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.