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Tuesday February 17, 09
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09:31 PM - Cute story...
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At least, to me it is.
As you probably don't know, I'm part Czech. Although they came over in the late 1800's, the culture was preserved by Czech farming communities in central TX. My grandmother could speak the language when she was young, and probably took great pains to forget it, and probably had little reason to remember it since Papa was of German stock. Dad took Czech in college, but doesn't remember much.
When I was growing up, my sister got out his old study guides to learn the language a tad. For some reason, it came up that "pupik" (sp?) meant "belly button." I guess that's the sort of goofy, funny stuff that you entertain little kids with. Not that my dad had much talent for entertaining tykes back then, but that word is destined to stick in your mind, and besides words like Kolache and Kolbasniki, they are about the only words of Czech that I know.
Today, I was talking to a contender in the dating world. I asked him what he did this weekend and he said he went to a funeral for his great uncle.
"He was Moravian...? I don't know what that is."
"Oh! So he's Czech!"
And so we get on the subject. He too has family that lived in a Czech farming community. The uncle lived north of Austin.
He then said, "I don't know any of the language. I know words like 'pupik'..."
Taken aback.
"Belly Button?"
"yes...and 'Jak se mas'..."
I mean, WTF? Is this something that is cultural that we all need to know the word for "belly button?"
"You may not know anything else, but you will know a good kolache when you taste it and the Czech word for 'belly button.'"
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