Nostrification

Some labor laws changed in the Czech Republic which took effect this year.  I think that politicians are trying to be proactive about protecting Czech workers (and voters) in light of the current global financial situation.

The first change is that non-EU citizens, which includes Americans, Canadians, Australians, Russians, Ukrainians, etc., can no longer be employed by companies as a subcontractor.  You can only hire non-EU citizens as regular employees.  I think that this was meant to protect Czech jobs from foreign workers.  In my humble opinion this change will actually produce the opposite of the intended effect.  What this tells companies is that the work around is to give non-EU citizens the regular employment contracts and give the subcontractor contracts to EU citizens.  Fortunately, this one doesn't effect me at all.

The second change is that in order to issue a new, or renew an existing, work permit an applicant's educational history must be validated.  So even though I gave the Czech government a copy of my master's diploma three years ago I now need to go through nostrification.

Nostrification is the process of granting recognition to a degree from a foreign university.  Basically, I must find a public Czech university to certify that my degree is equivalent to a course of study offered by their university.  Here's where I get annoyed...

I have an MBA and public universities in ČR don't offer MBAs, only private institutions do.  Secondly, my degree is AACSB accredited which is the highest level of accreditation that can be achieved by a business school.  Less than 5% of the world's 13,000 business programs have this.  No institution in the ČR has this level of accreditation but I need to have a Czech university authenticate that my degree is equivalent to what it offers.

I'm hoping that Masaryk University, here in Brno, will validate that my MBA is equivalent to their Master's program in Economics and Management.  Here's what I have to do to make all of this happen.

1. I have to get notarized copies of my diploma and transcripts from Georgia State University.
2. I need to get an apostille for each notarized copy.
3. Most institutions required government approved Czech translations.  Fortunately, Masaryk allows for the documents to be in either Czech or English.
4. Submit an application to the university for nostrification.  The whole evaluation process should last 30 to 60 days.

So what's an apostille?  I sure as hell had never heard of it before but it does make a lot of sense.  It is basically a "super notary" that is valid between countries that authenticates the validity of public documents such as birth certificates, marriage licenses and educational records. 

The USA has delegated this responsibility to each state where the document was originally issued.  A public document issued in Georgia can only receive an apostille from the State of Georgia.  A document issued in California can only receive an apostille from the State of California.

I made a copy of my diploma and had a Georgia notary stamp and notarize it.  I took it to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority in Atlanta which is the only place authorized to grant an apostille.  They gave me the necessary validation within 10 minutes and it only cost $3.

However, the transcripts were a different story.  For some reason, they will only issue an apostille on student transcripts if the university issues the official notary.

So after multiple trips back and forth between the court office and GSU, I finally got what I needed.  Again, in and out in less than 10 minutes and only another $3 fee.

Dealing with all of this bureaucracy is not exactly what I wanted to do while on vacation.  My work permit is good until April 2013 so I'm ahead of the game in getting together what I need.  Thank goodness that I just happened to already have this trip home planned.  This would have been a royal pain in the arse if I had needed to try to coordinate this from Brno.  Once I get the nostrification completed then I won't have to ever deal with this again.

Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell (1900 – 1949) was a famous writer and native of Atlanta.  In fact, she was a fifth-generation Atlantan. 

She was the first female to write for the Atlanta Journal and had one novel published during her lifetime.  But what a book it was.  Gone with the Wind, one of my all-time favorites, is the best-selling novel of the 20th century.

Margaret Michell Square in Downtown Atlanta

Gone with the Wind, first published in 1936, is a romance novel set during the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Margaret Mitchell actually wrote the book's last moments first and then worked backwards in order to come up with the story.  She won the National Book Award for the Most Distinguished Novel of 1936.  In 1937, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  The book has been translated in to around 70 different languages.  I wonder if I should try to re-read it but this time in Czech?  Perhaps after I finish trying to read Harry Potter in Czech. 

In 1939, the film version was released and forever brought Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler to the forefront of American consciousness.  The film won 10 Academy Awards.

The novel and the movie have contributed to the fact that many people think it was a true story of how the "Old South" was transformed by the Civil War and Reconstruction. 

Margaret Mitchell's grave at Oakland Cemetery

On August 11, 1949, Margaret Mitchell and her husband were crossing Peachtree Street at 13th Street to see a movie when she was hit by a speeding car.  She never regained consciousness and died five days later.  The driver was arrested for drunk driving.  He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served four months in jail. 

The Margaret Mitchell House is now a museum.  She referred to it as "the Dump" and this is where she wrote most of her manuscript.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  I took my parents here the first time they visited me in Atlanta back in 2000.

Oakland Cemetery

One thing that I had never done before was take a tour of Oakland Cemetery.  Founded in 1850, it is the oldest cemetery in Atlanta.  The cemetery is 48 acres (190,000 m²) and is in the center of the city.


