The Golden Egg

It seems pretty easy among the expat community to compare notes on life in the Czech Republic, especially the hard-to-adjust-to aspects. Since many of my posts focus on the crazy cultural encounters we have, I had to share something different today.

It is a common realization among "Western" moms that Czechs (particularly grandmothers) strongly believe that children should be seen and not heard... and the "seen" part is a little up in the air as well. A noisy child on public transportation will quickly draw the stern look, and possibly even a quick slap, even from unrelated grandmas. But today, I experienced something so completely out of the ordinary, I've been thinking about it ever since.

Today was grocery day. Lydia and I made it to the checkout with quite a cart full. When I handed my credit card to the grandmotherly cashier, she managed to communicate with me that the computer wasn't working and I'd have to get cash from the ATM at the front of the store. I quickly made my withdrawal, handed her the cash and she had to manually figure out my change. (The point behind all of this is that I'm sure she was having a stressful morning!).

Checkout and grocery bagging complete, we started to leave the store and the cashier began attending to the next customer. She then stopped what she was doing and came after us to give Lydia a "Kinder Egg"! (These are popular European chocolate & cream filled eggs with toys inside).

"Random Acts of Kindness" are not a common occurance here, so I'm not sure I can convey the magnitude of what transpired this morning. I only know that I left the store with a smile on my face and a much lighter heart. That woman has no idea how she impacted my attitude not only for the day, but towards living life in the Czech Republic.

So, Dear Delvita Checkout Lady: Dekuji Moc (I thank you very much).