Volcano, Schmalcano

Seriously, Iceland. A volcanic eruption can be pretty inconvenient when it screws up thousands of international flights and strands passengers for days upon days.

Of course my parents planned to fly to Europe on the first day that flights were canceled because of the ash cloud. I woke up Thursday morning and saw the news about the eruption and that airports in Ireland and England were closed. I immediately emailed my parents the story and said 'I hope this won't be a problem for your flight' in a mostly joking kind of way. My dad wrote back that German airports were still open and he didn't think it would be a problem.

That afternoon, I was getting so excited for their arrival and came home from my classes and packed all of my stuff to meet them in Berlin.

Jason and I went out to drinks with some friends in the evening, preparing to take our bus early the next AM to Berlin. Heading home from drinks, excited for the weekend, I got a phone call from my mom.

Flight's canceled.

What a let down. Add to that, my parents were in the middle of their 3 hour drive to Denver. It's not like they can quickly turn around and go home and wait for news about flights. So they continued to Denver, hoping they might be able to get on a flight the next day.

Jason and I woke up early the next morning to catch our bus to Berlin, hoping the same thing. Unfortunately, as we all know by now, that was not the case. So Jason and I had a weekend in Berlin and my parents headed back home and changed their travel plans.

On the bright side, Berlin was wonderful. We had perfect weather and had an amazing time walking and cycling around the city, enjoying beers at sidewalk cafes and lounging in the Tiergarten park. Just lovely. Only thing that could have made it better is if my parents were able to join us.

So for the new plans, Mom and Dad will fly to Berlin this Thursday (keep your fingers crossed!!) and spend the weekend there before heading to Prague on Monday. Also on Thursday, Jason's mom will arrive to Frankfurt, where Jason will join her. They will travel to visit Jason's cousins on an Air Force base in Germany, then head to Munich and Salzburg before heading back to Prague next Wednesday. I had plans to join them, but alas, things have changed. And I'm not too keen on the idea of hoping back on a 5 hour bus to Berlin for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, so I think I'll have a relaxing weekend here by myself.

Now the big news is that our parents will all be here in Prague at the same time and will finally get to meet each other for the first time! Next weekend we will all head down to the famous Czech town of Cesky Krumlov for a little countryside fun and 'bonding time' I suppose.

So, changes are ok. All around a little disappointing that things haven't worked out how we planned, but I'm confident that this time around things will be better and it will be a fantastic trip!

4 Hamburgers a Day?

Since I have been here in the Czech Republic, I have met several people who want to tell me about what the United States is like. They are an expert, know all about the culture, the habits, people, etc. How do they know all of this? From TV of course. No, no, they've never been there, but maybe know a guy who was there one time 10 years ago.

Experts.

Today, one of my students informed me that for lunch in America, everyone eats 4 hamburgers and drinks a couple liters of soda. Everyday. (Mind you, while he was telling me this I was drinking water and he was drinking out of a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi.)

I asked him where he possibly go this information from.

"Have you seen the show 'Man XXL'?"

He says it's some documentary about a really fat American man who eats McDonalds all the time and even feeds his one-year-old baby hamburgers.

Wait... that's where you get your information from?? You are stereotyping and making judgments about all of America based on one horrible reality TV show about a disgusting, obese man? Please. That's insulting.

I also believe that when I first met this same student and told him I was American, he looked at me up and down and said, "But you're slim!?" as if he really didn't know it was possible to be American and not be overweight.

Did I mention he always drinks out of 2 liter bottles of Pepsi?

Also today, in trying to prove to me how much he knows about how awful America is, he told me about a visit by one of his colleagues to somewhere in the United States. I don't know when or where his colleague went, but apparently he didn't enjoy his visit so much. Supposedly his colleague is a really 'healthy' guy and goes to the gym regularly, likes to eat well, blah, blah, blah. His colleague told him that eating well in America was very difficult and he wasn't able to find a salad anywhere.

Have I told you about Czech food before? It goes like this: pork, sausage, potatoes, bread, dumplings (basically the same thing as bread) and cheese. Mmm... healthy. The few times I have been to a Czech restaurant I have a really hard time finding something that I can order (as I don't eat beef or pork and try to eat minimal dairy). I usually end up with something deep fried and smothered in cheese. Horrible.

Under the vegetarian sections of Czech menus (if they have one) all I am able to find is fried cheese, broccoli with cheese, or cheese with ham. Yes, ham, in the veg menu. If there is a salad on the menu, it is an overpriced ice burg lettuce salad with a couple of little tomatoes thrown in and covered with something worse than Ranch dressing.

So it is really hard for me to imagine how someone could go to the States and think that it is difficult to eat healthy there. You can find good salads at practically any restaurant you visit. Hell even McDonalds has decent salads if you're desperate!

Someone we met in Austria told me that she heard a rumor that it was impossible to buy fresh vegetables in America. Wrong! I think America has more and better quality than Austria and Czech combined.

Ok, I know I'm ranting a little bit. I really just don't understand how people can possibly pretend to know so much about my country when they have never even set foot in it. I have been in the Czech Republic for 8 months now and I don't pretend to have any idea about their culture. Yes, I'm learning about it and I know a whole lot more than I did before I arrived, but I still could never make all of these gross assumptions about the Czech way of life. I can tell you about my experiences with my students, Czech friends, and dealing with people in the streets and shops, and about some of their traditions and customs, but I refuse to act like I know what it's all about. I don't. (okay, maybe that comment about vegetables sounds like it contradicts what I am saying, but that is just based off of my experiences and what I find available in the grocery stores...)

So how can someone who has just watched a couple of American TV shows and maybe reads the news every once in a while possibly think they know enough to teach me about my own country?

Sorry, I'm done now. :)