gina's mushed up thoughts

sometimes things break

2009-06-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

i made a short video of some of the "fails" of our year here in Ostrava. you have to go to this website to view it though:

http://www.vimeo.com/5328977

just a glimpse

2009-06-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

at all the fun the ESIers have had this past year in the Czech Republic

http://www.vimeo.com/5230482

Monster's in lockets

2009-05-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I would like to go to my grandma's house.

We would play poker and go fish, and eat the best corn on the cob in the world. She would wear one of her glamorous blouses and some of her costume jewelry because its fun.

She would sip her Manhattan during cocktail hour, and kindly watch me do whatever unimpressive act I'd begged attention for.

She would sit by my bed and scratch my back, promising not to leave until she was absolutely certain I was fully asleep. However, never wanting to actually fall asleep, I'd ask her, for the millionth time, who was in her locket. And, for the millionth time, she would tell me MONSTERS! I would open the locket for proof and instead find me and my brother, smiling with teeth too big for our round faces.

Some days, I think about my grandma again and truly miss her. And wonder what it would be like to sit and have a Manhattan with her now. I'd tell her I graduated high school and college, since it was always important to her. I'd tell her all about my travels, and because she always told me to spend my money on memories, not items, I think she would just get it. I'd tell her that no one has been able to perfectly replicate her cookies, bread or chicken and probably never will. And i'd tell her how proud of my mom she would be if she could see him with mike now.

I'd want to know everything....her old stories about the war, and the golf course, and dancing. I would want to know her thoughts and opinions and advice... yup. today i want to go to my grandma's house.

Invisible for now

2009-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Years ago, in the states, the Invisible Children documentary toured all around and I was able to see it. There was a global night commute arranged that involved the whole nation. Each city planned their out route, and on the same night, everyone walked miles to some open area where we all slept for the night, and then walked back in the morning, as a demonstration for what the children in Uganda had to do every night. It was to bring government attention to the issue and try to get them involved in helping Uganda find peace.
The video continued to tour around, outside of the US since then and we were able to have them send us the video along with the script so that we could get czech subtitles and the okay to show it in our town. .

INVISIBLE CHILDREN: THE RESCUE!

And OSTRAVA is trying to be a part of the change :)

Background info:

For 23 years, the government of Uganda and a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army, led by

a man named Joseph Kony, has engaged in Africa’s longest war. In recent years, peace was seem-

ingly within reach, largely due to the Juba Peace Talks that began in July 2006. However, despite a

ceasefire signed between the LRA and Ugandan government, efforts toward peace through the Juba

Peace Talks were stalled on several occasions by Kony’s refusal to sign the final peace agreement.

Kony’s absence at the peace agreement signing on November 29, 2008 proved his promises to be

futile and ultimately disabled the peace talks. Furthermore, the ICC has obtained evidence that Kony

used the ceasefire during the peace talks to regroup, regain strength and resume child abductions.

Joseph Kony is the world’s first individual indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes

against humanity.

Since September 2008, hostility in the Orientale province in DR Congo and Western Equatoria in

South Sudan has reached a feverish pitch. In apparent desperation and a renewed will to spread

terror to DR Congo, the LRA murdered over six hundred and abducted more than one hundred and

sixty children to fight amongst its ranks. More than 104,000 Congolese have been displaced since

Christmas in attempts to escape the LRA forces. A civil war, originally contained within Uganda’s

borders, has now evolved into a widespread regional crisis. Invisible Children, in concert with other

policy organizations including Resolve Uganda, The Enough Project, Human Rights Watch and Am-

nesty International, now believes an international effort to apprehend Kony and rescue his child sol-

diers is the most viable way to end the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today.

The Rescue Event Summary

On April 25th, 2009 the international community will unite to deliver the innocent from Kony’s reign

and ensure he is brought to justice. Thousands of participants will gather in 100 cities across the

world to symbolically abduct themselves to free the abducted.

We were abducted

on April 25th at 3pm and

marched in a single file line, on foot,

to city hall (“LRA Camp”) while carrying any supplies needed for the night

on our backs.

Once we arrived at the LRA Camp, we set up our “camp” and waited to be “rescued." - meaning we wanted a politician, famous person, or the media to show up, acknowledge the situation in Uganda, and choose to be a part of the change. (the first photo at the top is Laura's and its of us sleeping)

While at the "LRA camp," we painted signs and pictures, sang songs, wrote letters to politicians and chose to believe in hope and peace to come in Uganda.

It was so great to be a part of this in Ostrava.

It is often hard for people to look at injustices that seem beyond repair... and this issue does seem way beyond peace. But i truly love that normal people found the story and cared enough about it to do something and to alter their world. Invisible Children has become a global movement, and it was started by some kids. It is inspiring. And Im grateful this story has found me again in my life because it has reminded me what it feels like to care about something and reconfirmed my love/fascination/passion for children.

Oh birthday...It's you again

2009-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Every year I increasingly hate my birthday. This year included. I have grown an extreme and unhealthy hatred of growing older and have managed to become bitter about it at the age of 24…which, I know, I know, is not that old. I began to worry about myself…

I believe I have been mourning the loss of childhood and dwelling in all that is over and impossible for me. Why am I the only one that misses high school and college? (And, I’ve never wanted to be an adult because I’ve seen so many that are too responsible and practical for dreams and too jaded and tired for passion and I’m afraid of becoming that.) I am not happy for my friends that are getting married or starting careers. To be honest, I don’t understand them, and am almost mad at them for leaving me…for growing up. I’m not ready. And their choices are only further highlighting the fact that I am alone in this thought. I am mad at them because they are confirming that I am the crazy one. And I am. I am, most definitely, stuck in an in-between of sorts.

Even admitting this is fairly embarrassing to me because it reveals a contradiction I am sitting in. I truly believe that each phase of life has something crazy beautiful and wonderfully unique to experience and celebrate. My grandma loved life more than anyone I’ve ever known and I always wanted to be just like her, embracing all of it. But, I’m clearly not like her. I think I might be ready to fight to be though.

And I think it might be easier when I have an actual career direction to work towards or a love to believe in. I need something, anything, that exists in the next phase of life to come and help me want to move towards it. Yet currently, all I see what has ended with no where to go. So until I do… I guess I must change the things I can control: Don’t go to places where I’ll be the old, out of place one and feel weird. Don’t watch teen

shows and try to relate to them or reminisce through them. Attempt environments that are age-appropriate and motivating. Change my attitude. Decide to be happy for those around me that are embracing the next phase. Move on.

Whether I like it or not, I am getting older. Every day I am. I might not ever be as pretty or bright eyed as I once was. But the things I lose will be replaced with new and difference beautiful attributes about growing up. As least I hope. And in all honesty, I know that I am currently, terribly sad about my birthday. I can’t claim to have felt any change in my attitude yet. But as least I am claiming and understanding why I am so sad about it and hopefully that will exist as my first step in changing my outlook and choosing growing up instead of just growing old.

