It's already been a week since our last update and, as always, we have had so many adventures! This past weekend we stayed here in Prague and were able to relax a bit, see the Castle Museum ("required" homework for our Art and Architecture class...), and celebrate one of our friends' birthdays. On Sunday we connected again with Fred and Kelly Prudek, our missionary friends, and went with them to a small town about 1/2 hour outside of Prague. We had such a great time catching up with them and the drive through the countryside was really beautiful. The congregation we attended was a small church plant of attended by about 20 once a month. One of the great things was that Fred preached in English and then it was translated into Czech so we were able to hear it in both languages! Our ears perked up when we all started singing "Come, now is the time to worship..." as well- we joined in English when we couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words in Czech. Afterwards we used our very limited Czech vocabulary and spoke with a few of the members who knew bits of English. Although we are completely lost whenever Czech is spoken in sentences, it's really fun to have those moments where we can pick out some words or phrases we recognize.
After church, we went on a driving tour through some small towns, ate lunch, and bought tickets for a train ride home (Fred and Kelly had more to do there that afternoon). It was our first train ride experience and it involved a lot of guesswork. Fortunately, we guessed the right train to take us to Prague, UNfortunately, we got off on the wrong stop! However, we soon found a metro stop and from there were able to get back to Kobylisy to our apartment without further ado.
Although we've really enjoyed getting to know the other students here in the flats and in our classes, we all have noted that many of them are study abroad students from the US as well. We were pretty surprised that we didn't have more interaction with students from other countries. However, our roommate Eva from Austria has been so much fun to get to know! Last night she invited a few of her friends over, some that we had previously met, and made us all some traditional Austrian food (pork and dumplings) for supper. We found ourselves hanging out with students from Poland, Germany, Finland, and Italy- it was so much fun! Not to mention the food was great...
Well I really enjoy telling all about what we've done, and I could go on and on, but instead I decided to write down a little list to fill you in on some random things that we experienced, or that we have been learning, on our adventures.
A List of Random Things
*Don't stand by a street with potholes when it's raining, when cars drive by they have the capability of splashing large amounts of water all over you- it doesn't just happen in the movies
*Tex-Mex food in Europe is good, but its strange to hear a Texan accent in the middle of Prague
*Don't try to buy dry baking ingredients by the look of the package, you may end up with cornmeal instead of sugar
*It's necessary to plan ahead and leave early if you want to be on time, the trams don't wait
*Milk labels here are different and its good to know what the difference is between 1.5% and 3.5% before you head to the grocery store (3.5% is almost cream)
*Small differences in pronunciation or spelling can make a huge difference in the meaning of a word, don't take it personally when people laugh at you and your attempt at language
*Always have your tram pass on you, because the guys with badges really do want to see them
*When in doubt, wear extra layers- its a lot different to stand in the cold for 15 mins. as opposed to a 3 hour tour
*Getting lost is one of the best ways to become familiar with the area, you never know what interesting things you'll stumble across
*When you order coffee, don't expect "regular drip" coffee, its much stronger than you expect it to be... side note: we are now addicted to it
*Never underestimate the importance of a neighborhood Potraviny (small grocery store), they're good for last minute groceries- especially when you have 4 girls sharing a small refrigerator
*On that note, it is possible for 4 girls to share a 6 ft. x 5 ft. bathroom
The list gets longer every day...
To finish up, I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! My birthday was such a relaxing, fun day and I was so blessed by everyone's thoughts, prayers, notes, and gifts. I felt so loved!
Well I'm going to sign off here, we're headed to complete another Art and Architecture assignment this afternoon by visiting a very old part of town called Vysehrad. Hope you are all having a fantastic week! Miss you!
Laura
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