People you meet in the park

I go running almost every day.

Not so long ago, I have realised that sometimes there are people that make your time outside less enjoyable.

For the record, I am aware of the fact the I am not the queen of the castle (the park is not mine and mine only), but those kinds of people can just make it slightly (or slightly more) difficult to share the place for that hour or two per day for me.

1. The observer

This guy (I am not sexist, I just have not seen a woman doing that so far) sits on a bench in the park, puts the roller skates (never used, I could swear on whatever you´d make me swear on) next to him. 

He places his decent beer belly comfortably on his legs (if you are "lucky", he´ll also be shirt-less), wears a creepy smile and x-rays every moving body passing by.

2. Mr. and Mrs. Hello, I am training for the Olympics

This person thinks s/he is the centre of the universe. That means that if s/he is just a split second faster than you that the line or track is his or hers and you better automatically jump out of the way as soon as possible!

3. The dogwalker

So an incident that happened to me just the other day during my morning run. 

This tiny annoying dog keps running after me and trying really hard to separate a piece of flesh from my leg.

And yet I always thought that this is a no-brainer ... if my dog ignores my command, I have him/her on a leash. 

Well, apparently that is not how the majority of Czech people thinks. 

I am sorry to say this, I don´t care how cute you think your dog is, I´d like to keep my Achiles tendons attached for a little while longer, thank you very much.

4. The dating people

You have probably seen them before...in fact you can tell the by the first look.

They are the couples on their first, second and/or third dates.

The ones that are being all shy and awkward about each other with all that chemistry in the air, braving the new world of holding hands, stroking each others faces and running fingers through each others hair.

Well, as romantic as the idea of it sounds (and believe me, I don´t mean to sound bitter) they make you feel like a party crasher, the third wheel. 

So...you as are passing by, you are thinking "how shall I act"? 

Shall I try to put on an encouraging smile with a hidden message "you keep doing what you´re doing, I´ll just roll away quietly while staring on the ground" kind of thing? 

From my experience...don´t put on the smile (there is a danger that you might end up looking like a creep)...just pretend like you are not there and they aren´t either. 

Just don´t try to run too fast, you might find yourself out of breath behind the nearest corner, having to stop to catch it. All you are likely to catch is just another couple that you´ll have to pass by while gasping for some air to fill your lungs (yep, had that happening to me too).  

5. The peeing person

This is not a jealous me talking (in a sense that women do not have it that easy), but am I the only one thinking that it is just not ok if a guy has to go, all he has to do is to take out his equipment and pee on the nearest tree?! 

Hello! I don´t want to see any of this! 

There actually is a restaurant in the middle of the park and I am pretty sure it includes a toilet, a very clever human invention that has been used for centuries now to keep things like this private.

6. Mr. and Mrs. I Work Out

There are actually two kinds of those people - those people most likely posess some slightly unusual skating skills or or those working out and posessing a trained body that they are dying for others to see. 

A message to the show off people? 

Please don´t try to impress everyone too much - you are most likely making everyone feeling awkward for you and also you are likely going to hurt yourself. Yes, I have had that happening to me and I was not trained for the first aid at that time and I do tend to feel dizzy if not faint when I see blood...so no...don´t do this to other people, they might not be qualified enough to rescue you.

A message to the "perfect" body people? 

I am sure you like to spend hours and hours of sweating to seemingly make yourself look better, but have you by any chance considered that those muscles ( yes, I probably checked them out, since you are not wearing a t-shirt wanting others to check you out) might not be much of a help in the freezing weather that you still decided to be shirtless (no matter the weather, whatsoever). Ok, forget the abs, just put some clothes on please, I feel cold for you and I don´t want to. 

7. The weirdo

If you are like me and might not always enjoy meeting other people (especially those above mentiones) and just feel like having some time alone, you might choose to walk/run on the less popular paths of the park. By the less popular, I mean...you might need to walk/ run through some darker and sheltered places. 

Beware though, in those places you are very likely to meet people you would not like to meet anywhere. Yes, they might be harmless and that striking smell of alcohol and and outfit that was dirty and full of wholes last year might just mean a set of unfortunate circumstances, but still you might have these voices of the people that care for you ringing in your head "don´t go in the dark places, dear, you never know what kind of a weirdo you are going to meet and what can happen to you". (Thanks, mum, for your upbringing and turning me into an extra-paranoid individual :) )

8. Mr. and Mrs. I just bought this perfume, you likey?

Don´t get me wrong, I do appreciate the fact that it finally seems like Czech people discovered deodorants this summer (was about the bloody time!), but they also started flirting with perfumes.