(But just to be sure… I still don’t ever want to be a typical adult. I hope my “adult” still looks like me…believing in dreams and change, creativity and a bit of madness.)

Words i love

2009-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

I recently read a Paulo Coehlo book called "Like the Flowing River." There were a few times that he seemed to have quoted my own thoughts, only more eloquently of course. Some are about love and these are my favorites:

"I can only conclude that worse than hunger or thirst, worse than being unemployed, unhappy in love or defeated and in despair, far worse than any or all of those things, is feeling that no one, absolutely no one, cares about us."

“In order to attain our objectives, we need other people. It is necessary, therefore, not only to observe the world, but to imagine ourselves into the skins of other people, and to learn how to follow their thoughts. This applies to both love and war.”

“Love creates bridges where it would seem they were impossible.”

“It’s a shame that people see only the differences that separate them. If you were to look with more love, you would mainly see what we have in common, then half the world’s problems would be solved.”

I also must agree with this travel thought:

"Traveling was the best way of learning….Don’t compare. You are not traveling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people. Your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary. A journey is an adventure – experience the freedom of looking for something – quite what, you don’t know, but which, if you find it, will, you can be sure, change your life."

Yup. Agreed.

Venice...again!

2009-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

My parents came in town to visit! Super exciting for me after being away from them for almost 8 months straight. I couldnt wait to see how they would react to the european environment and was excited to see them absorb my "normal" life there. But it started off with us going to Venice for a 4 day wedding. Jody and Jennifer (people i have always heard about from my parents but never actually met) had a magical destination wedding. They got married in the catacombs of st marks basilica. NUTS! It was crazy beautiful and for four days i ate 17 course meals with drinks to match each round and talked with some of the most kind and interesting i have met in a while. Everyone had such adventures and stories to tell and it was incredibly nice to speak english in a fast pace with wit and banter. Ok so here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures from the long weekend...

While in Venice we got to go to a glassblowing factory/museum. I love the ambiance of this room.. and this chandelier is aaaamazing.
Not a postcard... its real life.
My mom and me, just taking a walk in europe.
cute cute cute
The view from our fabulous room in our fabulous hotel for a fabulous destination wedding.

Apparently my parents dance just as much as I do... thats where that came from. It was fun to listen to their insane questions and unrealistic advice. But that can wait for a different blog for when they came to my ostrava life!

Belgium- Bruges and Brussels

2009-03-15T07:24:00.001-07:00

This was taken inside the Music Museum in Brussels. It had instruments from today and all the way back to the Roman empire and from every country in the world. You wore these headphones and when you would get close to an instrument you would start to hear it play. LOVELY! I really was so amazed that actual people thought up actual instruments and constructed them and mastered them. I felt like they must have been aliens because it is so far from what i would be able to create and invent and understand. But i thank them all for their brilliance because music is vital in my life. And when you think about it... music really is such a beautiful thing... just think....every culture, every age, every year in history...everyone makes a form of music and everyone enjoys it. Its a bond the world shares.
Just another hum-drum church.... :) No, i dont get tired of their beauty.
Belgian chocolate!!! Sooo delicious. These ladies were soo cute. We walked in and they showed us the rick steves book they are now in. They were so proud of their hand-made chocolates that we basically were applauding them. And the chocolate was amazing, so they deserve it. But sidenote...there are a bazillion chocolate shops lined up in Belgium. Do they really eat THAT much? I had no idea there would be soooooo many shops. Not that i'm complaining.
Bruges's main square. Adorable no doubt.

Brittany and I met up with lyds in Bruges and enjoyed Belgian beer and chocolate. The weather wasnt amazing but the company was great. We even watched the movie "In Bruges" while we were there... which was kind of perfect. And went to a cafe with 44 kinds of hot cocoa.

I liked bruges much more than brussels. It was quaint and cute.

Brussels was a big city... the architecture was mismatched and it felt loud and dirty. But, in Amsterdam I had met a guy that lived in Brussels who offered to show us around a bit, so because of him we got to go to fun places one night. We had a belgian dinner and then went to a pub with over 400 kinds of beer...insane....then dancing. No complaints there. Gotta love meeting friends during adventures :)

My trip home (alone) was the following:

Walk 10 minutes to the train station.

Take a train to the airport.

Take a plane to Prague.

Take a bus from Prague airport to Prague train station.

Take a train from Prague to Ostrava.

Take a tram from train station to my stop.

Walk from my stop home.

It took a day. My ipod died on the first 10 minute walk. Ha...

Amsterdam!

2009-03-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Valentines Day I left Prague at 4:45am to head to Amsterdam! Brittany (my longest known friend) was meeting me there and we were going to be able to travel together for a bit before she started her internship in France (lucky kid!). I ABSOLUTELY LOVED AMSTERDAM. It was insanely beautiful and the people there were the kindest people I have ever come across in these traveling adventures. Plus it was fun to see Brittany again after so many months.

I LOVED all the bikes and deeply long to live in a bike town. Its so practical and the bikes were hipster-chic. The fashion was fabulous as well.. i had no idea they were one of the top fashion cities. The Van Gogh museum was highlighting all the the night pieces...his best in my opinion. Again, art filled my soul with goodness. We also went into the place Ann Frank and her family hid for 4 years... did you know her book is the second most-sold book in the world (the first is the bible)? I think she would be happy to know her life was so significant.

We did a walking tour through the town and learned so much about the people and history there, thanks to a really passionate and interesting tour guide. Then, at night we took the redlight district tour as well.

The redlight district is basically being shut down and is expected to be completely gone by 2012 thanks to the democratic christians. The idea of buying drugs and sex and it being legal and expected seems to be a subject most Americans find clearly wrong. I must say I cannot agree. The truth is sex and drugs are around whether its legal or not, and shutting it down completely will just make it darker and more dangerous, but not stop it (as the past has shown). Amsterdam has almost made drugs and sex safer. I felt safe walking around the streets at night. I didnt feel like i would be taken advantage of... people had a place to go for things like that and it would be with girls that chose to offer it. There are rules the girls follow and their clients.

(I am not going to go into all my thoughts about this whole topic here, because its one sided and i dont know if anyone really cares... but if you want to know my in-depth thoughts id love to talk to you. The point is, being closed minded, judgmental or naive seem to only lead to disrespect and further corruption.)

