returning

I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of adjusting back to American culture. And granted, I've been home only a week, but these are some things that I've noticed:

• COLD water, as in, water with ice
• workers at stores and attractions who wish you Merry Christmas, have a good evening, etc.
• ethnic diversity other than Caucasians and Asians (presence of many Hispanics and African-Americans – Prague is very diverse, but there actually aren't many Africans)
• huge refrigerators, and large appliances in general
• winter is a lot more brown in PA
• it's easy to get back into driving everywhere and I definitely don't walk as much
• the ability to communicate clearly with everyone and understand all the conversations around me in public places
• full days of sunshine!
• stars and sunsets
• a load of laundry finished (washed AND dried) in an hour and a quarter
• large vehicles – i.e. trucks and SUVs
• I have plenty of free time

And on that note, I would love to see my US friends! Because I basically have had to plan every day in Prague, if YOU can help me plan my activities in the coming months, I would be super blessed. Contact me and give me a date when we can get together - most likely, it will work. :)


P.S.  a highlight of the last week was meeting this guy for the first time (who is now walking!)

 and spending time with these two, who are growing up so quickly! And seeing the rest of my family, of course. :)

And this card might be one of the best gifts ever

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas market time. I would go every day just for the atmosphere. Except when it's rainy and freezing and thousands of people... but still. I love Christmas markets - wandering around and taking it in. Especially at night.

and being photo-bombed - the guy told us he thought the picture turned out well :)

Langoš - the best market food ever (fried dough topped with garlic, cheese and ketchup)

serving with my hands in dirty dish water

One of my least favorite chores growing up was doing the dishes. I don't know why. Maybe because as a family of 7, the dirty dish pile always seemed monstrous and the task, never-ending. And I never relished sticking my hands in semi-dirty water to clean those dishes. Every Saturday morning Mom wrote out a chore list, and we all had to sign up for 2-3 things to do. I don't know about my siblings, but in my head the goal was to get to that list first so I wasn't stuck with the dishes. I would choose dusting or vacuuming or garden work or even mowing over the dishes any day.

And yet last weekend as I helped with a youth activity at church, I found myself at the sink doing dishes. Not once or twice, but three or four times. I may not dread it as much, but it's still not my favorite activity. And yet, it's something I can do. When my language skills aren't sufficient to communicate, I can do dishes. When I'm not sure how to contribute to the activities around me, I can do dishes. When I feel otherwise unhelpful, I can do dishes. It's not earth-shattering. It's not what will be remembered from the weekend. But it's a way I can serve. Somewhat ironic that I found myself doing that which I used to avoid at all costs, but what else is a servant's life about, really?  Because now I find myself happy to have some way that I can contribute when I often feel like I have little to offer. I can at least do the dishes.

Birthday project part 2

Here it is - the second half of the birthday project! Though I'm not sure I did quite as well at accomplishing this half. :P

• see the Prague Zoo with a child

with 2 students from an English class

half check. Went to the zoo. Does being there with a 20 year old Russian student so excited to walk through the bat cave count (and yes, there were bats flying all around our heads)?

• attend a classical concert

check. Thanks to Jess and Stacy for accompanying me! Unfortunately, I don't remember what was performed...

• visit the grave of a famous composer

check. Czech's own Dvorak, and Beethoven in Vienna

• explain why I'm in Prague in Czech

check... kind of. I was with my Czech teacher and she helped me quite a bit...

• have a meal in a Czech village

check. This one was at a 300 year old tavern and I managed to order garlic soup and bread slathered in lard.

• have a conversation with an older Czech person about his/her life

kind of... depends what you consider older :) Older than me, yes.

• send at least 12 letters/cards (snail mail) to people outside my immediate family (who knows, it could be to you!)

maybe... I'm not so good with the counting ones. I'm not sure I hit 12 since last November, though it may have been close..

• run a race in Prague

This is the map I used. You can't see very well, but the circles with numbers were the points where I needed to check in, using only this map and a compass.

nope. Thanks to my friend, Hanka, I did an orienteering race, but not in Prague, and it was more of a trial race for those new to it. But it was actually a lot of fun and I would do it again if I had a chance!

• give a hug daily

yeah, no. I started well... 