Not always successfully one might add. 

Passing those people makes you feel like you are walking through the airport duty free shop for another 10 metres...and I was hoping to breath some fresh air outside. 

8 things about Czech people

If a person you know happens to be Czech or if that Czech happens to be your friend, you should know this, before creating a value judgement.

You might often get the impression that Czechs can be reserved and cold. But it doesn´t mean that we don´t like you...because we most-likely do...we just have a few issues.

The truth is that...

We are passionate people. We can love deeply, hate deeply, enjoy our food or drinks a lot and have fun a lot. 

But we might not necessarily tell you about it...and you might have a difficult time telling it too.

And ... It´s not like we can´t or don´t feel or that our hearts are made of ice either.

A bit of history to help you understand...

We might have a slightly difficult time trusting people, not just foreign people. 

People in general. 

In the past few centuries we would be persecuted for believing in different religions and eventually that became a highly private thing.

During the communist times, we would be growing up and living in a society, where people would be instructed to spy and report on each other. Or we would be pressured to do so ourselves. 

People grew up with a mindset of not trusting anyone and not sharing with anyone. Not even kids would be invited for birthday parties to each others flats. 

"What if that kid sees/hears something in our flat and will tell on us."

Now that we luckily don´t live in such environment anymore, we have not fully recovered from the conditions that we have surrouded ourselves in order to protect ourselves and our families.

That does not mean that we are cold, reserved and/or that we don´t trust you.

We haven´t yet realised that we can let go.

So...Forgive us and help us know better!

Here is a list of things that we do...or don´t do:

1. Personal zones

If we stand 1,5 meters from you when we speak, it does not mean that you or we stink.

I guess we have a greater personal distance zone than you might see in other nations. We don´t need to be in your face when we speak. We also don´t need you to be in our faces either...just saying.

2. We can be suspicious when you offer us free food

Bad things can happen to us, you know? That is what our mums always told us.

Seriously...even my mum told me, not to take anything from other kids. So when in first grade my friend offered me a chocolate Easter egg, I said: "Thank you, but I am not hungry" and then watched another girl eating it.

3. We don´t share our food

"What? There is such a thing as sharing? But I paid for it!!!"
or
 "Germs, germs...Are you feeling ok? Cause I don´t want to get sick."
Again, no hard feelings, we would love to share, but we just don´t know it yet. 

Also, we grew up with our mums telling us, that we are surrouded with a world full of nasty germs that people spread.

4. We don´t hug

We are not big huggers.
We grew up not being hugged.
 We don´t hug our family much neither we hug our friends. 

Once, right after I came back after 5 months in England and tried hugging my best friend, because I forgot that is not what we Central Europeans do. And well, that didn´t go well...rather awkward if you ask me...or her.

If you are confused about us not trying to make a first step for hugging you, it´s not that we don´t like you or are unhappy that we see you.
We simply don´t know any better, so teach us.

5. We don´t kiss the same sex people 

>unless they are our family, or we feel attracted to them<

Ok...possibly the biggest cultural shock I ever had was when I was 13. We went for an exchange trip to Denmark and got confronted with the way people in my age behaved there. I was speechless. I thought that Denmark was full of gays and lesbians.

We just don´t do it, feels weird for us.

6. We don´t say "I love you" to our family or friends

Honestly...even our parents don´t say this to us. This phrase does not work in the Czech language when expressing positive feelings to our relatives or friends.
That is why you won´t hear it from us in English either. Because we are not used to it and it sounds really odd to us.

This phrase to us is something that couples share, when have only the true and deep feelings for each other. 

If you say this to us in a friendly way, expect that we will suspect that you are likely after something or thinking that you must have misinterpreted the signs. 

>Agan...It´s not like we don´t feel it, but we don´t have a way of expressing it<

7. If you met our family / partner / boyfriend / girlfriend, consider yourself lucky

We talk about our beloved ones a lot. We can share worries and gossip, but that´s about it. You will probably never meet those people.
Not that we would have a specific reason for it and we would not like you to.

But...ehmm...it just somehow doesn´t occur to us.

