Every morning, I have declard that Heidi and I will spend a few minutes in "Smile Meditation." This means: In the morning, I turn on a happy song (Soul Sister by Train, Somewhere of the Rainbow by Brotha Iz, Circle of Life from the Lion King, anything Casting Crowns or Kanye West, etc.), and Heidi and sit on the floor sans shoes and SMILE for the whole song. In case you are wondering, yes, at first it hurts your face to smile for three to five minutes. BUT if you do it enough, you'll have strong cheek muscles. Heidi and I have the strongest faces!
I have read that when you do smile meditation you are supposed to "smile in your liver." I love this image. I joked and asked Heidi on the first morning we were smiling (or more accurately - while our cheeks were spasming), "Heidi, are you smiling in your kidneys?" Usually, she and I end up giggling at each other.
After a couple of weeks smile meditation, I am a complete convert and believer. Taking a few minutes out to greet the morning with smiles is a wonderful way to begin the day.
Two weeks ago, we had a three day weekend because we were celebrating the end of first semester and the beginning of the second. Heidi, Rachel and I decided to go to Krakow, Poland and see the salt mines and the dragon for the weekend. On Friday, we left Tisovec and stopped in Cieszyn at the halfway point to spend the night with our Polish teacher friends Colleen and Sarah. We had a fabulous time.
The next morning, I was the first to wake up. I hopped in the shower, and then woke Heidi up so she could get ready. By the time Rachel was in the shower, I was eating breakfast with Colleen when suddenly, I realized that I had to pee very badly. When Rachel was done, I scrambled into the bathroom, and sat down on the toilet, and nothing happened. I have never experienced this before. I realized that something was probably wrong with my plumbing. Even though I was uncomfortable, I wasn't in any pain. Perplexed, I explained what was going on to the girls, then I packed my stuff up and walked with them across down to the bus station so that we could go to Krakow.
By the time we walked across town, I folded from an erect standing position to a ninety degree angle. I had broken out into a cold sweat and I was in serious pain. There was no way I was going to be able to sit on the bus for three hours let alone spend the weekend exploring Krakow. I decided to stay in Cieszyn. After Colleen and I saw the girls off, we headed to Kauflands for cranberry juice. Buying cranberry juice in Central Europe is tricky. Neither Colleen nor I knew the Polish word for "cranberry" and there were no pictures of cranberries on the juice cartons. Most small towns (like Tisovec) do not even sell cranberry juice. I was thankful Colleen lived in a larger city. I left the guesswork and purchasing to Colleen and opted for sitting in the Kauflands bathroom for about fifteen minutes hoping to urinate. I definitely got my twenty cents worth out of that trip to the bathroom.
After Kauflands, we stopped by an apteka (a pharmacy). Colleen rocked the apteka. When we walked in, she said to the woman behind the counter, "Mam (I have) ona (she)," and then whipped out her phrasebook and said the Polish word for urinary tract infection. The woman took one look at me and immediately understood. She brought three different boxes of medication back to the counter and began explaining the particulars to me in Polish. I understood none of it. So, when she was done, I pointed to the first box. "Dobsha?" I asked. (Good?) I did the same thing with the second and third boxes. Each time the woman nodded. Then, I asked, "Dobsha, DOBSHA?" and shrugged my shoulders with the question. (Which one is good GOOD or the best?) The woman pointed to the third box. "Tak," I said. YES. That's the one I wanted.
When we got home, Colleen (my best friend on this continent)brought me cranberry juice and medicine while I sat doubled over on her toilet for a couple of hours. She also spent time on google's translator so that we knew more about the medication I was taking. All we learned was that this medication could be taken in conjunction with anitbiotics and that I could have anywhere from 2 to 6 pills a day. I had six pills that day. During this time, Sarah spent time with WebMD (my doctor away from home). We decided that my symptoms best matched a UTI, a kidney stone and some scary bladder syndrome. We all banked on the UTI.
At this point, some of you may be wondering why I didn't go to the hospital/doctor. The answer is: Doctors are scary in Central Europe. The nurses do not always even have a secondary education (although this is changing now that Slovakia is part of the European Union). Doctors prescribe bizarre medications, and some of them clearly do not know what they are doing. The American teachers here have had some pretty questionable experiences with doctors. Usually, we avoid people in the medical profession at all costs. Colleen and I made an agreement that if either she or I thought that I needed to go to the doctor, we would go to the hospital in Cieszyn and hope that we could find someone to translate for us. We also had Katka's mother on our reserve list. (Katka is one of my brightest third years, and her mother is a physician a few towns away from Tisovec. I felt confident that she would be a good doctor to see.)
I was miserable for about 24 hours. It turns out that I had a kidney stone. As soon as I passed that sucker I felt immediate relief. I was exhausted for the next week, but I guess that's what happens when you pass a kidney stone on cranberry juice and tylenol.
I am now feeling much, much better. I must, however, add a disclaimer about smile meditation: Smiling in your kidneys may cause trouble. Do not smile so hard that your kidneys smile. I think it causes them stress.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Reflections on January - Part 2
This might shock some of you, but a couple of years ago, my mother nicknamed me "the tornado." (I have no idea why!) Perhaps I earned this moniker because I am only happy when I am moving. Perhaps it's because she says that whenever I enter the room, the volume increased by several decibal units. (She also says that when I leave the room she has a new appreciation for silence.)
I guess in that vein, I must issue the disclaimer that I am constantly looking to challenge myself. In the light (or in Slovakia, the lack of light) in the New Year, I have several goals to work towards.
1. To practice meditation.
I have been doing a lot of reading on meditative practices, yoga and contemplative prayer, and I am working towards being still. (Tornado? HA!) Usually, I begin my mornings with sun salutations, and then tackle meditation. Sometimes I listen to Gregorian chant, sometimes I pray the rosary. Often, I use breath prayers and prayer chants to center myself. I am not going to say that meditation is not an uphill battle, but I am enjoying stretching myself.
2. To brush up on my Spanish and continue to absorb the Slovak around me.
For those of you who do not know, I am going to be serving in Alto Cayma, Peru next year. Because of this, I have had to uncover, dust off, and - in some cases - learn anew Spanish. So, along with reviewing vocabulary and verb conjugations, journaling in Spanish and reading Spanish newspapers for my daily news fix, I have also ordered Twilight in espanol. Hopefully, this will be a fun way to study the language.
As for Slovak, I have to say this language is absolutely crazy. Slovak has completely different verb tenses. It lacks articles ("a," "an," and "the"), and it is difficult to pronounce. Still, I am learning a lot more Slovak than I thought I would. I didn't realize how much I had learned until I was in Italy and opened my mouth to speak and Slovak started coming out. I am by no means as fluent as a four year old; however, I can get by in most situations. I tell my students that I have Slovak "in my heart." They usually just laugh at me while I butcher their language.
3. To find positive energy and bring it home.
Post-communist Slovakia in the wintertime is depressing. It's frigid and bleak outside. At winter solstice, we were averaging 7-8 hours of sun a day. (Most of that time was spent indoors at school.) Also, now that I have been in Slovakia for six months, I have a new appreciation for the communist cancer that infected this society. While Slovakia, is certainly in remission, the scars of communism are very present. People in Slovakia are satisfied with the status quo. Most of the people I have encountered want to do as little as possible to get by. In fact, there are a good number of people who will proudly announce to you that they are lazy. They wear their laziness as a badge of honor and as a shield against challenge and hard work. To be fair, this is certainly not true of everyone in Slovakia; however, there is a strong majority of people who prefer complacency. Unfortuantely, those who are turned-on and inspired often leave the country because there are better opportunities in Western Europe. (This is referred to as the "brain drain" - anyone who could work towards change in Slovakia ends up leaving.)
