Mailbox
Today's Mailbox includes: Topics: Foreign language teachers. Ossuary Chapel of All Saints. Law on driver's licenses. Bohemian crystal. Czech rock group, Olympic. Quotes from: Atsuko Asuhara, Betty Kahn, Robert Jameson, Annie Gridge, Peter Butler.
Hello and welcome to Mailbox.
We hope you are all well and we're glad to have you with us today.
We have our first question from Japan. Atsuko Asuhara asks:
"Dear Radio Prague team. I have been listening to your broadcasts for two years now. I heard about your station from my English teacher who is Czech. A lot of foreigners come to Japan to teach English. They make a lot of money here. Do you have many foreigners in the Czech Republic who come to teach a foreign language? Are the Czech people interested in learning it?"
Oh yes. Shortly after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, numerous language schools started springing up in cities around the country. Since most people only spoke Russian besides Czech, these schools became very popular, not just teaching individuals privately but often even giving lessons to employees of companies. So we do have a large number of foreigners in the country who make a living teaching a foreign language, mainly English.
However, they do not make as much money as their counterparts in Japan. As Martin said, there were numerous schools so the competition forced prices to go down. Currently 45 minutes of English on average cost between 200 and 300 Czech crowns. That is a little less than 10 US dollars. Although many Czechs still can't afford it, it's very low for foreigners who end up making an average Czech salary. But they don't come here to make money; they come to learn more about the Czech culture, central Europe and the post-Communist development.
To answer your question on the interest of Czechs. Well, they don't really have a choice. They have to learn English in order to have better chances at getting a job. A foreign language such as English or German is often required.
Okay, let's move on to a question from Betty Kahn who writes from the UK:
"Is it true that there is a church in the Czech Republic that is made up of human bones?"
I think you mean the Ossuary Chapel of All Saints that is in Sedlec, in the suburbs of Kutna Hora in Central Bohemia. The church itself is not made up of bones. It is the interior decoration that is.
Yes. An outbreak of plague epidemics resulted in the need for tens of thousands of graves within a century. The bones began to pile up and the 14th century church was soon turned into an ossuary. In 1870, Frantisek Rint, a Czech woodcarver used the bones to decorate the interior of the chapel's cellar. So, when you walk into the chapel all you find is chandeliers, crosses, the Schwarzxenberg family's coat of arms, all made up of human bones. One chandelier is made up of at least one of every bone in the human body.
Okay, let's move on to a less morbid topic. Robert Jameson who sent us an e-mail from somewhere in the US writes:
"My wife and I want to visit the Czech Republic. We want to travel the country for about three weeks. Is that enough time to see the country? We are also interested in renting a car for our travels. Is that possible in the Czech Republic and can we use our US driver's licences? I remember hearing about a new law that requires Czech licenses. Is that true?"
We seem to get questions such as these quite often and I am not surprised that you are confused with the new law concerning driver's licenses. Many of those who should know, who I asked weren't sure about the new regulations either. But basically, if your stay in the Czech Republic is within a period of six months, you can use a foreign license - if it is valid here that is. However, if you intend to live in the country for a period over six months, you have to get a Czech license, which you get when you show the authorities your valid foreign license. Getting an international license is always a good way of avoiding all these formalities.
You will find no difficulty renting a car in the Czech Republic today. The best way to do it, though, is by asking several companies to see what they have to offer before making a definite choice. Three weeks are certainly enough time to travel the country and see the most interesting places. It will be a stressful trip as you'll always be on the road but one that's worth it. I wouldn't recommend it in the winter, though.
And now we have a question from Annie Gridge who writes to us from Australia, asking:
"Some friends of mine have a beautiful crystal bowl that they bought in the Czech Republic many years ago. I think they bought it during Communism. They said that I would be able to find it when I visit next year. Is this true? Does the Czech Republic still produce the so-called Bohemian crystal?"
Yes. The Czech Republic still makes it. The origin of crystal dates back to the 15th century in the Czech Republic. Czech made crystal, namely Bohemian Crystal, is considered by connoisseurs everywhere to be the best crystal in the world. Bohemian Crystal is first made by melting together silica and smaller proportions of lead oxide at high temperatures. The melted crystal glass is then formed into all kinds of various shapes while it is still soft. It must then be cooled slowly to prevent breakage.
And once cool, the artist then cuts unique patterns into the crystal. Bohemian Crystal is unique for its high lead content and its characteristic engraved designs. It also makes a great investment since it continues to increase in value to this day.
Well, our time is running out, so here's a last question from Peter Butler who currently lives in India:
"I met someone from the Czech Republic last year. Unfortunately, we lost contact. I often think of this friend - Milan - when I listen to your broadcasts because he played a song from a group called Olympic and said the song's name translates as 'tortoise'. I always hoped that you would play the song. If you happen to know it, could you play it for me on one of your broadcasts?"
We certainly could. Olympic is probably the oldest rock group from the Czech Republic that still enjoys quite a lot of popularity here today. In Czech, the song you mean, Peter, is called Zelva and I'm pretty sure that we have played it on the air before.
But before we put it on let me just quickly give you our address. You can write to us at Radio Prague, English Section, 120 99 Czech Republic
or e-mail us to [email protected]. You can also get lots of information from our very useful website. Just log onto www.radio.cz/english.
My name is Martin Hrobsky.
And my name is Dita Asiedu.
Thanks for tuning into Mailbox.
