Wandering Wonders

Ahoj!

Last night my friends and I went to this really cool pub a few blocks down from the dancing house and alongside the river. It was a very traditional pub. When I was inside, I saw one of our students. He welcomed all eight of us to come and sit with his friends (they were at a big table). We started talking about ESL, his new baby son, the Czech tradition at one hospital to write the name of your child on them while in the hospital, etc.

As the night progressed, things got a bit interesting! First we talked about my last name… Škarda. They said this is a very unusual, funny name. A lot of Czechs have surnames that have to do with what professions their ancestors held. Not Skarda. Skarda literally comes from the word “Skareda”.
For non-czech speakers: SH-kar-ee-duh. This is hilarious for two reasons:

1.) I have been saying my own last name wrong for my entire life! My last name was “Škarda”, not Skarda. So the ’s’ is actually pronounced like “sh”.

2. Škarda comes from “Škareda” and literally means: UGLY, hideous, scary, and anything having to do with something ugly. Sour face. lol.

So…
the night progresses and people speak all sorts of languages. There’s a guy across the table speaking Polish to a girl because he doesn’t realize she’s Czech and he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking English, the guy next to me asks me if I know German and the guy across the table on my right is speaking English because he’s feeling comfortable and has had more than enough to drink for the two of us! Apparently one of the guys won a Kevin Costner contest a few years ago (he’s fattened up since, his friend tells us) and this was the subject of conversation for quite sometime. The two of them took turns talking about how pretty their faces were as Bethany and I wondered at this in amusement.

One guy was acting a bit loco, so I teasingly made the “circle around the ear crazy gesture”, which is apparently universal. He decided to play with this. He got up from his seat, went down to the floor, and stood on his head. He did a split upside down in the air, back and forth, back and forth, and almost hit some people at the table next to him with his foot.

Then he took his watch and held it up. “This is good watch.” SMACK! He threw it like he would a rock against the wall. “See? Still tells time!” Made in AMERIKA!” And then again. And again, And again… several times. Then he tried to take someone else’s watch and throw it against the wall. Then he took his phone. “This good phone. Look.”

“Ne, Ne, NEEEEEEE (no)!” I start yelling. “Don’t do it.” SMACK!

“Look-” he says, “still work! What is your number?”

I went home shortly, (it was only eleven), but this is one night I will not forget…
And I even got to try a bit of homemade Moravian spirits (50% alcohol. It wasn’t my favorite).

Ahoj.