The American teachers have struggled with complacency in students. We have grown up in a society that stresses achievement and hard work. It is often difficult to relate to people who simply don't care.
It is interesting to note that there is a growing population of people who have said they would rather live under communism than democracy. They reflect upon the "good ole days" when everyone earned the same amount of money regardless of their work ethic and habits. Slovakia will have elections in June, and it will be interested to see which parties end up being elected to lead the nation.
Because of all of this, I have decided that Heidi and I are going to feng shui the house. We have learned, read, and ANNOTATED notes about chi, flow, compass directions, and more. We are conscious of circulating the air in our flat (opening window - even if it's below zero). We are also conscious of the lighting and colors in our house. There is no longer a mirror facing our beds. We have eliminated clutter and are working towards incorporating specific colors for different locations in our home. We are also conscious of being positive about what we say and think when we are frustrated with Slovakia. Who knows? Feng Shui/Thinking Positively seems to be working : ).
I guess in that vein, I must issue the disclaimer that I am constantly looking to challenge myself. In the light (or in Slovakia, the lack of light) in the New Year, I have several goals to work towards.
1. To practice meditation.
I have been doing a lot of reading on meditative practices, yoga and contemplative prayer, and I am working towards being still. (Tornado? HA!) Usually, I begin my mornings with sun salutations, and then tackle meditation. Sometimes I listen to Gregorian chant, sometimes I pray the rosary. Often, I use breath prayers and prayer chants to center myself. I am not going to say that meditation is not an uphill battle, but I am enjoying stretching myself.
2. To brush up on my Spanish and continue to absorb the Slovak around me.
For those of you who do not know, I am going to be serving in Alto Cayma, Peru next year. Because of this, I have had to uncover, dust off, and - in some cases - learn anew Spanish. So, along with reviewing vocabulary and verb conjugations, journaling in Spanish and reading Spanish newspapers for my daily news fix, I have also ordered Twilight in espanol. Hopefully, this will be a fun way to study the language.
As for Slovak, I have to say this language is absolutely crazy. Slovak has completely different verb tenses. It lacks articles ("a," "an," and "the"), and it is difficult to pronounce. Still, I am learning a lot more Slovak than I thought I would. I didn't realize how much I had learned until I was in Italy and opened my mouth to speak and Slovak started coming out. I am by no means as fluent as a four year old; however, I can get by in most situations. I tell my students that I have Slovak "in my heart." They usually just laugh at me while I butcher their language.
3. To find positive energy and bring it home.
Post-communist Slovakia in the wintertime is depressing. It's frigid and bleak outside. At winter solstice, we were averaging 7-8 hours of sun a day. (Most of that time was spent indoors at school.) Also, now that I have been in Slovakia for six months, I have a new appreciation for the communist cancer that infected this society. While Slovakia, is certainly in remission, the scars of communism are very present. People in Slovakia are satisfied with the status quo. Most of the people I have encountered want to do as little as possible to get by. In fact, there are a good number of people who will proudly announce to you that they are lazy. They wear their laziness as a badge of honor and as a shield against challenge and hard work. To be fair, this is certainly not true of everyone in Slovakia; however, there is a strong majority of people who prefer complacency. Unfortuantely, those who are turned-on and inspired often leave the country because there are better opportunities in Western Europe. (This is referred to as the "brain drain" - anyone who could work towards change in Slovakia ends up leaving.)
The American teachers have struggled with complacency in students. We have grown up in a society that stresses achievement and hard work. It is often difficult to relate to people who simply don't care.
It is interesting to note that there is a growing population of people who have said they would rather live under communism than democracy. They reflect upon the "good ole days" when everyone earned the same amount of money regardless of their work ethic and habits. Slovakia will have elections in June, and it will be interested to see which parties end up being elected to lead the nation.
Because of all of this, I have decided that Heidi and I are going to feng shui the house. We have learned, read, and ANNOTATED notes about chi, flow, compass directions, and more. We are conscious of circulating the air in our flat (opening window - even if it's below zero). We are also conscious of the lighting and colors in our house. There is no longer a mirror facing our beds. We have eliminated clutter and are working towards incorporating specific colors for different locations in our home. We are also conscious of being positive about what we say and think when we are frustrated with Slovakia. Who knows? Feng Shui/Thinking Positively seems to be working : ).
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Reflections on January - Part 1
With the end of January came the end of my first semester teaching. As a teacher, I have learned more than I could ever imagine. I have certainly learned more than my students! The end of the semester was particularly challenging because we had to turn in first semester grades. This was my first experience giving grades that "count" towards a transcript, a univerity, a future, etc. This was almost my first experience dealing with irate students, parents and class teachers. After "Marks Week" was over, I was convinced that I was not cut out for teaching.
My classes are not easy; however, I do everything in my power to help students succeed in class. Because my religion class must be taught for content but also in English, my students are tested twice: through their English abilities and on mastery of class content. I am very aware of this fact. Some of my students really struggle with English and this limits their ability to understand and retain information given during lectures and through assignments. I have learned to speak SLOWLY (I know that's hard to believe!). I also give each student a comprehensive study guide with fifty or so possible test questions on it a week before the test. Essentially the study guide covers everything we have discovered in class. The students have a week to complete it, and we have a review session the class before a test. For many of my gifted students, class is easy - but interestingly enough, because they see the same material THREE times (lecture, study guide and review), they remember most of what we have learned. Most of my students rocked the cumulative exam. Unfortunately, some of my students bombed it. When asked them what happened, almost all of them admitted to me that they did not study. This is a problem. (On each study guide I write: "Please study hard so that you will do well. If you do not study hard, you will probably not do well." On each test I write: "Ziaci, if you have studied, you will do very well! If you have not studied, I wish you the best of luck.")
For your information, here is the assigned grading scale for religon classes:
90 - 100 = 1
78 - 89 = 2
64 - 76 = 3
50 - 63 = 4
0 - 49 = 5
It has taken me a while to adjust to the fact that a mastery of only 50% of a particular class is passing; however, education is Slovakia is radically different than in the United States.
After I posted grades, I was flabbergasted to discover that some of my students wanted me to change their grades. "Ms. Large, can you give me a four?" they asked. I frowned at them asked them if they thought grades fell from the sky. Then I explained to them that teachers do not give grades. Students earn them. There was nothing that I could do to change their grades. Then, I walked them through their grades - the fact that they did not turn in homework, projects, etc. I wanted them to see that they had legitimately earned a particular grade. Sadly, the fact that I would not change a student's grade angered students, parents and their class teachers. You see for most people, religion class is not considered an academic subject at EGT, and it is embarrassing to receive a grade below a 2. For most of that week and into the next, people across the board were pretty upset with me. Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose.
Once I got back into the "teaching routine" with my students, I felt much better about teaching in general. I love being in the classroom. My new students and I have completed our first two weeks together, and we seem to be doing very well. I have new faces and new names to learn, and it is much easier matching the two this time around because I know how to pronounce everyone's names! I am also excited to have the opportunity to do everything over again - all the lessons, the journals, the tests, etc. This gives me the change to tweak, improve, and measure how I have grown as a teacher after six months.
In other news, the head of the religion department will be in the United States for two months beginning next week. I will be teaching three of her first year classes and a fifth year seminar in addition to my regular class load each week. I am a little nervous about 25 hours of class a week; however, it needs to be done. I realized yesterday that by the end of the year, I will have taught every student at EGT - except for about 15 first years and 30 fifth years! How cool is that?
