Bittersweet Change

Being that May 1 is a Czech national holiday, we have tomorrow off. Yes, I know that tomorrow is actually the 29th, but the beauty of the European mindset is such that nobody is going to work on a weekday that is adjacent to a holiday. Why that would be ludicrous! (Why are we moving back to the States??)

May 1 will also mark the entry of the Czech Republic, along with several other European countries, into the European Union. There's an odd air of excitement and regret as the Czechs surf the third wave into the union. There's a huge upside for the younger generation: more opportunity both home and abroad, the hope of a more stable economy in the future (we'll see) and more foreign investors. Sadly, however, that hopefully brighter tomorrow may prove costly for the country's past. The lasting effects of communism has already tampered with the Czech national identity. What will happen in the future as more and more Western companies set up shop and squeeze out the local competition, which hardly has the ability to compete in the first place? When I ask my students about their general sentiment toward the monumental change, they usually say something to the tune of: "Good for me, bad for the Czech Republic."

Though I'm merely a resident and not a citizen, I feel a bit unsettled about this whole situation. I feel fortunate to have experienced the CR before the EU, but what of those who have to stay on board, sink or swim? I guess we'll see.

On a lighter and slightly more opportunistic note, I've been collecting Zlotys, Forints and Crowns from Poland, Hungary and the CR respectively, so that I'll have at least a little piece of history once the Euro arrives in another six years or so.

Is it the little things that betray us?

If I were a postman, I think that I would have the habit of drawing conclusions about someone based on their choice of magazine subscription. Good or bad, I think there would have to be some validity to this.

'Soldier of Fortune'...hmm...gonna stay on that guy's good side.

April precipitation of the white kind

Thursday afternoon found my friend Mira and I heading toward the Czech – German border in our little rented Skoda (a car that enjoys the same popularity in the CR that Ford does in the States, but ironically made by Volkswagen) with a final destination of the ever white-capped Austrian Alps. We had planned this little excursion for over three months and it had finally arrived. As expected, it would be yet another one of those I-can’t-believe-I’m-actually-experiencing-this experiences that you should all envy. I guarantee you that I could easily write a novel-length blog documenting our every moment, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll give you the top five or so, in no particular order:

1. Driving on the autobahn in Germany and enjoying the freedom of well-crafted roads without the pesky restrictions of speed limits. Of course we kept our powerhouse of a 1.2 liter engine to about 80 or so, while being passed by every exotic car in existence, each one cruising at a minimum of about 120 mph.

2. First seeing the visual splendor of the Alps in the distance as we drew closer and closer. Kinda made me want to start yodeling.

3. Having totally honest conversation about Christianity with a pure-hearted atheist and coming to the realization that God does great things when you simply love on someone without an agenda of conversion.

4. Hanging out for three nights in a cozy mountain village with nice people and good beer.

5. Finally…the skiing. Remember the tree-lined slopes of Winter Park, Breckenridge and the whole congregation of Colorado resorts? You know how there’s usually a ski area at the peak above the tree-line where only the fearless dare to tread? Well, brutha, every slope we hit was a thin-aired, treeless spectacle that punished my legs and made me wanna crawl back to the womb. Wouldn’t have traded it for the world!

My sincerest thanks to Mira for being a multi-lingual man of many talents. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Random Picture Blog






Katie reminded me yesterday that I've promised various pictures on about five different occasions lately and haven't yet delivered on any of them. We're actually starting to get requests for pics, which is cool, but also makes me realize how infrequently I follow through on what I promise. So, even though I haven't thrown together any new galleries in about six months, here's a random quartet for you.

How the pictures are arranged will depend on your computer, so here's a rough description: (top/top left) - A flower that was lying on one of the crude "bunks" in a housing unit of Auschwitz. I'll hopefully blog about the experience soon...still kind of processing. (next/top right) - The Cloth Hall in the Krakow town square. (next/bottom left) - A cool night pic of Old Town Square in Prague that Clifton took while here a few weeks ago. (bottom/bottom right) - A scary, but recent headshot that my dad requested after reminding me that they haven't seen a pic of just the two of us since September. Um...and we're vain.

I just got a one sentence email from my brother Mark that said something like:

-I'm going to see Ethan Durelle and Stavesacre at the Door this weekend. Neener, neener, neener.-

At first I thought, "Man, he's got me there. How can I compete with that?" But then I remebered, "Oh yeah, I'm going skiing in the freakin' ALPS this weekend!"

