Friday, March 11, 2011

Two Things Thursday

Wisdom and Iveta live in Prague 8.  He's from Ghana and she's Czech.  Iveta was three when the family moved into this building in 1968.  When she and Wisdom got together, he introduced her family to African cuisine.  In the classic melding of cultures, these Czechs learned to eat fufu with their hands (and swallow it without chewing in the traditional fashion).  So, when we were invited for dinner, it was only fitting that we'd make a culinary journey to Africa while sitting on the 11th floor of a Czech panelákGood stuff; although I had to chew a few times before swallowing... instinct is hard to overcome even when culturally faux pas.

On March 8th, International Women's Day is celebrated around the world to give recognition to the importance of women in society.  The event began as a Socialistic political event in America in 1909 and was later adopted by many Soviet bloc nations as an official holiday in 1965.  The UN adopted March 8th as holiday in 1977.

In the Czech Republic there were huge political rallies on March 8th during Communist years.  Once the Wall fell, the event lost a lot of popularity due to it's connection to the previous regime.  While re-instituted in later years (ironically, by communist political parties), it doesn't hold the same impact as before and most of the younger generations pay no attention to it.

Whatever the case, a chance to buy flowers for Suz is enough reason for me to celebrate...

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