Whoever said that change is a bad thing must have had a terrible life. But I'm having great luck this year!! The changes make it interesting, and I appreciate that.
Saturday was moving day. After I packed up ALL of my stuff (there was a lot), and loaded it into the car, my first host mom drove me across town to my new house. My new host parents greeted us at the door. They are a wonderful family, very sweet and helpful. The parents speak almost to English to me because I asked them to speak only Czech. Their college aged son, Kuba, spent a year in Canada so he has almost perfect English. We still speak Czech most of the time though. He seems happy to teach me new phrases that I dont know, which is great. The more teachers I accumulate, the better.
The house is in the 'Czech Quarter' of town, even though the entire town is Czech. I can walk to school every morning now, because it is only 5 minutes away on foot. The view from my window is the downtown square and some of the housing sector.
My host dad is a heart doctor here in Trutnov, and a sweet, soft spoken guy with a clever sense of humor. My host mom is a 'drug dealer'. Yeah, I had the same shocked reaction. Dont worry, its all legal. She travels around the north part of the country, telling hospitals which are the best medicines to buy. She is the life of the party type person, and great fun to talk to because she is so animated. Kuba (short for Jacob) goes to college in Prague, but is on break until the middle of February. He has decorated the room I'm staying in with all sorts of Canadian stuff, which is a good reminder of all my new Canadian friends, and newly Canadian friend (you know who you are).
Monday, January 22, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Ski Weekend....without snow
This past weekend was supposed to be the Rotary cross country ski weekend in South Bohemia. Well, for those of you who have not been keeping up with your world weather, Europe is warm. Major ski resorts in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic are really hurting because there isnt enough snow to attract the tourists. I have seen that in my mountains, and it was noticable in the Sumava mountains in the south too.
I traveled to the Sumava mountains alone on Thursday, under blue sky and sunshine. It was a great break from the continuous rain and grey skies in Trutnov. My route took me through Prague, Plzen, and Klatovy. The meeting was in a TINY town in the mountains, Spicak. Normally it is busy with tourists who want to ski, but it is dead right now. Thursday night was just a chance to catch up with the small number of students who came, chatting and watching movies. Friday morning was a Czech lesson with Tomas (the teacher from language camp whom we all love.) In the afternoon we walked to a slightly larger town, Zelezna Ruda. By then, the rest of the students had arrived, a total of 15. Only half the group. We sat in the sweetshop for a while, then wandered around town. After dinner was more free time. Its amazing how social we are, never getting bored of talking. Saturday was a hiking day. We left by 10, walked to a ski lift (that looked like it was about to fall down), and rode half way up the mountain. When we had walked to the top, we had a snowball fight, then had warm drinks in a little restaurant. The people from warmer climates really liked the snow, but the weather was a little cold for them. Next, we hiked down the mountain to another restaurant, this time for soup. Czechs have a tradition of drawing out meals, so it is more unusual to be really hungary. Next, we walked to "Black Lake". It was a clear, cold, glacial lake. Some of the students decided that it was perfect for wading in. Crazy. The lake is famous because the Gestappo hid their records in it. The records were found in the 60s, sunk to the bottom. That night we had singing and dancing as a group. On Sunday, it was just another travel day. Once again, the weather was beautiful. I traveled with 7 other people to Plzen, then continued through Prague back to Trutnov
VERY IMPORTANT:
Tomorrow I move host families. It is only across town, but it is the beginning of another chapter of my exchange. For those of you who send me letters, please wait until I email out my new mailing address. If you do not recieve the email in the next week, let me know that you are interested in knowing. Thanks!!
