We have immersed ourselves in a flurry of activity beginning Wednesday after school. The end of the school day was a signal for "Let the Cooking Begin!" Liz and I went home and began small tasks about the house. Then I set out to procure the turkey from a British butcher in Prague. It is an easy trip on the 11 Tram to Robertson's Butchery. About 6:00 PM I was returning with the bird (actually 3.26 kg of the bird's breast) in hand. I got off the 11 Tram at our JZP stop and saw Rebekah and her friend Ann get off the tram car just ahead of m. They were heading to our place with lots of good stuff for the Thursday TG feast at our house. Ann is a student at Charles University whom we had not met before. We set off together - I with my turkey and R and A with Rebekah's two wheeled shopping cart full of goodies.
Getting from point A to point B is not a straight line in the CR. We went down the steps at the JZP metro stop, walked under the busy Vinohradska street and emerged in the square between the metro stop and the monumental Catholic Church of that is one of our landmarks telling us we are home. We chattered about the upcoming holiday eventss as we perambulated the 4 or 5 blocks home. Upon arrival we unpacked the shopping cart and the women planned what to cook and in what order. Rachel arrived shortly and the kitchen festivity began in earnest. There were sweet potatoes to peel, apples to peel, and an array of other tasks. I was of course in charge of keeping the kitchen relatively tidy while the whirlwind of mixing, stirring, cooking, opening cans, seasoning, etc. was in progress. I was at the kitchen sink madly washing the same bowls and utensils over and over. I washed our small blue mixing bowl nearly a dozen times as it was used and reused for various tasks. I am sure I washed our one good knife at least that many times.
My greatest joy was watching the two pumpkin pies progress. As I had mentioned in a previous blog I had through great stealth secured the last two cans of pumpkin in Prague. The fruits of my labor were being manifested before my eyes. Rebekah was in charge of the pies, but I kept a keen, but surrepticious eye on the entire process. Cooking in our kitchen is always interesting as it is quite small and when you have five people in there you better be best of friends and quite forgiving. We succeeded on both counts. Other differences in cooking in Prague at our place in clude the paucity of normal kitchen apparati such as a rolling pin, proper cooking pans, good knives, room in a refrigerator to keep the stuff you have just bought and cooked, et al.
However the night was a success. The pies turned out well sans rolling pin. All the lushious foods found a spot in the fridge for overnight keeping. And blood was drawn only twice. I maintain that both Rebekah and Ann intentionally nicked themselves so they could feign off wahsing dishes, but Liz had more sympathy for them. Rachel did not comment on the situation.
Anyway we were well on our way to the feast the followng day. Thursday we awoke around 7:00 AM - very late for us. The cooking was planned to start around 11:00 with Rebekah and Viola arriving early to finish what was not done Wednesday night. Liz and I decided to take a walk around 9:00 and headed downtown to Tesco to do pick up a couple last minute items and look for some school supplies. It was a fairly nice day and we were enjoying the walking and the beauty of Prague. After getting a few food items at Tesco, we started looking for craft sticks for Liz's next project at school. We went to several places, but never found them downtown. So we decided to walk back through the Namesti Miru area and go to Liz's favorite paper (potential school supply) store. Again, no luck finding them. On the way from downtown to Namesti Miru we took a route that we had never been on before and I managed to convince Liz to go along some streets that were leading us away from our target area. She kept telling me that she was sure we were headed too far east, but I was insistent that we could get there my way.
In the end we were both sort of right, she probably being more right than I. We at least were able to browse the Christmas stalls in front of the Namesti Miru church and walk back home and then browse the few stalls at JZP near our apartment. By this time it was nearing noon. While we were a block from home Rebekah called to say she would abe late. About ten minutes after we got home Rebekah and Viola arrived. Rachel was nowhere to be found, but probably out shopping. Viola is also studying at Charles University. She in studying political schience and is a very interest person whose family is from Hamburg. She speaks English perfectly and was a delight to get to know.
So we squeezed the turkey into our largest baking pan, combined the ingredients for the green bean dish - including those little onion things you normally sprinkle on top, peeled all the white potatoes, put the apple crisp together, kept the oven and mulitple top burners busy continually and other odd concocting rituals that I have forgotten. Planning what needed to go in the oven when took great engineering skills - Liz more or less managed that task. The oven is so small that the turkey took up its entire volume. So, then how do you get the sweet potatoes, the apple crisp, the green beans, etc. cooked and keep them warm when the oven was not available? Some out Liz worked her magic and all things were brought forth in a warm and timely manner. We just barely got the large sweet potatoe casserole done in time and had to crank the oven up to near max to accomplish that.
In the meantime the other guests had been arriving. I forget the order, but the case of characters included: the three K-State exchange students; Anna, Brian (husband and wife) and Sam (master storyteller and life of any party); Ann arrived fresh from last night's cooking gala; and finally Mike called to say, "exactly where do you live?" Mike is a cool guy we also met at church. He lives just down the street a couple buildings. It is usually hard for people to find us as our name is not on the list of those living in our building, just our landlord's name that we can never remember when someone asks us - Zavadilik. I went to the door and saw Mike at the corner and hustled him in out of the cold.
So we had our group all together now. Rebekah and Rachel from CISP, their two friends (Ann and Viola), the K-State threesome and Mike. Mike has a really interesting background. His mother is Czech and his father is Ethiopian. He lived in Ethiopia most of his life where his mother taught in an International School which he attended. The school was an English language school, so he speaks perfect English, Czech and Amharic. He is studying media production or some such field. I think Mike was unsure of what he was getting into and initially said he could not stay long, but then got into the festivities and had a great time. We ended up the evening playing Farkle - we had brought along the Wildcat version of this game, so it was very fitting for the evening.
