the down low low down: June 2006

Why Europe Rocks: Reason #14

I can't believe I ate the whole wedding!

(note: the above photo is not from Monika's wedding, it's from my fake camp wedding with 19 year old Jirka.)

Our former roommate Monika got married in April, and Lucka and I were invited for the WHOLE wedding...not just the actual ceremony, but the whole day with a select group of friends and family. Before I went, everyone asked, "Are you going to be at the WHOLE wedding?" and when I responded in the affirmative, they said, "There's so much food!"

Okay, like...I guess I just didn't take them seriously. However, as soon as Lucka and I got to Monika's parents' house, the truth of that started to sink in. It's 8:30, and they hustle us upstairs for breakfast, which is a huge spread of danishes, breads, cold cuts and cheeses and sausages and spreads and a huge bowl of goulash. After a while (after the groom comes and "finds" the bride and "pays" for her, it's cool) we all go the church. After the ceremony (which anyone can go to) we who are invited for the WHOLE wedding pile into cars and go to the reception place. We get there, and on the table are chips, nuts, cookies and little dishes with salad. After the bread and salad came the soup, after the soup came these big pastry wrapped chicken breasts with gravy and potatoes and...okay, that was still okay. I ate the WHOLE plate and even some cookies. But I was full. But I conquered (I thought).

Then I was talking to one of the other guests, and he said, "You know there's still more food, right?" So when he said that, I smiled smugly and said yes, I know (because we hadn't had cake yet, right?) But, in Czech the word for "food" and the word for "meal" are the same: jidlo. After the cake, we played some more games around the table, and then I realized that he meant the OTHER jidlo. When the waitresses brought out plates of pork chops with gravy and three piles of rice I almost felt angry. I managed to get down all the rice and half the pork chop...that's when I looked up from my plate at the man across from me. He'd polished off his food and was popping those little fancy sugary cookies into his mouth. I felt my stomach lurch so I excused myself and went outside for fresh air, trying to put all thoughts of food far behind me.

After all of that, we all played more games and Luc and I left before the big buffet appeared. Now, when people ask me how the wedding was, I say, "It was beautiful, Monika looked gorgeous--but there's so much FOOD!"

Labels: wer

summertime...and the livin's easy: my summer schedule

May 30--Interns arrive in Prague
May 30-June1--Amazing Race
June 1-7--Intern Training at Malenovice
June 9-11--Sumperk English camp prep weekend
June 17-18--Visiting Sumperk with Ania and Natalka
June 21-27--With Brad's team
June 28-July 8--Sumperk training & camp
July 12-22--Cesky Tesin training & camp
July 26-August 5--Pisek training & camp
August 7-11--Intern debriefing in Prague
August 9--Mom, Aunt Barb and Aunt Sandy fly into Prague!!!! :) Yay!!! Ten days of fun and mayhem!!!
August 26--Romama and Pichal's wedding

Labels: whom it may concern

the interns are here! the interns are here!

Summer intern training was held at Malenovice from June 1-7. Teams serving in Czech, Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia spent all week diving into the book of Philippians, learning about cross cultural ministry and sharing Christ...and dancing and singing, right right.

The Czech intern girls getting to know each other...from the left: Bethany, Klara, Breanne, Erin, Denisa, Jitka, Bonnie, Cassie, Ericka, Whitney, Lucka, Rachel, Romana, me.

the amazing race

This year, as soon as the JV summer interns hit Prague, they were sent out in teams to start the amazing race. After going to multiple locations around Prague and learning some Czech history, they were then quizzed on Old Town Square and had to race to complete a puzzle. The next day, country teams competed against each other to find locations and people and then got on a train to Olomouc, where the teams had to find their lodging for the night. The next day, they completed more tasks in Olomouc, including rafting and eating big plates of stinky cheese (tvarusky). After that they raced to hotel Malenovice by train, taxi, foot to find the goal: Dave Patty. Way to go Gavin and Nate for making the whole thing happen!!!

Mel and Amy in traditional (Eastern) Czech dress greeted the interns at the airport singing a remix version of "Good King Wenceslaus," the interns' first clue in the amazing race.