Hey Mark, I'll buy you a t-shirt if you buy one for me. Is Ethan Durelle making t-shirts these days?

Bowl-o-rama

Last night Michael and I found ourselves at a smoky-old bowling alley with about 50 teachers from our school. This was the "last staff get-together as we unleash the stress of the past few months and help get 1/4 of the school graduated" party. It was quite memorable. 3/4 of the staff are over 45 and most of them have never bowled. There is this one teacher I have fallen in love with, mostly because she reminds me of my Nana in every way, that was trying very hard to bowl. The only thing was no one could explain to some of the teachers that you don't throw the ball. A couple of them, once holding the ball, wound up by swinging it a couple times, and let it go about 2 feet in front of them- 5 feet to fall. It was great though. We had a fun time laughing, not at them of course- for most of them took it VERY seriously, but just of the night. Then we had our last toast with the teachers and principals and ate dinner.

Of course a funny thing about the night was the award ceremony for the best team. (our team completely sucked) So the winners were the sports coaches, who quite unfairly were all on the same team. But the final award was for the woman who had bowled the best. (first-timer) As our principal was explaining this award, the whole crowd started laughing. As we were being translated to, we finally understood. The award was not going to the best new female bowler, it was going to the best new female ball handler.

I guess the joke made sense in both languages. It was cute as this older French teacher got up quite shy and embarrased but laughed too. So, we had a good time. Fun and fellowship. Just another memory to keep away- seeing our older colleagues work it on the bowling room floor.

Loves and Kisses~Katie

I finished -Red Moon Rising- during our eight hour train ride back to Prague from Krakow. For those who haven't heard of it, it's one of the relatively newbies from Relevant Books about the 24-7 Prayer Movement that's been spreading like wildfire across Europe (sorry, I would give links, but our archaic browser at school doesn't support the updated blogger options). My good buddy Jay sent it to me a few months ago and it had been on my reading list ever since. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about both the title and the expected contents. I've seen organizations that have a tendency to worship prayer (or the 'power' of prayer) rather than God himself, and as well-meaning as their intentions usually seem, I find myself ripping them apart theologically more so than simply testing all and holding fast to what is good. To my surprise (and presupposing shame), this book was quite real. It's definately on the charismatic side and its literary value alone will never make it a must read, but for me it's been a convicting reminder that God greatly values concentrated prayer and is not afraid to dynamically use His power through those that ask greatly of Him in His will.

We think way too small.

P.S. Krakow was awesome. We're waiting to give the details until we can post some pictures. We also made time to visit Auschwitz, which was a life-defining moment in understanding human nature. More info and pics to follow.

www.redmoonrisingbook.com
www.relevantmag.com
www.24-7prayer.com

Top 5 Things I Miss About the States:
1. My nephews (um...and the rest of the fam, but the nephews are the cutest)
2. Tex-Mex
3. A true home church
4. Driving
5. Electric guitar

Top 5 Things I Don't Miss About the States:
1. The cost of living
2. TV
3. Student loan payments
4. Driving
5. Country music

Just thoughts at the moment, it's definately not an exhaustive list on either side.

Howdy.

So as most of you know, next year has been decided for us. We are returning to the States. But our shoes need to be filled here.... for the next school year another couple, Matt and Amy Smith, will be taking our places. We don't know much about our new teachers but will be meeting them in California for training this summer.

It's starting to hit us how fast the year is coming to an end. Today we had lunch with a Czech family and planned a day with them to a nearby castle in May. But the strange thing was trying to plan this event. As we were looking at the calendar we realized that between now and July 1st, we had only 3 weekends free. Between Poland next weekend, ESI retreats and meetings, and plans made with friends, the school year will be over soon. I have to say that sometimes I feel as if I have lived here all my life and think of nothing else as home with my husband. But somedays, like today, I realize how short a time I have really been here and how quickly it is flying by.

Does life normally speed up when you get married? Have kids? Get real jobs? For some reason, thinking about the past lets me remember how 'long' it was. There was a great quote one time about goal setting in life... (I do not remember who it was or when I first heard it, or if it is exact) "People usually over-estimate what they can do in one year, and under-estimate what they can do in 5."

Just thought it was fitting. Just to tell you, we are enjoying our friends, our students, and Prague very much. We are still having a great time....even moreso now with the Spring arriving!
Blessings to all of you.
Kate

As promised: Jeff and Jay - Rock n Roll Karaoke
I'm sorry I missed that one.