Day 9
Day 9: 1/9/09
Jak se mata?
We had our first official Czech language lesson. The teacher came in and immediately started speaking Czech, writing vocabulary on the board and expecting us to answer. Hand motions and other things helped as she guided us to say the right things. I don't remember much but 'jak se mate' is an official 'how are you?' and shpalte is bad, dobry is good.
I didn't realize it a couple days ago but I was feeling a little down cause I had a slight case of homesickness. Nothing to worry about, just a natural first big time far away from home for a while. Either that, or the grass really is always greener on the other side. I do miss all my friends and yes, even you.
The scenery here is great though. To walk around a corner and come to a tower older than the US is still so surreal to me. The snow is gone from all of the streets and sidewalks. It still lingers in some parts of the city: rooftops in shadow, parks, underneath benches, etc. Even with yesterday's weather getting up to six degrees, some parts of the city still have snow. (That's six degrees Celsius for those having a panic attack for my comfort.)
The culture also is different. The overcrowded supermarket, Tesco, is a superb example. Inside the store, near the doors, a German Shepherd was tied to a pole, patiently waiting for its shopping master. Why can't we do that in America? In a pub, a little tiny dog was scampering around the bar stools, sniffing everything. But back to Tesco. It's so crowded people may push past each other in the skinny aisles with their tiny shopping carts or baskets without saying a word. Which is kinda nice for me cause this way I can follow a crowd into an aisle I want and not fumble around with my limited Czech vocabulary. But the Czech lesson did help my confidence. I didn't use any of the words, but I feel like I may actually survive over here.
We had almost everyone over and played some games and had a great time. I finally got to bed around one which may not sound too late for most people but I'm used to a early to bed, late to rise routine.
Jak se mata?
We had our first official Czech language lesson. The teacher came in and immediately started speaking Czech, writing vocabulary on the board and expecting us to answer. Hand motions and other things helped as she guided us to say the right things. I don't remember much but 'jak se mate' is an official 'how are you?' and shpalte is bad, dobry is good.
I didn't realize it a couple days ago but I was feeling a little down cause I had a slight case of homesickness. Nothing to worry about, just a natural first big time far away from home for a while. Either that, or the grass really is always greener on the other side. I do miss all my friends and yes, even you.
The scenery here is great though. To walk around a corner and come to a tower older than the US is still so surreal to me. The snow is gone from all of the streets and sidewalks. It still lingers in some parts of the city: rooftops in shadow, parks, underneath benches, etc. Even with yesterday's weather getting up to six degrees, some parts of the city still have snow. (That's six degrees Celsius for those having a panic attack for my comfort.)
The culture also is different. The overcrowded supermarket, Tesco, is a superb example. Inside the store, near the doors, a German Shepherd was tied to a pole, patiently waiting for its shopping master. Why can't we do that in America? In a pub, a little tiny dog was scampering around the bar stools, sniffing everything. But back to Tesco. It's so crowded people may push past each other in the skinny aisles with their tiny shopping carts or baskets without saying a word. Which is kinda nice for me cause this way I can follow a crowd into an aisle I want and not fumble around with my limited Czech vocabulary. But the Czech lesson did help my confidence. I didn't use any of the words, but I feel like I may actually survive over here.
We had almost everyone over and played some games and had a great time. I finally got to bed around one which may not sound too late for most people but I'm used to a early to bed, late to rise routine.
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