8. We have hard time saying "I am fine"

If someone asks us how we are, the first things that come our minds are the negative ones. Instead of casual "I am fine" you might find yourself listening to a 30-minute confession of a mildly depressed person that you haven´t been interested in that much in the first place you we just trying to be polite,  right?
 Well, prepare yourself to listening to a story how we slipped on ice, how we wish it was summer already, but than that we infact don´t enjoy summer that much, because you have flies flying around and ticks in the woods.

I am pretty sure that even if we won a lottery, we would not be able to say "I am fine".

There are exceptions of course! 

You do meet a lot of people that contradict what you just read, but I dare say that most-likely they are young and on top of that lived some time abroad.

Are we not ready just yet?

A young Brittish soul singer Sam Smith recently won 4 Grammy Awards with his album  "In Lonely Hour" that came out last year.

>by the way he is a year younger than me and wins 4 Grammys...hmmm, what have I achieved in my life so far? ....just saying<

Anyway, during his speech he thanked the man who broke his heart and inspired the songs on his album.

He thanked a man, not a woman.

Those songs are about a heart broken man, who is being cheated on and still missing the other person.

To be honest, they are quite easy to relate to. 

At some point of our lives, we were and possibly will be brokenhearted and Smith has a pretty accurate way of putting it into a song.

I personally really like them.

But that´s not the point. 

Let´s focus on a different issue.

The point is that the song is written and sang by a man who is trying to fall out of love with another man. 

Yet, in none of those music video do we get to see a same-sex relationship.

There is always a heterosexual couple dealing with the issues the singer sings about and possibly went through.

Now...why is that?

Why is it that we don´t see a homosexual couple?

Did the marketing people did a research on what do people prefer to see in the clips so that it would make the most money?

Is the music industry standardising the images confirm to the stereotyped gender roles?

Is it because a homosexual relationships in music clips are a tabboo?

Or is it because as a society we are just not ready yet to see a music video of a same-sex couple?

We have actors openly stating their homosexuality such as Jodie Foster, Ian McKellen or Ellen Page.

Singers like Elton John, Mika and Sam Smith.

Award-winning films about homosexual relationship like "Blue is the warmest colour".

Why then, do we see heterosexual couples in Sam Smith´s songs?

Is it just me, or does it really not make sense?

Unexpected beauties

It is a choice.

You either choose to be worried or you choose to dream, romanticise and appreciate.

When the dreamer in me takes over and shuts off the worries, I see how amazing life is.

I see infite beauty in the smallest things.

When I see them, the time freezes and I am I just watch and marvel.

Here are few examples:

The flight of a bird

The clothes on a washing line

The sun shining through the leaves

The sunshine sparkling and reflecting on a snow

People´s hands

>Leonardo da Vinci - Creation of Adam, Study of hands<

 Since I was small, I love to look at people´s hand. 

They tell you a lot about a person. 

You can see how old they are, what profession they might do, how do they value their hand. 

A smile

"This rather "unexpected"", you might think.

Well, it is almost a cliché now to say that a smile is pretty.

But to me...a smile on a person is something incredible. 

I used go to high school with one girl who would always be smiling. Not sure if if was just her usual expression or she has always been so happy. 

Regardless, meeting her randomly and seeing her smiling always made my day.

There is a real beauty in one´s smile...so let´s smile more.

How eating healthy food starting floating my boat

So...I have never really payed THAT much attention to what I was eating.

I mean avoiding even traces of (/ may contain) gluten just seemed like bloody enough to me.

Of course...like almost all the girls (sadly) I have had issues with accepting how my body looks like as well as the number I saw on the scales.
And like all of us girls...I have been through a process of on and off dieting since I was about 12.

I have always felt fat...never slim or even "ok".
Regardless of how slim or fat I actually was. I have always felt the need to compare myself to others and if I felt fatter I would skip a meal or started obsessively exercising.
None of that worked in a long term of course.
Eventually, I got over teenage years and stopped worrying too much about my body or the food.

However, I changed and realised I need to pay a bit more attention to what I eat after all.

So what changed me?
My grandpa died quite ahead of his time last April from a combination of illnesses.

>that is me with him during Easter, when I was about 4<

In the middle of the grief I realised one important thing...some of those illnesses could have been prevented or managed better when eating better and exercising more.

When I was small my grandpa always used to tell me "Julinko, enjoy that you are still a child while you can".
I never ever understood this sentence when there was nothing I wanted so badly as to be a grown up.
The world of grown ups seemed so exciting and I often felt lost as a child.

