Mailbox
In this week's Mailbox: How to apply for a job at Radio Prague, applying for a Green Card in the Czech Republic, animals in the Czech Coat of Arms, Radio Prague's discontinued 'Black Theatre of Prague' programme. Listeners quoted: Eghele Erijoh (Nigeria), Mick Horsfield (England), Peggy Meadows (England)
Hello and welcome to Mailbox - the programme in which we answer your questions and share your comments with the rest of our listeners...Pavla is still on holiday but will be back next week.
Now, there are two rather popular questions that we are asked quite regularly: "How do I apply for a job at Radio Prague?" and "How can one obtain a Green Card or long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic?".
The answer to the first question is actually quite short. There are various jobs that listeners are interested in. Since it would be too long to list them all, just send your CV to [email protected] with a description of what you were hoping to do - i.e. free-lance, start an internship, and become a full time staff member or a correspondent. There are several conditions, of course, but the most important is that you speak Czech well enough to do interviews and understand what's written in the papers.
With regards to the green card, or long-term residence permit, it's a little more complicated. There are several factors that influence it ranging from the country you're from (e.g. EU member or not) to how long you have been in the Czech Republic. Of course, the most common cases are when you're married to a Czech, have been living here legally for a specific number of years (because you were working or studying here), or when you are dependent on someone who already has Czech citizenship or a long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic.
So, for detailed information, we suggest you contact the Czech Police at +420 974 841 356 or browse the interior ministry's website www.mvcr.cz. There's a small icon at the bottom of the page that says"for foreigners" . However, some documents have yet to be translated into English, so I suggest you call up the Czech Police instead.
"I was pleased to learn that your country tree was the Linden tree. I wonder if, like America, you have a country animal or bird."
The Czech Republic does not have a country animal but its main regions do. On the country's official Coat of Arms you find a lion and two eagles. Bohemia's emblem is a white lion with two tails. Moravia and Silesia have eagles - that representing Moravia, is the red-and-white chequerboard eagle (on the blue background), while the eagle representing Silesia is the black one on the gold background. Today's Silesia in the Czech Republic is much smaller than it used to be and spans across the land mainly around the towns of Opava and Tesin.
Another listener from the UK, Peggy Meadows from Ipswich, England, would like to know:
"I've not been hearing the Black Theatre of Prague mentioned of late. I'm wondering if it still exists. I remember the clever artistry so well. Maybe I wasn't tuned in on any particular day it was aired."
Well, this programme, which was prepared by Alena Skodova stopped being aired years ago. I have been here for seven years now, and it must have been before my time. I'm afraid Alena does not work here anymore to tell us about it but it would be nice if some of you listeners, who remember it, contact us with their memories. If it was as good as Ms Meadows remembers, we just may re-introduce it :-)
And there's no more time for another question but we'll have to squeeze in the monthly listeners' competition:
"Our mystery man for August was born in the early 1940s in the Canary Islands to a Spanish mother and a Czech father. Reportedly he was raised on a banana plantation. He began by studying architecture and literature but abandoned his studies after just a year and moved to Paris in 1968. He moved to London two years later where he worked briefly as a photographer and then to New York where he dedicated himself to shoe design. Since the 1970s his shoes have been synonymous with high glamour and are sought after by many famous people, from celebrities to royalty."
Please send your answers to us by the end of August to the usual address, Radio Prague, 12099, Prague, Czech Republic or [email protected]. Till next week, thanks for listening.
