On the way to office..

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27-Oct-2011
It was a very cloudy morning and looked as if it was going to rain heavily. I took my tram and travelled for nearly 20 minutes to city center where I work. I then got down at my tram stop in city center and the weather was still terrible and it had started to drizzle slowly. I did not feel like taking my umbrella out.
Tram Stop:













Riverside walk to Business park:



From the tram stop in city center, I have to walk for 5 minutes to reach Business Park where my office is situated. There are many employees from the business park working for different companies, who get down at the same stop as I do. We have to cross traffic signal once and walk next to river and it is a very soothing morning walk, but for few smokers who smoke while walking as well (pity them)!

Today while crossing the traffic signal I happen to hear a conversation behind me. The conversation was between an obese American (it might be due to the result of Mac Donalds and KFC, you never know) and a healthy looking Czech guy.
Czech Guy:  ..so you prepare turkey for "thanks giving" day?
American Guy:  Yes, we do. We get together and prepare turkey.
Czech Guy: Are you going to celebrate Christmas in Czech Republic or are you going to America to celebrate with your family?
American Guy: hmm,, I wish I can go to States, but yes, I will be celebrating Christmas in here itself. Also my family is here so...
Czech Guy: Are you going to prepare Czech Christmas dish or American? But, do you know what we prepare here?
American Guy: No, I don’t know, tell me..
Czech Guy: We prepare carp fish, with potato salad and cabbages. This is our Christmas treat.
There was silence for few seconds and both did not speak (maybe this obese American who might cherish the "richness" of Mac Donald’s and KFC thought this a weird combination, I don’t blame him :-))

In this span of silence, there as a woman walking in front of me and smoking, I felt so irritated. Why do they have to smoke during morning and while walking? They behave as if any moment not smoking is a waste of time!
Then,
Czech Guy: (as if he understood the American guy) haha, I know it sounds like a strange combination because I myself do not like it (sometimes I feel Czechs are like Indians because they look like they are trying to please foreigners by degrading themselves and upgrading foreigners OR maybe this Czech Guy genuinely felt the combination of carp fish, potatoes and cabbages funny!)
American Guy: hmm, but Czech is not a sea side country, but why do they have fish as Christmas treat?
Czech Guy: No, carp is not salt water wish, but it’s a fresh water fish and we have fresh water in abundance here. But, Czechs would have preferred to live next to a sea though. (I thought to myself “you bet Mr. Czech Guy. I have seen Czechs going crazy about sea, especially girls giggling with blonde hairs and bikinis :-/ as if anything other than being on beach is waste ot life! hah!”)
American Guy: Do you visit Church during Christmas?
(I know this is a silly question to ask a Christian guy from Central Europe, but 40% of Czechs are atheists. Maybe this American Guy knew that. It’s not like most of Czechs are rocket Scientists and hence atheists, but it is because of their history. They were under communism and a generation lived without any god and prayers but read a lot of literature and were crazy about books. Their children also grew without any God and sermons and even today I see many Czechs reading books in trams and else where. There are people who are very religious in Czech Republic as well, but I have heard that north Bohemian people are less religious than south Moravians and I am not sure how true this information is. Czech Republic is divided into northern Bohemia and southern Moravia.
During communism in 1970s (then it was a single country called Czechoslovakia), people from Slovakia part were said to be more religious and they had secret soceity who did sermons underground without the communist's knowledge, but anyone who were caught were sent to uranium mines to work hard or made to undergo any other harsh punishments. This secret soceity even existed in Czech part of Czechoslovakia among believers as well. It is said that even today Slovakia is more religious than Czech!)
Czech Guy: Well, I visit my village during Christmas but I don’t like to go to church because I will have to visit 2 churches, one from my mother’s side and one from my father’s side. It’s horrible and they force me to go to both. I only agree to go once in a year during Christmas.
And then I reached my office and they continued their conversation further and I did not observe which way they went..

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