The food was fantastic, the fellowship was outstanding, the conversation was convivial, the friendship grew as the evening progressed. We felt really blessed to be able to host this group of young people - most of whom were far from home and family. We went around the group and told what we were all thankful for. Several answered to the affect we are thankful for family, but we are also thankful for the way God provides family when we are not with our real family.
I will post pictures of the days events later, but right now Liz and I are taking another honeymoon outing and are at Cesky Krumlov staying in a nice hotel. We left home at 6:00 AM Friday to catch a bus here. I will add pictures and tell about our CK adventure another time.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Velvet Revolution: Sickness, Soccer and Dinner Celebration
We have a three day weekend as Monday is a national holiday. I quote from Wikipedia to give you an idea of what the Velvet Revolution is all about. I think it is our equivalent of the 4th of July celebration in the USA.
The "Velvet Revolution" (Czech: sametová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government. It is seen as one of the most important of the Revolutions of 1989.
On November 17, 1989 (Friday), riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from November 19 to late December. By November 20 the number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague had swollen from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. A two-hour general strike, involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia, was held on November 27.
With the collapse of other Communist governments, and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On December 10, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on December 28 and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989.
In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946.
Our weekend began with a dinner out at our favorite restaurant, the Vermeer, with John and Andrea. They are friends of the Johnsons and are here on a short mission to help out in multiple areas – ranging from childcare to library work. We had a pleasant early meal. Liz, John and Andrea went straight from school to the restaurant. I left school and went to get my second haircut in Prague.
Dalibor of the Silver Salon (nothing to do with my hair color I assert) and I cannot communicate other than by smiles and gestures, but somehow my hair has turned out ok both times. I intended to have him leave it a little longer this time, but when he showed me how much he was going to cut off I said ok and the process began without interruption of further communication. Liz had gotten her hair cut earlier in the week by Jana, who does speak pretty good English, so her hair always turns out looking lovely.
After dinner, Liz said she was not feeling too well. Saturday she awoke with a fever and aches and the poor girl has not yet (Monday morning) recovered completely. So we have had a bit of a downer long weekend.
Saturday I fiddled around the house in the morning doing a few tasks and then left around 11:00 AM on a shopping, site seeing type of excursion. I first went to a bus station and bought tickets for a November 28th overnight excursion to Cesky Krumlov. Everyone whom we know who has gone there says it is special. TripAdvisor says the following about it: There is something magical about Cesky Krumlov - "magical" is a word often used by visitors. Part of the magic is the location, the way the old town sits on two meanders of the River Vltava and the way the castle rises out of the cliff above it. Buying the bus tickets was actually relatively easy and I did it myself, even though I had Rachael on standby to come and help if I got too confused. The lady at the ticket window was easy for me to communicate with. It did take me three tries to get to the right window, but once there it went well.
I then went to the Wal-Mart like store near the downtown area and bought a few items. Then I went strolling in the tourist area. It seems that each time we walk some place now we see more detail. We are not always looking down or concentrating on how to get somewhere. Walking is more natural and more enjoyable when you are familiar with the area.
I then began thinking about food and football as it was nearing 2:00 PM. I was gawking around Old Town Square and I decided to try one of the Irish Bars in the area. There are two side-by-side just off the square and one on Wencelas Square and one just off the square that I have been to before. I walked in, found it quite smoke-free, sat down on a stool with a good view of a TV showing Bolton v. Liverpool and decided I could enjoy the rest of the match. It brought back memories of my travels to England last year as the game was being played at the Reebok, where I attended a match with Shirley V. I had a lovely Irish bacon and egg sandwich – their bacon is more like our Canadian bacon. The crowd was hugely pro Liverpool – won a much deserved three points with a 2-0 win.
It was dark and cold on my way home, so I hopped on the metro and made a quick journey home. There I Liz still under the weather and Rachel working on her computer. I felt it was time for me to do some work, so I began emails to various universities begging for a teacher’s aide for Liz next semester and a Social Studies/Bible/Study Hall teacher to replace someone who just left CISP. I sent out about twenty of these emails and at least have heard from three of the people to whom I wrote saying they would post the info.
I just got the inspiration to include my generic email in this blog on the off-chance that any of you who read this may know someone to fit one of my requests. See the following:
Dear Dr. Helpful,
Immediate Opportunities for Teacher’s Aide:
The Christian International School of Prague has two immediate needs that I would like to bring to your attention.
First, we need an aide for the 1st-2nd grade combined classroom. A brief description of this class follows:
The class is composed of eleven, high energy, vociferous, talented and competitive children. The teacher must be on alert at all times. Their backgrounds are incredibly diverse. There are only two American missionary kids in the class. There are two Koreans, one Indian, one South African. The other children are from marriages involving two or more nationalities/backgrounds. English is the second language of eight of the children, though all doing well at language acquisition. Who is looking for a challenge and a reward? The challenge is to help mold these children to be what God intends them to be. The reward is being a participant in the work that our God is doing in their lives.
The teacher of this class and her husband (who is the Recruitment Coordinator for CISP and the author of this email) have agreed to furnish board (a large bedroom in their apartment – bathroom must be shared) for someone who will agree to work as Teacher’s Aide. The person must agree to work in the classroom with the teacher on days when school is in session. The person would have two one-week breaks during the semester for personal travel and time off. I estimate that the person would need a minimum of US$500 per month for food, entertainment, travel, personal items, etc. One could live very well for $1000 per month. The cost of the air ticket to and from Prague can vary greatly. Ideally the person would come in early to mid January and stay through early June. The duration of his/her stay is negotiable.