This semester will fly by, and before I know time will have taken off ahead of me and I will be hopping on a plane to head home.
My classes are not easy; however, I do everything in my power to help students succeed in class. Because my religion class must be taught for content but also in English, my students are tested twice: through their English abilities and on mastery of class content. I am very aware of this fact. Some of my students really struggle with English and this limits their ability to understand and retain information given during lectures and through assignments. I have learned to speak SLOWLY (I know that's hard to believe!). I also give each student a comprehensive study guide with fifty or so possible test questions on it a week before the test. Essentially the study guide covers everything we have discovered in class. The students have a week to complete it, and we have a review session the class before a test. For many of my gifted students, class is easy - but interestingly enough, because they see the same material THREE times (lecture, study guide and review), they remember most of what we have learned. Most of my students rocked the cumulative exam. Unfortunately, some of my students bombed it. When asked them what happened, almost all of them admitted to me that they did not study. This is a problem. (On each study guide I write: "Please study hard so that you will do well. If you do not study hard, you will probably not do well." On each test I write: "Ziaci, if you have studied, you will do very well! If you have not studied, I wish you the best of luck.")
For your information, here is the assigned grading scale for religon classes:
90 - 100 = 1
78 - 89 = 2
64 - 76 = 3
50 - 63 = 4
0 - 49 = 5
It has taken me a while to adjust to the fact that a mastery of only 50% of a particular class is passing; however, education is Slovakia is radically different than in the United States.
After I posted grades, I was flabbergasted to discover that some of my students wanted me to change their grades. "Ms. Large, can you give me a four?" they asked. I frowned at them asked them if they thought grades fell from the sky. Then I explained to them that teachers do not give grades. Students earn them. There was nothing that I could do to change their grades. Then, I walked them through their grades - the fact that they did not turn in homework, projects, etc. I wanted them to see that they had legitimately earned a particular grade. Sadly, the fact that I would not change a student's grade angered students, parents and their class teachers. You see for most people, religion class is not considered an academic subject at EGT, and it is embarrassing to receive a grade below a 2. For most of that week and into the next, people across the board were pretty upset with me. Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose.
Once I got back into the "teaching routine" with my students, I felt much better about teaching in general. I love being in the classroom. My new students and I have completed our first two weeks together, and we seem to be doing very well. I have new faces and new names to learn, and it is much easier matching the two this time around because I know how to pronounce everyone's names! I am also excited to have the opportunity to do everything over again - all the lessons, the journals, the tests, etc. This gives me the change to tweak, improve, and measure how I have grown as a teacher after six months.
In other news, the head of the religion department will be in the United States for two months beginning next week. I will be teaching three of her first year classes and a fifth year seminar in addition to my regular class load each week. I am a little nervous about 25 hours of class a week; however, it needs to be done. I realized yesterday that by the end of the year, I will have taught every student at EGT - except for about 15 first years and 30 fifth years! How cool is that?
This semester will fly by, and before I know time will have taken off ahead of me and I will be hopping on a plane to head home.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Biographies of Jesus
The first semester concluded as the month of January ended. I asked my third year students to demonstrate what they have learned in Life and Teachings of Jesus class by writing a three page biography of Jesus. At the end of this biography, I asked for them to reflect on what they personally have learned about Jesus.
On the day these papers were due, I the students handed in four, fix and six page papers. I was a little confused, and I asked the students - "Ziaci, how long was this paper supposed to be?" (I was thinking - "Surely, I didn't assign a five page paper for third years.") The students responded, "Ms. Large it was a three page paper, but we had a lot to say."
Here is a collection of biographical excerpts on the life of Jesus written by the third years: (*As usual, I have not changed their vocabulary/grammar.)
"We usually start writing biographies by the birth but in this case it is card because as we understand it, Jesus’ existence did not really begin by his birth. It began with God."
"The story of Jesus starts before Jesus was born, when a lot of prophets were talking about a new king that will come. Jews thought that it will be some great warrior, who will change the political situation and will give them a new hope that they could be a strong nation."
"Jesus was one of the most important people in history of the whole world. His story of his life, teaching and death is well-known and very important for many people. Jesus, who is also known as Christ, The Son of God or King, was born in Israel around 6 BC."
"One day, there was a census ordered and so Joseph had to travel to his hometown. He took Mary with him and went to Bethlehem. Unfortunately, there was no room for them in the inn and Mary finally gave birth to Jesus. The biggest king of all kings was born and he was named Jesus what means Emmanuel – God with us… Jesus’ birth meant and still means as much for people as nothing else. He was the expected one. He was the one who came to save us. He was the one who should die in a terrible way hoping people will understand and follow him… Although Mary knew he was God’s son, none of them Mary nor Joseph knew what was Jesus’ duty here on Earth. It was a small paradox – the king expected by Jews should have been powerful and strong so he could easily defeat their enemies but instead there was a child lying in a manger."
"The warrior king was expected to come as a savior, but came as a humble baby came to save the world."
"There is the city of Bethlehem which means House of Bread, Mary gave birth to Jesus our Savior."
"Then, appeared star, which pointed the place of his birth so everyone could come there to honor him. Also the wisemen from the East came and gave him presents – gold, frankincense, and myrrh as the symbols of Jesus as king, as a priest and as a sacrifice FOR OUR SINS. King Herod, the contemporary ruler of the country wanted Jesus to be killed, because he was afraid of the prediction that he was going to be the next king. In that time, Herod did not know that Jesus’ kingdom wouldn’t be from this world, but it would be the kingdom of heaven."
"Jesus lived in an age when people lived in houses made from mud and brick which had been dried in the sun. Houses were usually two-story and four-roomed. These houses had flat roofs because of need of catching rainwater in large jars. On the first floor was usually a kitchen with firepit which was near the window and there were also animals. And on the second floor were rooms for sleeping. People at that time at grain bread and lots of dairy like milk, cheese and butter. Fish and chicken could eat everyone but only people who were wealthy could eat meat like beef or lamb. For dinking was common drink wine."
"As you know, Jesus’ parents were poor and lived because of their hard working, so Jesus knew what it means to be hungry and poor."
"Jesus was baptized in river Jordan by John the Baptist when he was 30 years old. After his baptism, Holy Spirit flew down as the dove and voice from heaven said, “this is my son the Beloved with whom I am well-pleased.” Then Jesus was led to desert by Holy Spirit where he was tempted by devil who wanted Jesus to bow down."
"During the act of his baptism, the heavens opened and there was a presence of Holy Trinity. Jesus’ main messages of his teaching were that God loves us and is always with us, that we should love each other, that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near and that God forgives us our sins if we are sorry for it."
"Jesus decided to call twelve disciples to help him bring people to his father."
"Jesus came to Galilee and met two brothers – Simon/peter and Andrew – who were fishermen and told them, “Follow me and I will manage you while you fish for people.”
"Jesus gave us many parables telling about ordinary people but symbolizing God’s house and the way God wants us to be. He also taught about LOVE. The most important thing in the whole world and the only thing that can lead us to heaven."
"Then Jesus went all over Galilee where he was teaching in synagogues, he was healing sick and those with demons and the messages about Him spread quickly through the whole country."
"But as Jesus’ popularity grew, the number of his enemies grew too."
"Some people did not like what Jesus was doing and that he proclaimed himself as a Son of God and break some rules which was given by Jewish people at that time. So they wanted him to be dead."
