In Czechoslovakia, the polite guest brings flowers–an odd number, please–with no wrapping paper around them. Shoes are left by the door. Don’t eat or drink before wishing the others good health.
The Lonely Planet phrasebook is full of good advice for travelers much more adventurous than I am. I hope I won’t need Czech phrases for “Do you have a condom?” or “I’m on methadone.”
I love to travel and I love to learn about places I visit, most especially their languages. You can do lots more stuff when you speak and/or read the native tongue–even in the Netherlands where everyone speaks English the train stations and museums are a lot more fun if you can read some Dutch. But we’ll be in Prague just a week, so I have merely stocked up my “Language Emergency Kit”–ten rock-bottom minimum sentences for any trip:
- Where’s the bathroom? (gdeh yeh zah-khod?)
- Thank you very much. (dyeh-kuh-yi mots-kraht)
- Please. (pro-seem)
- Yes. (ah-no, sometimes abbreviated “no”–nod head as you say it.)
- No. (neh– shake head as you say it.)
- No, thank you. (neh, dyeh-ku-yi)
- I’m sorry. (yeh meh leeto).
- My husband is vegetarian. (mooy man-zhel yeh ve-ge-ta-ri-ahn)
- Does this dish have meat? (yeh ftom-hle yeed-le ma-so?)
- Is there a local Internet cafe? (yeh tah-di in-ter-net ka-vah-na?)
If you don’t have vegetarian husband, here are two different usefuls: “Do you have a non-smoking section?” (mah-te od-dye-le-nee pro nee-kur-zhah-ki?) and “It’s beautiful” (to yeh krahs-neh).
8 responses so far ↓
1 Niek Hockx // Jul 4, 2003 at 4:51 pm
For Americans Holland is just around the corner from Prague, so I expect you to visit me! I want to see the woman I had Alien Sex with! ;-)
OK, just kidding as usual… have a great trip, Betsy!
2 Betsy Devine // Jul 4, 2003 at 5:11 pm
Hi Niek–I look forward to meeting you too, though I may have to wear a feathery rhinestone mask to hide my embarrassment about that Alien Sex. Maybe next year, though….
3 Frank Paynter // Jul 4, 2003 at 5:17 pm
Get a room…
4 Niek Hockx // Jul 4, 2003 at 5:22 pm
Why is Frank Paynter always interfering with our love life? Gez! ;-)
5 Betsy Devine // Jul 4, 2003 at 6:56 pm
But Frank, if we get a room we won’t have room for that red tractor-thingy you promised to bring next time…
6 Frank Paynter // Jul 4, 2003 at 8:14 pm
You promised to be discreet about my red tractor thingie. Next thing you know Halley will want a demo.
7 Niek Hockx // Jul 5, 2003 at 4:26 pm
No wonder I always get confused if it’s spelled “thingy” or “thingie” in (American) English… ;-)
8 jr // Jul 5, 2003 at 7:57 pm
I think that this may be the only male/female thing in American English. Except I don’t remember which is which. I think thingy may be male.