Amsterdam bleeds tolerance and respect. I left feeling affected as though I had learned a great life lesson. I fully intend on returning and I would suggest it to anyone and everyone.

no reason

2009-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

High up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

-coldplay

...because i love it

Lovely

2009-01-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hundertwasser..... I fell in love with this artist and i think you will too. Soo, here is some information I have learned about him:

He utilized bright colors, organic forms, and tried to reconcile humans with nature, with his strong individualism and rejection of straight lines.

He called his theory of art "transautomatism.” It is the idea that different people see different things in the same picture and that picture should be less what the artist wants us to see, and more about how we interpret it.

Hundertwasser believed that straight lines are 'godless and immoral.' He thought that, as humans, we have lost out connection to the organic geometry of nature by forcing ourselves to exist in boxes as homes. He believed in the fluidity of line and shape and was fascinated with spirals. He thought they represented us perfectly as humans; going in circles, yet never exactly in the same place and never identical to the last loop.

He created revolutionary architectural designs, which incorporate natural features of the landscape, and irregular forms of building designs. The features include undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. In creating parks of grass and trees above the buildings he thought we would be able to double the space and improve the environment.

His last project was named Die Grüne Zitadelle von Magdeburg. Although he never finished this work completely, the building was put up a few years later in central Germany. It is the picture above.

He believed, “The flat floor is an invention of the architects. It fits engines - not human beings. If modern man is forced to walk on flat asphalt and concrete floors as they were planned thoughtlessely in designers' offices, estranged from man's age old relationship and contact to earth, a crucial part of man withers and dies. This has catastrophic consequences for the soul, the equilibrium, the well-being and the health of man. An uneven and animated floor is the recoverery of man's mental equilibrium, of the dignity of man which has been violated in our levelling, unnatural and hostile urban grid system. The uneven floor becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet and brings back natural vibrations to man and architecture should elevate and not subdue man. It is good to walk on uneven floors and regain our human balance.” I love that!

He designed KuntHausWien (the museum in Vienna we went to) and took no payment for the design, declaring that it was worth it, to "prevent something ugly from going up in its place". He was also asked to design one of the Ronald Mc Donald House's for children suffering from cancer in Essen/Grugapark, and i think thats lovely.

Finally.....In the museum in Vienna, they had some of his quotes displayed and Lyds and I wrote down some we liked. These are them:

"Our present, planned architecture cannot be considered art. Our modern buildings are detached and pitiable compromises by men of bad conscience who work with straight - edged rulers."

"If we do not honor our past, we lose our future. If we destroy our roots, we cannot grow."

"Our real illiteracy is our inability to create. To paint is a religious activity."

"God is a creator. If man wants to fulfill his purpose as God's image he also has to be creative. If man is creative he comes nearer to God." (If you know me at all you would understand why I love this. Its like he quoted my thoughts)

"A church should be beautiful. One should like to go inside and they should feel at home inside. One should find in it a bridge to GOd, to nature, and to creation. God should like to go into this house of God, built by man, to meet with him there."

The thing I really loved about his art was just that it was an expression. It was made to be beautiful. It was made because he enjoyed it. It was made because he wanted others to celebrate creativity and realize its energy. And I think thats what art should be about. There shouldn't be rules or expectations, and everyone is capable of creating something...anything...it should organically spring forth from their own, individual ability, however it manifests itself within that person. Ok, I'll stop...

New Years

2009-01-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

This should have been a photo of lyds and I on a warm train, in the very-early-morning hours of December 27th, on our way to Salzburg. In reality, it is a photo of lyds and I on the coldest bus ever, in the evening-to-late hours of December 28th, on our way to Prague. Once we found out how expensive the train to salzburg and then the train out of salzburg was going to cost, we changed our plans. So we extended our Vienna trip almost two days and headed to Prague a day earlier than we had originally planned....thus saving us over 150 euros.
Once in Prague we got to meet up with friends from Hungary, like Mem, which was really great.
And lyds and I were finally able to be in a photo together instead of just one of us... having that third friend to take the picture is oh so useful! And Prague was FREEZING! I think that was the coldest i had ever been. I wanted to rip my hands and feet off they burned so bad. And, when walking around, I would start to internally panic about when i could get inside somewhere again. Ha! Good old Florida upbringing didnt prepare me for the frozen burn of no mittens and thin socks. Lyds parents came in town on the 30th. It was nice to be around parents for a bit.... even though they weren't mine.

And on the 31st, Lyds and I went to the Charles Bridge. It is the typical tourist thing to do. We had heard it is crazy and people shoot fireworks off everywhere, so naturally, we wanted to go. It was crowded and people did shoot fireworks off everywhere.... off the bridge, into the sky, into the crowds, etc... Supposedly, New Years Eve fireworks are only from locals. And since there are no laws or regulations, they are going off whereever. So, on the bridge, people were humming the white stripes - 7 nation army - yeah, we didn't get it either. and we moshed. bc the people move like a current and you just go with the flow. and giggled, and hugs and kisses on the cheek from strangers as we counted down the last moments of 2008, and celebrated the start of 2009. Then, we ran into our friend, Cat, had a beer, and went home.

And after all this time lyds and i have had together... months of being together everyday... we decided we are so grateful for our friendship, that seems to defy the normal tendencies of girl friendships. It is a blessing that we have had no conflict at all, and that we still like each other and laugh our way through these travels.

Finally... January 1st, in Prague, is when the city puts on their firework display. 6 pm. Much more family friendly. Lyds had left with her parents to go to Germany, but i was hoping that one of the 7 people i knew in Prague at the moment would want to go and see the fireworks, but no one did. I was thinking i should go alone and then thinking how i just cant seem to be one of those people that does stuff alone and how thats kind of lame of me, but since I am that way, I should just head to the train station and back to Ostrava. So i was supposed to take tram 9 to hlavni n.d.....i looked at the board and it was coming in a minute...i looked up and a tram was coming, its super full but i shoved in....clearly assuming it was the 9 because of time. But it was so full i was pushed against the door and couldnt see the info. So finally it started getting less crowded and i could move to see the board and i saw that Hlavni was never on the tram stop options. So i looked up and yup..im on the 12. not the 9. I have never ever done that. SO i was like great. Ill get off at the next stop and look at the sign and get on one that will take me somewhere where there is a metro because i knew how to get there from any metro.

I got off at the next tram stop and proceed to wait. Nothing was coming. So i saw down the street there was a different tram stop, different direction and since i didnt care where i was going, i just need to get to a metro, i thought...sure why not. I then proceed to walk to that tram stop and realized where i actually ended up was on the exact bridge i should have be on if i wanted to watch the fireworks. A million people walked towards me and i realized it was only 20 minutes until the show. So i thought...its fate. I should see the fireworks. So i did. And they were magical and lovely and 17 minutes long.

The next morning my holiday came to an end as i headed back to "home" and picked up the life i left in Ostrava.

Vienna for Christmas!

