Amateur Cultural Anthropology

It is typical practice for obnoxious Americans, when they travel abroad, to observe the differing cultural practices of our destinations, and be as judgmental as hell. I hope I am not a typical obnoxious American, but after only ten days on the ground in Prague, there are certain cultural differences that I think are noteworthy:

• Dogs: No, it's not notable that Czechs love dogs. Everyone does*. What is noticeable is how incredible well Czech masters train their dogs, illustrated most evidently by the fact that it is very common for owner and dog to go for a stroll together without using a leash. I don't mean merely in parks, either. In the heart of the Old Town of Prague, I saw numerous dogs happily trotting behind or ahead of their owners, ignoring the dozens of people and cars coming and going. There seems to be an attempt to get Czech owners to clean up after their pup, but so far, the dogs are better trained than their owners...

• PDA: For a people not known for their friendly, outgoing personalities, Czechs loooove their PDA (public displays of affection). On the tram, the metro, waiting in line, or just on the street, Czech couples of all ages seize the moment for a public canoodle. And not just hand holding, or a hug, or a quick peck. Easily first base. Sometimes more.

• Recycling: People in Prague are serious about their recycling, but they do it a bit differently. The city puts out large color-coded recycling receptacles in various places around a neighborhood, and unlike trash, which is collected directly from houses, etc., residents are expectecd to collect their recyclables and then take them to the nearest set of bins. You'd think this extra effort might make the Czechs lax about it, and perhaps some are, but generally, people do what is expected of them. A local friend, who had several large Ikea boxes after moving into a new place, decided to drop them in his building's large dumpster. An anonymous neighbor, seeing this, took the boxes back *out* of the dumpster, placed them beside it, and left a passive aggressive note on them. That said, trash cans are hard to come by in much of the touristy parts of the city, let alone recycling bins, so this may be one that doesn't affect you unlesss you live here.

• Religion: The Czech Republic, or less formally, Czechia, has four neighbors: Germany, Poland, Austria, and, of course, it's former partner, Slovakia. Over 90% of Poles identify as religious, almost all as Roman Catholic. (Remember JP2?) Slovakia is also quite Catholic and has about a 75% believer rate, all religions included. Austria, again, quite Catholic, with 76% of Austrians professing some faith or another. Even in "rational" Germany, 65% of its citizens belong to one faith or another. However, in Czechia, roughly 80% of citizens are atheist, agnostic, or just don't have a single religion. In one survey, only 19% of Czechs believed in a God in the traditional sense. No-one can quite pinpoint why the disparity exists, as all of these countries suffered under "godless" communism and yet maintained their religious identities. Not here. In Prague, many of the unspeakably beautiful churches are primarily used simply as tourist atractions and venues for classic musical concerts. As in, concerts multiple times a week. Roman Catholicism is by far the largest faith--at about 10% of the populace.

Overall, though, the (few) Czech's I have met have been, unsurpisingly, a lot like other people. Yes, my ESL class was pretty stoney-faced when I stood in front of them for the time last night and introduced myself as every stereotype of cold Eastern (Central) Europeans presented itself to me in the flesh. By the end of the evening, though, through the work of my fellow trainees and our exceptional master teacher, they were laughing and telling jokes like a group of old friends. Yes, this is a different country, with a different culture, but people are people. I know I keep ending these posts with optimistic cliches, I am sure my cynicism will return any day now. But not today.

*Except me.