• try one of the kinds of sausages from the supermarket

check. some kind of ham sausage with herbs, I think. It's really hard to guess what they are by the names... This one wasn't too bad.

• extend 12 invitations to a meal/drinks

again, not so good with the counting ones. it's possible it happened.

• buy a comfortable chair for my flat before the end of 2013

check. Got the box home from IKEA on public transportation and managed to put it together myself.

• see my 3 nephews via skype

check. Not for long, but done!

• spend some time with the Roma people

check. It was a short time, but I accompanied a friend who works with a Roma church to her kid's club one evening to help them prepare for an Easter program..

• visit a Christmas market outside of Prague

check. Vienna while on a run for my visa.

• spend a night in a tent or under the stars

nope. Again, bad note to end on! I had a perfect opportunity, but I opted out. It was an overnight trip with Robinson (kid's club from church) and many of the boys choose to sleep outside, but I chickened out and slept inside with the girls. 

Birthday project results

One year ago for my birthday, I created a list of things to be intentional about throughout the year. I have to admit, I wasn't so intentional with all of them, though there was definitely enjoyment in completing those I did. Following is half the list - second half to follow (just because it's too much for one post) - and some background stories on a few.

• ride the 26 tram from end to end

check. Did this one cloudy afternoon when my sister and Audrey were visiting. It's supposed to be the most interesting tram to ride end to end. Maybe it is. I think it kind of lulled us to sleep, but we were a bit tired to being with. :)

• eat in 5 different ethnic restaurants in Prague

check. American (hamburgers!), Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, "Chinese", Greek, Czech... and probably more

• make bagels

check. FYI, we can't really get bagels here. Mine were a little heavy and funny-looking, but hey, bagels!

• read “The Forgotten Ways”

check. Took me a while, but such a worthwhile read.

• learn to make Czech food

not a whole meal, but check. Made dessert with a Czech girl (also while learning Czech) and made traditional Christmas bread with Maminka last Christmas.

• go mushroom picking with a Czech family

check. Brittany and I learned 2 types of non-poisonous mushrooms. Those are the only 2 we could tell you for sure that you can pick. As long as these non-poisonous ones don't resemble a poisonous mushroom, we're good. We didn't die after we made soup with them, so I'd say it was a success. :)

• hike in 2 areas in the Czech Republic outside of Prague

check. Cesky Raj (Czech Paradise) with Jacki in April and this summer many opportunties in the northern mountains where we had English camps

• travel to a new country

check. Actually, 3: Ireland, Turkey and Switzerland (thanks to my parents)

• bless someone with food at least once a month

partially check... I didn't count. But I now know a lot of people who are fans of American cookies. :)

• visit Karlstejn

check, though I didn't go inside. But went with Eva, my friend from church, and we hiked up to the castle and then to some quarries in the area called Big and Little America. Who knew the Americas were in Europe!

• take pictures in Pruhonicky park in every season

check. Love, love, love this park! It's beautiful in every season, and I got to show it to many visitors throughout the year.

• shop for Polish pottery

check. Thanks Jacki, Jin and Audrey for providing an excuse to go! I now have a dream of having a kitchen stocked with Polish pottery, though that's probably rather unrealistic...

• hike at Divoká Šárka

check. Thanks to Jess for being adventurous with me! It's actually quite a large park and since there isn't much of a map, we didn't exactly know if we could get back for my Czech lesson in time... but we made it! The fog made it kind of mystical - some time I'd like to experience it in the summer.

• break a rule I've never broken before

crossing the river between Poland and the Czech, which we were told to do quickly!

check. Crossed an international border illegaly. And yes, there were border patrols - or so we were told. There were little sheds that certainly looked like they could be patrols.

• leave my mark on the Lennon Wall

check. Again, thanks to Jin and Audrey. We went in the morning, hoping for less tourists, but I neglected to factor in the tour groups who frequent the area in the morning. We are probably in hundreds of pictures of the Lennon wall, as tourists heard about the only place in Prague where it's legal to do graffiti and they would wander past and exclaim, "I think they're going to do it!" 

• share items from my Gratitude List with others on a regular basis

bad note to end on, but not so much. I did it a few times... I should be more intentional. :)