People of Prague by Paul Wells

•November 22 - December 1, 2006•

•November 22, 2006•

   We were woken up last night around four a.m. by loud hip hop music in the building somewhere. It went on for a while and finally we went into the hallway to locate the offending neighbor. We went upstairs and knocked on what we thought was the right door. Behind it, a fragile, frightened woman's voice said, "Ano?" or yes  and we realized we had made a mistake. This morning we complained to the building manager on the top floor and she said she hadn't heard a thing but suspected it came from an apartment rented by two young Slovakian men who came and went a lot. It turned out that the disembodied voice we had heard behind the door was that of an older woman who had lost her husband to cancer two weeks before. We felt horrible.

   What I can't understand is why no one else in the building was complaining. No one even peeked out into the hallway. Some Czechs who lived under the repressive Communist regime are very non confrontational. They learned to make themselves invisible to avoid scrutiny and to this day are obsequious to authorities. Others have reacted completely the opposite and rebel against even the slightest imposition of authority. Paul's cousin, Klara, told us that when she complained to a neighbor who had parked in front of her driveway, he wouldn't move the car claiming that the streets belonged to everyone. An obvious case of democracy run amok. The Czechs have been oppressed and dominated for decades, centuries actually, by one nation and another and psychologically those traumas are still being played out even in the new generation. Maybe that's one explanation for the other occupants being able to tolerate the intolerable.

   We bought flowers and put them in front of the old lady's door with a note of apology.

•November 26, 2006•

   After one month we have stopped worrying. We are taking a more what will be, will be attitude. Not very mature or pro active, but it feels more like life. One of the best things about the location of our apartment is that it's two blocks from an IMAX theater showing all the newest releases. We went to see Borat the other day with Czech subtitles. Paul and I were in hysterics but the young Czechs didn't seem to find it very funny. Lost in translation maybe.

•December 1, 2006•

   I'm not someone who starts conversations with strangers in foreign places. I know people who are. My Aunt Eve, for instance, can make acquaintances anywhere in the world as long as they speak English and will spend an hour talking to strangers in a cafe. I guess I'm a little shy when meeting people and consequently I haven't made any friends here yet which was one of the things I looked forward to. Many Czechs especially in Prague speak English so the language barrier isn't the problem. It's not just my shyness either. As previously stated, the Czechs are reserved.

   Interestingly enough, the older Czechs are often the friendliest. Paul and I were at a bus stop and , in my pathetic Czech, I asked an older woman what buses to take to get to a certain location. She began speaking Czech to me and seeing that I didn't understand, guided us on to a bus and got on with us. We had to change buses mid way and when we'd arrived at our destination she got off, walked us to the address we were seeking, waved goodbye, crossed the street and caught a bus going in the opposite direction. She had gone clear across town just to make sure we got where we were going. I was very moved. Things like that give me renewed faith in humanity.