měla jsem zaneprazdněná...

Ahoj,

Well I have been very busy the past 3 weeks to say the least. So I apologize for not updating much lately! I will post new photos on my photobucket album (Praha Fall 08) hopefully this evening before bed, if not surely tomorrow morning (while most of you sleep :-) ). I won't attempt to write everything that has happened in 3 weeks here but will tell you some highlights. :-)

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go with my buddy, Lucie, to her hometown of České Budějovice (Chesk-eh Bud-yeh-yo-veet-seh). this is about a 2 hour bus ride south of Prague. Lucie and her boyfriend, Zdeněk, took me the afternoon of our arrival to Český Krumlov, a small but very unique and historic town about 30 minutes away from České Budějovice. This town is a UNESCO site, which says a lot, and it is incredibly beautiful with a lot of interesting history and great preservation. It reminds me somewhat of Prague in its architecture, because you can see many different periods represented in just the castle itself. Enjoy the photos on photobucket. :-) Lucie also showed me parts of České Budějovice like the city centre and its 13th century "black tower" and the Vltava river (this river goes also through Český Krumlov and Praha!) and a beautiful castle in a nearby village called Hluboká (nad Vltavou, or above the Vltava River). This castle seriously looks like something out of a fairy tale and I love it. :-) Many Czech celebrities have their weddings there. It was particularly nice in the fall colors everywhere. I enjoyed hanging out with Lucie, Zdeněk, Lucie's mom, and their cocker spaniel Kím. :-) We watched a lot of Czech TV (man that helps you learn to listen...) and even played Czech scrabble which was REALLY hard! But I want to try it again anyway. :-)

School has picked up a lot lately too, and all of a sudden I find I actually have work to do! The professors were sketchy about our papers for a few weeks since it was early in the semester but now I have become incredibly busy because I have 3 papers due within the next 5 weeks! The first in only 2 weeks from today! Ahhh! So I will be working a lot in my evenings now. :-) It is good for me. But if I have a difficult updating much for the remainder of the semester please forgive me. I will post when I can and add additional things upon my return to Colorado.

For those of you interested in what happens to me next, I have a semester of student teaching in Colorado Springs before me. Scary but I am getting a little excited about it because I think I will learn a lot and it will be a great and fun experience. Then... :-) I hope to take a TEFL course in Colorado and enjoy the first part of summer with family and friends. In July I hope to come back to Czech... indefinitely. :-) I interviewed a few weeks ago for a job teaching English in Vsetín, a small city in South Moravia with surroundings that remind me of Colorado in their beauty (sans the snow-capped mountains. :-( gotta go south or west for those...). I have been officially offered that job and its highly probable that I will accept it. I interviewed for another position in Brno this week so I am praying about these options before making a final decision. Please join me in praying, and especially about the visa! Visas for Americans to come and work here are very tedious, so for this school (http://www.edcentre.cz/) to hire me says they are willing to take a time-and financial-risk. I hope to have this decision made by the beginning of December. I am soo excited though either way! The Lord is truly providing some doors that I did not expect at all. :-) This open door to return helps motivate me to truly get involved more here now that I can say I am returning almost for sure.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention about the trip to Karlštejn. :-) Thats a really cool castle as well, its worth the 40 minute train ride from Praha Main train station. I was a bit disappointed in some ways though. In my history class we learned a lot about this castle and the way it is designed and special places inside. The only guided tour, which we went on, does not go to the very best places. :-( I am sure this is more for security, but buying a postcard of the coolest room that you didnt even get to see is a bit disappointing. But i met some really nice people on this trip and had a good time with my North American friends Judy and Sarah. It was a pretty chilly day and when we arrived the castle was enshrouded in mist, which revealed it periodically. :-) That was awesome. This is the kind of experience which makes history interesting for me, when its alive, all around you, and right under your feet. :-)

No other real news right now... please pray for my return this December, not only is it going to be a bit difficult to say goodbye to CZ again (even knowing I will return soon more than likely...) there are also some details about my return that are somewhat problematic right now. I will not elaborate but please just pray that God would take care of these things in the way He sees best. That I will trust in Him to take care of me and whats best for me and His will despite how circumstances may appear. I have learned that circumstances can be quite different than they seem.

Pray for this beautiful country and its people... such a tumultuous past in regards to the presence of Christianity (i intentionally say Christianity rather than Christ)... people in need of a Savior just as anywhere else in the world but with a past more complicated in this regard than many places worldwide.

Thanks so much for your prayers and emails, they mean the world to me. Looking forward to seeing you all again for the holidays!