Wordplay – analytic vs synthetic

As mentioned in an earlier post, English is a mostly analytic language, while Czech is mainly synthetic. The core difference is how grammar is expressed. In analytic languages, grammar is indicated mostly through separate words and strict word order, which you can see in English. Synthetic languages express grammar mostly through changes to the words […]

Czech, Please

I’m back in Prague, and things are the same but different in this dynamic place. After having been in Asheville for a few months, Prague feels more crowded and hectic than I recalled, and I suppose it might just be, as it continues its huge growth as a very popular city both to move to […]

Dan Brown in Town

Coincidentally, Dan Brown’s latest book, The Secret of Secrets, just released this month, is based in Prague. I bought an English language copy (surprisingly, it was less expensive than the Czech language version) and read it in five days, in time to finish it before a big book tour event held in Prague. I didn’t […]

Czech Account and Bank ID

In 2010 the US enacted FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) to combat tax evasion by US taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States. This act requires, among other things, that foreign financial institutions report information about financial accounts held by US taxpayers. Banks outside the US must identify and report US account […]

Czech phone number and mobile apps

When spending so much time in Czechia, it is helpful to have a Czech phone number and to be able to access apps available only in Czechia (or at least for non-US Google accounts). I didn’t want a landline, of course, but I needed a solution for my mobile phone. For many of the running […]

Czech visa

Now that I’ve been back in the US for almost two months, I have confirmed that I do indeed enjoy dividing my time between Asheville and Prague, with each offering various highlights and advantages. Why choose just one?? It’s the best of both worlds. I admittedly at times feel a bit discombobulated from living two […]

Intensive Czech Course, Week 7 (Finished!)

I’m done with the 30 days of intensive and immersive Czech language learning!! Yay! Phew, what a relief. The photo above is of me smiling while overlooking the city. Pleased to have done it, happy to be finished. I’m still getting used to not having to go to class or do homework, though the sound […]

Intensive Czech Course, Week 6

Because of multiple Czech holidays during my stay in Prague, the six-week course (30 days) actually takes seven weeks to complete. So my final four days are next week, finishing on Thursday, May 15. At this point, I’m very ready for it to end, but I can certainly see it through. At the same time, […]

Intensive Czech Course, Week 5

Above is a bonfire, not a dumpster fire, though sometimes my brain feels like a dumpster fire during the course. But I’m definitely on the home stretch now. I’ve been vacillating between considering signing up for the next course, and then wishing it could all please just be over with. My leaning often changes daily, […]

Intensive Czech Course, Week 4

60% done now – 18 out of 30 sessions completed! It continues to amaze me how much we learn each day, and how the more I learn, the more complex Czech seems. In class on Friday I just had to chuckle aloud when the teacher showed us all the various word ending changes and rules […]