But, when my grandpa died, that was the time when I actually felt lost for real.

I could not wrap my mind around the fact that I won´t be able to see him, 

to see the little devils in his eyes, 

to see his huge hands, 

to cut his hair, 

to talk to him about the Second World War or 

to hear him laugh.

All sorts of thoughts were consuming my mind.

Why did he have to die?

Could the doctors have done something differently to save him?

Could I have done something?

Why so early?

It changed me...It hit me...It hit me that life is bloody short.

Because, it seemed like yesterday since my grandpa was telling me with his mysterious smile to enjoy the childhood years.
 Now...as one song goes "the keys to childhood are forever lost". As I can´t be a carefree child (although I actually think I never was...a worrier in me started developing pretty early)... I want to make sure that I enjoy the time that I have and I don´t want to shorten it.

To me...life is beautiful. I love every minute and I want to live full life.

That was how I decided to care home about the food that I eat.

I stopped buying processed food, cut off simple sugars, eat loads of organic vegetables and fruits, avoid meat if I can.
And...I don´t eat junk food and don´t miss it.

We have said our goodbyes with my ex-favourite Kinder chocolate and moved on.
Once I started thinking about junk food as harmful and, if taking to an extreme, life-shortening I stopped having sweet-tooth and chocolate cravings.

Not to forget...I am trying to live a greener life too. I reduced the amount of meat that I eat, try to buy local food, stopped consuming products with palm oil and I try to avoid products in plastic packaging.

I do feel better, physically and mentally. Food gives me energy and does not make me tired anymore. By supporting local farmers I feel good about myself too.

If it was not for loosing my grandpa who knows how long would it take me to realise how important is what you eat.

If I may try to advice you something...don´t wait so long. Don´t buy that hamburger, buy food at farmer´s markets, start cooking or living a greener life.

A wee tip for you:
This girl was able to manage her illness - Postural Tachycardia Syndrome - accompanied with chronic pain and heart palpitations by applying the holitic approach to her life.
She started to care more about what she was eating and started cooking more healthily.
Not only she manages her illness, but also cooks amazing and witty recipies from organic food.
She is a real inspiration to me.

On Organ Donation

5 years ago I have been volunteering on a workcamp in Berlin.
 At that time there was this huge organ donation campaign going on. It was on the posters all over the city.

I did not really give this topic any thoughts before as, luckily, I did not need to.

But being so repetitively exposed to this campaign for 3 weeks, I could not help thinking about it.

Shall I register myself to be an organ and tissue donor?

Is it a right thing to do?

Wouldn´t it be the most amazing thing to do, to be actually able to improve quality or save life or lives of other people with the body that you cannot have no longer any control of?

Shall I think about it this another way of recycling?

The more I think about it...there is a sentence that keeps ringing in my head.

6 years ago during a class devoted to genetics my biology teacher Mr. Turnovský said that by being able to cure people with deadly illnesses and saving babies weighing less than 1 kilo at birth

we are actually - if taken to an extreme - lowering the quality of our genes. 

In another words, he claimed that by going against the Darwin´s theory this way, the humankind digs itself a hole.

Noone really talks about this issue openly, but look at us...we are developing more and more allergies every year, babies are born with lowered immunity systems and we seem to be more prone to illnesses overall.

Should the question sound "Do I save few people´s lives or do I prefer - in a way - saving the humankind?"

Now, here is a confession about something, that very few of you know so far.

My immunity system has been so badly damaged by me consuming gluten for 13 years

>yes it took them 13 bloody years of me being constantly sick till they found out<

that without medication I would have zero immunity.

Not low immunity, zero.

I am dependant on a medicine that is being created from blood plasma that is being donated by people.

Yesterday, I actually even found out that I cannot travel to a destination where I need to be vaccinated beforehand, as my body is unable to develop antibodies.

Would that be making me a hypocrite, then? I have been receiving, but I wouldn´t want to give?

Tell me what you think.

The "perks" of being a tall girl

Since the first grade, I have always belonged to the taller part of the class. 

During our sports classes when we were supposed to gather in a row I always tried to figure out if I was the tallest one. 

I liked being taller.

Then puberty came.
 I realised that I really was taller than anyone else and for several reasons stopped liking it. 

Most of all, I hated the fact that the small and petite girls evoke the impression of cuteness and that they need to be protected and cared for.

Tall girls, on the other hand, are viewed as strong, independent and tough.