"Pharisees and Sadducees often wanted to trap Jesus and they asked him a lot of questions with which they thought would accuse him of blasphemy."
"Another reason the Pharisees and Sadducees don’t like Jesus was that He was sitting with sinners. Jesus told us that he didn’t come for righteousness people, but for sinner. Sick people need doctor, but no healthy people."
"The last periods of his life were death and resurrection. Jesus had foretold His death. He knew that will happen to him. He had a last supper with his disciples of which in the middle He blessed the bread with the words that it is His body and the wine with the words it is his blood."
People wish for his death because he was not the king people had expected. He was charged with blasphemy, claiming to be the king of the Jews and breaking the laws of Moses. So Jesus was brutally tortured and then crucified with two thieves. Jesus died on a cross."
"Jesus – the biggest person in the world ever, that was both human and God, that came to wash away the sin of people. He loved people and led himself to die for them."
"And when he died there wasn’t light for six hours and the curtain that was in the Holy of Holies ripped which probably symbolized that you don’t have to give the offerings any more because Christ paid everything on the cross. He was killed, put to grave, but in three days, he was alive again."
"Few days after resurrection, Jesus appeared to disciples. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came so he did not believe. A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and he could touch his hands and side. Then he believed."
"Before he left he has told his disciples to go to the whole world and baptize people in the name of God. So it happened that the Holy Spirit came among them and they were spread out to the whole world and shared this."
"We are Christians and as God followers we have some kind of assurance that we will never die. It gives us hope and that’s the reason why the church exists for thousands of years and will exist till the end of the world."
"I really enjoyed talking about God with the others in class. Some of them do not believe in God and it is sometimes more interesting to talk to such people and to listen to their ideas. Before classes we used to talk about what we have written in our journals. This way we knew what the other things about that theme and we were discussing it."
"In my opinion, I don’t really know what I should if Jesus and God and all these things around exist. Because I don’t think thousands of letters in hundreds of books can prove that something really was and exist. But if I say that Jesus really lived some time on this planet I would say he had a very difficult life full of suffering… Maybe he believed that when he once died for us people will realize it and won’t do all these bad things and sins again, but they still do."
"In conclusion, I want to say that I have learnt a lot of new things on your lessons, which I had not known before. And it is good to know for me, because it forced me to think about God and Jesus. I cannot say that now I definitely believe in Jesus, but I can say it is kind of different for me now."
"And what I think about Jesus and his life? Surely I believe Jesus is Son of God. And I am also fascinated with description of His life. I like to read it, but sometimes when I read it there are things which I think could not happen or better explanation could happen but not exactly like the gospels say. We cannot be sure with all the words in it. After all, it was written by people and a lot of years after Jesus’ death. But I believe that the majority of what is written in the gospels is true. I like the parables which jesus told people. The right meaning is sometimes hard to find but when we comprehend it, it gives us good example how to behave and also it shows us how it will be when Son of Man comes to earth again. But to be truthful, I do not believe that 5,000 people get full with five loaves of bread and two fishes and also I do not believe that Jesus was walking on water. I do not have an explanation why I do not believe it happened. I think that in my case a reason won over the belief."
"Well, this is the story about Jesus. There are a lot of people that say, that’s not true! How could it happen? Is it really like that? Some people are just suspected of what the others believe and they’d rather believe something else. For them this is not real. It’s just a story that goes with Christmas and makes nice atmosphere when it walks about the baby born in manger, but they only do it for the atmosphere. And then, there are people that really believe it and that try to live like the Bible says and they say it’s surely true. I say: “Why shouldn’t it be true?” I guess I would be in the second group of people."
"And my opinion? I’m still not sure about it. As you know I’m a not-believer and I don’t think my opinion has changed, but it was still interesting teaching."
"I have learned to see Jesus where other people think he is not. I have learned to think about him much more than before. I have also got deeper in religion and faith. There are things I have never been thinking about. To tell the truth, I had never been thinking as much as I have been in this class. I thought I am a good Christian with strong faith but as I was reading through the Bible and working on my journals I found myself confused. I realized that I understand less with every new parable and miracle. Suddenly, I saw new meanings and vice versa – I gave up some ideas because they did not fit to what I found out."
Thanks be to God for the life and witness of the third years.
On the day these papers were due, I the students handed in four, fix and six page papers. I was a little confused, and I asked the students - "Ziaci, how long was this paper supposed to be?" (I was thinking - "Surely, I didn't assign a five page paper for third years.") The students responded, "Ms. Large it was a three page paper, but we had a lot to say."
Here is a collection of biographical excerpts on the life of Jesus written by the third years: (*As usual, I have not changed their vocabulary/grammar.)
"We usually start writing biographies by the birth but in this case it is card because as we understand it, Jesus’ existence did not really begin by his birth. It began with God."
"The story of Jesus starts before Jesus was born, when a lot of prophets were talking about a new king that will come. Jews thought that it will be some great warrior, who will change the political situation and will give them a new hope that they could be a strong nation."
"Jesus was one of the most important people in history of the whole world. His story of his life, teaching and death is well-known and very important for many people. Jesus, who is also known as Christ, The Son of God or King, was born in Israel around 6 BC."
"One day, there was a census ordered and so Joseph had to travel to his hometown. He took Mary with him and went to Bethlehem. Unfortunately, there was no room for them in the inn and Mary finally gave birth to Jesus. The biggest king of all kings was born and he was named Jesus what means Emmanuel – God with us… Jesus’ birth meant and still means as much for people as nothing else. He was the expected one. He was the one who came to save us. He was the one who should die in a terrible way hoping people will understand and follow him… Although Mary knew he was God’s son, none of them Mary nor Joseph knew what was Jesus’ duty here on Earth. It was a small paradox – the king expected by Jews should have been powerful and strong so he could easily defeat their enemies but instead there was a child lying in a manger."
"The warrior king was expected to come as a savior, but came as a humble baby came to save the world."
"There is the city of Bethlehem which means House of Bread, Mary gave birth to Jesus our Savior."
"Then, appeared star, which pointed the place of his birth so everyone could come there to honor him. Also the wisemen from the East came and gave him presents – gold, frankincense, and myrrh as the symbols of Jesus as king, as a priest and as a sacrifice FOR OUR SINS. King Herod, the contemporary ruler of the country wanted Jesus to be killed, because he was afraid of the prediction that he was going to be the next king. In that time, Herod did not know that Jesus’ kingdom wouldn’t be from this world, but it would be the kingdom of heaven."
"Jesus lived in an age when people lived in houses made from mud and brick which had been dried in the sun. Houses were usually two-story and four-roomed. These houses had flat roofs because of need of catching rainwater in large jars. On the first floor was usually a kitchen with firepit which was near the window and there were also animals. And on the second floor were rooms for sleeping. People at that time at grain bread and lots of dairy like milk, cheese and butter. Fish and chicken could eat everyone but only people who were wealthy could eat meat like beef or lamb. For dinking was common drink wine."
"As you know, Jesus’ parents were poor and lived because of their hard working, so Jesus knew what it means to be hungry and poor."
"Jesus was baptized in river Jordan by John the Baptist when he was 30 years old. After his baptism, Holy Spirit flew down as the dove and voice from heaven said, “this is my son the Beloved with whom I am well-pleased.” Then Jesus was led to desert by Holy Spirit where he was tempted by devil who wanted Jesus to bow down."
"During the act of his baptism, the heavens opened and there was a presence of Holy Trinity. Jesus’ main messages of his teaching were that God loves us and is always with us, that we should love each other, that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near and that God forgives us our sins if we are sorry for it."
