Easy on a Sunday Morn'.

So, I meant to write this entry at some point yesterday, but it didn't happen. So, pretend it's yesterday. This is an exerpt from my real journal, dated 14.9.08 (yesterday):

I've always been in love with fall Sundays, but Prague Sundays are topping them all. We had a rapid temperature drop over the past two days- literally from 75 to 50-something degrees. The air has been pleasantly brisk- slightly cheek stinging if you will. This morning I wrapped my neck in a scarf and met some friends at Bohemia Bagel. We sat for almost three hours, drinking bottomless coffee and listening to great oldies music as we kept conversation flowing. We later walked out into the cold, still air. Claire and I lost Kelly and Kiernan among the tourist flood on the Charles Bridge, but we continued to walk anyway, passing musicians, artists, and vendors. I fell in love, again, with the city's beauty. I love how the buildings here all vary in color, but not in a cutesy way like the ones in Charleston, SC. Each building here seems to bring something unique to the panorama- each has a different personality, a different story to tell.

We walked down to this island park to sit and read for awhile, but it got too cold. We decided to walk the two miles back home instead of taking the tram. It was a rare moment of total relaxation and contentment- I felt like I was the city and the city was truly mine. A man passed us on a penny-farthing bicycle. I gave him a thumbs-up and his face smushed up as he gave me a closed-mouth smile.

I have now returned to my apartment, where I have made myself some green tea and cozied up in one of our big armchairs. Everything peaceful about today I am counting as a blessing.

Later in the evening, after this entry was written, one of my roommates and I walked down to Tesco to get our groceries for the week. If I am to be honest, Tesco is the one place in Prague where I have sadly experienced truly unfriendly Czechs. Everytime we've gone in there, the cashiers have rolled their eyes at our lack of Czech, forcefully shoved our groceries aside (in the Czech Republic you bag your own groceries), and have gotten very angry when you don't have enough change to allow them to just give you bills back. It's frustrating.

Anyway, the great moment. Last night's cashier was actually pleasant! Now, when I say pleasant, that is not to say that she was actually nice, but that she gave us a small smile and even bagged some of my groceries for me. When I explained that I didn't have enough change for her to just give me bills back, she didn't seem offended at all. I said thank you and goodnight and we were on our way- completely taken aback. Allie and I were so excited that we literally talked about it all the way home.

Apparently one of the reasons that the Czech people don't typically smile while interacting with strangers is that they lack a certain self-confidence. They can't even imagine why a perfect stranger would want to smile at them. Interesting, that in the United States we sometimes are overly smiley and overly nice to strangers- sometime so much that it can come across as fake.