Frequently Asked Questions

From my recent ventures on Skype phone calls - here are the most frequently asked questions about Prague, the Czech Republic, and my life in general. . .

1) What's the food like?
Czech food consists of a heck of a lot of sausages, fried things, potatoes, and dumplings. I, however, have eaten none of this. Almost everyone around me is vegetarian, so I, too, have eaten mostly vegetarian. Bread is amazing, mozzarella is amazing, and basil is amazing, so I eat those three things together just about everyday. There is a ton of italian food in this city, so that makes up the rest of my diet, along with yogurt, other cheeses, and milka bars. I also drink tea like crazy.

2) What's it like where you live?
I live in the country. Seriously. There are 600 people in this village. There are probably more goats than people. It's beautiful and I swear that Hans Christian Anderson most likely wrote stories set in the forest around here. Although I think he's German. But, whatever. I keep waiting for a troll to walk out of the woods or for the snails to start chatting with me. It's all very fairy-tale. Prague, the city, is like a Bohemian version of Florence. Tiny streets that lead nowhere, bars on every corner, amazing architecture. Unfortunately, with no Duomo, I get lost constantly. Prague has about a million people, so it's your average large city - just way prettier than any average large city I've ever seen.

3) Are the Czech people nice?
Nice is a relative term. They are perfectly polite - there is far less pushing to get on and off the metro than nearly all of the other cities I've been to that have subway systems - but nice would be over-doing it. I keep hearing "it's a Czech thing" - but people are very serious and don't smile at strangers. You don't say hello to strangers on the street when you pass by - so it's not friendly by Little Rock standards. It's got a very post-Communist, Eastern bloc feel - which is hard to explain until you experience it. But once introduced to people, they are quite friendly. Today, I met the President of the Commonwealth Society at Charles University Law School and after about 15 minutes of chatting, she invited me to go camping. So, I've been lucky in my interactions with people.

4) How's work?
Work is great - the people are great. I am working on three things right now: 1) a grant for the Burma Center's Democracy School - to teach Burmese refugees the skills necessary for a transitional democracy when the junta is finally taken out of power, 2) research case studies for CEELI's next big program on commercial law, and 3) helping research, plan, and organize a fall program on Court Reporting for Bosnia/Serbia/Croatia at the CEELI center. I've had free lunch everyday this week because a big program is going on regarding investigating organized crime. So, all in all, it's pretty awesome.

5) Are you going to get to travel at all?
Yes, hopefully. I am planning a week-long trip to Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Poland for July if I get my work done. I'm working 40 hour weeks, so I should be in good shape.

6) How's Robert?
Robert is fine. He misses me. :)

Send me more questions, and I will post more answers.