"Jesus decided to call twelve disciples to help him bring people to his father."
"Jesus came to Galilee and met two brothers – Simon/peter and Andrew – who were fishermen and told them, “Follow me and I will manage you while you fish for people.”
"Jesus gave us many parables telling about ordinary people but symbolizing God’s house and the way God wants us to be. He also taught about LOVE. The most important thing in the whole world and the only thing that can lead us to heaven."
"Then Jesus went all over Galilee where he was teaching in synagogues, he was healing sick and those with demons and the messages about Him spread quickly through the whole country."
"But as Jesus’ popularity grew, the number of his enemies grew too."
"Some people did not like what Jesus was doing and that he proclaimed himself as a Son of God and break some rules which was given by Jewish people at that time. So they wanted him to be dead."
"Pharisees and Sadducees often wanted to trap Jesus and they asked him a lot of questions with which they thought would accuse him of blasphemy."
"Another reason the Pharisees and Sadducees don’t like Jesus was that He was sitting with sinners. Jesus told us that he didn’t come for righteousness people, but for sinner. Sick people need doctor, but no healthy people."
"The last periods of his life were death and resurrection. Jesus had foretold His death. He knew that will happen to him. He had a last supper with his disciples of which in the middle He blessed the bread with the words that it is His body and the wine with the words it is his blood."
People wish for his death because he was not the king people had expected. He was charged with blasphemy, claiming to be the king of the Jews and breaking the laws of Moses. So Jesus was brutally tortured and then crucified with two thieves. Jesus died on a cross."
"Jesus – the biggest person in the world ever, that was both human and God, that came to wash away the sin of people. He loved people and led himself to die for them."
"And when he died there wasn’t light for six hours and the curtain that was in the Holy of Holies ripped which probably symbolized that you don’t have to give the offerings any more because Christ paid everything on the cross. He was killed, put to grave, but in three days, he was alive again."
"Few days after resurrection, Jesus appeared to disciples. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came so he did not believe. A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and he could touch his hands and side. Then he believed."
"Before he left he has told his disciples to go to the whole world and baptize people in the name of God. So it happened that the Holy Spirit came among them and they were spread out to the whole world and shared this."
"We are Christians and as God followers we have some kind of assurance that we will never die. It gives us hope and that’s the reason why the church exists for thousands of years and will exist till the end of the world."
"I really enjoyed talking about God with the others in class. Some of them do not believe in God and it is sometimes more interesting to talk to such people and to listen to their ideas. Before classes we used to talk about what we have written in our journals. This way we knew what the other things about that theme and we were discussing it."
"In my opinion, I don’t really know what I should if Jesus and God and all these things around exist. Because I don’t think thousands of letters in hundreds of books can prove that something really was and exist. But if I say that Jesus really lived some time on this planet I would say he had a very difficult life full of suffering… Maybe he believed that when he once died for us people will realize it and won’t do all these bad things and sins again, but they still do."
"In conclusion, I want to say that I have learnt a lot of new things on your lessons, which I had not known before. And it is good to know for me, because it forced me to think about God and Jesus. I cannot say that now I definitely believe in Jesus, but I can say it is kind of different for me now."
"And what I think about Jesus and his life? Surely I believe Jesus is Son of God. And I am also fascinated with description of His life. I like to read it, but sometimes when I read it there are things which I think could not happen or better explanation could happen but not exactly like the gospels say. We cannot be sure with all the words in it. After all, it was written by people and a lot of years after Jesus’ death. But I believe that the majority of what is written in the gospels is true. I like the parables which jesus told people. The right meaning is sometimes hard to find but when we comprehend it, it gives us good example how to behave and also it shows us how it will be when Son of Man comes to earth again. But to be truthful, I do not believe that 5,000 people get full with five loaves of bread and two fishes and also I do not believe that Jesus was walking on water. I do not have an explanation why I do not believe it happened. I think that in my case a reason won over the belief."
"Well, this is the story about Jesus. There are a lot of people that say, that’s not true! How could it happen? Is it really like that? Some people are just suspected of what the others believe and they’d rather believe something else. For them this is not real. It’s just a story that goes with Christmas and makes nice atmosphere when it walks about the baby born in manger, but they only do it for the atmosphere. And then, there are people that really believe it and that try to live like the Bible says and they say it’s surely true. I say: “Why shouldn’t it be true?” I guess I would be in the second group of people."
"And my opinion? I’m still not sure about it. As you know I’m a not-believer and I don’t think my opinion has changed, but it was still interesting teaching."
"I have learned to see Jesus where other people think he is not. I have learned to think about him much more than before. I have also got deeper in religion and faith. There are things I have never been thinking about. To tell the truth, I had never been thinking as much as I have been in this class. I thought I am a good Christian with strong faith but as I was reading through the Bible and working on my journals I found myself confused. I realized that I understand less with every new parable and miracle. Suddenly, I saw new meanings and vice versa – I gave up some ideas because they did not fit to what I found out."
Thanks be to God for the life and witness of the third years.
New Years and Beyond
Colleen and I ended up homeless on New Years.
Well, I guess it wasn't quite that dramatic. Because of the transportation strike in Italy and because we had to be re-routed away from Bratislava, Colleen and I spent New Years walking around downtown Vienna (with all our stuff) looking for a place to spend the night. Unfortunately, there was no room in anyone's inn. As it got colder and as the New Year's parties started to get wilder, we decided to take a taxi to the north part of the city and spend the night at the airport McDonalds. Neither Colleen nor I have very fond, warm or restful memories of our New Years in Vienna.
It was at about 3:30 in the morning while we were eating our second euro burger that Colleen figured out why we were stuck spending the night with Ronald McDonald. We had swindled the Almighty and this was our punishment. In Venice the day before, Colleen and I had an extra day to wander through the town. We decided to stop at one of the many Catholic churches in Venice and light a candle for travel blessings for our journey back into Austria. As I lit the prayer candle, Colleen dug in her purse for the 40 cents that was requested for the candle. When she could only find thirty cents, I shrugged, "Don't worry about the last 10 cents," I told her. Famous last words.
I will never cheat Jesus out of ten cents again.
The next day, I was supposed to go to Frankfurt, Germany to meet Hope Brown (a very dear friend who I have grown up with)and Colleen was heading home to start school again. As I sat in Westbahnhof (the West Train Station in Vienna) waiting for my train, I kept myself awake by trying to decide who smelled worse - me or the guys sitting next to me who were clearly just beginning to suffer the effects from last night's party. This will give you an idea of how poor New Year's was: I considered it a success that the test as to who smelled worse was a toss-up.
I arrived in Frankfurt about an hour late, but ready to see someone from home. Hope and I stayed with Christine, one of our friends from college. It did my heart good to see a face from home. We spent our first few hours together hugging, crying, and eating real German schnitzel.
The next day, Christine and her boyfriend chauffeured us into Frankfurt ON THE AUTOBAHN. We got up to 145mph! (Don't worry, Mom, we didn't go that fast for very long.) Then, we spent the next day exploring the city. This is the square where we spent most of our time.
On Sunday, we got up early so that we could go to Eisenach and worship at the church where Martin Luther grew up.
Here is Martin himself, keeping watch over town square in Eisenach.
This is Georgenkirche where Luther sang as a choir boy. This is also the church were Bach was baptized.
After worship, we hiked to Wartburg Castle. Luther was hidden here by Frederick the Wise who had "kidnapped" him for his protection after Luther had refused to recant his beliefs at the Diet of Worms. He lived here in disguise as Junker Jorg (Knight George). It was in this castle that he translated the New Testament into German.
