Three months have passed since Jamie and I packed up our things and headed to the Czech Republic. There have been many adventures, wonderful sights and some challenging situations. However, novelties always wear thin and I began to really feel it this week. For the first two months, it was exciting to meet people, learn Czech words and feel the newness and excitement that comes from knowing that you are on an adventure of a life time. Then, work it:
each day carries the same amount of monotony that I would have had in the United States; I get just as frustrated at Czech students as I do at American students; I feel very inadequate to be teaching these classes, even though I MADE them myself; not being able to converse in Czech is not fun anymore, it is lonely; I don't go out with friends very much, because I am tired; it is hard to have a meal, because Jamie and I finish at different times during the day; being "foreign" is quite uncomfortable, especially when you are aware that you are clueless most of the time.
It was inevitable. The good times had to come to an end. For those who don't know, when one goes to a new place they must go through a period of culture shock. This is exciting and terrible all at once. There is newness all around you: there are exotic people, different hair styles, food and ways of greeting; there are funny smells and alien plants; there are even different social expectations, which one only discovers through trial and error. You have to able to laugh at yourself and have confidence. But after three months, culture shock turns into culture
paralysis. For example, I no longer find it funny when I screw up a Czech word or I am laughed at, because I was not aware of a "new" etiquette rule; I can get overtly nostalgic for home: family, friends, memories and food; I wish I was at home to watch the Penguins and Steelers while sitting on my butt eating mass quantities of chips and salsa, and I yearn for a burrito with black beans, onions, chicken, cheese and rice all wrapped up into a bundle of 2,000 calories of pure bliss. I think that my longings for home have come to me in sleep. I am having recurring dreams where I am eating lots of cheeseburgers. Now, if you know me, you know that I really don't like hamburgers, but I have come to reconcile this imagery as the subconscious manifestation of home, the U.S.A., the cheeseburger. I eat it and am never satisfied.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know that my feelings are the opposite extreme of idealization. My Czech really IS improving and I still laugh at my mistakes, it only SEEMS as if I don't want to. I HAVE been making new friends here and part of the inherent beauty is that we don't understand each other all the time. I also know that this experience can only make me a stronger, more experienced person. Additionally, I am vaguely aware that I will have the same feelings of nostalgia for the Czech Republic as I do for the U.S.A. when I do return home in two years. I guess I am trying to find the balance.
Sorry for this rambling post.
I think I meant to have a purpose, but it has since been muddled.
You all really should come over and hike in the Czech forests. They are beautiful.
Mushrooms are not that bad with eggs!
I love the Czech language. Dobrý den is an adorable greeting, especially when old "Babičky" say it. I am frustrated that I can't speak it more.
I can't wait until winter. I'm sure the countryside is beautiful covered in snow.
Policka is cute, because you can see anyone and everyone in the main square. It's like the "old times."
They burn coal for warmth. It gives the town a distinct smell and smoky look.
There are rolling hills here. Many of the houses look like cottages when they are built among the trees.
Many people still drive old cars. You can see some that are 50 years old and they are driven as if they are brand new. They even pull trailers with them.
Czechs don't like to talk about the past. Many are angry that their own countrymen are not more patriotic.
The Communist time here is remembered as bad and good. Things are always more complicated than they seem.
Czech students are apathetic. They are also very quiet, but not very respectful.
It seems like every woman is on maternity leave. And, why not? The Govt. pays them to take three years off from work.
Czechs have to be convinced that they are well off: they still think they are a poor nation.
There are many strollers and young children around.
They drive way too fast on curvy roads.
It is sad how much the garbage from America influences their culture. Young kids buy it right up.
I can't help but laugh when I see a Czech "hip-hopper."
I think many of the young girls here are too concerned about their image. ( I know, all girls are like this......)
We get a bad rap as a consumer culture, but is Europe any different? Even here?
The communist party is still strong, surprisingly.
Old men often have gold teeth. I find this fascinating.
Old ladies ride bikes here. They also ride up hills and don't stop.
Czechs eat tons of bread and cheese.
Also, don't get fined in Prague, they will ROB you.
