Roadtrip USA 2007

After a very very very long break (more than one year I reckon), I posted some more photos from our 2007 US Roadtrip. This time Las Vegas and drive through Nevada desert to California. More photos to come (at some point)… Whole Roadtrip photogallery here.

• Hotové / Ready: Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree NP, Route 66, Grand Canyon, Navajo country (new)
• Další / Next: Zion NP, Las Vegas, Yosemite NP, San Francisco, Big Sur (back to LA), Washington DC, Boston, Albany, New York City

It appears to me, that we Czechs still have the sheep mentality. We are not used to fight for our rights, we often let others step in our face. I’m still learning to be “cheekier” and stand up for my rights (esp. from my beloved wife;-), but I can see this inferiority as a customer is deeply entrenched in my behavior. It may have something to do with the fact that I grew up in communism and the way how schools were run. But the good thing is that now I know about it and I’m gradually working on it. Just stop going to shops that treat you bad, complain if you’re unhappy, don’t submit…

Comments please, am I totally wrong?

• Beer: a great topic for flamewar;-) (un?)fortunately I don’t drink it, so I cannot comment on that… Please share your opinion in the comments!
• Culture of service: of course it’s true that the question “how are you?” does not imply that the person asking actually cares about you. It is true that such conversations with shopkeepers are superficial and empty. But then, who cares? I’m there to shop and they are there to make the business comfortable and smooth. I quickly got used to people being nice to each other and it made everyday tasks, such as shopping a lot easier. It’s slowly and gradually coming to CZ, but we still have a lot to catch up. There are still many places where shop attendants and waiters are grumpy, impolite and not responsive. I believe it’s because they haven’t yet realized the long-term benefits of a content returning customer.
• Drinks in restaurants: Everywhere in US you can get free water to your meal (btw, the same applies for all developing countries I’ve been to). The only exception is CZ, where you can get only mineral water in tiny bottles and have to pay for it dearly. Most people then drink beer, because it’s much cheaper per volume (half-liter beer costs you often the same as 0.2 liter mineral water, which supports the theory that Czechs make water from beer, rather than other way round). Plus, of course, free refills in fast foods. In this we really suck!
• Energy consumption: now, that’s not very surprising. Americans waste energy everywhere you look. Huge cars, lights permanently on, insulation on buildings not very good. It may be because energy has until recenlty been always cheap and hence the motivation to conserve it was very little. With soaring prices this is gradually changing, new houses for instance are insulated very well. But still, lights are on and I cannot imagine Americans will ever give up their SUVs…
• Food: lot of food in US is junk/fast food, but can’t help it, it’s good. I mean really good! Burgers, fries, chicken wings, dips, tortillas, burritos, everything. Fast food in CZ sucks (there is an exception to this rule: KFC is good in CZ, but not very good in US). Also variety of ethnic food in US is much bigger and the food is better. But on the other hand “proper meals” (dumplings, sauces, sauerkraut) in CZ is unbeatable. I didn’t realize how much I missed roast duck with sauerkraut and dumplings until I ate it yesterday – oh my goodness, how could I live without it? ) Loosely related remark: for main dish Americans use the French word entrée, which actually means appetizer. Thus you can find entrees and appetizers in menu but no main dish – it’s rather confusing before you get used to it!
• IQ: surprisingly, there are stupid Americans as well as intelligent ones. I cannot confirm the thesis that Americans are on average more stupid than other people. They are American-centric, yes. But given a little thought, we are no less Czech/Europe-centric in that regard. It’s true that Americans often don’t know which European cities are in which countries. But how many Czechs know capital cities of New York State or California, the two biggest states? (hint: they are not NYC and LA;-)
• Movies usually come late to CZ. Bourne Ultimatum is premiered today in US, yet here we have to wait till the end of August;-( Some movies (Simpsons) are played at the same time, though, and lot of European movies (not to speak about Czech ones;-) never make it to US at all. Tie.
• Smoking: is not “in”. People don’t smoke almost at all compared to Europe. You can go to pub and actually wear your clothes again afterwards! I don’t know whether it’s banned or just “out”, but it’s definitely nice. I saw a smoking “cabin” at an airport – a closed transparent box for smokers that was filled with nicotine cloud – but the rest of the airport was clean. Then I arrived to Frankfurt where people smoke everywhere – I felt like I came to some wild Eastern developing country
• Water from taps in CZ is much better, I can drink it right away and don’t have to pour it in big container and wait 24 hours for the chlorine smell to evaporate. Drinking water from tap in US tastes like drinking it from public swimming pool.