Here is the view of the castle at the beginning of our hike:
This is my friend Hope : )
This is the castle as your are walking up the trail to the drawbridge.
The view from the castle gate:
This is the castle grounds as you enter through the gate.
We were delighted to see that doves had nested on the window ledges.
Hope and I were freezing by the time we got back to the train station. Unfortunately, we had serious train delays on our way home because of the snow storm. Hope got to experience what life is like in Europe --- walking, waiting for a train and then running to make your next connection when your first train is late. Still, we made it home with no real problems.
On Monday morning, we left Bad Nauheim on the commuter train that would take us into Frankfurt. We were going to Brugges, Belgium. We couldn't have been more excited - even if it was 5:30 in the morning. Then, our train had to be re-routed because of a medical emergency on the tracks the next train stop over. Because of this, we had to race to our next connection from Frankfurt to Brussells. We made it by about 30 seconds.
When we got on the train, I realized immediately that something was off. The train we were on had a different number than the one on our ticket; however, the destination and platform numbers were the same. I wasn't sure what to make of this, and there are never people around to help when you need them, so Hope and I sat down and caught our breath. Within thirty minutes, the train conductor came by to check our tickets. He immediately realized that we were on the wrong train, and somewhere in the midst of threatening to fine us fifty euros, I reminded him that we had a Eurail pass which allowed for unlimited travel on any train in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Unhappily, this man explained to us that there were actually two trains connected together at the platform in Germany. They would be traveling together until Brussells and then they would split and go to separate destinations. Then he angrily "advised" us to get off as quickly as we could in Brussells so that we could "try to make it" to the correct train. (In Slovakia, which is not a serious travel destination, there is only one train at each platform, so this "connected train" issue was new for me.)
In Brussells, Hope and I hopped off the train and sprinted straight down the platform to catch our train to Brussells. Regrettably, we were only on this train for twenty minutes when the conductor announced that the train had lost traction on the tracks because of the snow and ice. We had been operating at 25% traction, and they did not want to risk an accident. So, we were taken back to the Brussells train station. This was disappointing news for Hope and I because it meant that we missed our train connection from Brussells to Belgium.
After an hour, we left on a train at the same platform and on the same set of tracks as those we had been on before. Thankfully, on our second try, we were able to get to Brugges from Brussells with no other problems.
Brugges is a beautiful city in the northern part of Belgium. Because it is not far from the United Kingdom, it is a popular holiday destination for the British. I have heard some people compare Brugges to Venice because it too is situated on the water.
Like Prague, Brugges is known for its red roofs.
We spent our first day in Brugges getting acquainted with the city. We did some window shoppping and some real shopping - something I hadn't done since I left home. We grabbed dinner and enjoyed frites - French fries! (Belgium is the real home of french fries.) We also had a Belgium chocolate truffle.
This is view of Sint Salvatorskathedraal from our night walk:
The next morning, we took a city walk through Brugges. We saw bicycles everywhere we looked. Most people in Brugges do not drive cars - instead, they ride their bikes everywhere. This is the "parking lot" outside the train station in Brugges.
These are some of the things we saw on our walk:
This is Sint Salvatorskathedraal in the morning:
Our walk led us through "Blind Donkey Alley."
We saw Lake Minnewater (also known as the Lake of Love):
There were swans nesting at one end of the lake:
Then, to my delight, Hope and I stumbled across a monastery.
This was a scultpure by the monastery gate:
See - even the swans can walk on water just outside the monastery!
After our walk, we had real Belgium waffels for lunch. Then, we caught the train to Paris. We held our breath - but we had no travel catastrophes. Thank God.
After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, Hope and I set out to explore Paris, the city of lights!
Our first stop was Notre Dame Cathedral.
I was thrilled to catch Epiphany vespers at the Cathedral.
These are the long corridors on either side of the main sancutary.
This is a frescoe of the Last Supper.
And here is the outside of the Cathedral after worship was over.
After vespers, Hope and I enjoyed a real French meal sponsored by my parents. Thanks mom and dad : ). Then, we saw the Eiffel Tower at night.
Here's the belly of the Tower:
When we got back to the hostel, we discovered that power had gone out. In fact, power was out on the whole block. This didn't even break our stride, we were too tired to do anything. After about an hour however, we realized that no power meant no heat. I didn't think Hope was ever going to travel with me again. It's a good thing she loves me!
The next day, we went to the Louvre.
I was excited to learn that, because I have a visa in a European Union country, I could into the Louvre FOR FREE. I believe this means I am about as European as I am ever going to get.
This is a typical hallway in the Louvre. Most of them were very, very long and artfully decorated.
As with the Vatican, we learned to look UP, down and all around. Here are some of the ceilings we saw:
I really liked this painting.
After about thirty minutes, Hope and I set off to find Mona. For me, this was one of several bucket list items that I was able to cross off on this European adventure. Item number 73 says: "Walk across the room in front of Mona Lisa and see if her eyes really follow you."
This is Mona:
I walked (tip-toed, actually) across the room from right to left and back again. Her eyes followed me the whole way! I think she liked me.
We also saw this headless angel. She took my breath away. Her name is "Winged Victory" but she is also known as "Nike of Samothrace."
In the Egyptian Wing we encountered a statue of Ramses II that dated about 1200 years before Christ. Ramses II is the Pharoah of the Exodus, the guy to whom we sing along with Moses, "Pharoah, Pharoah! Oh baby, let my people go!"
We saw the Great Sphynx of Tanis.
In the Mesopotamian Wing, we saw THE CODE OF HAMMURABI.
Here are Aphrodite and Cupid and Psyche.
This is Michelangelo's Rebellious Slave.
This is his Dying Slave.
I could have happily spent the next year of my life in the Louvre, and I left wistfully wishing for more.
After the Louvre, Hope and I visited the Arch du Triumph and the Eiffel Tower so that we could see both in daylight. We stood in line at the Tower so that we could see the view from above. For those of you who know me well, you probably know that I am terrified of heights. I don't even like riding escalators at the mall. I have no pictures of the view from the Eiffel Tower because I was too busy holding onto the railings with both hands. On our ride up the elevator, Hope and I watched as the people on the ground grew smaller and smaller. Hope looked at me and said, "Do you know what this reminds me of?" "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?" I asked, thinking of how the elevator on the Eiffel Tower is on a diagnal track. "No," Hope said, "the Tower of Terror! I keep waiting for us to drop." I think that was the point at which I was done with the Eiffel Tower.
Before long, we grabbed our bags from the hostel and left for the train station. We arrived at the East Train Station in plenty of time to eat lunch, do some window shopping and relax. It was -11 degrees Celcius in Paris on that day and we were looking forward to some time spent in a heated area.
About twenty minutes before our train was due to arrive at the station, I mentioned to Hope that we should check the overhead monitors to see at which platform our train was due to arrive. At first, our train from Paris to Frankfurt was not listed, but I was not worried. About ten minutes later, I noticed that our train was second on the list. The first line on the list said that that particular train was "ritard." Hope and I both knew what that meant - late. The third line on the list said that that train was "a l'huere." We guessed that meant at "at the hour" or "on time." The monitor told us that our train was "supprime." This one was beyond Hope and me. I optimistically guessed, "Hope, do you think supprime means early?" Still, we were not worried. We made our way over to the main part of the station assuming that before long we would have more information regarding our train. Unfortunately, no information came. With about ten minutes before our train's arrival, I suggested that while I get in line at the help desk, Hope wander around and see if there was anyone who could help us. Not even two minutes later, I realized that all the people in line in front of me were passengers on the same train I was supposed to be on. It was from them that I learned the situation regarding our train. I yelled out across the train station to Hope who was half a football field away, "Oh crap, Hope! Supprime means CANCELLED." Needless to say, the people in line with me thought this was hilarious.