2009-01-16T02:33:00.000-08:00

All of these photos posted in the reverse order I was hoping for.... but here we go: First you should know that Christmas in Vienna is impossible to describe...but imagine lights that are 2-3 times the size of you hanging between buildings that were built yearsssssssssss ago. And walking around finding streets that each hold their own magic and own style. Stumbling upon christmas market after christmas market with people from all over europe drinking hot, sweet wine, eating sausages and pastries and candied nuts. everyone is smiling. homemade ornaments and gadgets and toys and puppets and art in miniature houses all in a row. christmas lights, christmas trees, christmas spirits, aaaah.

Picture 1: Don't you love the architecture? I loved the hustle-bustle of pre-christmas!
Picture 2: On our last night in Vienna (the 27th) we went to the Opera house (isn't is classic?) and saw the Nutcracker Ballet (Ballett: Der Nussknacker).... standing tickets were only 4 euros! And it was so lovely! The costumes were amazing and even though i have seen this ballet before, i was so impressed with the idea that a whole story can be conveyed through dance and lyric-less music. Whole emotions are expressed through their passion for dance and dedication to the art.

After the show we met up w/ 3 friends from the hostel to try to find good dancing. good - not so sure - shady, on the river, dark, really loud bass, dudes entranced by the lights overhead, hipsters everywhere, smoke everywhere - that is what we found. a european experience - sure. an experience we kept laughing through - of course. the nice part - we paid ourselves back at the end of the night. bc if you take empty glasses or bottles back to the bar - they give you money back. GENIUS. so we went around collecting other people's trash basically and made ourselves a few euros. more bars should do that. we got home at 4am. or 5am. i don't remember. we were supposed to wake up in time to go to the vienna boys choir and check out of the hostel before that -- no - we woke up at like 9 i guess. and laid around the hostel and used our little book to try and find some decent place to have coffee or eat - we failed at 3 attempts all over the city - so we went back to a place that we had the day before that was near the center and the opera house and enjoyed a superb meal. we walked down the streets - and said goodbye to the city sprinkled by magic fairy dust and christmas cheer from santa's sleigh.

Picture 3: (the 26th) This is the Belvedere.... two palaces, separated by a garden, that were built in the 18th century as the summer resident for Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736). It is known for its Baroque architecture, and design. Now, it holds art from the Middle Ages. Here we saw the Gustav Klimt collection, so of course "The Kiss" and "Judith." It was nice and I like Gustav more now... but i have to admit, lyds and i were distracted when we were here because we were supposed to leave the following morning and head to Salzburg but had just discovered our train tickets were going to add up to 100 euros each. We were internally trying to sort out alternative last minute options.
Picture 4: Christmas Night dinner! Everything closes Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas. All Shops, restaurants and grocery stores. By night time we were starving and it looked as though our only option would be vending machine food from the hostel. But in our last minute of searching we saw a distant lite up sign. It ended up being this tiny, little, Italian restaurant. The only two workers (ma and pops) probably lived in the back or upstairs of this place. Since we were basically sitting in their kitchen, we watched them make our food from scratch and it was delicious!

Picture 5: (the 25th) Kunthauswein Museum. This is the outside of Hundertwasser's art gallary. He also designed the building, which had 10 trees growing out of it from the inside, uneven floors, organic materials, and no straight lines. I have lots to say about him so he will be a different blog post later... but this was the greatest Christmas gift i could have ever been given. It re-engergized me and reminded me of the goodness of art and the inspiration it offers me. Lyds agreed.
Picture 6: Christmas day still...lyds and i parked on the second floor of Starbucks for a few hours, with the view of the opera house, hot coffee, books, journals, and music.
Picture 7: Hofburg Palace....we didn't have a chance to go inside it. But it was attached to the Albertina, which we did go to. It is a huuuuuge Art Museum with over 500 works. It shows the historical progress of art from impressionism to modernism. We saw pieces by Monet, Degas, Picasso, Rothko, Van Gogh, and more. Sometimes life doesn't feel real. You know you are doing things and seeing things, but the reality of it doesn't sink in. I had this moment there though where I thought..."This is now. This is real. Its Christmas day. I am in Europe, standing in front of a Monet. How did this happen and how grateful am i?" Picture 8: St. Stephans Cathedral. The picture does no justice. It's dark and gothic and beautiful. Inside was a bit of a tourist attraction which look away some of its mystery and appeal for me. But the building is impressive nontheless.
Picture 9: Christmas Eve. Haus der Musik is an interactive museum where music is audible and visual. There was a room that was a recreation of the womb. It sounds cheesy but it was powerful and comforting. It kind of vibrated and the colors and sounds were intoxicating. There interactive activities helped you create music, direct music, morph sounds, combine sounds, record sounds, visualize feelings, and so much more. It also had a bunch of amazing historical, brilliant musicians. There were whole rooms on Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and more.... all of them had, at some point, lived in Vienna and created masterpieces. I can't imagine inventing the things they thought up. It's brilliant. Also.... someone find the cd "i mozart lounge" please. It has a weird bluish sculture on the front photo, if i remember correctly... it is so creative and so fabulous! and it is not the same as "Mozart Lounge" which is not as good at all.
Picture 10 - one of the christmas market booths. Meat. ew.
Picture 11 - One of the christmas market booths. Handmade items.
Picture 12: this was our first starbucks since being in the US. I have a whole new level of drip coffee to go.
Picture 13: Christmas Eve. This is inside the Votiv church and it is where Lyds and I went to Christmas Eve mass. It was in english...and so cold we could see our breath the whole time. But I liked going back to my old roots and being in a catholic service. I have my own conflict with Catholic beliefs, but i must admit, there was something beautiful about the tradition of it all. That cross-culturally people are doing the same motions. Its a bizarre global connection and it was perfect for Christmas. And Im stealing Lyds words to describe the church because I agree: "you know the ones that catch bad flack for being too big and impersonal and cost too much money - those ones that steal your breath and remind you that the history of christianity is jaded and beautiful - one that couldn't be contained or boxed in by cathedrals or catholics or protestants - ones that make you realize the awe and majesty of one we serve that is greater than us - we had christmas eve mass in one of those."

After church we went back to our hostel and made some friends in the downstairs pub.
Photo 14 - hot wine....its so weird and sweet, and filled with pieces of fruit. They serve it all over the markets and you can keep the mug, or return it and get some of your money back.
Photo 15 - one of the magically decorated streets.
Photo 16 - lyds and i literally frolicked around the streets. they were overwhelmingly amazing.
Photo 17 - the biggest market. This was the most amazing christmas event i have ever seen. tons of booths, tons of food, tons of drinks, tons of lights! Even the trees had giant, light-up ornaments. Everyone was truly enjoying the season. I think it should be mandatory for everyone to go and experience Vienna at Christmas time. It is more beautiful than i know how to describe.

