Talking about talking

So, a main theme of this blog has been my love/hate relationship with the Czech language. After 3 weeks of intensive language school I can say that I did make some progress but not as much as I had hoped. For example, yesterday was recruitment day. During the recruitment firms monthly informational meeting, I get a few minutes to introduce my project and recruit participants. I have been doing it in English but last time said some in Czech. This time, I had hoped to do it all in Czech. I had it planned in my head. It was perfect...in my head. Then I opened my mouth and it came out all smushed. At the end, I said (in English): now you know how bad I speak Czech so don't be afraid to speak English with me. I got a laugh. Afterwards, my Czech friends gave me the following comments: "Skvele" (brilliant), "Very sympaticky (likable)," "It's a shame that you can't use it in communication" - so mixed reviews. The good news is that while I was sitting in on a one-on-one interview between recruiter and candidate, I was able to understand about 80% which is a high number for me. I mean, I did know the context but I felt good about it. I apparently do better when I'm just observing.

However, the issue of English language has been a huge theme of my research. Primarily, without very good English skills, and confidence, a healthcare worker can't get a job abroad (at least not in the Middle East where English is the lingua franca). So, English is a requirement for employment in this phenomena. However, many of the nurses that I talk to want to go abroad to improve their English, so it's also an incentive to go abroad. More on that in the analysis.

But this has been both good and bad for me. Good because even though my Czech isn't very strong, I can still do my work. Practicing English with me is a benefit to people who do interviews with me. However, I am not forced to do my research in Czech so it's been bad for my motivation. I've been taking classes in Prague since January, trying to improve. I watch Czech tv, I study vocab on the tram, I've even gone to non-subtitled Czech movies. However, living in Prague it's a little difficult to learn Czech. I am not forced to use it. I don't even hear it on the streets as much - I work in the center so I head German, Russian, English, Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, etc spoken around me on an almost daily basis. And still, people want to practice their English OR just use it because their English is better than my Czech so it's just easier to use English. Besides, it's sexy!


So, I guess what I'm gettin at is the role of the native language in Anthropology. Using the native language is a cornerstone to anthroplogical research. I know things are changing, we are problem-focused researchers now but where does that leave native language versus English in a world where English is becoming a form of universal language? I know that I am not getting everything. I may only be getting half if that much with some interviews. And I know that I have missed out on a lot of contextual aspects. During interviews, I offer the interviewee the chance to speak Czech when they feel they don't have the adequate English and at times I have asked the questions in Czech. So, does not being able to speak the language fluently make me a bad anthropologist? Does it exclude me from certain research projects? I've been studying this language for 4 years, done 3 summer intensive programs, tried a number of resources, only to be told that Czech is the most difficult Slavic language to learn and, from many Czechs, that if they hadn't learned it as a child they never would. Now, I know it is possible to learn. I know plenty of Americans who have done their research here and now speak Czech brilliantly. But I am also not very good in languages. But back to my question - where does the lingua franca of English fit into anthropological fieldwork?

Zlín - home of Bat´a

So, a few weeks ago, I went to Zlín to do an interview. A nurse invited me to visit her and to tour her maternity ward. Although it was a 4-hour bus ride, I went and wasn't sure how things would go. So, she met me at the bus station and we went for lunch at a lovely little cafe that specialized in crepes. I ordered one with ham, cheese and asparagus. It was nice...except for the ketchup artistically splooshed on it. I am the odd American who does not like ketchup on everything. Afterwards, we went to visit her hospital.
She was very happy to explain to me that their ward is very baby and mother friendly, including this sign outside that said so...in English!
Afterwards, we went for a small tour of the town and then to the hotel. Now, this was a surprise for me in a few ways. First, though a miscommunication of mine, I thought I would be staying with my host. No problem, though, because I was a little nervous about staying with someone I barely know anyway! But the Hotel Moskva (Hotel Moscow for you non-slavic speakers) was in a word, amazing! I felt like I was in a cliché. Now, I've been in a few Czech, Slovak, Polish-owned hotels and hostel so it shouldn't be a surprise to me how things have not been remodeled much, but I felt like I wanted to look for listening devices! Maybe I was biased by the name.
My room was very spare.
but it did have internet, which is good because I had to communicate with my family about a crisis so that was good. And the tv had CNN World News so I was able to get some English-language television. I've recently realized that's something I miss - being able to understand what's being said on the news.
The exterior is just as fabulous...complete with socialist-worker statue out front.


I had a few food options at the hotel - and Irish Bar or a Mexican Restaurant. Since I had eaten at that Mexican-food chain in Olomouc, I opted for the Irish Bar. It was nice.





The next day, we toured the Bat´a Shoe Museum. Now anybody that knows me probably knows about my love for Bat´a shoes. It's my own special way of helping the Czech economy. So, a little background for everyone - in 1894, Tomáš Bat´a founded his now-famous shoe factory. At the time, Zlín had about 3 000 people. By 1930, he had 42 000 employees. So, Zlín, although having an old history like most Czech towns, has a very young history as a city. With this growth, Bat´a had to build factories and living quarters for his workers and the city reflects the architecture of that age. It was very functionalist but with an emphasis on maintaining gardens so today the city has an interesting look to it. You can see a neighborhood of Bat´a worker homes nestled in the trees here.


Well, kind of...they're in there, I promise! Anyway, the original Bat´a died in 1932 but his son, also Tomáš fled to Canada in 1938 where the company continued to flourish. In 1945, the company was nationalized and the named changed to Svit, which remains today since Tomáš didn't get anything back from the state due to allegations that his uncle collaborated with the Nazis. However, in almost every Czech town, or at least city of any decent size, you can find at least one Bat´a shoe store. The shoe museum that I mentioned actually has a really nice collection of preserved and replicated shoes from around the world and throughout history. My internal anthropologist was fascinated by thinking about how much we can learn about a culture just by studying their shoes!

Back to the grind

So, today started my fourth round of summer intensive language school. I haven't done one since 2007 and this year I decided to try a new one. I'm using SF Servis, which is the program that I have been studying with for my evening courses since January. Overall, I think it will be good. We're right in the middle of Old Town. The teacher is good. The class has 5 people and we are all at a similar level, or at least no one will hold the group back. So, I've got (high?) hopes of progress!

Search for pizza: an update

So, I have found a solution to my pizza dilemma. A frozen pizza that is actually better than a lot of frozen pizzas in the US AND reasonably-priced. Now, I had been buying frozen pizza from the foodhall at Marks & Spencer for about $8, then dropped to $6. These are really good, "gourmet" if you will, pizzas but a bit expensive. But when I was at my friend's flat one night she fixed a few of Dr. Oetker's Casa di Mama. I had already eaten so I only ingested the visual. It looked really good. So, then I gave it a shot, buying 2 at one time - knowing that I was going out of town and didn't have any food in the fridge. Two cost just a bit more than 1 from M&S. The result: a great tasting pizza that looks like the box. I've had two kinds: a veggie with pesto and the diablo meat one pictured here. Now, I still say that Pizzerie Kmotra (translates to godfather) is the best in Prague, but when I need a quick meal after a long day, Dr. Oetker is the man.

Who would've thunk?

So, apparently English is Sexy! So says this billboard at the Prague bus station, Florenc. I've been noting the large number of English language schools advertising around the city but this one really caught my eye. Don't worry, I'll have a nice scholarly analysis of it at some point :)