of books. A few days ago, Prague Monitor’s Emily Prucha posted an article in Half-n-Half about reading in Czech and English. Her story of her daughter's first foray into reading English reminded me of our own bi-literal try. It's a longer tale than I usually tell here - to make up for it, I promise I'll stick to pictures tomorrow!

Kindergarten, or školka, in the Czech Republic is very different from the UK or the States. Kids learn to change clothes on their own, dance the mazurka, and brush their teeth thoroughly. They draw pictures, sing songs and practice lots of socialization skills. They don't study the alphabet, numbers, or much of anything academic and it's generally a relaxing few years. I thought Caroline's last year in školka might be the perfect time for her to get the basics of reading in English behind her, before she needed to switch to Czech.

It didn't take. Caroline believed books were for us to read to her, and she told us so, loudly. Then first grade came along, and all focus switched to learning to read and write in Czech and to sit still in class. Each was tough at first (especially sitting still). By contrast, the basic English her class studied was easy – she did no work and always knew the answer!

The one word Caroline learned in school those first few months was "jumper." She also picked up a cute British accent she’d use at supper sometimes. English remained a blank book, so by January I decided to go guerrilla. We worked on spelling lists while we walked to the store, wrote letters on the weekend, read picture books together at night. If she did all her chores, she took over my computer and played on Starfall.com. Czech is a phonetic language, which makes it beautifully simple to learn to read. English is not. The spelling disgusted C. She refused to believe it could be so illogical, and words like "two" spent weeks on her spelling list. I dug up similarities between Czech, German and English to explain word spellings and turned English's long history into spooky bed time tales. After a while, Caroline decided that English was weird, but cool.

Then second grade arrived, and Caroline found school a lot easier. English class started to get boring. Her teacher and I put our heads together and agreed that I’d help Caroline after school just as usual, but this year she'd give C credit for the extra work. If she had an essay or book report to write in Czech that week, she’d write one in English too. I found workbooks for her and we spent many a Sunday morning playing school.

Last spring Caroline started to read in English for fun. She still writes book reports in both English and Czech, and in the ESL classes each week at school she either works on vocabulary or reading comprehension on her own. She’s joined an after school English class run by Class Acts, and her teacher there inspires her to work even harder. Her essays have become funny and more fluent. It still feels like pulling teeth to get her to sit down and work on writing, but she’d carry a book around and read all day if we let her.

Looking back now, I’m proud of C for her perseverance, grateful to her teacher for the extra motivation, and very glad that James has a few more years until first grade!

And you? If you have kids at home learning two or more languages, what's your best advice for handling the everyday challenges of helping them learn to read and write the languages they're not focused on in school?

Dresden

Only two hours north of Prague, Dresden is my favorite city 'abroad' to visit when friends and family come to town. We spent Czech Independence day there last week, basking in late fall sunshine and even trying out an Italian gelato or two. The weather was too good to miss by walking through a museum so instead we walked the city, stopping only for ice cream and some early Christmas shopping.

1. The wings of Zwinger
2. Stop, in East German
3. A piece of the world's largest porcelain painting, the Fürstenzug*
4. A slightly later representation of power on the Cultural Palace**
5. Construction and the Frauenkirche
6. James in his Paddington coat (he's eyeing the ice cream)

* Completed in 1907, the painting was barely damaged by the February 14, 1945 bombing that destroyed most of Dresden.
** Completed in 1969, and called "Der Weg der Roten Fahne", or "The Way of the Red Flag".

How to Eat a Sundae on a Fall Friday

I think the pictures speak for themselves ;-). These are from Friday a week ago, when we headed to Dresden on our fall holiday. More pictures to come!

A Tower of Books

Czech post offices have come a long way in the twelve years we've lived here. You don't need to use your elbows to keep your place in line any more - order tickets and clearly marked windows preserve politeness, as do the friendly twenty-somethings who speak Czenglish behind the counter. I might miss the quirkiness of getting to talk to someone named Pani Bezchlebova or Pani Bezvodova*, but I don't miss their personalities.