I have a million more photos i could post from Vienna, but i know this blog is already too long. All in all, if i couldnt be with family on Christmas (though we all know lyds is family)... Vienna was, by far, the perfect alternative.

twinkles

2009-01-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

I just thought I should post some magical photos of Ostrava. I was very proud of our little town and their efforts. This first picture is in the center. A big Christmas tree, surrounded by a market....little wooden huts that sell hot drinks, winter snacks, gifts, and homemade trinkets. There was also a life-sized manger scene, a stall with real donkeys and a llama (i think it was a llama), a train that road around the border of the square, a merry-go-round for kids, and usually some people dressed as Native Americans singing and playing music which is something i still dont understand. Each street around the square was lined in some light-post decoration.

The second photo is in front of Cityhall. It was maybe my favorite Christmas spot. The lights were beautiful and showered the whole scene.

The third picture is back in the center and is a few of the market booths i mentioned.

Then the last photo is me. This huge lighted 2009 was near our house. THere was nothing around it Chrsitmasy, or New yearsish, and no main monument near it. It wasn't even close to the center. But we loved it and its randomness.

To be honest, Ostrava put Orlando to shame. People really celebrated and enjoyed the holiday. Everywhere was decorated and lovely. I wish you could have seen it.

Christmas time in Ostrava

2009-01-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

I think here is a good place to start. Right at the beginning of December all of the Christmas decorations start to appear all around the city. Even in the malls....These are just two of the many life-sized displays inside the mall that added to the Christmas decorations. (The first picture says "1 kg carp for 1 soul") Ha! Lyds and I were so confused. And after asking Czechs about these devil scenes, most of them just laughed and said something like, "I don't know... you know....like for December 6th, St. Nicolas day." So....on December 6th, St. Nicolas comes with a devil and an angel, and visits all the children. If the kids were good, they get a small gift. But if they were bad, the devil can take them and bring them back to hell. Ha! what? So young ones can be kind of scared of this experience. In any case, its a day where kids get little gifts and candies and it starts the Holiday season. Adults don't really celebrate it so much. Although when we went to a pub that night many people had on devil horns or angel wings.

There is another czech tradition...one that is all too familiar. They are Christmas Cookie crazy. They make tons of different kinds of cookies, and they are all very delicate and pretty and intricately decorated. They are also the smalllllllest cookies i

have ever seen. For example... one chips ahoj cookie could easily be the equivalent of 3 czech christmas cookies. Which means you end up eating 20 cookies in a sitting. I thought this year i would get out of making cookies.....because for those of you that know, it is my families tradition to have ME make a million. But... we were invited to an annual cookie decorating party and attended! I was humbled by the czech women and their impressive decorating skills. I can not compete with that.

December was full of Christmas parties. Younglife movie night showed Elf...which is still amazing. Our church had Sunday night Advent services... one of which Fishnet put on. I somehow found myself on stage with a small group of people singing Christmas carols...which everyone knows are either too high or too low for any normal person to handle....and speaking about the wreaths symbolism, while lighting one of its candles and almost starting a much larger fire. We also had a Fishnet Christmas Dinner at a nice restaurant that had an english menu - the first i have seen here. (dad - Adam gave us scratch off lottery tickets at dinner... how did he know that thats what you do?)

Our last party was just the 5 of us (Laura, Jonna, Lyds and me all from ESI together, and Ashley from Younglife). We had decided to each draw a name and make gifts for eachother....which of course, I love! Then we met for Christmas dinner and exchanged. (Mom - Laura made Lasagna...how did she know that thats what you do?) Jonna made me a sweater with a robot on it :) Lyds made ash an apron. Ash made Jonna a corkboard. Laura made lyds an owl pillow and travel activity book. I made laura a pistachio holder and activity/countdown book. It was lovely. Warm, homey, and comforting as Christmas should be, and unexpected considering I am as far from home as possible.

Oh and one last thing....Santa does not bring gifts to children on Christmas morning. Baby Jesus brings them during Christmas Eve dinner, which is fried carp and potato salad.

Art

2008-12-06T04:31:00.000-08:00

Holy crap, how is it December? 2008 is coming to its end? what?? Time makes less and less sense to me. I think i spend a lot of time thinking, there will be time soon. I guess we all do and that's how we push away decisions and change until we really don't have time anymore.

Naturally, being here, people ask if I will go home at the end or stay another year. When lyds and I signed up to do this, we assumed only one year. Especially me because, and this is no secret, I am pretty bad at English. In highschool, I took all honors classes....except English. And then the only B on my report card was always from my regular level English class. So i really didnt think teaching it was going to be my life long desire. (But its getting better for me and im enjoying it more and more... although i think i might just be enjoying my students and teaching more and more, not enjoying english more and more :) )

My thoughts last summer was that I would go to grad school after this. But things are so busy here...and maybe thats an easy excuse to use... but I've barely been able to think about what happens next for me, and as for schools...applications need to be in sometimes as early as december. Yikes. I have this visual of me, next year, living in my parents house, 24 years old, with no job and trying to figure out what the heck i am doing. I laugh about that, but it might happen. I am not freaking out about this, yet. I do think I will figure out what to do with my life and I do believe that God has been giving me pieces of a bigger whole, that fit together in one way or another, I'm just not sure yet how or why or what its forming into.

Living here has begun to show me things that I care about. I already knew I cared about these things, but all of a sudden, I am more aware of their vital importance in my life. They are becoming non-negotiables. For instance:

I have always considered myself a groupie to the arts. Usually, people are either The Artist, or don't understand the art at all. I am neither. I understand the art, and completely appreciate it and the artist. To me, art....talent....natural born inspiration...its all drips of God. Some people can't not make music. Others feel inspired to create the images they see in their imagination. Some express themselves in dance, or photos or writing, and so on. All of these art forms just seem to FIT for these people. God has created everyone so uniquely. His creativity has made people different and talanted and lovely.

I should make a note here: I am not saying that I only find God in the arts or that you have to be an artist to express this creativity. It is just one aspect of life that I am intriged by and connect with God through.

So, I have always known that I loved this, and part of wanting to move to Europe was because of its art, architecture, fashion, etc. I wanted to be absorbed in it all. But, God is funny. I moved to Central Europe. Czech Republic. Ostrava. And honestly, there isnt really that environment here. Its not the romantic and poetic Western Europe I was thinking of. That's my impressions so far at least. Fashion is not really the up to date trends and people dont seem concerned about it much. Art is basic and kind of hard to find. And even the czechs arent that impressed with their own music. Innovation seems lost. People arent really trying to stick out of the crowd or create something new.

