The Last Three Weeks

What have we been up to? These pictures give some idea of one part of the life that we lead here in Prague. Prague is a truly spectacular city and at Christmas, there are displays, little stalls set up all over town selling various goodies such as food, drink, souvenirs such as candles, linens, paintings, hats, gloves - whatever the tourist or the local could desire, it is available on the streets in every square in town.

On the left you can see us at Old Towne Square. One of the really great spots in Prague. Lately it has been literally packed with people so thickly that walking from one side to the other is a slow process. But with all the stalls and the food and drink - why be in a hurry. One of our favorite foods to buy is called a trednelik or something close to that. It is a pastry cooked on a rolling pin like aparatus over gas flames . It is then rolled in brown sugar and other spices, taken off the spindle and handed to you on a napkin. A great tast treat it is indeed.

Also, there is mead and spiced wine sold unbiquitously in town. Wherever you walk on major streets there are stalls set up.

Below is what we saw on December 5th or thereabouts. There are myths in eastern and central Europe similar to some in the US about "being naught and nice". Numerous people dress as St. Nicolas, an angel and a devil parade around town in groups. Czech children, raised on stories of Mikulas, are over-awed by this spectacle, for they know what to expect. St. Nicholas will be asking each and everyone of them if they have been a good child during the past year.

Most children of course say yes and will be asked to sing a song or recite a short poem, after which they are rewarded with sweets and other treats. But if St. Nicholas suspects they have been naughty, well! Naughty children don't get sweets, they get a sack of black coal or hard potatoes. If they have been really naughty, they will be placed in the Devil's sack and sent to hell!

I have not put up anything new on this blog for sixteen days. The reason may be that life is becoming more routine and we have not traveled out of town for a month now. Also, things have been hetic at school. December 13th was the CISP Christmas Program. The preparations were going on for several weeks by Mrs. Johnson, our Director and Music Teacher. However the two weeks before the program, practices became more time consuming and everyone was getting a bit strtessed with the planning. Also, midterm grades went out, we had several teacher illnesses and miscellaneous distractions.

On the left is Jessica, a lovely 7th grade student at CISP. Here she is singing a solo at church last Sunday. I have mentioned before that we have many talented musicians at school. Fortunately, we have a music teacher coming right after Christmas so Mrs. Johnson can have more time for administrative tasks.

I previously wrote about seeing two Czech League soccer matches in one night. Garret, Kate, Rebekah and I went back to Slavia stadium to see Slavia Praha play Hamburg in a UEFA cup match. It was a defensive match with both sides getting fairly even possession times, but Hamburg were too strong for Slavia and took the victory 2-0, but the second goal was a PK scored in extra time after the Slavia keeper was given a red card and confusion resulted. The real fun is trying to get on a tram right after a soccer match.

Can you imagine 15 or 20 thousand people exiting the stadium nearly simultaniously and trying to board normal public transport. Rebekah, Kate and I got on a 22 Tram with Rebekah leading the charge into the "cattle-car-like" tram. I now know what a sardine feels like as it goes into one of those little, flat cans. Garret went another direction, but we all managed to show up at school the next day even though the start time was 8:45 PM - not long before my bed time.

In the ensuing days we began saying good by to Rachel, the student teacher who lived with us for three months and helped Liz much the past six weeks. Leah, Shiela and Kate had a going away dinner for Rachel Monday night. We set our alarm for 3:30 AM Tuesday as the cab was scheduled to arrive at 4:00 AM to take Rachel to the airport. Beth Given was waiting at our door at 4:00 AM to go to the airport with Rachel, so that was good. Her trip back home was uneventful until arriving in Montreal in a snowstrom. Her flight to Muncton was cancelled and she had to sit on the plane the next day for four and one half hours before it took off for her one and a half hour flight.

Liz, Rebekah and I took time out over a weekend to carry on a tradition that is part of many western cultures - cookie making. We missed the Hartman Cousins springerlie making party this year which is held at Scott and Carolee Hoffman's house each year. So this was a substitute for that event and cookie baking times we would normally spend with Steve and Kaley. All in all it turned out quite well.

The next weekend was dominated by the Christmas Program. I was at the auditorium where it was held from 11:00 AM until about 4:00 PM. I helped with student control - there was a dress rehersal for everyone before the real, live performance. It turned out quite well - with a few glitches here and there. Liz's class did well with their singing part. Massimo was given a part in a quartet to replace a solo song that was to be sung by a girl who was ill on the performance day. Liz and Rebekah each got massages at their favorite place immediate after the performance to wash away the added stress of the week. I watched soccer on TV at a restaurant near where they got the massages.

On the left here we are at the Old Towne Square in front of one of the stalls selling food stuffs of various kinds. We have tried the hot dogs, the tredneliks, the meade, mulled wine, crepes and perhaps other goodies that I don't remember at the moment.

Then the week of school before the Christmas Holidays began. Everyone tried to keep focused on academics, but it was difficult. I gave exams in all my classes. I was very pleased with the results in general. Friday was a half day with an odd schedule. The high school had Chapel - combined with the elementary school - then forty-five minutes of miscellaneous things like a French Class party, 7th and 8th grade classes. I and Terry orchestrated moving some furniture from the computer lab to the basement storage and a few other minor moves. Then the high school student organized party games began. The kids were very good and orderly and had a great time with all the 7th through 12th graders participating in indoor games. Plus there was food and drink for all. Then at noon school was out.

We have been walking to town most evenings - both for the exercise and to see the beauty of Prague. It takes us about 25 minutes to walk to Old Town. It is a downhill trip for the most part from our apartment on the hill where the TV tower is perched. But that means that the walk back is quite an aerobic activity. This is about the only regular exercise we get except for the daily uphill trek of about five blocks to school.

On the left you again see a group dressed up as St. Nicolas, an angel and a devil.

On the day school got out at noon, Garret, Kate and I went to view a building that we are giving some consideration to renting for the school for next year. We are a bit crowded and there is some concern that we need more space for next year. Two board members also went. Garret and Kate then came over and we went over the pros and cons of what we saw. Liz and I then walked to town to view the sites again - we do it repeatedly during this holiday season.




This last picture shows Old Town Square at night. The lighted, twin towers of the Tyn Church are in the background. You can see people and the first line of the Christmas stalls in the foreground. There are endless stalls and endless people that you can not see.

All for now.