Second, a teacher who taught Social Studies, Bible, and Study Hall is leaving and needs to be replaced second semester. A teacher to replace this person would need to go through the normal application process and raise his/her own support in order to teach at the Christian International School of Prague. See http://www.cisprague.org/ for details of this process.
We describe ourselves as follows: “Christian International School of Prague is an exciting place to work and study. Our warm and friendly staff works hard to provide an academically challenging, Christian worldview-based education in a warm and accepting environment. This encourages students to develop their unique gifts and talents, so they can better serve the communities in which they live.”
Of course we will need teachers for the school year 2009-2010. The reality is that we will need four elementary teachers and several teachers for the middle and high schools. Any help you can give us will be appreciated.
I will be glad to answer any questions that arise concerning my requests. I have a Skype phone number: 913-871-6303. You may call this number any time and leave a voice message if I do not answer. Note that Prague is six hours ahead of EST in the USA. All questions emailed to teach@cisprague.org will be answered quickly.
Thank you for any help you can provide in advertising our needs,
John Hartman
Recruitment Coordinator at CISP
teach@cisprague.org
Growing in wisdom; walking in integrity.
Christian International School of Prague
Perunova 6
Prague 3, Vinohrady
teach@cisprague.org
www.cisprague.org
Sending those emails took the rest of my Saturday evening, though we did watch a bit of American football, but it was the Illinois v. Ohio State game on TV and that did not have much interest to us. We checked the Internet for Big 12 scores and were of course disappointed by the Kansas schools’ results.
Sunday Liz was not up to going to church even so I went on by myself. We had made a tentative luncheon date with Alice, a young lady from Tanzania who attends the IBCP, but she was not there, so that did not pan out. There were three more young Americans who introduced themselves at our appointed time for visitor recognition. After service I talked to all of them - two girls from California and a guy from Montana. I talked more extensively with one girl from CA who is a math major at the New York State University campus in Prague. I walked her over to the CISP building and invited her to come and visit the school sometime. The other two are teaching EFL somewhere in Prague – I did not get many details from them. I also talked to Mike, a great young guy whose mother is Czech and whose father is Ethiopian. I asked him if he could go the football match (soccer to Americans) Sunday at 5:00 pm that a group of us (eight) were planning on attending. He was busy as he had had company last week and was behind on his class work.
So after leaving church I headed to the bus station at Andel . This is where our bus to Cesky Krumlov will depart from at 7:00 AM so I wanted to check out the exact location so we would not have any surprises at that dark hour and miss our bus. I think I figured it out, but will report back to you after the 28th. It was getting near 3:00 PM by now. I had an appointment with Rebekah to buy the tickets for the soccer match we were all going to at 5:00. We were going to buy the 8 tickets before the line got long. So I boarded a 9 tram and headed home. However, there is one stop in front of a McDonalds and I got off, ran inside, got a McChicken with Coke Light and fries, ate quickly and got back on the second 9 Tram that passed the McD.
I got home just in time as Rebekah arrived and we set out to the stadium – which is a ten minute walk from our apartment. Things are very convenient to where we live. I will try and make the rest of this saga short, but many things transpired that were totally entertaining to me. Rebekah and I went back to our apartment and I finished putting weather stripping around the last window in our apartment that I had not yet done that for.
We then returned to the stadium and met the other five people who were going to the match with us. The group consisted of three other CISP teachers (Leah, Kate and Garret) and Kate’s Czech brother-in-law (it is always wonderful to have a Czech go somewhere with us), her newphew (about 5 years old) and Liz Given – Rebekah’s good friend and daughter of teachers at CISP.
I can only say that this was the most exciting soccer match I have ever seen. It ended up 5-4 for the Bohemians over Slavia. What make this really remarkable is that the Bohemians played 60 minutes with only 10 men as the referee gave what I considered an unnecessary second yellow for dissent. I thought the match would deteriorate at that that point. Slavia is the league’s best team, so I was not optimistic about seeing a good match at that point. However, about 10 minutes later the Bohemians put in another fantastic ,long-range strike to go up 2-0. Then Slavia woke up and got an own goal just before half time. The game was played at a fever pitch for 90 minutes. The Slavia fans, who were sitting quite near us kept throwing flares, fire crackers, paper, cups and whatever. The score moved back and forth until the Bohemians got their 5th goal to go up 5-4. At this point there was so much commotion, the PA announcer threatened the fans with a forfeit if they did not stop throwing thins and the stands settled down.
There were firemen and police all over so I think wherever Slavia goes, trouble follows. Eight minutes of added time were announced, but I think the ref blew the whistle after 3 or 4 minutes. The stadium was very old and very small. The pitch was in shambles after the match. There were probably 4 or 5 thousand people in attendance in this tiny stadium and 90% were for Slavia – the away side. It was wild.
We are leaving the stadium and somehow Garret comes up with idea (brilliant or not?) to go to the 8:00 PM match of Sparta v. Zizkov Viktoria. I at first say, “no”, I need to go home, but the others chide me with, “you are only young once” line so I say, “of course I will go”.
I need to end this blog now, but Kate’s brother-in-law got us to the second match on a bus and we finally found where to buy tickets. The first match was played in a crackerbox. This second match was in a new stadium the likes of which I had never seen before. It was just like the new stadiums in England such as the Reebok – but somewhat smaller. It holds only about 25 thousand. The game was incredible also with Sparta winning 2-1. My hometown Zizkov team put up a good fight were no match for Sparta who had just lost 2-1 to Aston Villa two weeks previous.