There are about 70,000 people buried here.  Even though the last plots were sold in 1884 there are still regular burials.  Although they are normally for family-owned plots.

Oakland Cemetery is a Victorian-style garden cemetery.  Many of the people interred here are a historical who's who of Atlanta including six former Georgia governors, five Confederate generals, Golf legend Bobby Jones and author Margaret Mitchell. 

Grave of golfer Bobby Jones

Due to historical regions there are areas which used to be reserved only for Blacks and Jews.




There are also sections for Confederate and Union dead, including around 3,000  unknown soldiers most of whom perished in the Battle of Atlanta.

Oakland is well known for its more than 50 mausoleums.  Most of them were built in the late 1800s.  Most of them been refurbished with the rest to be completed by the end of this year. 

The most striking monument in the Confederate section is the Lion of Atlanta.  The lion guards a field containing the remains of unknown Northern and Southern soldiers.  The marble statue was carved in 1894.  With a few exceptions it is almost an exact copy of the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland. 

U.S.-Canadian Border Preclearance

It really was kind of odd going through Montréal to get to Atlanta.  The U.S.-Canadian border is the world's longest border between two countries.  Before the world changed on 9/11, coincidentally today is the 12th anniversary, it was possible to cross the border with just a driver's license.  Since June 2009, every traveler must have a passport in order to cross the border.

Since 1952, there has been a bilateral agreement between the USA and Canada to operate border preclearance facilities at various airports.  So you get to clear customs before you leave the country and don't have to deal with it when you arrive.  It sounded kind of neat but it wasn't exactly intuitive.

In Vienna, my bags were supposed to be checked all the way to Atlanta.  When we landed in Montréal, I had to fill out a Canadian customs arrival form and my passport was stamped "Canada Border Service Agency".  Note that this is not a normal Canadian entry stamp.

Then I had to pick up my bags and then recheck my bags to Atlanta.  After that, I then had to go through security again at border preclearance.  I presented my passport to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer.  He wanted to know where I was coming from, where I was going to and what had a brought.  From Czech Republic to Atlanta and I had "two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka".  He scanned my passport and I was cleared.  I did think that it was odd that he didn't stamp my passport.

When we landed in Atlanta we arrived at the domestic terminal which makes sense because the entire flight was precleared.  But I still had to go to the international terminal to pick up my bags although I didn't have to go through immigration or security again.

This preclearance agreement is reciprocal so Canada has the option of having its own facilities at U.S. airports.  As of 2011, Canada has not exercised this right.       

Atlanta, Georgia

Even though I was born and raised in Southern California, and that I now live in ČR, I still consider Atlanta home.  Back in 1996, right before the Centennial Olympic Games, I went to Atlanta for a two-week vacation and never left.  I stayed there for 13 years before moving to Euroland.  

 
Atlanta is the capital and largest city in Georgia.  Georgia was the 4th of the original 13 colonies.  The metro Atlanta is the 9th most populated in the USA, with around 5.4 million people.  Over 5 million people - that's more than than half the population of ČR and more than the entire population of Slovakia.  Atlanta is also the unofficial capital of the South.

The Peach State

Before European settlers arrived in north Georgia, the area was inhabited by Creek and Cherokee Indians.  Atlanta was founded in 1847.  It was originally called Terminus because it was at the intersection of two railroad lines.  It was later renamed Marthasville in honor of the daughter of a former governor.

During the Civil War, Georgia fought for the Confederacy.  In 1864, the Union Army, under the command of General Sherman, laid a 4-month siege of the city known as the Battle of Atlanta.  After Atlanta surrendered, Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate and then burned the city to the ground.  Only churches and hospitals were spared.

The city rose from the ashes in a big way.  Today, the Atlanta economy is diverse and is the 6th largest in the country, as well as, the 15th largest in the world.


If you're not used to Atlanta then getting around can be interesting.  Peachtree Street is the city's main street.  People joke that half of the streets are named "Peachtree something or other".  There are 71 streets in Atlanta that have "Peachtree" in the name including: Peachtree Road, Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Plaza, Peachtree Memorial Drive, North Peachtree Road, Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, and the list goes on and on. 

I love Atlanta!  I've always thought that it is a great place to live but never really thought of it as a tourist destination.  Even though it is home to the world's busiest airport. 


For people who have never been to Atlanta there really is a lot to see such as the Georgia Aquarium (the largest in the world), Stone Mountain, the Cyclorama, the Atlanta History Center, World of Coca-Cola, the Fernbank Museum, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, the High Museum of Art, the Fabulous Fox Theater, the Woodruff Arts Center, CNN, the Margaret Mitchell House, Piedmont Park, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Centennial Olympic Park, Six Flags Over Georgia, Turner Field, Oakland Cemetery, Kennesaw Mountain, and the list goes on and on.  So maybe, it's more of a tourist city then I thought.

