My college roommate came out for a long weekend to check out all there is to see in Zurich. That took about one afternoon, and then we spent the rest of the weekend in Prague. No, seriously, we went around town a bit, hit the Turkish baths, went to two of the main chocolatiers, and went out for fondue (where she discovered, much to her relief, that fondue tastes much better than it smells). Another day to putter around town would have been great, but time waits for no man, and planes wait for no tourists. On to Prague, then.
Our hotel was full, so they had booked us a two-person apartment, instead, for the same price. The two-bedroom apartment had five beds. Five. What would two people need five beds for? The place I stayed at in Rome two weekends ago had the same thing: five beds for two people, and that was just a room, not even an apartment. European hotels have strange ideas regarding the proper person-to-bed-to-room ratio, apparently.
When I first moved to Europe, it was slightly disconcerting to see signs and newspapers all written in a foreign language, but I got used to it pretty quickly, especially since French and German are easily translated into English. What throws me now is going to a country where the language is entirely incomprehensible. I came across that in Budapest last year, and this past weekend in Prague. Czech is almost entirely unrelated to English, and yet we would still try to read the signs. It�s amazing how strong the reading instinct is when you see signs, even if you know that you won�t understand them. They�re there, so you try.
The other thing that happened in both Prague and Budapest was that it was difficult to figure out how much things cost. Most of the traveling I've done since moving here has been within the EU, Switzerland, England, or the States, so I've gotten used to keeping track of what things should cost in euros, francs, pounds, or dollars, but Hungary and the Czech Republic are still on their own currencies (forints and crowns, respectively), and the exchange rates are odd (something like 23 crowns per dollar, or 17 per franc). Add to that the fact that I think half in dollars and half in francs, being in expat currency-consciousness limbo, and I spent half the time trying to figure out if things were expensive or not.
In any case, I�d heard that Prague has succumbed to the tourist industry in the past ten or fifteen years, but I wasn�t prepared for the extent to which the city is overrun by and run for tourists. Every store, every restaurant, every square was full of tourists and the people trying to get the tourists' money. February is cold and in the middle of low season, so I shudder to imagine what high season is like, and how many tourists must flood Prague in June. We heard more Brits and Americans than Czechs while we were there, and had to remind ourselves that we were in a foreign country, mostly by trying to read street signs.
One day, my friend and I were sitting in a caf�, conversing (as we always do, it being our native tongue) in American English. A man sitting at the next table over, probably about 50 years old, leaned over and apologized for interrupting, but he wanted to know where we were from. He was American, and also spoke with an American accent. We told him that we were American, and he said, �Oh, that explains it. It is nearly impossible for non-native speakers to speak such good English.� Um. I guess I�m relieved that I can speak English like a native, despite my yellow skin and slanty eyes. It was more excusable that a few Czech people we met were surprised and shocked that two Asian girls could come from the States, but to have an American listen to our American English and be surprised that we�re American? People like that remind me why Bush is president and why Americans have a reputation for being ignorant.
And one random note: My webstats broke 20,000, so that means that my random blabbering is somewhat amusing to you guys. Or that you�re very bored and need something to read at work that isn�t porn. Thanks for reading.
Our hotel was full, so they had booked us a two-person apartment, instead, for the same price. The two-bedroom apartment had five beds. Five. What would two people need five beds for? The place I stayed at in Rome two weekends ago had the same thing: five beds for two people, and that was just a room, not even an apartment. European hotels have strange ideas regarding the proper person-to-bed-to-room ratio, apparently.
When I first moved to Europe, it was slightly disconcerting to see signs and newspapers all written in a foreign language, but I got used to it pretty quickly, especially since French and German are easily translated into English. What throws me now is going to a country where the language is entirely incomprehensible. I came across that in Budapest last year, and this past weekend in Prague. Czech is almost entirely unrelated to English, and yet we would still try to read the signs. It�s amazing how strong the reading instinct is when you see signs, even if you know that you won�t understand them. They�re there, so you try.
The other thing that happened in both Prague and Budapest was that it was difficult to figure out how much things cost. Most of the traveling I've done since moving here has been within the EU, Switzerland, England, or the States, so I've gotten used to keeping track of what things should cost in euros, francs, pounds, or dollars, but Hungary and the Czech Republic are still on their own currencies (forints and crowns, respectively), and the exchange rates are odd (something like 23 crowns per dollar, or 17 per franc). Add to that the fact that I think half in dollars and half in francs, being in expat currency-consciousness limbo, and I spent half the time trying to figure out if things were expensive or not.
In any case, I�d heard that Prague has succumbed to the tourist industry in the past ten or fifteen years, but I wasn�t prepared for the extent to which the city is overrun by and run for tourists. Every store, every restaurant, every square was full of tourists and the people trying to get the tourists' money. February is cold and in the middle of low season, so I shudder to imagine what high season is like, and how many tourists must flood Prague in June. We heard more Brits and Americans than Czechs while we were there, and had to remind ourselves that we were in a foreign country, mostly by trying to read street signs.
One day, my friend and I were sitting in a caf�, conversing (as we always do, it being our native tongue) in American English. A man sitting at the next table over, probably about 50 years old, leaned over and apologized for interrupting, but he wanted to know where we were from. He was American, and also spoke with an American accent. We told him that we were American, and he said, �Oh, that explains it. It is nearly impossible for non-native speakers to speak such good English.� Um. I guess I�m relieved that I can speak English like a native, despite my yellow skin and slanty eyes. It was more excusable that a few Czech people we met were surprised and shocked that two Asian girls could come from the States, but to have an American listen to our American English and be surprised that we�re American? People like that remind me why Bush is president and why Americans have a reputation for being ignorant.
And one random note: My webstats broke 20,000, so that means that my random blabbering is somewhat amusing to you guys. Or that you�re very bored and need something to read at work that isn�t porn. Thanks for reading.
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