Did I mention that it was a cold and rainy night, but the joy and excitement of two soccer matches watched in great company made it a memorable night.
All for now. I will write later about our dinner celebration tonight.
The "Velvet Revolution" (Czech: sametová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government. It is seen as one of the most important of the Revolutions of 1989.
On November 17, 1989 (Friday), riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from November 19 to late December. By November 20 the number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague had swollen from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. A two-hour general strike, involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia, was held on November 27.
With the collapse of other Communist governments, and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On December 10, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on December 28 and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989.
In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946.
Our weekend began with a dinner out at our favorite restaurant, the Vermeer, with John and Andrea. They are friends of the Johnsons and are here on a short mission to help out in multiple areas – ranging from childcare to library work. We had a pleasant early meal. Liz, John and Andrea went straight from school to the restaurant. I left school and went to get my second haircut in Prague.
Dalibor of the Silver Salon (nothing to do with my hair color I assert) and I cannot communicate other than by smiles and gestures, but somehow my hair has turned out ok both times. I intended to have him leave it a little longer this time, but when he showed me how much he was going to cut off I said ok and the process began without interruption of further communication. Liz had gotten her hair cut earlier in the week by Jana, who does speak pretty good English, so her hair always turns out looking lovely.
After dinner, Liz said she was not feeling too well. Saturday she awoke with a fever and aches and the poor girl has not yet (Monday morning) recovered completely. So we have had a bit of a downer long weekend.
Saturday I fiddled around the house in the morning doing a few tasks and then left around 11:00 AM on a shopping, site seeing type of excursion. I first went to a bus station and bought tickets for a November 28th overnight excursion to Cesky Krumlov. Everyone whom we know who has gone there says it is special. TripAdvisor says the following about it: There is something magical about Cesky Krumlov - "magical" is a word often used by visitors. Part of the magic is the location, the way the old town sits on two meanders of the River Vltava and the way the castle rises out of the cliff above it. Buying the bus tickets was actually relatively easy and I did it myself, even though I had Rachael on standby to come and help if I got too confused. The lady at the ticket window was easy for me to communicate with. It did take me three tries to get to the right window, but once there it went well.
I then went to the Wal-Mart like store near the downtown area and bought a few items. Then I went strolling in the tourist area. It seems that each time we walk some place now we see more detail. We are not always looking down or concentrating on how to get somewhere. Walking is more natural and more enjoyable when you are familiar with the area.
I then began thinking about food and football as it was nearing 2:00 PM. I was gawking around Old Town Square and I decided to try one of the Irish Bars in the area. There are two side-by-side just off the square and one on Wencelas Square and one just off the square that I have been to before. I walked in, found it quite smoke-free, sat down on a stool with a good view of a TV showing Bolton v. Liverpool and decided I could enjoy the rest of the match. It brought back memories of my travels to England last year as the game was being played at the Reebok, where I attended a match with Shirley V. I had a lovely Irish bacon and egg sandwich – their bacon is more like our Canadian bacon. The crowd was hugely pro Liverpool – won a much deserved three points with a 2-0 win.
It was dark and cold on my way home, so I hopped on the metro and made a quick journey home. There I Liz still under the weather and Rachel working on her computer. I felt it was time for me to do some work, so I began emails to various universities begging for a teacher’s aide for Liz next semester and a Social Studies/Bible/Study Hall teacher to replace someone who just left CISP. I sent out about twenty of these emails and at least have heard from three of the people to whom I wrote saying they would post the info.
I just got the inspiration to include my generic email in this blog on the off-chance that any of you who read this may know someone to fit one of my requests. See the following:
Dear Dr. Helpful,
Immediate Opportunities for Teacher’s Aide:
The Christian International School of Prague has two immediate needs that I would like to bring to your attention.
First, we need an aide for the 1st-2nd grade combined classroom. A brief description of this class follows:
The class is composed of eleven, high energy, vociferous, talented and competitive children. The teacher must be on alert at all times. Their backgrounds are incredibly diverse. There are only two American missionary kids in the class. There are two Koreans, one Indian, one South African. The other children are from marriages involving two or more nationalities/backgrounds. English is the second language of eight of the children, though all doing well at language acquisition. Who is looking for a challenge and a reward? The challenge is to help mold these children to be what God intends them to be. The reward is being a participant in the work that our God is doing in their lives.
The teacher of this class and her husband (who is the Recruitment Coordinator for CISP and the author of this email) have agreed to furnish board (a large bedroom in their apartment – bathroom must be shared) for someone who will agree to work as Teacher’s Aide. The person must agree to work in the classroom with the teacher on days when school is in session. The person would have two one-week breaks during the semester for personal travel and time off. I estimate that the person would need a minimum of US$500 per month for food, entertainment, travel, personal items, etc. One could live very well for $1000 per month. The cost of the air ticket to and from Prague can vary greatly. Ideally the person would come in early to mid January and stay through early June. The duration of his/her stay is negotiable.
Second, a teacher who taught Social Studies, Bible, and Study Hall is leaving and needs to be replaced second semester. A teacher to replace this person would need to go through the normal application process and raise his/her own support in order to teach at the Christian International School of Prague. See http://www.cisprague.org/ for details of this process.
We describe ourselves as follows: “Christian International School of Prague is an exciting place to work and study. Our warm and friendly staff works hard to provide an academically challenging, Christian worldview-based education in a warm and accepting environment. This encourages students to develop their unique gifts and talents, so they can better serve the communities in which they live.”
Of course we will need teachers for the school year 2009-2010. The reality is that we will need four elementary teachers and several teachers for the middle and high schools. Any help you can give us will be appreciated.