So when I took my package slip to the post office the other day I was surprised when the Hillfiger-clad clerk frowned at the slip instead of flashing his usual smile, and even more surprised when he disappeared from his window and didn't come back. Resigned to a long wait, I'd read halfway through my passport's "notable quotes" by the time he returned.

"Go west young man!"** I read as he slid back in front of his computer. But he only looked at me and shook his head, saying he was afraid the tower would be too much for me to grab home. I switched to Czech and promised that whatever tower he had to offer, I was willing to grab it without fail. Shaking his head again in a way that made me remember Mrs. Without-bread fondly, he piled twelve boxes on the counter, stamped my mail slip and let me go.

I staggered home happily. Who could resist an armful of books? One of my friends recently traded SEO advice for a big book order from the bookdepository, and Christmas had just arrived!

They're hidden away for the next few months, except the top two - early presents to myself for the SEO work, and for carrying them all home without dropping a one.

* Loosely translated as "Mrs. Without-bread" and "Mrs. Without-water," these two ladies worked side by side at the post office near our first flat in Prague.
** Horace Greeley, U.S. Passport

Door to door trick or treating

When it comes to candy, kids have a long memory and remarkable powers of persuasion. By the end of the day yesterday, Caroline and James had talked us into "just a little" trick or treating. Well prepped on our roles, each grownup hid behind a door in our flat and met the costumed crusaders with candy and Halloween chatter.

James seemed to find home style trick or treating just fine for him and paraded about with pirate hat, sword and hook as if he were out making the rounds in the States. Caroline was more circumspect. "It's better than all pretend," she said, as she counted out her candy, dividing it carefully with James, "but next year can we go outside too?"

A Czech Cowgirl Halloween

For the last few years the Prague Botanical Gardens has hosted hundreds of kids and their parents for a pumpkin carving, sausage grilling, balloon filled extravaganza on Halloween. We decided to tag along this year with friends and try it out. Carving pumpkins on a table set sideways on a hill isn't my favorite crafting activity (add a folding picnic knife and pumpkin gore for the full shudder), so I'll skip right over that part. We did love the carved results though, and the mulled wine and klobasa fast made the dissection scene a faint memory. Small kids ran about waving flaming pumpkins while bigger kids toasted more sausages around a bonfire, and a band played the blues into the night.

First Day

On the first day of school,* moments pass by lightning quick. Emotions change just as fast.
a. A boy can't help but get excited when he's all dressed up and ready to go!
b. He's joining the big world - time to eat his breakfast just like Dada.
c. J gives C a brotherly ok on her school outfit. It's her first day too! (3rd grade already.)
d. But to calm his nerves, some guitar strumming seems just right.
e. There are moments where the big world seems a little too big.
f. A talk in the coat room with his babysitter (his true love) cheers him up.
g. After all there are trains to try out.
h. And wait, there's a car!
i. In no time at all, he's made a friend. Bonding over the tool table already.

* Nursery school

The philosophy of sandwiches

It’s a beautiful August day here in the Czech Republic, cool and glowing with light. Walking home from a meeting, my mind is full of those easy going late summer projects that make life feel as if it will always be so – my latest hunt for jeans that fit James‘ long legs, deadlines for a project launching soon, a new book to read. I stop at our local deli to pick up a few chlebíčky for lunch and think just how right they are for a wonderfully normal day in Prague.

Chlebíčky, in case you haven’t met, are open faced sandwiches made from slices of bread spread with a sauce topped with ham, roastbeef, smoked salmon...imagine your favorite deli food and you’ll find it on a chlebíčka of some sort. I’ve never met one that isn’t then garnished with a slice of tomato, egg, pickle, or (my favorite) a thin slice of lemon. Almost any Czech lahůdky, or deli, offer at least ham and roastbeef. They’re perfect for a quick lunch, for party food or an afternoon snack with the children, and despite their toppings, wrap up well to carry home.