Edit 9/7/2008: I randomly stumbled upon another post by someone who was in the States in 2004/5 and who wrote similar article so check it out. It’s in Czech, though.

Naše tři CD posloucháme pořád dokola, když třeba něco vaříme. Nejoblíbenější je Sinead O’Connor – zejména track číslo 9. Je to fakt super song, dáváme si ho aspoň tak 3x denně. Další dvě jsou Police (na ní je hit Every Breath You Take, ale myslím, že cover od Sto zvířat je výrazně lepší:-) a soundtrack k filmu Philadephia (hit od Bruce Springsteena).

No a dneska ráno jsem i zapnul televizi, a co nevidím: Charlie Rose talkshow (to je slavný interviewer, který interviewoval snad všechny lidi na světě) a má tam jako hosty Henryho Kissingera, Zbygniewa Brzezinskiho a Brenta Scowcrofta – samý National Security poradci Amerických prezidentů (Nixona, Forda, Cartera). Celkem zajímavá diskuse, škoda, že něc takového nedávají na ČT1:-) Nejchytřejší nám s Onurem asi přišel Brzezinski, vyjadřovaj se velmi jasně, kultivovaně a perfektní angličtinou. Kissinger byl lepší, než na konferenci NAFAC, vtipnější, ale říká tak trochu pořád to samý…

No nic, jdu zas do knihovny, už nemám moc času:-)

When your friends from abroad come to Prague and ask you to show them around, you face the difficult task of choosing the right things to make it impressive, not boring and in a way representative. That is actually very difficult, especially for someone who was born and has ever since lived in Prague. You don’t have the necessary distance to judge what stuff is interesting for a foreigner, because you walk in those streets every day and you have seen all the buildings hundred times.

When I came here, I found out that quite many people had actually gone to Prague for holiday, so when I say I’m from Czech Republic, they often know that it exists and even where it is (some still mix it up with Czechoslovakia, but hey, you can’t blame them for that:-). And usually they mention something interesting they remember. I thought I might try to collect their impressions and maybe it will somehow prove useful in getting “outside picture” of Prague – either to exploit it or to try to remedy it in some instances!

1. Of course the very very first thing everybody remebers is (surprise surprise) BEER Cheap, good, cheap, thick, cheap, strong, cheap, and cheaper than water will be the most common comments. Usually they get a bit disappointed when I say I don’t drink it. I might consider not saying that anymore, actually… (or starting drinking it?)
2. The second impression are beautiful chicks I have no problem agreeing with that (of course after my honey:-))
3. Puppets: One guy here has acquired a particular strong connection in his head between Prague and puppets sold on the streets as tourist souvenirs. Basically Prague for him is The Puppet City
4. “Huge four-storey art museum” where you can spend hours: I presume that is the National Gallery in the Trade Fair Palace in Holešovice
5. Wallenstein garden: an amazing garden with peacocks, and huge owls (I never realized it could be so interesting, but actually, yes:-)
6. Defenestration: Although as far as I know there were only two documented defenestrations in history (1419 and 1618), some Americans tend to think that Czechs routinely solve their issues by throwing people out of windows. I don’t really blame them, because this image was probably planted in their heads by Czech tour guides in order to make the tours more entertaining at the expense of historical accuracy. Another related theory explains, that the Catholics thrown out of the window (the second defenestration) landed on a pile of horse dung, which saved their lives – hence the expression: “Holy shit!” )

Will be updated as I gather more observations…