I will be glad to answer any questions that arise concerning my requests. I have a Skype phone number: 913-871-6303. You may call this number any time and leave a voice message if I do not answer. Note that Prague is six hours ahead of EST in the USA. All questions emailed to teach@cisprague.org will be answered quickly.
Thank you for any help you can provide in advertising our needs,
John Hartman
Recruitment Coordinator at CISP
teach@cisprague.org
Growing in wisdom; walking in integrity.
Christian International School of Prague
Perunova 6
Prague 3, Vinohrady
teach@cisprague.org
www.cisprague.org
Sending those emails took the rest of my Saturday evening, though we did watch a bit of American football, but it was the Illinois v. Ohio State game on TV and that did not have much interest to us. We checked the Internet for Big 12 scores and were of course disappointed by the Kansas schools’ results.
Sunday Liz was not up to going to church even so I went on by myself. We had made a tentative luncheon date with Alice, a young lady from Tanzania who attends the IBCP, but she was not there, so that did not pan out. There were three more young Americans who introduced themselves at our appointed time for visitor recognition. After service I talked to all of them - two girls from California and a guy from Montana. I talked more extensively with one girl from CA who is a math major at the New York State University campus in Prague. I walked her over to the CISP building and invited her to come and visit the school sometime. The other two are teaching EFL somewhere in Prague – I did not get many details from them. I also talked to Mike, a great young guy whose mother is Czech and whose father is Ethiopian. I asked him if he could go the football match (soccer to Americans) Sunday at 5:00 pm that a group of us (eight) were planning on attending. He was busy as he had had company last week and was behind on his class work.
So after leaving church I headed to the bus station at Andel . This is where our bus to Cesky Krumlov will depart from at 7:00 AM so I wanted to check out the exact location so we would not have any surprises at that dark hour and miss our bus. I think I figured it out, but will report back to you after the 28th. It was getting near 3:00 PM by now. I had an appointment with Rebekah to buy the tickets for the soccer match we were all going to at 5:00. We were going to buy the 8 tickets before the line got long. So I boarded a 9 tram and headed home. However, there is one stop in front of a McDonalds and I got off, ran inside, got a McChicken with Coke Light and fries, ate quickly and got back on the second 9 Tram that passed the McD.
I got home just in time as Rebekah arrived and we set out to the stadium – which is a ten minute walk from our apartment. Things are very convenient to where we live. I will try and make the rest of this saga short, but many things transpired that were totally entertaining to me. Rebekah and I went back to our apartment and I finished putting weather stripping around the last window in our apartment that I had not yet done that for.
We then returned to the stadium and met the other five people who were going to the match with us. The group consisted of three other CISP teachers (Leah, Kate and Garret) and Kate’s Czech brother-in-law (it is always wonderful to have a Czech go somewhere with us), her newphew (about 5 years old) and Liz Given – Rebekah’s good friend and daughter of teachers at CISP.
I can only say that this was the most exciting soccer match I have ever seen. It ended up 5-4 for the Bohemians over Slavia. What make this really remarkable is that the Bohemians played 60 minutes with only 10 men as the referee gave what I considered an unnecessary second yellow for dissent. I thought the match would deteriorate at that that point. Slavia is the league’s best team, so I was not optimistic about seeing a good match at that point. However, about 10 minutes later the Bohemians put in another fantastic ,long-range strike to go up 2-0. Then Slavia woke up and got an own goal just before half time. The game was played at a fever pitch for 90 minutes. The Slavia fans, who were sitting quite near us kept throwing flares, fire crackers, paper, cups and whatever. The score moved back and forth until the Bohemians got their 5th goal to go up 5-4. At this point there was so much commotion, the PA announcer threatened the fans with a forfeit if they did not stop throwing thins and the stands settled down.
There were firemen and police all over so I think wherever Slavia goes, trouble follows. Eight minutes of added time were announced, but I think the ref blew the whistle after 3 or 4 minutes. The stadium was very old and very small. The pitch was in shambles after the match. There were probably 4 or 5 thousand people in attendance in this tiny stadium and 90% were for Slavia – the away side. It was wild.
We are leaving the stadium and somehow Garret comes up with idea (brilliant or not?) to go to the 8:00 PM match of Sparta v. Zizkov Viktoria. I at first say, “no”, I need to go home, but the others chide me with, “you are only young once” line so I say, “of course I will go”.
I need to end this blog now, but Kate’s brother-in-law got us to the second match on a bus and we finally found where to buy tickets. The first match was played in a crackerbox. This second match was in a new stadium the likes of which I had never seen before. It was just like the new stadiums in England such as the Reebok – but somewhat smaller. It holds only about 25 thousand. The game was incredible also with Sparta winning 2-1. My hometown Zizkov team put up a good fight were no match for Sparta who had just lost 2-1 to Aston Villa two weeks previous.
Did I mention that it was a cold and rainy night, but the joy and excitement of two soccer matches watched in great company made it a memorable night.
All for now. I will write later about our dinner celebration tonight.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Grades, Grub and Gatherings
What have we done in the past week? Mostly school stuff, eating and talking. This past week is the last one of the first quarter, so we were very busy giving exams, assessment tests, etc. Then all the scores had to be entered into our online grading system. We got it all done. I just need to do the final step of “concluding” the information to make it ready to print on the report forms that go to parents. There is always a bit of drama and trauma with students and teachers when grades are finally determined. I think that I may be a little too lenient with some students who come up with what sound like legitimate excuses to someone who is a grandparent. Liz and her student teacher Rachel were really busy assessing progress in all areas of work.
