In Her Own Words
In Prague, CZ it is:
Carrie Brown, 2008 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen Reflects on her experience as a Queen
Ever since I can remember, and even before that I'm sure, my family has taken pride in our Czech heritage. We eat dumplings and sauer kraut on nearly every holiday. We also sing Czech Christmas carols at various holiday events in Omaha. A dozen homemade koláče would never last an hour with all my cousins around. And when I was younger my grandmother used to sing children's rhymes with funny sounding words, which I later found out were in the Czech language. So being Czech was just part of how I grew up. In 2005, when I was 16, my grandparents presented me with the idea of representing the Omaha Czech Cultural Club as their chapter Czech-Slovak queen. I had been to a few Czech festivals in Nebraska before and had seen the queens there in their beautiful Czech outfits, so I decided to apply to be the Omaha Czech Cultural Club Queen to learn a bit more about my family's heritage.
The first year I was Queen was a total learning experience. I had always thought my family's traditions were pretty interesting, but in that first year I gained so much knowledge of Czech customs and culture and became absolutely hooked. I learned some simple Czech phrases. I found out what a "kroj" is. I heard stories about other families' traditions that were similar to mine. After that, I ended up representing Omaha as their chapter queen for two more years, winning the Miss Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen title after my third try, and going on to win Second Runner-Up in the Miss Czech-Slovak USA pageant. Though all of these are surely great accomplishments, I didn't stop there. I took a semester of Czech language in college, and after that I started to go to weekly Czech language classes in Omaha to learn more than just the basics. I tried new Czech recipes, and spent some of my free time searching through Czech websites I couldn't even read, just to see if I could find pictures of my ancestral towns. And as if all that wasn't enough, I even started to teach myself to play the Czech bagpipes in order to further connect with my heritage. My first year as queen I didn't even know Czech bagpipes existed, so I've definitely come a long way.
And where does that put me now? Well, I'm living my dream because I currently live and teach in Prague, Czech Republic! I don't have to look up pictures of my ancestral towns anymore because I can visit them in person. I researched what my ancestors' Czech outfits would have looked like and had an authentic one made for me here. I've had the opportunity to play my bagpipes and sing at festivals in several cities in the Czech Republic. I am constantly meeting new Czech friends who are willing to endure my attempts at the difficult language and help me learn new phrases. Perhaps what hits home the most for me, though, is when I hear the children at my workplace sing some of the same Czech nursery rhymes my grandmother sang to my cousins and me when were were younger, and I can remember them and sing along.
When I moved here in August 2011 I committed to staying at least one year with the possibility of prolongation, and at this point things are going quite well here and I'm still unsure when I will be going back to the US. However, what I am certain of is that I am forever thankful for my family's preservation of Czech traditions and the opportunity I first had seven years ago to represent the Omaha Czech Cultural Club as Queen. These life experiences helped me shape my dream by sparking a deeper interest in the Czech culture. I truly believe I wouldn't be living in Prague today had I never been a part of the Omaha Czech Cultural Club and given the opportunity to represent as Queen. But it doesn't matter if I'm in the Heart of Europe or the Heartland of the USA; I'll always hold my experiences as a Czech-Slovak Queen close to my heart.
Click here to read where Brandy (Beekley) VanDeWalle's experience as the 1998 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen took her!
Click here to read where Mary (Brabec) Cinfel's experience as the 2005 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen took her!
The first year I was Queen was a total learning experience. I had always thought my family's traditions were pretty interesting, but in that first year I gained so much knowledge of Czech customs and culture and became absolutely hooked. I learned some simple Czech phrases. I found out what a "kroj" is. I heard stories about other families' traditions that were similar to mine. After that, I ended up representing Omaha as their chapter queen for two more years, winning the Miss Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen title after my third try, and going on to win Second Runner-Up in the Miss Czech-Slovak USA pageant. Though all of these are surely great accomplishments, I didn't stop there. I took a semester of Czech language in college, and after that I started to go to weekly Czech language classes in Omaha to learn more than just the basics. I tried new Czech recipes, and spent some of my free time searching through Czech websites I couldn't even read, just to see if I could find pictures of my ancestral towns. And as if all that wasn't enough, I even started to teach myself to play the Czech bagpipes in order to further connect with my heritage. My first year as queen I didn't even know Czech bagpipes existed, so I've definitely come a long way.
And where does that put me now? Well, I'm living my dream because I currently live and teach in Prague, Czech Republic! I don't have to look up pictures of my ancestral towns anymore because I can visit them in person. I researched what my ancestors' Czech outfits would have looked like and had an authentic one made for me here. I've had the opportunity to play my bagpipes and sing at festivals in several cities in the Czech Republic. I am constantly meeting new Czech friends who are willing to endure my attempts at the difficult language and help me learn new phrases. Perhaps what hits home the most for me, though, is when I hear the children at my workplace sing some of the same Czech nursery rhymes my grandmother sang to my cousins and me when were were younger, and I can remember them and sing along.
When I moved here in August 2011 I committed to staying at least one year with the possibility of prolongation, and at this point things are going quite well here and I'm still unsure when I will be going back to the US. However, what I am certain of is that I am forever thankful for my family's preservation of Czech traditions and the opportunity I first had seven years ago to represent the Omaha Czech Cultural Club as Queen. These life experiences helped me shape my dream by sparking a deeper interest in the Czech culture. I truly believe I wouldn't be living in Prague today had I never been a part of the Omaha Czech Cultural Club and given the opportunity to represent as Queen. But it doesn't matter if I'm in the Heart of Europe or the Heartland of the USA; I'll always hold my experiences as a Czech-Slovak Queen close to my heart.
Click here to read where Brandy (Beekley) VanDeWalle's experience as the 1998 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen took her!
Click here to read where Mary (Brabec) Cinfel's experience as the 2005 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen took her!
Carrie Brown
2009 Miss Czech-Slovak US 2nd Runner up
2009 Miss Czech-Slovak US 2nd Runner up
Hassel & Funk Photography
Carrie Brown
2008 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen and her dudy (Czech bagpipe)
2008 Nebraska Czech-Slovak Queen and her dudy (Czech bagpipe)
Carrie Brown in Klenčí pod Čerchovem!