Most Czechs don't have carpet. The houses are cold and drafty.
slippers are a necessity.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pokec s Černou ovcí (talkshow with the church band)
Tonight was the first Pokec (talkshow) with the church's band, Černá ovcí (One black sheep), of the school year, so ofcourse the band was a little nervous. However it was a great success! There were 17 people who came out to see the band play and special guest Jelena 
Kleinerová (Madla's grandmother).
The band played well, and the interview with Jelena was very interesting (even though I had to get it explained to me after the fact...). She talked about living in Russia and how she left the city she was living in durning WWII, because it was not safe. When she returned, the entire city had been destroyed. After the war she married a Czech man and moved to the Czech Republic, which is how she got here. It was interesting to learn that the Czech that she speaks is a mixture of Czech and Russian, even though she has been here a long time. It makes me feel better about my Czech, since I know it is a mixture of English and Czech.
Anyway, the band sounded great and I think everyone who came enjoyed themselves!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Day of Trees (Arbor Day)
This week, on Thursday and Friday, I helped out with "day of trees", which was put on by the local Environmental education organization (Ekocentrum Střitek Polička O.S.). When I was asked to help three weeks ago, I was excited about the opportunity to do something in Polička that I feel like I am good at and knowledgeable in. I have spent the last two years teaching kids about trees and insects and other aspects of nature and it wasn't until this week that I really missed having a job like that. Teaching English is different and there are times when I feel like I have no idea what I am doing. Do the kids understand? Are the lessons too hard or are they two easy? But other times I feel comfortable and confident in the lesson I have planned.
The activity that I planned for tree day was "build a tree", since it is a good way to actively demonstrate what each part of the tree does. Most of the groups enjoyed the game, and it was fun to see how the students responded. I found that students (and teachers!) that were from small village were more willing to play than those from towns the size of Polička. I'm not sure why this is, but we could guess where the kids went to school depending on how willing they where to be silly and have fun.
Anyway, helping with day of trees was really fun, all though it had it's frustrations. I don't speak enough Czech yet, so everything I said needed to be translated, plus finding the scientific words for the parts of the trees in Czech was a challenge, but a fun one! I was told by a few of
the teachers of younger kids (pre-school and kindergarten), that it was frightening some of their students to hear me speaking in English because they did not understand me. But for the most part the kids thought it was funny or they did not mind hearing me speak. In most of the classes there were a number of students that would say "good bye" to me in English, as well as count in English when they were determining the age of the trees.
the teachers of younger kids (pre-school and kindergarten), that it was frightening some of their students to hear me speaking in English because they did not understand me. But for the most part the kids thought it was funny or they did not mind hearing me speak. In most of the classes there were a number of students that would say "good bye" to me in English, as well as count in English when they were determining the age of the trees.
Regardless of the challenges that came with tree day, I had a great time! It was such a joy to be able to talk about how a tree works, and play with the students that came. Working and talking with the high school helpers was also a wonderful time, and I hope that they had as much fun as I did.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Movie Night!
Tuesday night was our first installment of "filmové večery," or in English, "move night!" We decided that we wanted to show This is England, directed by Shane Meadows. It is a prophetic film about the absurdity of the skinhead culture with its triumvirate characteristics of hate, violence and blame. Set in England in 1983, the movie follows the semi-autobiographical account of a young boy named Shaun who finds his only solace from bullying and loneliness, in the skinhead movement; he develops a frienship with a group of skinhead teenagers. The movie takes a dramatic turn when an older, more politically involved skinhead, named Combo, returns from a 3 1/2 year prison sentence. Combo preaches a doctrine of nationalism and racism that splits the teenage skinhead group into two. Shaun chooses to stay with Combo and the more violent brand. Eventually, Combo will turn on the group, as violence and hate destroy Shaun's world and nearly kill his friend, Milky.
Quite an undertaking for Czech viewers, huh? Also, to add to the difficulty of the movie, the English accents are very thick, which only exacerbates the language barrier that is already present. Needless to say, Jan and Anna were nervous that this movie might be too complicated for the Czech audience. Yet, I did not want this movie night to be one of simple enjoyment and entertainment; I wanted it to inspire some thought. But, I must admit, that I was nervous too, because we needed the movie night to be good: this was our first one of the year and we wanted to make sure people would come back. Last year, the movie nights were dropping in numbers, as most films only managed to attract a handful of people; thus, my hope was to have 10 people show up. The whole day I was worried about how the showing would go.
