Willamette World News

Looking back at the ending academic year, the Atkinson Graduate school here at Willamette certainly left the biggest mark for me. MBA was a perfect fit. Undergrad was amazing in teaching me how to think and helping me to grow up. Now, I feel I am gaining the “real” real-world knowledge necessary to succeed. I […]

The number one sport in the Czech Republic is indisputably ice-hockey, as Jaromir Jagr, Dominik Hasek, and many other Czech hockey starts demonstrated in the NHL. However, the Olympics did not go very well for the Czech hockey team. The star of this year’s Games was certainly the 21-year old Speedskating sensation Martina Sablikova, who […]

After 10 days in the little town of Sandpoint in Northern Idaho, the home of the awesome Schweitzer ski mountain and even more awesome family of my girlfriend (Willamette ’10), both her and I headed for the daunting meet-the-taborsky family adventure back to my motherland.

Spooky and super cool — I will introduce to you an original Czech Mystical Creature – Vodnik, in translation, the Waterman. He is also known to be present in Germany in a slightly altered form, but he doesn’t live anywhere else in the world. He probably decided to reside in Czech due to the abundant […]

On October 28th, 1918, after the WWI ended, Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The country consisted of the present day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia. During the period from 1918 until the WWII, the country enjoyed great freedoms, economic growth, scientific discoveries, cultural vibrancy and had the 7th […]

Ahoj ahoj ahoj! For the faithful Willamette World News readers – this is Jan from the Czech Republic again! And to the new readers – welcome and thank you for reading! I like Oregon, Willamette Valley and Salem so much that after finishing my high school exchange year I had to come back to work […]

Czech animated films have gained international acclaim for their originality and artistic qualities. Watch the trailers for two recent movies to find out how they are different. It’s the animation technique but also the fascinating, inventive and unusual stories for animated films. And you will also get to hear some Czech!

I believe the equality between the genders in the Czech Republic has greatly increased in the recent decades. From my point of view, the gender issues in the US and in the Czech are nearly identical. The society has been moving in the right direction and gender equality is one of the priorities of Czech […]

Czech Republic has been following the trends, moving toward a cleaner environment and sustainable industry practices. Things are moving, although there is still a lot to be done. I grew up in an environmentally undamaged area so my view is that of “things are good.”

sources:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/75820
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/75821

When I first came to the Unites States as an exchange student during high school, for a long time, it seemed to me as though the biggest difference between the Czech Republic and the US is that you guys have peanut-butter and burritos and we don’t.

For the last two years I have written here about the Czech Christmas traditions. The gifts are brought by baby Jesus and his little angel helpers on the evening of the 24th, the traditional Christmas dinner is potato salad and a fried carp, who lives in a family bath-tub for about a week before the […]

Although the reaction of the Czech public to the victory of Barack Obama would be a little difficult to objectively generalize, we can, if we take a broad view, say that it was largely positive. I have encountered three different views while talking to my friends from the Czech Republic.

The financial crisis and especially the struggle of the banking sector is not hitting Central and Eastern Europe as hard as some have expected.

Dobry den is “good day” in my native language – Czech, but it comes from France, where I’m studying for the next semester. Being sent to study abroad by Willamette University where I study abroad, I’ve become kind of a double international student.

Czech Tourism ad (30sec), Prague (7min), My Country’s Modern History: Vaclav Havel and Over-throw of the Communist Regime 1989 (10min) and Mountain biking on the trails around my house in eastern Czech Republic (4min) !

I chose two articles that talk about current political events in my country. The Czech president Vaclav Klaus has been re-elected for another 5 years term. And the second article summarizes the Czech prime minister’s position on the US presidential candidates. In the extended entry, I summarized the current Czech political situation. Thanks for reading!

The Czech economy has followed the trend of a majority of central and eastern European countries and grown rapidly in the recent years. The Czechs are enjoying standards of living never experienced before.

The Saint Valentine Day’s traditions in the Czech Republic are nearly identical with those celebrated in the States or in other parts of western Europe. However, there are some differences. Read about the history of Valentine’s Day in my country and the typical Valentine Day’s gifts.

The Czech Republic and the Unites States are now, in a way, closer than ever, as a University of Michigan economics Professor Jan Svejnar may be elected as the new Czech president in the coming elections next month.

The major religion in the Czech Republic is Christianity so Christmas is also the major winter holiday. I picked eight of the most interesting Czech Christmas facts and traditions:

A little while before the Thanksgiving, the Czechs celebrated their own important holiday, called the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day. This day is always on November 17th and it commemorates two important events. In 1939, shortly after Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began, the Czech college students held large protests against […]

The cost of living in the Czech Republic is certainly lower than in the United States. Health care is public, housing and most of the food and services are less expensive, higher education is tuition-free … but the average wage is also significantly lower. This is the information released in one Czech economic newspaper. Czechs […]

The three news that I would like to bring to your attention today, concern the Euro 2008 qualifying soccer match, The Czech Grand National – a horse race which is one the most famous Czech sporting events and Starbucks, making its way to Prague. Just like in many European countries, soccer is huge in the […]

I browsed the internet for a while, trying to find articles that would be of enjoyment to everyone. I came up with a cultural-athletic-economical melange that, I hope, will expand your views on the Central Europe. Beer is a big part of a Czech culture. Many say that Czechs brew the best beer an some […]