We left school about 5:00 PM Friday satisfied with what we had entered and went to our favorite restaurant, Vermeer, with three other couples approximately our age. One couple were Leslie and Tom Johnson. Leslie is our Principal and Tom has various university related jobs through IICS. The other two couples are friends of the Johnsons who have come to Prague from Wichita, KS for a two week stint of volunteer work. After a marvelous meal and plenty of conversation, the two Wichita couples wanted to go downtown and see some of the tourist sites as even though they are here for nearly two weeks, their time is booked with activities and they wanted to see some of the more spectacular sites at night when the chance presented itself.
I volunteered to be the tour leader. We set out on foot from Vermeer and walked the mile or so to Wencelas Square – one major tourist gathering point. This very broad street lined with elegant buildings is somewhat like the Champs Elysées in Paris or Broadway in New York. We went from there to Old Town Square and then onto the Charles Bridge – probably the big three of tourist sites in Prague.
I then had the responsibility to get each couple safely to where they were staying for the night. I put one couple on the metro and assumed I had given them sufficient instructions to make their bus connection after the metro ride. I went with the second couple as it was their first trip to Prague and I can still get lost after being here nearly three months. Neither couple had one thing that I consider a necessity in Prague - a cell phone. If you have a cell phone and get lost you can call someone. With no means of communication, being in a new place and a massive language barrier I knew that I had to get them to the right place – a place to which I had never been.
It all worked out in the end. I did have to call their hostess (Leslie) to get the final directions – Leslie said to stay where we were and she would come and meet us – so all worked out after about ten minutes of searching for the proper tram location. I got home about 10:40 and went straight to bed. While I was out, Liz had been entertaining Rachel and Rebekah at our place. They had about thirty minutes before I got home.
Saturday morning we got off to a leisurely start and left for a short trip to a Prague suburb about 9:00 AM. We met Rebekah at a metro stop nearby and set off to a bus stop about eight metro stops away. We were moving a little slowly, so we missed the bus we were hoping to get on and had twenty five minutes to wait for the next one. That met time for a latte and a roll. We went back to the bus stop to wait arrival of the 324 to Pruhonice and successfully boarded and got seats. It was only about a fifteen minute ride to Pruhonice from there. The one flaw in our plan was the weather. It was raining, foggy and fairly cold. We simply walked around the suburb for a bit. Inquired about seeing the castle there and were told that only the garden was open for strolling about. That had no appeal to any of us because of the rain, so we went to restaurant specializing in crepes for an early lunch. We sat and talked, tried out and took some pictures. Also we formulated a new plan – go back to Prague and shop. Our new plan worked out well. Liz and Rebekah each got some new clothes. Liz got some yarn and knitting needles. John got to carry Liz’s stuff home. So we all got something.
We returned home and rested awhile. While we were eating supper Rachel asked the innocent question of whether we had been to the American store or not. We had never heard about this place and questioned her intently for details. She did not know where it was, but said they had cranberry sauce, oreos, chocolate chips and the like. I went straight to the internet and we found the shop. I phoned and inquired if they had any pumpkin pie mix. I was told they had too cans left. I begged her to keep them for me and I would head to the store immediately. I said I could be there in thirty minutes or less. Actually it was more like an hour as I got hopelessly lost looking for the shop in the rabbit warren of old streets around the shop. I had to call the shop again and tell her what I saw and asked which way I should go. She got me to a certain point and then said, “…stay right there and I will come and get you.” I stood perfectly still until I saw a lady waving to me and then I hurried toward her.
From our first conversation I realize that the lady who ran the shop was the mother of one of the CISP high school students. I don’t have her in class, but since I do lunch recess, I see most of the high school students each day. She pulled out the two precious cans of pumpkin pie filling for me for me and I was greatly relieved. I could then look around for other valuables. I say valuable because the prices were sky high. A small bag of chocolate chips was $10, so I bought only two. I got four cans of cranberry sauce, two bags of brown sugar, two Stovetop stuffing boxes, a bag of mini marshmallows, and probably something else. The total price was about $80.
So now I have written about two meals out and one grocery shopping trip. Sunday dawned nice and bright – our first really sunny day since last Saturday. We went to church which again was a great service of worship, teaching and fellowship. We had pre-arranged with Brian and Anna – two K-State exchange students – to go out to lunch with them after the service. They have been out of town traveling to Amsterdam, London and Dublin for the last twelve days and we wanted to catch up on their adventures. We also invited a man who was in Prague for a week doing some study for his advanced degree. He is pastor of an international Baptist congregation in Copenhagen. We spent more nearly two hours conversing and eating before parting ways.
We went home and Liz napped a bit and knitted while I took a walk. So our weekend was filled with mostly fellowship and food. I did meet a CISP high school student at church this morning. She has been in the USA with her family until now because of some family illness. I had heard her name and suspected she is popular student. So it will be good to see her tomorrow at school. All for now.
We left school about 5:00 PM Friday satisfied with what we had entered and went to our favorite restaurant, Vermeer, with three other couples approximately our age. One couple were Leslie and Tom Johnson. Leslie is our Principal and Tom has various university related jobs through IICS. The other two couples are friends of the Johnsons who have come to Prague from Wichita, KS for a two week stint of volunteer work. After a marvelous meal and plenty of conversation, the two Wichita couples wanted to go downtown and see some of the tourist sites as even though they are here for nearly two weeks, their time is booked with activities and they wanted to see some of the more spectacular sites at night when the chance presented itself.
I volunteered to be the tour leader. We set out on foot from Vermeer and walked the mile or so to Wencelas Square – one major tourist gathering point. This very broad street lined with elegant buildings is somewhat like the Champs Elysées in Paris or Broadway in New York. We went from there to Old Town Square and then onto the Charles Bridge – probably the big three of tourist sites in Prague.
