At 9:45 on Day 6, I awoke to hear Martin calling us to breakfast, which was to end in 15 min. Actually, he was calling to get us up and out in general (but I didn’t register this till I was at breakfast) — seems we had to be out of the hotel by 10 and while I wasn’t aware of this (although it was written on the back of the door to my room), we did our best to pack up and head out. In various states of cognition, we were shuttled back to Znojmo, where we ate at a restaurant adjacent to our bus stop, bid Martin and Tana goodbye and thanks, and waited to board our bus. Besides Drew and Chenjerai having difficulty finding their tickets (mildly distressing but it all turned out alright — lesson learned: keep the group members focused on keeping their stuff in order – if you only could have seen how they rummaged through their “packed” luggage – best quote from Drew: ” everything that does not have its place is in this pocket” as he pulled out add receipts and clumps of paper ), we were all in good spirits, the day was sunny, and we set off on our 3 hour bus ride back to Prague.

This turned out, unfortunately, due to construction, to be more like 4.5 hours, which would not have been a problem if I had not been beset by a stomach virus (which I later found out was working its way around the Czech Republic). 3 hours in and I was battling all manner of digestion rebellion. Each deadstop on the highway didn’t help, nor did the fact that the bus (as most in the CR) did not have a bathroom (no Greyhound amenities). In tremendous discomfort, I managed to keep the situation at bay, and we finally arrived in Florence station back in Prague in time for me to lose my cookies in the restroom (thankfully, in private).  Moreover, while violent, it was brief, and did not impede my ability to partake in the evening’s planned festivities. Even more thankfully, it also did not affect anyone else in the group, who patiently supported me as I suffered through. 

We got back to U Akatu, and then proceeded to meet up once again with our compatriot CzechMates in a restaurant to have dinner, converse, and to watch the Czech hockey team play the Russians for the World Hockey Championship, a match they were heavily favored to lose.

The food and drink flowed, the conversation was robust, and the Czechs played heroically, ultimately defeating the Russians 2-0 and setting the city into open celebration. As the game ended, we decided to make our way to the Old Town Square, so as to witness ground zero for the masses in hockey ecstasy. The entire trip there was, however, one raucous party, with flags, hockey jerseys, and rambunctious fans rocking the metro trains, singing on the escalators, and jumping up and down en masse on the platforms and sidewalks.  Moving quickly so as to witness the scene and yet catch the last metro back to our pension, we moved ialong as a scattered group, eventually separating with a few of us going back to sleep and the others taking it upon themselves to explore the celebration more deeply. As they had already managed public transportation afterhours, their fear of being on their own had long dissipated.

I had seen something similar after the Czechs won the 1998 Olympic Gold Medal in Nangano, so I was happy to head back to our abode. But I was also happy to know that the students would have the possibility to witness a different form of national pride and unity. While I’ve never been a fan of nationalism (in its more blind and extreme forms, especially), Creig raised an important question in the midst of it all, namely, why would we celebrate their form of nationalism (Yeah, we are Czechs), when at the same time, we might condemn similar celebrations in the American context (i.e. being “critical-thinkers”). I did not answer him at the time (as the question was actually posited indirectly to me) but I will do so here and the difference for me is thus:

In the Czech Republic, because of their history, national pride shows itself in subtle and inconspicuous ways. While being nationalistic, it is very rarely paraded in public, as Czechs are as ready to disparage their country/countrymen and women as they are to celebrate it. In turn, Czech flags and other national symbols are hard to find, except around such moments (hockey titles) or something similar (i.e. election time). To the point, you will have trouble finding a Czech flying their flag at their house, much less wearing it on a (insert clothing item/accessory here).  It is something that emerges only in times of real triumph and then subtly fades back to their collective conscious.

Contrast that with America. My first Czech girlfriend asked me if Americans often forget where they are. I had no idea what she was talking about and replied no, while simultaneously asking why. She said because she could find no other reason that there would be — from her vantage point on a hill in my hometown — 27 flags visible (banks, schools, homes). And it made me think that we display the symbols without thinking about what they really mean. The symbol stands in for the intellectual associations/reflection (i.e. think after 9/11, when we put up flags without asking harder questions about our nation and its roles in the world; if you did, you were deemed “unpatriotic”). 

Moreover, Americans often declare themselves champions in various sport leagues/competitions (i.e. the World Series, Superbowl, etc.), without inviting the world to participate in the competition (i.e. our sports leagues)! How much different would the world series be if Japan or Latin American countries were in the leagues. Maybe not much different. But we won’t know until they are participating. Moreover, in more international engagements (i.e. the US team was in the World Championship tournament that the Czechs won), we are not really invested in the outcomes/following the competition unless we are/will win (i.e. the Olympics). And if we lose, we are often incredulous (how could our basketball team NOT win the Gold!). In short, and in my opinion, we are not very good in our sportsmanship. Now, we are getting better as a country (witness the diversification of our Olympic coverage since the 90s – not just covering the events we are expected to win — and the current world cup interest as well), but we are not ones to cheer on the losing team for trying. Czechs are. Sure, they get frustrated too, but they seem to be in it for the long time (the thrill of the competition) moreso than the US, which is often focused on the ecstasy of victory; if it doesn’t happen, we move on to the next contest.

So the difference for me is also in this commitment to building and celebrating the attempt as much as the outcome. For me, and again, it my opinion, US interest is predicated on the obvious expectation of victory. We rarely say “boy we did our best but they were simply better!”; rather, I often hear “how is it possible we lost.” This is the difference – a humility and stronger commitment to the contest, coupled with the “underdog” complex (it is, after all, a nation of 10 million people – NYC is bigger!) which leads me to cheer/celebrate their victories moreso than those of my home country.  Hope that helps.

So to bed I went and I saw the pictures and heard the stories in the morning over breakfast – again, a moment for me to reconnect with my own experiences/awakenings to such events and intercultural connections related to Czech culture. And again, serendipity in that the moment occurred while we there.

Location: Prague