Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Prague First Trip
First Trip
My first chance to visit Prague came when I was a dean at
the Defense Language Institute. The Czech instructors excitedly prepared me for
the experience, including some efforts to bump up my language skills. One had a
sister in Prague and told me to contact her, that she spoke excellent Russian,
which was nearly a second native language for me. Two instructors (a married
couple), Jan and Sharka, were taking leave at that time and would be in Prague;
they were well integrated into the literature and art scene there and promised
to contact me while I was in town. Jan was an author in his own right, the
friend of Havel who shared Echo’s 1968-1989 discovery, and had quite good English,
which would come in handy (well, almost handy) on one occasion.
Traveling from Germany
I started out in Garmisch. We had a program there, FLTCE
(Foreign Language Training Center Europe) that I had worked with from afar. The
languages taught there were the ones taught in my school back in the USA, so the
program naturally feel under my jurisdiction. The stop in Garmisch proved easy
(I already knew the area), informative (I did not know the teachers of FLTCE
and enjoyed getting to know the very talented teachers),and helpful (unable to
get a visa while in the USA, the Czech Embassy in Bonn came through with a visa
in a timely fashion). It was not the first time I have had to acquire a visa
through an embassy in a foreign country, but then, foreign lands—that’s my
life.
From Germany, two Czech instructors, whose names I do not
remember) drove with me to Prague. We spoke only Czech, and that pleased them
very much. It pleased me, too. My Czech improved by the mile. As we drove into Prague, I noticed large black
graffiti on a grain silo: Tsygany do plynu (Send the gypsies to the gas
chamber.).
“Golly, that’s harsh,” I said.
They were surprised I could understand it, but, hey, it pretty
much matched the same expression in Russian. I sensed their embarrassment about
it and figured it would be better to talk about it rather than not comment.
They explained that social issues connected with a large gypsy population had
created contemporary bias, which likely stemmed as well from older bias.
I remember also one joke that was not meant as a joke and therefore
struck me as quite funny. We were discussing the history of Czechoslovakia and
its position in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when one of the instructors searched
for a name not on the tip of his tongue.
“Who were the people who oppressed the Czechs for so long?”
he asked the other instructor, clearly having in mind the Hapsburgs.
Without missing a beat, the other instructor replied, “Kommunisty”
(Communists).
Yes, indeed, that drive was good for language development.
More than that, it gave me a better understanding of the culture and society
not only through our chatter but also in the persons of two kind
representatives of that culture.
Lodging
Lodging turned out to be more of an adventure than I have
experienced anywhere else. The military attaché at the Embassy welcomed me and immediately
slapped his forehead, looking at my suitcases and realizing that he had forgotten
to make reservations at a hotel on a very popular weekend. My trip coincided
with the 45th anniversary of the freeing of Czechoslovakia in WWII.
The whole world, it seems, had come to celebrate.
The attaché and I shlepped from one hotel to another. Filled,
filled, filled. No vacancy. Finally, we found a smaller hotel with one room
available. The person in charge promised me that she would find me a room for
every night that I was there, but I would have to change rooms a few times
during the two weeks. I agreed, happy not to have to change hotels every day.
(I think she made that promise because of my willingness to speak to her in
Czech, aided by the attaché, my former student, whose Czech had become quite
good. Language builds bridges.)
Changing rooms at the hotel brought more language development as the maids
showed up each day to help me move. I learned from their chatter but also from
their carrying on conversations with me about the town, what I would be doing,
and even their lives. How wonderful not to have a room where I would have
checked in and not interacted further with any staff. Sometimes, I felt like I
was hanging on by my fingertips (or tongue tip?) to keep up with the banter, language
not typically taught in a classroom.
On the day I left, I dragged my suitcases to the elevator, near
which the floor maids had their stations. I had brought some American herbal
teas and gave them each a box, struggling a bit to explain the concept of herbal
tea (not yet a thing in Prague) to them. They thanked me, and I waited for the
elevator.
Right then, along came a British man, also checking out. “Cheerio,”
he said to them.
To my surprise, they answered in pretty decent English, “Have
a safe flight home!”
What?? “Vy mluvite anglický!” (You speak English!)
They giggled, “Ano (yes).” Then, they explained that the tourists
from English-speaking countries rarely knew any Czech—at most, just a few courtesy
words. They were delighted to find an American who could—and would—communicate with
them in Czech. For that reason, they never shared that we actually had two languages
in common. I forgave them. They had done a lot to improve my ease of
communication.
Volume 1: ABC Lands
by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver
For more posts about and from this book, click HERE.
For more posts by and about Betty Lou Leaver, click HERE.
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