I traveled to the Sumava mountains alone on Thursday, under blue sky and sunshine. It was a great break from the continuous rain and grey skies in Trutnov. My route took me through Prague, Plzen, and Klatovy. The meeting was in a TINY town in the mountains, Spicak. Normally it is busy with tourists who want to ski, but it is dead right now. Thursday night was just a chance to catch up with the small number of students who came, chatting and watching movies. Friday morning was a Czech lesson with Tomas (the teacher from language camp whom we all love.) In the afternoon we walked to a slightly larger town, Zelezna Ruda. By then, the rest of the students had arrived, a total of 15. Only half the group. We sat in the sweetshop for a while, then wandered around town. After dinner was more free time. Its amazing how social we are, never getting bored of talking. Saturday was a hiking day. We left by 10, walked to a ski lift (that looked like it was about to fall down), and rode half way up the mountain. When we had walked to the top, we had a snowball fight, then had warm drinks in a little restaurant. The people from warmer climates really liked the snow, but the weather was a little cold for them. Next, we hiked down the mountain to another restaurant, this time for soup. Czechs have a tradition of drawing out meals, so it is more unusual to be really hungary. Next, we walked to "Black Lake". It was a clear, cold, glacial lake. Some of the students decided that it was perfect for wading in. Crazy. The lake is famous because the Gestappo hid their records in it. The records were found in the 60s, sunk to the bottom. That night we had singing and dancing as a group. On Sunday, it was just another travel day. Once again, the weather was beautiful. I traveled with 7 other people to Plzen, then continued through Prague back to Trutnov
VERY IMPORTANT:
Tomorrow I move host families. It is only across town, but it is the beginning of another chapter of my exchange. For those of you who send me letters, please wait until I email out my new mailing address. If you do not recieve the email in the next week, let me know that you are interested in knowing. Thanks!!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Vacation and New Years
First of all, Happy New Year Everybody! I'm back at school now, so it is time to write about the rest of my vacation. On the Wednesday after Christmas, the family, the Grandparents, and I had one more lazy day around the house as we packed. I went to the theatre with my host mom, older sister, and the neighbor (who is also 14) to see the Devil Wears Prada. It was in English with subtitles, so it was interesting to read the Czech while hearing the English. I never really though about how much of the humor is lost in translation. Some of the classic lines were put into simpler and more unimaginative sentences in Czech.
Anyway, off my tangent. Wednesday night we drove to Pec Pod Sněžou, a half hour drive. After a late dinner we settled into the apartment that my family has there.
Thursday we had a short hike up one of the mountains right outside town, to a little restaurant on a ski slope. Unfortunately there was not enough snow for skiing.
Friday was a longer hike, riding up a ski lift and walking in almost a giant circle, back to Pec. Some people were out on their cross country skis, but most of the other people we saw were also on foot.
Saturday I had a fitness day with Katka and the neighbor instead of climbing Sněžka again. The bad weather deterred me from hauling myself up the mountain. Instead, I used to hotel fitness room, pool, and sauna. Very refreshing!!
Sunday, New Years Eve, we had a short hike to another restaurant before getting ready for the fancy dinner and celebration. At the hotel, the 4 course dinner started at 6:30 and I went to bed around 2 or so. I sat with my family for the main courses, then joined the rest of the guests on the dance floor. One of the guest singers was a family friend who had come with us on some of the hikes. There was a fireworks show a little past midnight, then more dancing. I was dead tired when I finally crawled into bed.
Monday was a lazy day, with some of the adults needing time to recover. We stayed at the apartment except for lunch and dinner at the hotel. At night, we watched movies together, another popular holiday tradition. When we woke up the next morning, two inches of snow had fallen. This, of course, was the last day, therefore too late for skiing.
Tuesday we packed, had lunch, then headed back to Trutnov and unpacked. A quiet end to the vacation.
Anyway, off my tangent. Wednesday night we drove to Pec Pod Sněžou, a half hour drive. After a late dinner we settled into the apartment that my family has there.
Thursday we had a short hike up one of the mountains right outside town, to a little restaurant on a ski slope. Unfortunately there was not enough snow for skiing.
Friday was a longer hike, riding up a ski lift and walking in almost a giant circle, back to Pec. Some people were out on their cross country skis, but most of the other people we saw were also on foot.
Saturday I had a fitness day with Katka and the neighbor instead of climbing Sněžka again. The bad weather deterred me from hauling myself up the mountain. Instead, I used to hotel fitness room, pool, and sauna. Very refreshing!!
Sunday, New Years Eve, we had a short hike to another restaurant before getting ready for the fancy dinner and celebration. At the hotel, the 4 course dinner started at 6:30 and I went to bed around 2 or so. I sat with my family for the main courses, then joined the rest of the guests on the dance floor. One of the guest singers was a family friend who had come with us on some of the hikes. There was a fireworks show a little past midnight, then more dancing. I was dead tired when I finally crawled into bed.
Monday was a lazy day, with some of the adults needing time to recover. We stayed at the apartment except for lunch and dinner at the hotel. At night, we watched movies together, another popular holiday tradition. When we woke up the next morning, two inches of snow had fallen. This, of course, was the last day, therefore too late for skiing.
Tuesday we packed, had lunch, then headed back to Trutnov and unpacked. A quiet end to the vacation.
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