I then had the responsibility to get each couple safely to where they were staying for the night. I put one couple on the metro and assumed I had given them sufficient instructions to make their bus connection after the metro ride. I went with the second couple as it was their first trip to Prague and I can still get lost after being here nearly three months. Neither couple had one thing that I consider a necessity in Prague - a cell phone. If you have a cell phone and get lost you can call someone. With no means of communication, being in a new place and a massive language barrier I knew that I had to get them to the right place – a place to which I had never been.
It all worked out in the end. I did have to call their hostess (Leslie) to get the final directions – Leslie said to stay where we were and she would come and meet us – so all worked out after about ten minutes of searching for the proper tram location. I got home about 10:40 and went straight to bed. While I was out, Liz had been entertaining Rachel and Rebekah at our place. They had about thirty minutes before I got home.
Saturday morning we got off to a leisurely start and left for a short trip to a Prague suburb about 9:00 AM. We met Rebekah at a metro stop nearby and set off to a bus stop about eight metro stops away. We were moving a little slowly, so we missed the bus we were hoping to get on and had twenty five minutes to wait for the next one. That met time for a latte and a roll. We went back to the bus stop to wait arrival of the 324 to Pruhonice and successfully boarded and got seats. It was only about a fifteen minute ride to Pruhonice from there. The one flaw in our plan was the weather. It was raining, foggy and fairly cold. We simply walked around the suburb for a bit. Inquired about seeing the castle there and were told that only the garden was open for strolling about. That had no appeal to any of us because of the rain, so we went to restaurant specializing in crepes for an early lunch. We sat and talked, tried out and took some pictures. Also we formulated a new plan – go back to Prague and shop. Our new plan worked out well. Liz and Rebekah each got some new clothes. Liz got some yarn and knitting needles. John got to carry Liz’s stuff home. So we all got something.
We returned home and rested awhile. While we were eating supper Rachel asked the innocent question of whether we had been to the American store or not. We had never heard about this place and questioned her intently for details. She did not know where it was, but said they had cranberry sauce, oreos, chocolate chips and the like. I went straight to the internet and we found the shop. I phoned and inquired if they had any pumpkin pie mix. I was told they had too cans left. I begged her to keep them for me and I would head to the store immediately. I said I could be there in thirty minutes or less. Actually it was more like an hour as I got hopelessly lost looking for the shop in the rabbit warren of old streets around the shop. I had to call the shop again and tell her what I saw and asked which way I should go. She got me to a certain point and then said, “…stay right there and I will come and get you.” I stood perfectly still until I saw a lady waving to me and then I hurried toward her.
From our first conversation I realize that the lady who ran the shop was the mother of one of the CISP high school students. I don’t have her in class, but since I do lunch recess, I see most of the high school students each day. She pulled out the two precious cans of pumpkin pie filling for me for me and I was greatly relieved. I could then look around for other valuables. I say valuable because the prices were sky high. A small bag of chocolate chips was $10, so I bought only two. I got four cans of cranberry sauce, two bags of brown sugar, two Stovetop stuffing boxes, a bag of mini marshmallows, and probably something else. The total price was about $80.
So now I have written about two meals out and one grocery shopping trip. Sunday dawned nice and bright – our first really sunny day since last Saturday. We went to church which again was a great service of worship, teaching and fellowship. We had pre-arranged with Brian and Anna – two K-State exchange students – to go out to lunch with them after the service. They have been out of town traveling to Amsterdam, London and Dublin for the last twelve days and we wanted to catch up on their adventures. We also invited a man who was in Prague for a week doing some study for his advanced degree. He is pastor of an international Baptist congregation in Copenhagen. We spent more nearly two hours conversing and eating before parting ways.
We went home and Liz napped a bit and knitted while I took a walk. So our weekend was filled with mostly fellowship and food. I did meet a CISP high school student at church this morning. She has been in the USA with her family until now because of some family illness. I had heard her name and suspected she is popular student. So it will be good to see her tomorrow at school. All for now.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
God is Good - All the Time
This has been an incredible weekend! Saturday We went to Podebrady on a bus (about a 55 min bus ride) which is a smaller city east of Prague. Several things made the day memorable. First the weather was absolutely gorgeous - the best day weatherwise we have had in some time. Also, we saw the most beautiful grass - which is something Prague does not have. See the picture below to verify the beauty of the grass in the park we walked along. We spent just three hours there but enjoyed the time greatly. Podebrady is know for two things - crystal and a mineral springs. Liz found some great bargains on crystal and we tried out the mineral water which tastes something like sprite. The park that bordered one of the shopping streets was lovely to behold. It certainly reflects man's desire to maintain the beauty of God's creation and it was very soothing to our souls.
We like to shop in the smaller towns as the prices may be only one third of those in Prague, so the cost of travel is negated by the savings on items purchased.Sam, our new friend from K-State and Topeka area went with us. We are getting much better at traveling around the Czech Republic and were able to make connections from and to Podebrady without too much trauma. There is always some trauma from the fog affect (which means we can't read, talk, understand the signs, are not familar with the geography, etc.) which keeps us always guessing what we are about.
Sam and Liz did the shopping, John took the pictures while they shopped and browse the crystal stores. In a small town, all the shops close by noon - some earlier. We left home about 8:00 AM to get to the bus station for the 8:45 bus - where we were to meet Sam at 8:25. We figured out which bus to board after about ten minutes of guess work and "reading" various signs. The bus was quite nice and gave a comfortable ride except for one stretch of road when we could imagine we were on a very bad stretch of I70 in Missouri!