Supprime is now my least favorite word in the French language. Our train, which was supposed to be a straight shot to Frankfurt, had been cancelled due to a major snow storm on the border between France and Germany. The help desk told Hope and me that we had three options:
1. Catch a train to Stutgart leaving in five minutes, and take TWO OTHER CONNECTIONS (with only ten minutes in between each one) to get to Frankfurt.
2. Wait to see if the next straight shot train to Frankfurt leaving at 9 was going to run. (They were doubtful.)
3. Spend the night in Paris and catch a train in the morning.
Hope and I opted for the first choice. We took off at a dead run for the platform our new train was at. Unfortunately, our train was connected to another train (like in Germany) and the train we needed was the second one. We barely made it on the train. Within about a minute, the train doors closed and we were on our way. Then, five minutes later, the lights flickered and the train stopped. The conductor announced on the intercom that they were experiencing "technical difficulties" with the train. No kidding, I thought. Twenty minutes later, Hope and I had missed our connections to Frankfurt, and we were still sitting on the tracks just outside the Paris train station. At this point, I didn't think that Hope was ever going to leave the United States again. Thankfully, the train started - in full technical order - within half an hour. Our evening then got a little brighter when we learned from the ticket conductor that they were holding all connections for the displaced passengers on their way to Frankfurt. We were able to make it to home after all.
Hope and I said good-bye to each other the next day. She was heading home to her second semester of grad school, and I was heading home to Tisovec for my second semester of teaching.
From beginning to end, my stomp through Europe lasted 17 days. Regardless of whatever difficulties and snafoos I experienced, I can say with the confidence and after the reflection of time gone by, there is nothing that I would change.
Thank you to everyone reading my blog for bearing with me while I recount my adventure weeks after it has happened. I not only use this blog to share with you all what I have been up to, but I also use it as a kind of online "journal" to keep track of the memories I am making.
Oh yeah - and in the spirit of recording memories - I need to mention that on my 22 hour trip home from Frankfurt to Tisovec, the bus I took from Praha to home broke down in Brno (Czech Republic) at 1 in the morning. I think, now that about six weeks have passed, I can say with good humor, The travel gods smote me on this trip.
Well, I guess it wasn't quite that dramatic. Because of the transportation strike in Italy and because we had to be re-routed away from Bratislava, Colleen and I spent New Years walking around downtown Vienna (with all our stuff) looking for a place to spend the night. Unfortunately, there was no room in anyone's inn. As it got colder and as the New Year's parties started to get wilder, we decided to take a taxi to the north part of the city and spend the night at the airport McDonalds. Neither Colleen nor I have very fond, warm or restful memories of our New Years in Vienna.
It was at about 3:30 in the morning while we were eating our second euro burger that Colleen figured out why we were stuck spending the night with Ronald McDonald. We had swindled the Almighty and this was our punishment. In Venice the day before, Colleen and I had an extra day to wander through the town. We decided to stop at one of the many Catholic churches in Venice and light a candle for travel blessings for our journey back into Austria. As I lit the prayer candle, Colleen dug in her purse for the 40 cents that was requested for the candle. When she could only find thirty cents, I shrugged, "Don't worry about the last 10 cents," I told her. Famous last words.
I will never cheat Jesus out of ten cents again.
The next day, I was supposed to go to Frankfurt, Germany to meet Hope Brown (a very dear friend who I have grown up with)and Colleen was heading home to start school again. As I sat in Westbahnhof (the West Train Station in Vienna) waiting for my train, I kept myself awake by trying to decide who smelled worse - me or the guys sitting next to me who were clearly just beginning to suffer the effects from last night's party. This will give you an idea of how poor New Year's was: I considered it a success that the test as to who smelled worse was a toss-up.
I arrived in Frankfurt about an hour late, but ready to see someone from home. Hope and I stayed with Christine, one of our friends from college. It did my heart good to see a face from home. We spent our first few hours together hugging, crying, and eating real German schnitzel.
The next day, Christine and her boyfriend chauffeured us into Frankfurt ON THE AUTOBAHN. We got up to 145mph! (Don't worry, Mom, we didn't go that fast for very long.) Then, we spent the next day exploring the city. This is the square where we spent most of our time.
On Sunday, we got up early so that we could go to Eisenach and worship at the church where Martin Luther grew up.
Here is Martin himself, keeping watch over town square in Eisenach.
This is Georgenkirche where Luther sang as a choir boy. This is also the church were Bach was baptized.
After worship, we hiked to Wartburg Castle. Luther was hidden here by Frederick the Wise who had "kidnapped" him for his protection after Luther had refused to recant his beliefs at the Diet of Worms. He lived here in disguise as Junker Jorg (Knight George). It was in this castle that he translated the New Testament into German.
Here is the view of the castle at the beginning of our hike:
This is my friend Hope : )
This is the castle as your are walking up the trail to the drawbridge.
The view from the castle gate:
This is the castle grounds as you enter through the gate.
We were delighted to see that doves had nested on the window ledges.
Hope and I were freezing by the time we got back to the train station. Unfortunately, we had serious train delays on our way home because of the snow storm. Hope got to experience what life is like in Europe --- walking, waiting for a train and then running to make your next connection when your first train is late. Still, we made it home with no real problems.
On Monday morning, we left Bad Nauheim on the commuter train that would take us into Frankfurt. We were going to Brugges, Belgium. We couldn't have been more excited - even if it was 5:30 in the morning. Then, our train had to be re-routed because of a medical emergency on the tracks the next train stop over. Because of this, we had to race to our next connection from Frankfurt to Brussells. We made it by about 30 seconds.
When we got on the train, I realized immediately that something was off. The train we were on had a different number than the one on our ticket; however, the destination and platform numbers were the same. I wasn't sure what to make of this, and there are never people around to help when you need them, so Hope and I sat down and caught our breath. Within thirty minutes, the train conductor came by to check our tickets. He immediately realized that we were on the wrong train, and somewhere in the midst of threatening to fine us fifty euros, I reminded him that we had a Eurail pass which allowed for unlimited travel on any train in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Unhappily, this man explained to us that there were actually two trains connected together at the platform in Germany. They would be traveling together until Brussells and then they would split and go to separate destinations. Then he angrily "advised" us to get off as quickly as we could in Brussells so that we could "try to make it" to the correct train. (In Slovakia, which is not a serious travel destination, there is only one train at each platform, so this "connected train" issue was new for me.)
In Brussells, Hope and I hopped off the train and sprinted straight down the platform to catch our train to Brussells. Regrettably, we were only on this train for twenty minutes when the conductor announced that the train had lost traction on the tracks because of the snow and ice. We had been operating at 25% traction, and they did not want to risk an accident. So, we were taken back to the Brussells train station. This was disappointing news for Hope and I because it meant that we missed our train connection from Brussells to Belgium.
After an hour, we left on a train at the same platform and on the same set of tracks as those we had been on before. Thankfully, on our second try, we were able to get to Brugges from Brussells with no other problems.
Brugges is a beautiful city in the northern part of Belgium. Because it is not far from the United Kingdom, it is a popular holiday destination for the British. I have heard some people compare Brugges to Venice because it too is situated on the water.