Our neighborhood has several delis that sell chlebíčky but if I’m really hankering for something different, I head to Prima Chlebicek, over on Londynska. Check out their site for its range of sandwiches, and you’ll see that they don’t suffer a lack of selection. The choice is so rich it’s most fun to go when you’ve got several people to buy for so you can try out more than a few.

For a sandwich with a side of history, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Jan Paukert Lahůdkářství, or Jan Paukert’s Deli. One hundred years or so ago Mr. Paukert not only opened the first deli in Prague, but he also invented chlebíčky. Apparently a Czech artist asked for a meal he could easily carry and eat with one hand. Mr. Paukert assembled a small slice of bread spread with mayo, some salami and swiss cheese, and presto, chlebíčky were born. The little sandwiches became the rage at parties, delis opened up all around town, and both the sandwiches and the eateries have been around ever since.

Will asked me once why I liked chlebíčky so much. Besides the obvious tastiness of anything meant for party food, I like sandwiches that focus more on toppings than bread. And I love that something so Czech has not only survived but thrived despite more modern fast food, staying wonderfully normal, perfect for lunch on a late summer’s day.

Spring!!

Pictures from last winter, before James renounced his pacifier, and after he discovered the pleasures of dressing up!

Sunshiny Day

It feels like Spring around here, which must mean it is time for me to peek out from behind my work computer and take a few pictures! In the meantime, I thought I'd share a short clip of James and his approach to the weather (and sunshine!)

First Sunday in Advent

 

Caroline looks forward to the first day of Advent for months because, as she says, it's candle lighting time! Advent wreath candles, that is, helping C count down those long-for-her weeks until Christmas.

Since our wreaths are made out of fir and dry out quickly, I usually wait until the very first day of Advent to buy one, visiting the local floral store and the fancier shops in the malls. This year we didn't find anything we perfectly liked, and I had just about decided to buy the most passable version and prune it to satisfaction when I remembered that some of our Czech friends make their own wreaths.

Sure enough, a little digging around in our local shop turned up ribbonless wreaths, candles to spec and all the decoration you might want. We picked up a tiny mushroom in honor of Eurolush, golden pine cones which reminded me of the South, and dried cinnamon and oranges for C who thought they smelled divine.

Just before dinner, we constructed our wreath - C shows you how. Her favorite addition, held in the wings till last, is the angel given to her by one of the ladies in a neighborhood store. It was a present given to her for a smile and a long question in Czech. For her it represents serendipity, for me it's a reminder that behind stern public faces there are soft hearts. Soft hearts and hands that make beautiful wreaths, then light their candles in our December dark.

Thanksgiving in Prague

We don't take time off for the long Thanksgiving weekend, though I do get a little free and easy feeling, as if I'm on vacation rather than writing proposals until midnight. That's thanks to Facebook and the holiday high my friends from home catch on Thanksgiving Eve, when everyone turns giddy for a few hours before they head off for the long weekend.

So, no Thursday holiday but we did get to reap the rewards of another friend's day off and the huge turkey feast he cooked to show the children just what Thanksgiving is all about. It was a delicious turkey, and the food nearly made me weep (since he couldn't find cream of mushroom soup for the green beans he substituted bechamel, he's that kind of guy). The kids thought our story of the pilgrims and Indians more interesting than the food, but at least we all agreed that the crunchy Thai dried onion mix (our local replacement for french fried onions) was good on just about everything, not just the green beans.

Prague Thanksgivings come in at least twos, sometimes more, and Saturday is our traditional fancy dinner, celebrated with another set of friends, no children, until the wee hours of the night. This was our eighth year together, and there is something so civilized about being able to talk through a meal that we haven't yet invited the kids, though we did debate it. We eventually decided that as soon as they like turkey, they can come.

Next year it's my turn to host the kids for a Thursday night meal. We'll tell stories, I'll have onion mix and ketchup ready at hand to spice up the turkey and mashed potatoes. And I'll look forward to our Saturday night supper, sans children, but full of fun, good conversation and long lasting memories. Cheers to you Miss Marjorie C!