At 7:10 we had about 10 people in the church; then, at 7:15, we had 20. I could not believe it, neither could Jan. We had a massive group: there were adults, community members who walked in off the street, teenagers and, my favorite, the local punk rockers. I gave a brief introduction to the movie and then let it "roll." I stopped the movie in the middle and gave a brief synopsis on what happened thus far and what is gearing for the end. The punks who were in the room were getting very tense with what I was saying about the skinhead culture. I believe they came, because they wanted to watch a movie that would edify the culture, and here I was, subverting it. The themes of despair and hate are easy to miss in this movie if one does not speak English, or is not a critical viewer; so, it was important that I tell the truth, even If I knew the punk rockers in the back of the room were going to get defensive. Jan claims that he could feel their hands on the table grip tighter the more I spoke. I was sweating, as I thought about what to say. I didn't want to shut the door to dialogue on our first meeting; I wanted to open the conversation up and I wanted this movie to get the ball rolling. I was very particular about what I said and how I phrased it. I did not want to alienate or attack the punk rockers. I let the movie continue and at the end gave a two minute statement on the futility of building your whole cultural paradigm around hate. I feel that I did an ample job of walking the line between not offending the punks who were in my presence, yet not letting violence get the last word.
The other Czechs who were in attendance loved the movie. I heard nothing but positive feedback. People who couldn't even speak English came up to me and told me that the movie was powerful (mocný). I guess it just goes to show you that human emotion transcends all cultural/language barriers. Even the punk rockers came up and gave me a handshake. I asked them if we could talk more outside of church and they all agreed. Jan was very happy with how the night turned out.
Cultural influences arise in the most unexpected ways. Last night, while showing the movie, I could not comfort myself, as I was tormented by the fact that I was showing a film, in a Church, that had copious amounts of swearing, violence and some sexual content. Even the fact that Jan, the pastor of the Church, was in complete support of showing such a movie was shocking to me. In the United States, there would be no way I would be able to show such a film or have such an honest and open conversation about racism. I would not have been able to get the punks into the Church, that is for sure. However, where is there a better place to speak about violence, injustice and blame: the Courts, with their very human view of what justice and reconciliation are, or the media, with their overly sexualized and entertainment driven news copies? No, it is the Church. I wish American congregations would get past the immature arguments about what is "Christian" or "secular." We need to realize that Christians are called to relevancy defined not by clothing trends and musical genres, but by how we engage our culture and how we, the Christan congregation, is working to subvert and challenge the modern "Rome." It is the way of maturity and it is the audacity to think creatively that can affect the world, not the tired hum-drum of moral judging and "other-worldly" hope that seems to define Christian cultural engagement. So, if showing a movie with some swearing and sexual content opens up a conversation about hate, injustice, racism and violence, then I think it is O.K. to do so.
Quite an undertaking for Czech viewers, huh? Also, to add to the difficulty of the movie, the English accents are very thick, which only exacerbates the language barrier that is already present. Needless to say, Jan and Anna were nervous that this movie might be too complicated for the Czech audience. Yet, I did not want this movie night to be one of simple enjoyment and entertainment; I wanted it to inspire some thought. But, I must admit, that I was nervous too, because we needed the movie night to be good: this was our first one of the year and we wanted to make sure people would come back. Last year, the movie nights were dropping in numbers, as most films only managed to attract a handful of people; thus, my hope was to have 10 people show up. The whole day I was worried about how the showing would go.
At 7:10 we had about 10 people in the church; then, at 7:15, we had 20. I could not believe it, neither could Jan. We had a massive group: there were adults, community members who walked in off the street, teenagers and, my favorite, the local punk rockers. I gave a brief introduction to the movie and then let it "roll." I stopped the movie in the middle and gave a brief synopsis on what happened thus far and what is gearing for the end. The punks who were in the room were getting very tense with what I was saying about the skinhead culture. I believe they came, because they wanted to watch a movie that would edify the culture, and here I was, subverting it. The themes of despair and hate are easy to miss in this movie if one does not speak English, or is not a critical viewer; so, it was important that I tell the truth, even If I knew the punk rockers in the back of the room were going to get defensive. Jan claims that he could feel their hands on the table grip tighter the more I spoke. I was sweating, as I thought about what to say. I didn't want to shut the door to dialogue on our first meeting; I wanted to open the conversation up and I wanted this movie to get the ball rolling. I was very particular about what I said and how I phrased it. I did not want to alienate or attack the punk rockers. I let the movie continue and at the end gave a two minute statement on the futility of building your whole cultural paradigm around hate. I feel that I did an ample job of walking the line between not offending the punks who were in my presence, yet not letting violence get the last word.