Like Prague, Brugges is known for its red roofs.
We spent our first day in Brugges getting acquainted with the city. We did some window shoppping and some real shopping - something I hadn't done since I left home. We grabbed dinner and enjoyed frites - French fries! (Belgium is the real home of french fries.) We also had a Belgium chocolate truffle.
This is view of Sint Salvatorskathedraal from our night walk:
The next morning, we took a city walk through Brugges. We saw bicycles everywhere we looked. Most people in Brugges do not drive cars - instead, they ride their bikes everywhere. This is the "parking lot" outside the train station in Brugges.
These are some of the things we saw on our walk:
This is Sint Salvatorskathedraal in the morning:
Our walk led us through "Blind Donkey Alley."
We saw Lake Minnewater (also known as the Lake of Love):
There were swans nesting at one end of the lake:
Then, to my delight, Hope and I stumbled across a monastery.
This was a scultpure by the monastery gate:
See - even the swans can walk on water just outside the monastery!
After our walk, we had real Belgium waffels for lunch. Then, we caught the train to Paris. We held our breath - but we had no travel catastrophes. Thank God.
After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, Hope and I set out to explore Paris, the city of lights!
Our first stop was Notre Dame Cathedral.
I was thrilled to catch Epiphany vespers at the Cathedral.
These are the long corridors on either side of the main sancutary.
This is a frescoe of the Last Supper.
And here is the outside of the Cathedral after worship was over.
After vespers, Hope and I enjoyed a real French meal sponsored by my parents. Thanks mom and dad : ). Then, we saw the Eiffel Tower at night.
Here's the belly of the Tower:
When we got back to the hostel, we discovered that power had gone out. In fact, power was out on the whole block. This didn't even break our stride, we were too tired to do anything. After about an hour however, we realized that no power meant no heat. I didn't think Hope was ever going to travel with me again. It's a good thing she loves me!
The next day, we went to the Louvre.
I was excited to learn that, because I have a visa in a European Union country, I could into the Louvre FOR FREE. I believe this means I am about as European as I am ever going to get.
This is a typical hallway in the Louvre. Most of them were very, very long and artfully decorated.
As with the Vatican, we learned to look UP, down and all around. Here are some of the ceilings we saw:
I really liked this painting.
After about thirty minutes, Hope and I set off to find Mona. For me, this was one of several bucket list items that I was able to cross off on this European adventure. Item number 73 says: "Walk across the room in front of Mona Lisa and see if her eyes really follow you."
This is Mona:
I walked (tip-toed, actually) across the room from right to left and back again. Her eyes followed me the whole way! I think she liked me.
We also saw this headless angel. She took my breath away. Her name is "Winged Victory" but she is also known as "Nike of Samothrace."
In the Egyptian Wing we encountered a statue of Ramses II that dated about 1200 years before Christ. Ramses II is the Pharoah of the Exodus, the guy to whom we sing along with Moses, "Pharoah, Pharoah! Oh baby, let my people go!"
We saw the Great Sphynx of Tanis.
In the Mesopotamian Wing, we saw THE CODE OF HAMMURABI.
Here are Aphrodite and Cupid and Psyche.
This is Michelangelo's Rebellious Slave.
This is his Dying Slave.
I could have happily spent the next year of my life in the Louvre, and I left wistfully wishing for more.
After the Louvre, Hope and I visited the Arch du Triumph and the Eiffel Tower so that we could see both in daylight. We stood in line at the Tower so that we could see the view from above. For those of you who know me well, you probably know that I am terrified of heights. I don't even like riding escalators at the mall. I have no pictures of the view from the Eiffel Tower because I was too busy holding onto the railings with both hands. On our ride up the elevator, Hope and I watched as the people on the ground grew smaller and smaller. Hope looked at me and said, "Do you know what this reminds me of?" "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?" I asked, thinking of how the elevator on the Eiffel Tower is on a diagnal track. "No," Hope said, "the Tower of Terror! I keep waiting for us to drop." I think that was the point at which I was done with the Eiffel Tower.
Before long, we grabbed our bags from the hostel and left for the train station. We arrived at the East Train Station in plenty of time to eat lunch, do some window shopping and relax. It was -11 degrees Celcius in Paris on that day and we were looking forward to some time spent in a heated area.
About twenty minutes before our train was due to arrive at the station, I mentioned to Hope that we should check the overhead monitors to see at which platform our train was due to arrive. At first, our train from Paris to Frankfurt was not listed, but I was not worried. About ten minutes later, I noticed that our train was second on the list. The first line on the list said that that particular train was "ritard." Hope and I both knew what that meant - late. The third line on the list said that that train was "a l'huere." We guessed that meant at "at the hour" or "on time." The monitor told us that our train was "supprime." This one was beyond Hope and me. I optimistically guessed, "Hope, do you think supprime means early?" Still, we were not worried. We made our way over to the main part of the station assuming that before long we would have more information regarding our train. Unfortunately, no information came. With about ten minutes before our train's arrival, I suggested that while I get in line at the help desk, Hope wander around and see if there was anyone who could help us. Not even two minutes later, I realized that all the people in line in front of me were passengers on the same train I was supposed to be on. It was from them that I learned the situation regarding our train. I yelled out across the train station to Hope who was half a football field away, "Oh crap, Hope! Supprime means CANCELLED." Needless to say, the people in line with me thought this was hilarious.
Supprime is now my least favorite word in the French language. Our train, which was supposed to be a straight shot to Frankfurt, had been cancelled due to a major snow storm on the border between France and Germany. The help desk told Hope and me that we had three options:
1. Catch a train to Stutgart leaving in five minutes, and take TWO OTHER CONNECTIONS (with only ten minutes in between each one) to get to Frankfurt.
2. Wait to see if the next straight shot train to Frankfurt leaving at 9 was going to run. (They were doubtful.)
3. Spend the night in Paris and catch a train in the morning.
Hope and I opted for the first choice. We took off at a dead run for the platform our new train was at. Unfortunately, our train was connected to another train (like in Germany) and the train we needed was the second one. We barely made it on the train. Within about a minute, the train doors closed and we were on our way. Then, five minutes later, the lights flickered and the train stopped. The conductor announced on the intercom that they were experiencing "technical difficulties" with the train. No kidding, I thought. Twenty minutes later, Hope and I had missed our connections to Frankfurt, and we were still sitting on the tracks just outside the Paris train station. At this point, I didn't think that Hope was ever going to leave the United States again. Thankfully, the train started - in full technical order - within half an hour. Our evening then got a little brighter when we learned from the ticket conductor that they were holding all connections for the displaced passengers on their way to Frankfurt. We were able to make it to home after all.
Hope and I said good-bye to each other the next day. She was heading home to her second semester of grad school, and I was heading home to Tisovec for my second semester of teaching.
From beginning to end, my stomp through Europe lasted 17 days. Regardless of whatever difficulties and snafoos I experienced, I can say with the confidence and after the reflection of time gone by, there is nothing that I would change.
Thank you to everyone reading my blog for bearing with me while I recount my adventure weeks after it has happened. I not only use this blog to share with you all what I have been up to, but I also use it as a kind of online "journal" to keep track of the memories I am making.
Oh yeah - and in the spirit of recording memories - I need to mention that on my 22 hour trip home from Frankfurt to Tisovec, the bus I took from Praha to home broke down in Brno (Czech Republic) at 1 in the morning. I think, now that about six weeks have passed, I can say with good humor, The travel gods smote me on this trip.
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