Steven is trying to be the perfect host and tour guide like he was when Claudia and Norbert visited Atlanta earlier this year.  The difference being that I don't need to go visit the Governor's Mansion or check out Phipps Plaza.  I'm all about just relaxing and hanging out with my best friend.  So far we've took a tour of the Oakland Cemetery which I had never done before and we've got a bit of shopping planned for later.  The only thing that I absolutely have to do is visit Georgia State University to pick up a notarized copy of my transcripts and then take them to the courthouse for an apostille in order to renew my Czech work permit next year.

Here's a short video I found out on YouTube that talks about a few of the Atlanta highlights.

Welcome Back to Atlanta

I'm back in America baby!!  And back home in the ATL.  So I guess it is a good place for my 600th blog post.

So I finally made it back home to Atlanta.  After 24 hours of traveling I made it back and Steven picked me up at the airport on Friday night.


I haven't seen Steven and Michael since our rendezvous in Paris last year.  On Saturday night they hosted a "Welcome Home" cocktail party at their home.  We had around 40 people over for one great evening.

It was wonderful getting to see so many friends.  Brian even flew up from Tampa, Florida for the festivities.

Unfortunately, not everyone was able to make it but I'll see how many other people I can catch up with while I'm here. 

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program

My trip back to the USA is finally here.  My taxi to the bus station will be here in about 6 hours.  I'm way too excited to sleep.  Plus, I'm still doing a bit of last minute packing.

If you've read this blog before then you know that I do quite a bit of traveling.  But this time I'm not doing part of my normal routine and it seem kind of weird not to.

Before I go on any trip I always log on to step.state.gov and register with the U.S. State Department.  I let the embassy/consulate in the country I'm visiting know my travel dates and where I'm staying.

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service to U.S. citizens who are traveling in, or living in, a foreign country.  When you register your trip, the embassy or consulate will be able to better assist if there is an emergency, natural disaster, etc.  You will also be provided any relevant information about what is going on in your selected country.

For example, on my trip to Serbia, I was warned about a scheduled protest in Belgrade and advised to stay away from a specific part of town.  On my trip to Spain, I was warned about upcoming demonstrations and a planned general strike in Barcelona. 

I feel pretty safe in Europe but you just never know what can happen.  You can be sure that I let the U.S. Embassy in Moldova know what my travel plans were when I went to Transnistria.  According to the State Department, U.S. embassies and consulates help around 200,000 Americans who are victims of crime, accident or illness, or whose families and friends need to contact them in case of an emergency.  Better safe than sorry. 

The U.S. Embassy in Prague knows that I am living in Brno.  I've registered my contact information here and my emergency contacts' information back in the USA.  The embassy also sends me routine information about services provided and about embassy functions happening in Prague.

Note: I also received a warning from the U.S. Embassy in Athens warning me about the November 17th protest.

Nat's Not Going Away Party

I've mentioned a few times now that I'm getting over all of these going away parties.  And I am.  But here's a bit of good news.  Tonight was supposed to be a little send off for Natalie but it turned out to be her "not going away party".

Katka, Norbert & Claudia

She was able to convince her employer that, rather than move back to Edinburgh now, it makes more sense for her to remain in Brno for a while longer.  Not sure how long "a while longer" is but we'll take what we can get.  Probably at least until January or February.  Yeah!!  

Steluţa, Natalie & Christopher

And to make the going away thing a little better, Steluţa is back from Romania.  She decided not to stay in Bucharest and has already started working for a company here.

Maxim's Going Away Party

On of my colleagues, Maxim, decided to leave IBM to explore another opportunity elsewhere.  While I'm sorry to see him leave I do wish him all the luck in the world with his new job.



Since Max is Russian it only made since that for his going away party, a bunch of us all met up for dinner and drinks at a little local Russian restaurant.



There was plenty of typical Russian bar food which means lots of herring.  It was all really good, especially if you like herring.



What gets you in trouble is the vodka.  Now don't get me wrong, vodka is my spirit of choice but you just can't out drink Russians, Ukrainians or Moldovans.




When you drink vodka "Russian style" it means that they bring out little pitchers of vodka and put them on the table for you to help yourself.




It's a good thing that I was double-booked Friday night so I wasn't able to stay long.  Otherwise Saturday could have been a little rough.

New Hot Water Heater

My building got a a new hot water heater.  On the 24th a note was posted that there would be no hot water from 3 PM Tuesday until 3 PM Thursday.  Now, why on earth couldn't this happen during the three weeks that I'll be in the USA?

The new hot water heater

Well, when I got home on Tuesday my flat still had hot water.  But when I got home from work on Wednesday there was no more hot water.  It really was a lot of fun having to boil water in the kettle so that I could shave in the mornings.  Yeah, right. 

A friend said that it was no big deal.  I would just have to boil lots of water for the bath tub like people used to have to do.  That's great except that my flat doesn't have a bathtub.  There's just a shower.  By the way, those cold showers really sucked.  By this morning the hot water was back and I enjoyed my super long hot shower.