But here is a bit of a news.

We can be fragile, we can break, we can feel let down and we might need a shoulder to lean on or cry on too.

I am 178 cm tall. 

>Just for the record, before anyone asks me.<

Nothing major. 

And yes, there are taller girls out there.

As I successfully got over the bloody teenage years of self-doubt, 

I actually could not care less now. 

Nevertheless, let´s admit that there are some "obstacles".

Trousers
They rarely fit. Before I understood that I better give up on this item on clothes once and for all, it took me quite a long time to realise, that the trousers are forever going to be either too short or simply wrong and unfitting shape.
Unless you wanted to wear them as capri trousers of course, then go ahead...or maybe not.

Skirts
A bit of a tricky business too.
I am sorry to say that, but if you are a taller girl a short skirt would always look too short on you.
A long skirt is no help either, as it optically makes you look even taller, yay, high five!

Dresses
What a terrible fashion wave it is now really...Why is all the clothes made for short people? I have no desire to look in it as if I grew up too much and did not want to give up that dress...or shall I say a shirt?

Long sleeve shirts?
Ugrh...sleeves are always going to be too short, fact, get over it.

The back row
In class / theatre / cinema you have been asked to sit to the back row, because people can´t see.

The table desk
You have at least once accidentaly lifted a table desk when trying to cross your legs under the table.

Mirrors
Yes...they do remind you that you are tall, but you are used to that by now probably...hopefully.
But they have their own way of reminding you even when you can´t see yourself because simply they are just too low.
Yay, well done Union Street student residences! Thank you for letting me know that I grew up a bit too much, appreciated.

Bathtubs
Forever too small.

Buses and planes
Forever not enough leg room. I made it on a bus from Prague to Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, that is a lot of self-discipline and self-control and bloody patience right there.

Hugging
You are always the one having to go lower to be able to hug your friend...both female and male ones.

Family buying your bigger sizes
Excuse me, the fact that I am tall does not mean that I wear XL size, thank you very much.

Higheels
Difficult chapter. If even without them you are taller than rest of your buddies, with them you will seem like an Eiffel tower when you put them on. If you like heels don´t let it get to you.

Dancing lessons
Around the age of 15, almost everyone in the Czech Republic goes to lessons of classical dance.
As a girl, you are supposed to wear higheels.
It is actually fun, you learn to dance Waltz, Polka, Jive and many other dances.
Correction.
It would be fun, if you were not one of the tallest people there, which at the age of 15 does not really boost your confidence. 
Most of the guys that are danced with were smaller and during the dance our eyes would rarely meet, as the level of their eyes would correspond to a place where my neck was (or even lower!!!)...which created a lot of awkward situations as you can imagine.

Dating a smaller person
Of course that there are many women who fully accept and cherrish this.
At the end of the day, you are supposed to love that person for who she or he really is, not because of how tall or small he or she is, right?
Well, I tried that and could not get over it.
Maybe I am just not mature enough, but dating a smaller guy made me feel uncomfortable.
I did not like having to lean down in order to kiss the guy, feeling huge next to him or having the same shoe size.
Pathetic, I know.
It might be just my thing, but I think that prefer to have a shoulder to put my head on...and not just metaphorically.

"Oh, could you fetch that, I can´t reach! Thanks love, good thing that you are so tall!"
Yes...you always reach, but don´t let people abuse you! :)

"Oh, you are so tall, do you play basketball or volleyball?"
Yes, you probably have had people asking you that question in the past, way too many times. And you will be asked again and again and again.
>I actually do play volleyball, to answer your question in advance.<

"Oh well, you will you have to find some basketball player to date."
Don´t you dare complain about most of the members of a sex that you are attracted to being smaller than you. People always come up with clever sentences like this.

And a BONUS.

Here is a small photo collection for you to have a laugh about a life of one tall girl.

>>>

We tall girls all know that moment:

- When your friend looks too small next to you and you look too big.

- When you go a step lower and are still taller than your friend.

- When you rather decide to lean down to make it to the photo frame.


- When you are always taller than the rest of the group. Not only you look taller, but also much bigger.

- When you are the tallest in your family.

- When you for once stand up straight and are taller that everyone else.

- When you put on heels and are IMMEDIATELY taller not only than the rest of the girls, but also than 99,9% men.

- When you are taller than your high-school headmaster.

- When you awkwardly lean towards the other person trying to decrease your height.