And this is not said to offend or to be negative at all. And believe me, I think there is something beautiful about life here. They work together. They aren't extravagent or over indulgent. They don't feel this intense need to figure out who they are and find what would make them happy...like Americans are constantly on a quest for. They care about their family. They work hard. They enjoy simple pleasures.

So there are two things this is showing me. First of all, that art is more important to me that i even thought. Just being in the environment of creativity is inspirational to me and energizing. I'm impressed and challanged and fed by it. I think, that in the end, I need to live in a place where it strongly exists.

Second... I think God took me out of that environment because He wanted to show me His beauty and creativity in other ways. I believe Him to be dynamic and mysterious. Being here is giving me an opportunity...actually, I am almost being forced... to learn about Him and find Him in other forms besides the arts. Which, I am now grateful for.

There are other non-negotiables... but this has become a long blog, and once its this long, only your parents read it. So I'm going to pause here for now.

escaped

2008-11-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

So my week of sickness was weird. I knew I didn't like to be home a lot or alone a lot and now I also know that doing both of those things, for a few days, will make me lose my mind. On Friday (5 days into being home), nothing sounded like a good idea for me to do to entertain myself given my grumpy mood...and then i started to cry out of no where. This is when i knew i would be running away soon, for sanity's sake. :)

Saturday night i packed my backpack and headed to Krakow on my own. My train was quiet and lonely which made me wonder if i was going the right way. I was. Then i found my hostel and made friends with my new roomies. The next day i met up with some friends and we headed off to Auschwitz. I forgot my camera (tragic) so i can not show you this place...which is maybe good, because you should just go and see it for yourself. It is such a heavy experience.

So heres some quick history....
Auschwitz is a group of concentration, labour and extermination camps built by the Germans during the Second World War. There are 3 main parts to Aushwitz, with 40 sub-camps in the neighboring cities and in the surrounding area. Poles, Jews, gypsies, and prisoners of other nationalities and minorities were incarcerated there in one of the biggest mass murders in history, all part of Hitler's plan for complete destruction ('the Final Solution').

Jewish people were deported from their homes all over Europe to Auschwitz. They believed they would all be safe and with their families and belongings. Most of these people were instead, immediately sent to a gas chamber and put to death upon arrival. Their bodies were afterwards cremated in industrial furnaces. Others were put to very hard work, though people were only able to survive these conditions for 1 week-5 months.

Its hard to tell how many people died from this experience....the Germans tried to keep things quiet and burned papers and bodies. Though well over a million is very safe to say.

The experience was one I won't ever forget.

sick=quarantine

2008-11-12T00:29:00.001-08:00

I got sick. Sunday night i felt it coming. Monday morning didn't sound great. By Monday afternoon I was pretty sure I'd gross out my students so I called Zuzka and she found subs for me and told me to stay home. Later Monday night Zuzka called me back and told me to meet her in the morning and we were going to go to the Doctors. I didn't want to go but agreed.

So Tuesday morning I saw a doctor. I was given a prescription for 3 medicines (1-nose spray, 2-cough, 3-aches) and 7 days. Meaning for 7 days I have to stay in my house. For anyone that knows me...this may be the hardest thing i will ever do in my life. I cant remember ever even staying in the house 24 hours. I get bottled up and antsy and feel like i have to get out and see that people still exist. But, by law, i cant leave. Ok i am sick. I dont think i could do normal every day life, but i certainly dont need to be locked up. And i am assuming in one more day i will be fairly back to normal but still in this house....so if you want to talk online at any point...im home and available. ha :)

The sad thing is..... we have monday off, and i have friday off because my class got changed so i had a plan. Thursday go to prague. Friday meet with Italian consulate. Saturday day trip to town near Prague that has a bone church, among other things. Sunday see the Cold War Kids plan in Prague and Monday go to a Brewery. Now my plans have changed to sitting, laying, reading, watching, alone, bed. And since its the long weekend, people i know in Ostrava are leaving too. I guess it was bound to happen at some point. Getting sick. The thing that sucks about getting sick here though is that it doesnt just affect me. My friends have to pull my weight and cover my classes. And again, if you know me at all, you know that i hate needing help. Today i just feel weak, like im failing.

Krakow, Poland

2008-11-11T23:57:00.000-08:00

Krakow might be the cutest place ever. Ever. The castle is beautiful and dripping of mysterious stories and historic facts. The town is small enough to be able to just walk everywhere. They have a big main square and then a smaller square and also the jewish quarter. All of these areas are filled with live music pubs and clubs and artsy little nocks. The town was busy with street performers, restaurants, flower vendors, etc. One of my favorite visits was to the New Jewish Cemetery. Lyds and I were the only ones in there at the time and it was one of those experiences i dont think i will ever forget. Knowing the history of the Jews and weight of their sorrows and then crawling into this place of proof of it all, mixed with the perfection of fall colors and falling golden leaves onto beautiful graves with only silence all around... like i said....it was just one of those experiences.

Krakow also has a beautiful basilica with a huge adorned alter, a giant Cloth Hall absolutley filled with vendors selling repeated items to tourists, a clock tower that supposedly has a dungeon and beer cafe, synagogs, museums, and fashion. Lyds and i would sit and peoplewatch and lust after their fashion. The girls are so sleek and trendy. Id say better than new york! Amazing jackets and books... the layers, the bags, the hats...oh i loved it! I wish i was a cute polish girl!

On our last day there we went to a really great book store....rooms filled with english books!!!! floor to ceiling, every topic, ladders, coffee, couches, thoughts, writing, music, reading, hours flying by. It was really needed to just have time to sit and think and sort out thoughts that havent had time to be completed in the rush of every day life. Then, on our last night there, lyds and i finally found a dancing club. Underground there was a huge 6 room cave with lofts and multiple bars and couches and dancing! To good music dancing! It was a great find and took us forever to discover but was worth it! Fall break was lovely! And reminded me why i wanted to move to Europe. What a blessing to live to close to different cultures and to jump on a train that costs roughly $30 and have an adventure in a whole new land. Beauty.

Wroclaw, Poland

2008-11-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

I believe that Wroclaw has perfected the ambience factor of cafes and bars that America has been trying to grasp for years....they make it seem like it was effortless to throw together vintage furniture, warm colored walls, dim lighting, and urban art and photos with deliciousness...paulaner beer or cappuccinos and chocolates.

Then they have their town square... a big open space of people and energy, overpriced food and historic buildings. Wroclaw has been called the Venice of Poland though i would never claim such a thing. The similarity is the bridge idea. Wroclaw has 112 bridges connecting 12 islands that make up the town. Of course the bridges are adorable and all different than the others. I think it was smart to be there during the fall because it was sooo beautiful and we enjoyed the leaves and cool air.