The other Czechs who were in attendance loved the movie. I heard nothing but positive feedback. People who couldn't even speak English came up to me and told me that the movie was powerful (mocný). I guess it just goes to show you that human emotion transcends all cultural/language barriers. Even the punk rockers came up and gave me a handshake. I asked them if we could talk more outside of church and they all agreed. Jan was very happy with how the night turned out.
Cultural influences arise in the most unexpected ways. Last night, while showing the movie, I could not comfort myself, as I was tormented by the fact that I was showing a film, in a Church, that had copious amounts of swearing, violence and some sexual content. Even the fact that Jan, the pastor of the Church, was in complete support of showing such a movie was shocking to me. In the United States, there would be no way I would be able to show such a film or have such an honest and open conversation about racism. I would not have been able to get the punks into the Church, that is for sure. However, where is there a better place to speak about violence, injustice and blame: the Courts, with their very human view of what justice and reconciliation are, or the media, with their overly sexualized and entertainment driven news copies? No, it is the Church. I wish American congregations would get past the immature arguments about what is "Christian" or "secular." We need to realize that Christians are called to relevancy defined not by clothing trends and musical genres, but by how we engage our culture and how we, the Christan congregation, is working to subvert and challenge the modern "Rome." It is the way of maturity and it is the audacity to think creatively that can affect the world, not the tired hum-drum of moral judging and "other-worldly" hope that seems to define Christian cultural engagement. So, if showing a movie with some swearing and sexual content opens up a conversation about hate, injustice, racism and violence, then I think it is O.K. to do so.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Dave is here!
On Friday, October 2nd Jeremy went to Prague to pick up our friend Dave while I stayed to watch the Dus children. I think we both had an enjoyable night: Jeremy read on a train, picked up Dave and spent the night at Sir Toby's (our favorite hostel in Europe -Thank you Kati for showing it to us) and I watched a movie and played Legos with the kids.
On Sunday, Dave came to church with us and helped out in the service. Jan was speaking about what happens when there are walls in your life and Jeremy and Dave played catch with a football and did not let me play to demonstrate that walls in relationships are bad. After church we played floor hockey with some kids from the church enjoyed a meal in the church.
Dave arrived in Policka on Saturday and the real fun began! In the
evening the three of us went out for dinner at our favorite resturant and pub in Policka, called Šenk. We met our friend Jitulka, had a tasty dinner, Jeremy and Dave had a Gambrinus, and then we all moved to the Kafe Bar. where we met up with Jitulka's friend Kája and had an great night. Dave enjoyed Policka pivo and learned a phrase in czech, "Vařím bublinku na moje televize s mym kamaradm Jeremy" meaning, I cook bubbles on my television with my friend Jeremy.
evening the three of us went out for dinner at our favorite resturant and pub in Policka, called Šenk. We met our friend Jitulka, had a tasty dinner, Jeremy and Dave had a Gambrinus, and then we all moved to the Kafe Bar. where we met up with Jitulka's friend Kája and had an great night. Dave enjoyed Policka pivo and learned a phrase in czech, "Vařím bublinku na moje televize s mym kamaradm Jeremy" meaning, I cook bubbles on my television with my friend Jeremy.
On Sunday, Dave came to church with us and helped out in the service. Jan was speaking about what happens when there are walls in your life and Jeremy and Dave played catch with a football and did not let me play to demonstrate that walls in relationships are bad. After church we played floor hockey with some kids from the church enjoyed a meal in the church.
Sunday afternoon we showed Dave around Policka and then headed to Prague, where we would spent the night, and show him around the next day. It was nice having Dave stay with us, even if it were only for a few days. Policka is wonderful, but it was nice to have a friend from home come and visit. We stayed up late each night talking about Policka and Oxford (Dave is studying there for a semester), reminissing about Waynesburg, talking about football, hockey, music, books, and what ever else came to mind. Needless to say it was great having Dave here and we were sad to see him leave.
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