October 10, 2021: Hi! My name is Rebecca, and I’ll be taking over from Rachel for today’s blog. Follow along to hear about some of our adventures both in and outside of Prague!
This week, we had the opportunity to hear about two different perspectives regarding gender dysphoria and transgender people in the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, we had our second clinic visit at the Institute of Sexology to talk about gender dysphoria with Prof. Ivo Procháska and Prof. Petr Weiss. In the first hour of our visit, we listened to Dr. Procháska’s lecture about the process of gender reassignment surgery in the Czech Republic and how psychologists and psychiatrists are involved in the approval and diagnosis steps. In the second part of our visit, we had the chance to talk to two previous patients at the Institute of Sexology. We were able to hear both of their stories about accepting their trans identity and how that was influenced by Czech cultural values and the gendered nature of the Czech language. After that, Prof. Petr Weiss went over the classification and categorization of paraphilic disorders and discussed how they are conceptualized in the Czech Republic compared to the US. This last talk provided a good introduction to our clinic visits next week, where we are learning more about sexual paraphilias and paraphilic disorders.
On Thursday, we were joined by Jamie, a PhD student at Charles University and a prominent trans activist. She talked to us about her experiences as a young transgender woman, including her experiences working with sexologists like the ones we had just heard from the previous day. Jamie gave us more insight into the ways in which different parts of the transgender community in the Czech Republic experience transness differently, resulting in interesting tensions and a lack of unity within the community.
Thursday night, a group of us went to a Black Light theater show. Black light theater uses a combination of black light, shadow, and movement to create illusions. This particular show combined acrobatics and comedy to tell the story of married couple and a postman at an abandoned hotel in Afrikania. It was definitely different than anything we had seen before!
On Friday, six of us got to tag along with the Business/Economic CET students on a trip to Plzeň(Pilsen), a city to the West of Prague that is mostly known for being the home of Pilsner Urquell beer. In the morning, we toured the city. We visited the Great Synagogue, the second largest synagogue in Europe, climbed to the top of the tower of the cathedral of St. Bartholemew, and ate lunch (and, of course, drank beer) at a traditional Czech restaurant, before heading to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery.
At the brewery, we learned all about the production of Pilsner Urquell beer, how it became the first bottom-fermented lager, and how it has maintained the exact same recipe since its creation in 1842. We took the largest passenger lift in the Czech Republic to learn about all of the different ingredients, saw both the historical and current brew houses, and even got to taste raw hops. Finally, we made our way to the cellars where we were able to taste unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell straight from the barrel, the only Pilsner Urquell still produced in the traditional method.
In the evening, Maddie, Diana, Joey, Onelis, and Amber joined Ken in going to the World Cup Qualifier soccer game between Wales and the Czech Republic. They sat just behind the goal, close to all of the action and surrounded by people chanting in Czech. Although the game ended in a 2-2 draw, the game was tense and an exciting experience!
Saturday and Sunday were spent in the town of Český Krumlov, a town in the south of Czech Republic that is credited by UNESCO as one of the best-preserved Renaissance towns in the world. After arriving in town on Saturday, we explored the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo buildings (and heard the ghost/vampire stories about all of the buildings). We got a tour of the Český Krumlov Castle before heading to a group dinner where we were serenaded by a traditional Roma band. A few of us took the opportunity to get up a dance, and Jiri even taught a lucky few how to polka!
Most of Sunday was spent with free time! Many of us got a chance to go shopping in the many cute shops filled with handmade wood products, jewelry, and puppets. Others took time to explore the many interesting museums in Český Krumlov, like the Museum of Torture, Marionette Museum, or Wax Museum. After a busy weekend, most of the group used the three hour bus ride to catch up on homework and study for our history midterm tomorrow (wish us luck!).
Stay tuned for more adventures, including several more clinic visits and our trip to Poland in a couple of weeks!