Ahoj. :-P

Time for another update... well, past time, but sometimes life gets busy (and I confess sometimes I also am just lazy). I have not been out of Praha since my last update but I think I still have some interesting things to talk about. I have definitely done a lot of historical "sight seeing" around Praha lately and those things are worth mentioning. :-)

The past 2 weekends I have done a lot of Praha-venturing, and some additional during the week. For you nerdy and music people... I went to the National Museum a couple of weeks ago, which was really interesting. Its been 40 years since 1968 when the Russians came blasting in to Czechoslovakia (which no longer exists yo. :-P) to silence the new surge of "Communism with a human face"... a violent time in this area, people being gunned down by tanks right in Wenceslas Square. So there was a lot of information on that on display at the museum, and videos playing, and it was fascinating and horrifying and heart-wrenching. Kosťa was with me and he related a story of his grandfather shouting at the passing tanks in the countryside, at the very risk to his own life... apparently a Russian gestured back to him from the tank, moving his hand across his neck meaning "silence or you die". Also there was a display about Jan Palach, a student who burned himself to death in protest of the communism in 1968. He is memorialized on the square and some see him as a hero... but here is a "thinking" question... what did his self-destruction cause for the greater good? Yes, he sent a powerful message... but perhaps his life could have benefited the cause more than his gruesome death?

The museum also had many displays of rocks and minerals (found one from El Paso County, CO!), of animals of all species (I enjoyed this...) and of the more "ancient" and prehistoric peoples who lived in Czech Republic and Slovakia. All of that was incredibly fascinating to see. If you are in Praha, GO to this museum. SO worth the effort, and the building itself is gorgeous--it was built only by donations of people and businesses in the Czechoslovakian times of ČR.

This one is for the music people. I visited the Bedrich Smetana Museum, which is located right near Charles Bridge on the Vltava river. It was a great little museum, and included original scores (including from Má Vlast [My Country]), notes he wrote to people, programs from his concerts, even a piano he once played. Very cool. Pics on photobucket. I also had the pleasure, the previous weekend, of attending a concert at the Church of St. Nicholas in Malá Strana (VERY beautiful church...) of a performance of Dvořák's Requiem (Opus 68 I think? I dont have a program since they werent free :-( ). The performance in the vast (although chilly...) cathedral was amazing, about 100 solid minutes of orchestra and voice combining to commemorate the many-centuries anniversary of the murderous death of St. Wenceslas (Václav). You will have heard his name in a popular Christmas carol. :-)

Speaking of St. Václav, I had the opportunity of finding a unique painting of him on Old Town Square, which you will see to the right. It depicts Václav riding his horse gallantly, and above him, the hand of God reaches down as if blessing the famous Czech ruler and saint.

This weekend I also got to see the beautiful autumn colors of Petřín Hill, one of my new favorite places here. It is near to the castle, and at the top is a tower which somewhat mimics the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We climbed up this hill, which was a bit exhausting (considering how much walking we did that day...) and enjoyed autumn leaves crackling in the wind and falling around us. We observed the "Hungry" or "Bread" wall, constructed during the reign of Charles IV (I think), by peasants in dire need of bread... so rather than give free handouts, the king gave them a job to do. This wall is pretty magnificent and interesting. Once you pass through it there are lovely parks and gardens. You also can go in the direction of the castle and visit Stráhov monastary, which I would like to do sometime.

Also I saw again the Cathedral of St. Vitus. Very beautiful in my opinion, though the fun is taken away somewhat due to the heavy amount of tourists. Also, to my great disappointment, the Cathedral tower was closed for maintenance reasons. :-( I was pretty disappointed, because I had been looking forward to seeing Prague Autumn from the top. Shoot. But I got to see (however uncomfortably due to the thick crowd) the lavishly decorated chapel of St. Wenceslas, and beautiful stained glass windows, and my favorite, the lovely light glimmering on the walls from said windows--the little things are most beautiful. :-)

Other than that... most of my time here has been school, honestly. I have gone to a few Nation2Nation parties but never for long... the thick crowds of drinking, smoking people in a club do not suit me. The last party I went to I observed a drinking game hosted by the Russians (their turn to host that night) which made me ill, and involved people drinking WAY too many shots of vodka. I could not stay the entire game because it made me queasy. I just pray that the people I am here with realize that getting drunk usually has consequences which are not so desireable.

I have gotten to spend a little more time with people in the program here, which has been a benefit of sticking around Praha more. I got to go shopping with a girl from Canada the other day. She is nice, however a bit pessimistic which was frustrating. I need to get better at relating to people who are very different from me... it doesnt mean we cant get along, this I am learning, but I am not often sure of the best way to communicate. The people I know express very strong opinions about things that are quite opposite of what I think and I am often too scared to say anything against them for fear of being ridiculed. Usually this relates to politics, in which many of my fellow students are better educated than I am (some even poli-sci majors) and I get intimidated. I have not gotten to spend any more real time with my buddy or my friend Kuba, which has been disappointing. I hope Kuba may go on the trip this weekend to Karlštejn Castle, and some others (including my Canadian friend) are going. In a couple of weeks I will spend the weekend in České Budějovice, my buddy's hometown. It will be challenging but hopefully a good opportunity to get to know her better (finally!)¨

So I guess this update doesn't have much in the way of "wow look what God is doing!" news, but I hope it has been interesting. I know He is still moving here but I confess it is easy to be repressed by spiritual darkness here that I can feel really strongly some days. Especially since NO ONE in my program are Christians. Most of my exposure to Him comes on Sundays at church. Please pray that I have the discipline and desire to fervently seek Him all week long in an environment which is devoid of His praise and worship. He is why I am here, He is what matters, He is why I want to come back... please please pray I remember this day in and day out and wake up with praises on my tongue...

Oh and PS: I have one set interview for an English teaching job in vsetín on the 25th of October, and I just got an email today from a school in Brno that I have been in touch with, and I will soon be meeting the director of that school as well to discuss employment opportunities for next year. :-) So that's a bit exciting for me.