My only complaint is finding Tram 22. People act like its so easy to find and they point to some vague direction and look at you like your stupid. In reality this tram is sometimes invisible and other times tucked behind and under giant buildings. And taxi drivers can choose to not take you places which makes getting around....if you are lydia and me... a little challenging.

FOr some reason my blog wont upload any other photos besides this one, so you can look at my facebook page to see more photos of wroclaw. sorry..

leaf and leave

2008-10-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

well...
I do believe I have a final schedule.... i teach:
1st grade twice a week
3rd grade twice a week
5th grade twice a week
Two groups of highschool kids, each once a week
Four Individuals for a conversation class, each once a week
One Individual for a business twice a week

There have been some added classes lately, either being a sub or teaching a seminar, but the above schedule are my permanent people.

Besides that, FALL IS BEAUTIFUL! Like crazy beautiful. I've seen fall in pictures and on TV and even a bit in America, but not like this. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of my favorite tree and now all the leaves fell. BUT it had the most amazing bright yellow leaves and a massive deep brown trunk. It was magical. Also, its October... which people at home should know I love! So this whole week my lesson plans have been all about Halloween and eating candy :)
Sad they don't have a version of Halloween here... but we did get to go to a costume party anyway for our Younglife friend Ashley. It was her birthday. Lydia went as the World. And i went as the Moon. So i just ran circles around her all night. It was fun and cost us no money to make! :) And on the Thursday before Halloween, the elementary school is throwing a party in the park for the students. So they will get dressed up with their parents and come and have some activities....so of course i want to go too.

Last weekend some of our friends from Prague came into town. We took them on a bit of a hike up to see the Lipnice nad Sázavou castle (about an hour train ride from Ostrava). It was created in the beginning of the 14th century and is actually one of the largest in Europe. It was so beautiful. I love castles. They just feel alive with stories of peoples adventures.

This coming weekend we have a break. Hallelujah! We have Mon-Wed off from work so it looks as though Lyds and I might head to Poland. I can't stinkin wait. Trains and hostels and new cultures and new views... lovely.

Hmm...what else would you want to know?

I'll think about it and write more later.

stop asking... here

2008-09-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

well...

I've been teaching. All the preparation finally has purpose. Our schedules appear to be changing quite often, but i thiiiiiink i have an idea of what my year will look like.

I began working in the Elementary school. I have a 1st grade class, a 3rd grade class, and a 5th grade class...all of which i teach twice a week. They are adorable and fun of course... but im having a bit of trouble in the discipline area.... Their teachers tell me to make them fear me in the beginning. That feels impossible really. I was supposed to assistant teach, but i think the czech teachers were excited for a break because so far they have all left the room and told me to teach every time i have been there. And although it is just so easy to come up with really great fun and educational lesson plans on the spot....Ive started to plan ahead a bit. I lost my voice, yet the teacher still wanted me to teach her class. As i began, Andre interrupts and says, "You sound like your dying." Dev then adds in "Why dont you just clear your throat?" Brilliant, why didnt i think of that?

I have two one on one classes and am enjoying both. I am grateful to have such kind and flexible students!

This next week i start three new classes. A youth class of 15 students, an adult class of 7 and another adult class of 6. I'm hoping they are as great as the classes I have had so far.

A few weekends ago we went to Prague!!! It was magical and beautiful and overwhelming to stand in front of history like that. We walked around the New Town Square, and The Old Town Square, and saw the clock, and the castle, and we crossed the Charles bridge and rode paddle boats, and went in the church of our lady before tyn, and and drank wine on a hill overlooking the city, and went dancing, and played in a park.... and more. Oh and we stayed with friends in their mansion of a place which was fun. One, because their place is cool, and two, because they are too..

Back in Ostrava, we also went to Younglifes first movie night of the new year and met a bunch of highschoolers and leaders. It felt like home...like ThElement. I think i want to get involved with it. Then we went out with some people to Stodolni for beers and dancing, which, of course, was fun!

Other updates -

-Lyds semi cut back on her chocolate craze. She is still failing at many things and it is still amusing, although ive had a few of my own failures to add in as well.

-We are still laughing through life....especially at the random things that keeping occuring (taking trams and walking home holding large pieces of vacuums and a huge box of corn flakes.)

-Its cold! Its only september geez.

-My cell phone is prettty much just for show. It can't call, or receive calls. The three button doesn't work, and apparently neither does the alarm since i have now overslept twice for class. Apparently in two weeks i will have a shiny new one and i will call someone with it!

-Our washing machine does not work. (We will be getting a new one no worries.) Since i moved here a month ago my clothes are a months worth of dirty.... So today i finally decided to hand washed some of them in our bathtub, wiped the sweat from my brow and wondered what year it was. Maybe it was because i had just finished doing the dishes by hand too. :)

-We are going to Prague "for work" again this weekend.

-We got our visas!!!! woot woot.

ok that is more than enough for you to read.

who knew

2008-09-04T01:22:00.000-07:00

I too am a TERRIBLE speller. And even worse at grammar yet now its my job to not suck at those things. ha! It will be an interesting year for me.

People have been lovely and hospitable and had us over to their homes for feasts.... i've spent two weeks eatting and my pants are already tight...fried, sweets, whole milk, various forms of bread, beer, chocolate....

lydia is a disaster! She falls, trips, gets hurt, breaks things, has to redo things, gets lost, tye dyes clothes, the list continues... its amazing. We just keep saying "Fail" and laughing hysterically. I love it.

Fishnet contracted with an Elementary school for the first time this year and they are letting me work there! So mon-thur i will be there for two of their classes and I am so excited. Ive already started a one on one class with woman and i think its going good. I have to get the rest of my sched next week.... it should be community classes and teaching at businesses. 24 hours of class total. But it takes me so long to plan plus teach myself freakin grammar things that its at least 40 hours.

oh annnnd - my boss is wanting to start making enligh teaching videos that are more fun and funny then the ones out there and has created a green screen room at the school. On my first real day of work he asked us to help him with a practice shoot to check lighting and such...Yet .we ended up having to get in wardrobe (flight attendants!) and be in a few scenes about airport security and the body. DId i mention about his black face character? He's called Jon Bourno. He paints himself black with a fro.... this is the character he wants to use to teach for the videos. ha! One of his music videos has this character....You tube.... kuličky štěstí and the song called Stydlivý. Not a normal first day of work, but really fun!

Younglife and the YMCA are here and pair with Fishnet to make lots of community activities so i am going to go check out if there is anything i want to get involved in with them.

annnd Im leaving today for Prague! woot woot.

sidenote - Mullets are big here. And two toned hair. Top one color, bottom another. Bascially every hairdo is just terrible and oh and tragic. People rewear their clothes all the time and nothing matches. Its like 1992 here with the clothes and the music they play in public.

thats all

Lysa Hora is a beast that we have conquered

2008-08-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Lydia's first train ride!!