We of course took our dog JJ with us on this journey. All Czechs seem to have dogs. Nearly all the dogs here are purebreds who are lavishly cared for. They all seem to be immaculately groomed and the behaviour of the dogs in Prague is amazinig. As numerous people walk their dogs along the street, the seldom bark at each other. If the owner goes into a shop, the dog may be tied outside the shop - or the dog may just be taken off the lease and he/she will just lie down and wait for the owner to reappear. Dogs ride on the metro, the trams, the buses, and are everywhere.
Our dog JJ is quite well behaved, but not at the top of the class when compared to other dogs here. JJ always wants to eat and always wants to play with other dogs he sees on the street. You can see JJ finishing up his cake and note the empty cup of hot chocolate beside him. He has very discriminating tastes in food and drink and can be seen at the finest restaurants in Prague and other towns. Also JJ always stops to greet other dogs and to inquire of their interests and well being. JJ is quite a social animal!The park contained several statues, benches, covered areas for gathering. The trees are turning brilliant colors and falling 
rapidly. It is common to see people raking leaves along the streets and in the parks at this time of year. Lots of the streets in Prague are lined with trees - but there is very little grass.
rapidly. It is common to see people raking leaves along the streets and in the parks at this time of year. Lots of the streets in Prague are lined with trees - but there is very little grass.
We found many interesting people on our Podebrady outing. The gnome below was very helpful in giving us directions concerning travel and JJ and he became good friends.
You can see from the pictures that it was a lovely warm day - I hope we have several more just like Saturday - but tody, Sunday, it is quite grey and cooler. Not a good omen of the week to come perhaps, although the forecast is to have temperatures in the 50s this week. The key will be how much the sun shines.
Sunday came early for Liz. She got up just before 5:00 AM and started working on school stuff. Somehow I managed to sleep until about 6:30 before the smell of coffee woke me up. We were off to church about 10:30 and again we amazed at the wonderful and inspiring service at the International Baptist Church of Prague which we have been attending. The English language servied is held in a quite small sanctuary that has wonderful acoustics. The singing during worhsip is truly amazing. Voices of many tribes, tongues, and ethnic groups blend into a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Our choir is dominated by Africans. We are so grateful for the early American and European missionaries who sacrificed to live on the African continent when life was difficult and amenities were few. The fruit of their labors is assuredly evident in Prague today. Many of the Africans from different countries are leaders in the church.
We spoke with Alice from Tanzania this morning and hope to get together with her to mutually (Liz and Alice) cook some Tanzanian food - I am looking forward to this! Pastor Gareth is from Wales and always gives a hard hitting and elegant teaching. His delivery is always upbeat and he emphasizes the scriptures and God's expectations for His people. We have one of the best bongo players in the entire nation I am sure. Lauren is a sophomore at our school and her playing puts true life into our worship. She has spent most of her life in the Czech Republic. Our pianist is a concert pianist from Japan. He daughter and the son of a Baptist missionary play guitars. Worhip is led alternately by an American and an African (I don't remember her country of origin).
I have been having trouble with one of our computers - it would not connect to our network at home. So this afternoon I took it to a nearby restaurant with wi-fi. This was the last place I was able to connect to the internet, so I thought it might work there and I could download drivers fort the network connection. However I was unsuccessful in making any progress on the internet connetion at Wings - the restaurant.
Fortunately I heard English being spoken at a table adjacent to me and decided to boldly ask for help -something we are getting better at here because of the fog. Two young men, Dennis and Peter, were very helpful and after about 30 or 40 minutes of trying various solutions I was able to connect to the internet. God is good.
I talked to Dennis and Peter a little to find out why they were in Prague as I sensed they were not Czechs. How small this planet is. Dennis is from Overland Park, KS! Peter is from Stockholm, but he spoke with no accent and sounded halfway between an American and an Englishman. Dennis graduated from the same high school as our children, Gretchen and Trevor. One of his uncles worked at the OP Police Department where I used to work.
Peter's ancestors were from the Czech Republic and his grandmother lived on the same street that we live on. Dennis's ancestor's came from Turkey and emmingrated to Germany. His mother married an American serviceman and then emmigrated to the US with her husband. She now lives in OP. Dennis is going to school in Berlin as he can matriculate for virtually no cost there whereas in the US it would cost tens of thousands for his schooling. Peter is just traveling around the world for a year - though he is still working remotely at his job. He is in Prague for three months to learn or brush up on the Czech language.
Friday afternoon a technician from our internet service provider came and installed a new broadband modem and now our internet connection seems solid and infinitely faster than it had been for the previous month. Since I had left school early already, I decided to go to the English meat market that I had heard about.
Liz and Rebekah are going to cook a Thanksgiving meal for us, but my job is to procure the turkey. I inquired about reserving a turkey for us, but was advised by the Enlishman behind the counter that he could not guarantee me a small enough turkey to fit into our tiny overn. So I decided just to order a two kilo turkey breast. But in ordr to test the quality of their turkey and to ensure great meals for us this weekend, I bought a one kilo turkey breast.
We ahd invited a couple with a young son over and an American from Olomouc who is also with IICS. The couples son became ill and they could not come, but we had a great turkey meal with Donny on Saturday night. Donny is from Georgia so we optimistically watched the Geogia v, Florida football game on NASN (our version of ESPN). It was rather a let down for Donny as Florida ran all over Georgia.
We had plenty of turkey left over, so Sam and Rachel ate with us and we almost finished the turkey. I just had a turkey sandwich for dinner and only one small slice remains. All-in-all it has been a very good weekend where God continually showed up to meet our needs - physical, emotional and spiritual. We could not ask for more.
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