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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Author: Josef Čermák (CzechFolks.com PLUS)

Jarmila Knop (Puchýrová) was born on April 30, 1947 in Nové Město in Moravia, where her uncle Joza and aunt Věra Svítil still live. Reminiscing, after Jarmila’s death, at the recent ‘Zpěvánky’ (an annual musical session) in Nové Město, her class-mate, Blanka Vystrčilová, spoke so eloquently about Jarmila’s childhood and youth, that I can’t resist quoting generously from her remarks:

“A fair-haired little girl, with a satchel on her shoulder, walked to school, hand in hand with her mother. How could it be otherwise? Jarmila’s mother was a teacher at the elementary school. Time rushed by, the little girl was growing up, devoting practically all her free time to sports. She excelled in athletics - throwing a cricket ball or a grenade further than the best among the boys, was a good jumper (both the wide and high jumps), and a good sprinter. In Czechoslovakia, she ranked close to the top in several disciplines. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

This is a second article by one of our new authors: Josef Cermak, a Doctor of law, journalist, writer, poet, actor and a lifelong organizer of public and scientific life for Czech and Slovak countrymen in Canada. Last time he wrote about a famous physician Dr.Premysl (Mike) Pelnar that recently passed away. The story today is about his visit of the 61st Congress of the Czech and Slovak Association in Canada. The Czech version to this article can be found in our “Czech Only” version of CzechFolks.com named CzechFolks.com PLUS, where he regularly contributes with his insightful and brilliant articles.  

Introduction
One can view the Montreal Congress celebrating 70 years of existence (under slightly different names) of the Czech and Slovak Association of Canada from different perspectives: Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

This year we had the great honor of hosting the Slovak singer Peter Nagy. The word “we” here actually means all of us living in North America. This May, Peter Nagy visited Canada and the USA and performed at four concerts: Toronto, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. From what we have heard from him and organizers, we can tell you that he felt like at home here. He had a very good time while meeting new people, sightseeing, and of course at his concerts; thanks to the audience and everybody who was involved in organizing the concerts. Moreover, he was even able to make a new video clip for his song named “Rozhladna 25.” Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Recently, you had an opportunity to learn about scouting and its history in the Czech Republic. If you think of scouts, you may think of tents, summer activities and games, bonfires, and lots of fun. It is possible that you or your children may experience all that and more in summer camps. How great would it be if you can actually find a camp abroad that is dedicated to Czech or Slovak children and their friends? The one that we will introduce to you today is called Hostýn and it is the last remaining piece of property in the province of Quebec that is owned by the Czech and Slovak community. The camp was established by the Czech Jesuit P. Bohuslav Janíček and on May 9th it celebrated its 55th anniversary. The camp, however, had some dark times when it did not serve its original purpose, but the hard work and strong belief in supporting Czech and Slovak heritage brought the camp back to its former glory as it once was.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

About a month ago we had an opportunity to meet Stefanie Vocasek. She is a young woman of Czech origin, who was born in the United States and knows a lot about her Czech heritage. Stefanie is 22 years old and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. She is not only a student, but also has two jobs to support her independent and fascinating life. On top of that she just started making appearances at local elementary schools and events speaking about her Czech heritage. She has recently become the Czech-Slovak Queen of Lincoln and we were thrilled to find out more about her and how the Queen selection process works. We also wanted to find out how she was able to learn about Czech heritage so remote from the country her ancestors came from.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Exactly 20 years ago, Eva Střížovská came up with a great idea that led her to the foundation of a magazine called Český dialog (Czech Dialogue). During that time Czechoslovakia became free of communism right after the Velvet Revolution. The country was going through major changes and its citizens were finally free to travel to almost any country in the world. As Czechs were able to travel abroad, the Czech emigrants had a chance to travel back to their home country. Here the magazine served its great purpose to help people to overcome barriers and differences between the Czechs at home and their countrymen that were artificially created by the Communists. Over the years, the magazine became very popular and it not only helped to overcome these differences, but it also led to foundation of the International Czech Club connecting Czechs around the world through cultural events, discussions, meetings and much more.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Czech and Slovak Scouts had a tough past during communism and the Nazi regime. Their activities that taught young children democracy were prohibited. This youth organization is on the rise again and on the 24^th of April it celebrates a holiday for two main reasons. This day is dedicated to Svaty Jiri (St. George) in the calendar of Czech name days or Svaty Juraj in the Slovak calendar. The British funder of the scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, chose St. George as the scout’s patron saint for his good scouting qualities: faith, truthfulness, and dedication to help others. This day is also dedicated in remembrance of 18 Czech scouts that were executed at a Jewish cemetery in Poland. This holiday is, therefore, very significant for all young people with strong values and respect for others that fought for democracy in the past.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Helena Houdova is not only known as a Czech model but also as a philanthropist with a passion to help disadvantaged children around the world. Her charity named Sunflower Children is known around the world for helping many children thanks to the generous donations of people that attend her events and galas in many foreign countries: poker events, golf outings, film festivals and more. Just yesterday, Houdova started a new campaign right on the New York Times Square named Save a Baby from HIV, where people can text the word SUN to 90999 to donate $5 to her charity. The billboard depicts a woman holding a disadvantaged child with a very simple message to people willing to help. The woman on the image is the Czech model herself.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

As we, Czechs living in the USA, Canada, England, Australia, etc. , are trying to assimilate in a new country, the expats in the Czech Republic are doing exactly the same. Today, English is spoken in many countries or it is taught as a second language. For example, 89% of students in the European Union learn English as their second language. We can’t say the same about the Czech language. It is not only rarely taught in Europe and other foreign counties, but it is also one of the hardest languages to learn. If we add our culture, customs, and traditions to this learning experience, we can talk about enormous culture shock and a tough life in the Czech Republic for any foreigner from around the world. Luckily, there are online resources to help others to learn about the country and life in the Czech Republic. The new Brno ExPats Forum does exactly that and it was created by two expats living and working in Brno.

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Last month we switched to a new way of announcing current events. Since many of you visit the “CURRENT EVENTS” page regularly, there is no need to send you reminders. Don’t forget that our list is changing frequently, thus, we recommend visiting this page regularly. CLICK HERE.

Did we miss your event? Please, let us know HERE.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Last year we already introduced Meetups to you – meeting groups that are created by people of similar interests. Meetups are also important for our culture since they allow us, countrymen, to meet together to share our experiences from living abroad, to speak our language, and feel like at home. In order to bring you the current events, we try to stay connected with Czech and Slovak Meetups in the USA and Canada. Announcing events, however, would not be enough to describe how great it is that these groups exist. That is why we are introducing to you the Czech Language Meetup in Canada. Our friends at CanadianCzech.com allowed us not only to write about the group but also bring you the atmosphere through the audio interview available here but also at the site named above.

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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

We know that it is probably difficult to stay optimistic during the tough economic slowdown, but we believe our positive thinking can help us to cope with the situation, learn from it, or even turn it around. We are not actually trying to talk about the economy today, but about our new partner Pozitivni Noviny (Positive News) that has lots to do with thinking positive. Why? Because it brings exceptional articles, information, stories, interviews, essays, ideas, recommendations, thoughts, and more. You can read them any time, no matter what day or year it is now, because they will always bring something warm and enticing to give you strength to live, learn, and thrive.

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