The hike begins

This is will a nice hike.....

Finally making it up to the top!! Victory!

We got on a

train at 8:30am,

started hiking at 10:05am, got to the top of the mountain

at about 1:30pm and celebrated the victory at a pub. Then at about 2:30-3 started to walk down the mountain, realized we went the wrong way after about a mile, went back up the mountain and re-descended the mountain again. Once finally at the bottom there was some "Music and Juggling" festival, which really meant techno and reggae music with lots of dreaded and plugged teens. We made it back to the train at 6pm. Lysa Hora is the tallest mountain around here and it basically took us all day, and although i now have no control over my stomach or leg muscles, i think it was absolutely beautiful

and well worth it.

Also....

You can eat fruit along the way

AND....lydia, while climbing down the mountain, tripped over a rock, over-compensated, fell horizontal, and log rolled down some rocks. I cried laughing on the spot. Then again on the train home. Then before i went to sleep. And one more time at church this morning.

I think we will have lots of fun together this year :)

photo update

2008-08-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

These are some views out of our windows. There is also a picture of our living room and one of part of my room. Then there is lydia at our elevator (because we are 16 flights up) and then an outside view of our place. :)

my new address:

2008-08-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

Fishnet, s.r.o.,
Havlíčkovo nábřeží 23
702 00 Ostrava 1

Send me snailmail! And if you want you can send me orbit (dark green) gum, crystal light (wild strawberry) or mixed cd's so i can enjoy new tunes.

Dont feel like you have to ever send anything, I know its inconvenient and expensive, so no worries :)

week one is over

2008-08-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

just a few, basic things to dance about:

Lyd and I flipped a flat into a cuddly new home for ourselves

I found a sushi restaurant!!! run by asians!!!!

My boss is a rock star and his funky latina ecstatic music makes me happy

(you can watch his videos on you tube, ill write the address later)

I figured out the trick to get in my front door so it doesnt take 10 minutes anymore

I sleep the biggest bed i have ever had

Fishnet workers are lovely and helpful and my boss is crazy multi-talented

The zoo here is amazing...i got to see elephants! and dinosaur-sized rhinos and hippos,

and a red panda which i didnt know existed and that i almost stole

Stodolni looks like lots of fun...street of bars, restaurants, venues and discos..and chicken

sandwhich vendors

Tonight i am going to "cardio dance" with jonna

Coffee always comes with cookies or chocolate mmmmm

I have a real work desk! and finally get to go into the "teachers office"

We get a good amount of long weekends in the year for potential adventures!

Lydia asked "where is the egg" instead of "where is the bathroom" - ha!

blogging is hard especially now with no internet at my house, but i will try to do it more and with better detail soon :)

ostrava= home

2008-08-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

lydia wrote this:

ok. we got here at noon. shamrock and adam picked us up (fellow teacher, adam is boss). took us to our flat which is quite large for 2 small girls. we are blessed and uber lucky. we unpacked a little and rearranged... showered... then shamrock came and took us to a super cute retro cafe where we got coffee and desserts and talked for a couple hours. his english is superb. at 930pm, after over a day of no sleeping (minus restless on the airplane), our eyes were shutting - so we went home and slept together - very soundly until 11am. at about 1pm shamrock and adam picked us up and took us to eat in the very cute city center. then adam went back to work and thus began our "transportation orientation" - we have the basics down, have a monthly tram pass, can ask for a bus ticket in czech (jidenku patnact minuto, prosim), have our stop memorized (dum energitiky), went to ikea for sheets that aren't big enough for our bed, came home and hung out w/ shamrock and randomly saw fireworks over the city from out 7th story flat and then gina and i chatted and rearranged the night away in our flat. at 3am we forced ourselves to lie down. note - not tired AT ALL at that point. today we woke up at about 10am and went to tesco agaion (basically - walmart) and spent more money on food and flat essentials (hooks, cleaners, apples (jablko), toilet paper, colored pencils, a fan - no air conditioning here, stuff) and are now at librex - bookstore and internet cafe.

so - our boss is a rockstar - literally - he's been in a band for like 9 years which he described as "funky, latina, ecstatic" and lucky for us - they have a show tonight -- so we're going to that at like 6pm. one of their songs made it big a few years ago and they were on the "czech mtv". pretty stoked about that.

i have never laughed as hard (minus me and twig's trip to nyc) as i have this past month/ week here. everything is funny. our door hates us to get in our apartment - i literally cannot open it. gina has to do it. there's some special trick to it that it refuses to let me in on. so we sit there and giggle for 5 minutes and barter our lives away with the door telling it that we live there and we're allowed in. it's ridiculous. funny for now - i'm sure it will make me cry one day.

i think in english and spanish - hardly ever czech. i said "uno momento" to some random czech the other day. i think "con" for with. minds and languages are bizzare-o that they do that. i'll be happy when i think in english and czech and not spanish. i've said "si" several times instead of "ano". i'm pretty good at saying "prosim" - universal polite word and "dekuji" - thank you.

our first experience at tesco our first day -- you have to "rent" and shopping cart and we COULD NOT figure that out for a good 10 minutes and finally used czech well and asked someone. i felt very accomplished when we figured out you needed a deset coin. we tried a penny - note - doesnt work. must be czech coin.

we live 7 stories up. for 5 stories going down - it's normal. the last remaining stairs just feel silly and stupid. our views are PHENOM. there are so many windows. it is so nice.

due to the fact that gina is a creative genius - our living room looks cute and 800% better than when we got there and it's using all stuff that was already in the flat. we have 2 twin beds - like each of us - so we pushed them together in each of our rooms. i've slept w/ her both nights and we dont' even come near touching. however - the sheets are like 2 inches too small. so that's a problem. i do miss my down comforter mucho. oh there is a slide at the bottom of our building. really its a ramp but gina uses it as a slide everytime and causes us to giggle all the way to the tram stop. little things are fun and funny.

the first time in prague should be about a month from now unless we can't hold out. that's when our esi retreat is. next week we have school orientation w/ adam in the morning and city orientation in the afternoon (post office, stores, getting around, etc). our other teammates get in sunday and tuesday - that is very very exciting - jonna on sunday (will be 2nd year here) and laura tuesday (will be 4th year here). we hear great things about them so we should be great friends.

look on facebook for pics. gina is posting our last days at wciu now and pics of ostrava will come soon. if you look at my friends - premek is shamrock and he has pics up of the city and our school. this should be good for now - probably sick of reading. all is grand here. loving it loving it loving it. all exciting and challenging and delightful and funny.

oh - we have a washer - no dryer. that should be muy interesante (there's that spanish again.)

love you all

beginning

2008-07-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

ill blog eventually :)