Monday, July 6, 2009

Jan Hus Day

So I've been here almost a week and I get a holiday before I even start work tomorrow at IBM. Today is July 6th - Jan Hus day - a Czech national holiday. It will be interesting to see just how much stuff is closed today.

Jan Hus was a Czech Catholic priest who introduced diacritics into Czech spelling so that a single letter represents each sound. That’s why there are over 40 letters in Czech! He also spoke out against indulgences and was a key contributor to the Protestant movement. His heretical views got him excommunicated in 1411 and burned at the stake in 1415.

The Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries, with Catholicism leading at like 24%. Nevertheless Jan Hus is a national hero and we get today off.

It will be good to start working tomorrow. I found my way to the IDC (IBM speak for the Integrated Delivery Center) yesterday. It's about a 20 minute walk from my temporary flat to the #53 bus stop. Then it's about a 10 minute ride. Or I could walk there but it is around 45 minutes uphill. I'm more prone to walk home downhill. Wish me luck tomorrow!

1 comment:

  1. Well good luck my friend! Thank you for writing all of these, it will be a blast to keep up with you here!

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