Spring time thoughts.

Birds have been chirping and the sun has been shining for about a week now. It is really unbelievable how fast it all changed: one week it was snowy and blustery, the next I was walking around with just a t-shirt on.

I never thought of myself as one whose emotional stability was dictated by the weather, but this year I began to see it differently. As the winter drug on and the snow kept on piling up, my mood would progressively deteriorate. I believe that part of the problem was the fact that I was unable to be physically active, because unlike in the United States, there really aren't very many options for sport/exercise during the winter. Many Czechs go cross-country skiing and ice skating, which is absolutely fantastic and fun, but when you have neither of those at your disposal, you begin to get a little stir-crazy. The lack of sunlight, I'm sure, was also a factor in producing "grumpy-I'm-sick-of-winter Jeremy." Consequently, I feel a tad reborn, which is fitting, for Spring time is the season for blooming, birthing, resurrecting ( the Holy kind) and frolicking.


Knowing that the weather in Policka can be fickle, I have intentionally gotten outside and been active. I have found a small blessing in doing this: the students in my classes are eager to spend time with me outside of the Church setting. I have received initiations to bike ride, to run and to play sports. Just this morning, I went with one of my adult students (Vlada Gracias) on a 15 km (9 mile) run through the Czech forest; it was absolutely fantastic ( I must admit that I was surprised I can still run 9 miles). And on Saturday I went cycling with a close friend, Petr Kluson, to the Castle at Svojanov, 35 km. WHEW!

The Easter season has hit the Czech Republic and I am quite excited to see their traditions. Many Czechs really do not associate the holiday with its Christian roots, but instead look towards the 'spring time' celebration of smacking girls with braided willow branches (pomlazka). The Monday after Easter Sunday is famous in this country, as men/boys go around to the houses of their female friends with their willow-branch switch in hand. A knock on the door signals to many women that their time has come to be beaten. OK, it's not really a 'beating' but a little traditional tap on the legs, but as you can imagine, it is usually their posteriors that hurt the most when the day has concluded. Anyways, in return for their "spanking", women give the boys decorated eggs and the men alcohol. This might sound crazy to you, and in reality, it is a little strange; drunken men going door to door with braided switches hitting women on their butts is not exactly the definition of a family celebration. But, not all is lost for the women: it is said that the taps/smacks from the pomlazka are said to ensure that the women will have health and, of course, fertility; after all, this is Spring!

Needless to say, I will enjoy Monday. I will laugh heartily as our Czech friends come to the door to smack Jamie for health and fertility (not too much fertility).

Don't worry I will be sure to take some pictures.

Oh, and I made my own pomlazka, so I might be going around to "visit" some of my female Czech friends as well...

Also, Jamie and I will be taking a two-day trip to the Moravian city of Olomouc. Olomouc is a college town of about 100,000 inhabitants (half of which are students). It is the traditional capital of the Moravian kingdom and boasts not one, but TWO old-town squares; many people say that it is what Prague looked like before the tourist explosion of the 1990s. We will be sure to take some pictures and post them on the blog upon our return.