As I said, I am looking for someone from the Czech Republic to interview for a cultural paper. The questions are not of a personal nature, just greetings, foods, gestures, etc. I lived in Dexheim, Germany for 4 years while in the military. I learned alot about the European culture then. After reading a few websites, the cultures seem to be very similar. Here is a list of questions I am supposed to ask that I can not find. (These are not all my questions. Some seem weird to me) 1. How is garbage collection dealt with? 2. What foods are not eaten? 3. What gestures are not polite in society? 4. Who are the major artists/writers popular right now? 5. What is the most popular music right now? 6. What is normal dress for man/woman? 7. Where and how do people get married? Average age? Is it ok not to marry? How is divorce accepted? Some questions I feel I know. If you do not agree let me know. 1. How do people greet each other? Shake hands at first meeting. Friends or good friends may embrace. Boyfriend/girlfriend kiss. 2. Vistor bringing gifts? Odd number flowers, but I am not sure what kind is best. 3. Education. Begin at age 6 to 15 compulsary school. seperated by age not sex. High literacy rate at 99% 4. Is it acceptable to bargain at department store? no. Market? yes 5. Language. Czech and Slovak 6. Religion. Aetheist and Catholic 7. Holidays. New Year, Easter, Christmas, and state holidays. Here are my questions. 1. What is most popular leisure time activity? 2. What is the biggest influence on Czech culture today? 3. What do you feel is your favorite part of Czech culture? If any one is interested, please contact me on my czech republic /richj13. or contact me email at richj13@hotmail.com. thanks, rich
We throw garbage in large garbage containers. The containers are then emptied to a garbage truck. The garbage truck brings garbage to incinerator. The burned garbage from the incinerator is then moved to a landfill far away, so that we don't have to look at it. D'oh. As far as recycling is concerned: Recycling of paper used to be big in the communist ages. It is not so anymore. Beer and Coke bottles are recycled. Cans are not. Recycling stations (containers designated to hold certain type of garbage, like plastics for example) are used only by those people who cannot fit all their garbage into the regular (paid-for) container. A large number of environmental activists specialize in collecting metal. Some of them care for the mother nature so much that they are not afraid to risk their lives, when collecting metal from high-voltage power cables. Some zealots also collect optical cables, though they are not so successfull when turning those in at a recycling point. That's a tough question to answer. Give me a menu I will tell you what I don't eat. Generally, we do not eat anything made of cats, dogs or monkeys. Anything referring to sexual intercourse. Waving your fist in close proximity of another person's face is not too polite either. A lot of people don't care. I mean it. If you really need some names or numbers, you can look at the way OSA (that's Czech for RIAA) splits money they get from xeroxes and cd-burners. According to their methodology, artists get money according to the amount of cds/books/movies sold. I've heard that the singer Helena Vondrackova and the band Olympic get the biggest share. I believe Olympic play rock. As for Helena Vondrackova, I am not able to classify what she sings. Same as in Germany. Unlike in the US, pants are tight; we're proud of our asses. You can either have a wedding in a church or in a city hall or in both. My guess at the average age is 25. You better look up some real stats. It is ok not to marry, but your mother won't be happy about it. If you don't have kids, it's ok to divorce. If you do have them, you should 'think of' the children and divorce after they leave the house. We say "Dobry den" (Good day). Women like to hug (not as much as in the US, though). Men do not, unless the other party is a pretty girl. Flowers are for women. Single men will not be amused. A box of chocolates or alcoholic beverage (not beer, though) is better. In my opinion, at least. Hm, I was under the impression that high school is compulsory. I guess I was wrong. What do you mean by separated by age? Are there countries that have no concept of grades? Although you can bargain when buying your abidas shoes at a Vietnamese stand at a marketplace, bargaining was one of the things communists got us rid of, and I am very thankful for that. I feel very, very uncomfortable bargaining. Let me guess, you are not aware of the fact that Czechoslovakia does not exist anymore? Yes, Atheists and Roman Catholics. That's most likely correct. Drinking beer. Really. I have no idea. Ten years ago, it was definitely the western-european and American culture. I am not sure about the current situation. We have all the McDonalds and malls we need. I don't see the culture changing anymore. There are some Chinese restaurants in Prague, but I would not call it a Chinese influence on the Czech culture. Food
