So, I was just thinking about how I really need to get better at updating people about my trip here in Europe because I do have many things that happen to me out here, but Im a lazy blogger. Evan just wrote on my facebook wall and told me to blog more...which just further validated what I kept hearing God tell me, so i shall!
Wow, well we went to Vienna on Saturday....and it was my happy place. I've been feeling oppressed in Brno. I'm not trying to bash on the people of my ancestors, seriously, I know many great Czech people! But, I've had an awful time getting help in the Czech Republic. Perhaps, it's just the service workers?! In Vienna, people were awfully smiley, and would stop and talk when we asked directions. It was a beautiful thing- so now Wein (Vienna in German), you hold a special place in my heart. We took a 6am bus to Wein, and ended up getting there around 7:30am. We were kind of freaked out because we were in the skeazy section of Vienna, and I was starting to get nervous. I prayed to God that He would lead us to someone, and this Jewish man walks by, and says "Can I help you?" in perfect English. And I go, "Hi sir, do you speak English?" (I know, I know) And then he pointed us in the right direction! I was also looking for the "perfect breakfast spot." I'm really kind of weird about stuff like this- I wanted to eat in a quintesential Vienna breakfast spot, and I was getting a little stressed looking for "the one." Finally we passed a place called Cafe Melange, and we all decided it looked good. The menu said, "Cafe Melange-the typical Vienna coffee house." I literally laughed out loud.
I was so excited to eat at this lush, quaint cafe...and then we got the waitress from "you know where!" She was this old lady who DID NOT like Americans. (I feel like a lot of people don't, ha!) She said she knew English, but only spoke in fast German, and was purposely avoiding our table. It was kind of funny actually. Then Jeongmin, my friend from South Korea, didn't get what she ordered, so she took her plate to the lady who just exploded at her in German. The whole ordeal was strange, and it was hilarious, because Jeongmin goes, "She's so scary, I'm gonna poop my pants!" I guess when we left, this old couple had been glaring at us the whole time. I bet the whole restaurant breathed a sigh of relief when the loud Americans left!
We decided to just walk around the city and not use the trams. I saw a man standing on the sidewalk with a bomber hat on. I think I asked him how to get to the Naschmarkt where they sell fruits and veggies, and he pulled out a rosary and tried to give it to me! I freaked out and laughed, "I already have one with me!" And then he persisted, and give one to all of us. Then he told us he was a missionary. Then, another woman walks up, both of them are American, and she told me I was standing in front of the largest abortion clinic in Vienna. They were missionaries for an organization called Human Life International. Even weirder, was the fact that on my plane ride from Omaha to Detroit, I sat next to a man on the plane who worked on a baord for a pro-life group in Omaha, and he mentioned Human Life International to me. Strange. Then the lady gave me all her info and had to go do sidewalk counseling. I was so inspired and couldn't believe God led me to them.
Then we continued walking and ended up talking to a wonderful man who makes puppets. They were the coolest puppets ever, and he said he didn't even care if we bought one, we could just play with them. I think we played with them for an hour...and THEN, another missionary and her parents came up to us. She told me she was sent by God to Vienna, and I was just amazed. She was also American, and it was just very amazing how many American missionaries i met in Vienna...
Then we ate at this famous hotel called the Hotel Sacher. It was apparently an Imperial Hotel where only the richy richs went, and we got the famous Chocolate Torte. It's like a 200 year old recipe and they still make it the same as they did 200 years ago. I think we were all buzzing from the food, because we had ate a Kasekreiner (A huge sausage filled with mustard and ketchup, and yes I did get it on me) right before this. My favorite part about travelling is the food. I'm afraid I'm gonna spend all my money on it...
So, I mentioned the Naaschmarkt earlier. It was where i wanted to go all day long, and by the time it was sundown, we actually found it. All the stands were starting to close up for the day, and then I saw him. It was a crippled beggar standing right in front of us. He was shaking violently and only had a stick to hold himself up. He looked straight out of the bible. I froze, and searched through my purse, and then I found it- the rosary the missionaries had given me. I held it out to him, and he grabbed it with his shaking hands. The expression on his face was of pure gratitude mixed with....oh I can't even try to describe. He was beautiful. He kissed the rosary and then he pressed it against his heart. I walked away, and just felt my heart break. He was walking away, and Jeongmin ran after him and gave him some money. All I could say was "Jesus". Mother Teresa once said that when she held the crippled and deformed in her arms, she would say, "My Jesus, My Jesus." I saw Jesus in him, and I KNOW He will use that rosary.
The day was great, and I love Vienna. It was exactly what we all needed. Brno can be hard to live in sometimes, and it was nice to be in a new place. I can't wait to see where else I am led to go. I'm really hoping to go to Scotland, and Rome...and Medjugorje. But, that is something I know God will have to do for me, because I have no clue how to get to Bosnia by myself.
Before, I go...I feel like I must share my other story about a homeless man. There is many homeless here, and they are way more heartbreaking than back home. (I hope that's not a horrible thing to say) But yeah, it's real poverty out here. I've seen women dig through frozen trashcans, and girls my age sitting on the streets with their dogs to keep warmth, and another woman kneeling on a mat in front of a church begging. All of them break my heart, but I've learned there is shelters out here, its just a matter of dropping addictions at the door. Well, I was having a bad day, and all I wanted was to go in my favorite church and just pray- or try to pray. Well, I'm sitting in there with a few other people, and I hear a man shuffling up to me. "Oh great..." I'm thinking. It's an old man, about in his sixties, and he is staring at me and trying to get my attention. I'm pretty sure I glared at him! I was angry really, I wanted to be alone with God, and this bum is poking me. I wasn't even scared, just irritated. I looked at the tabernacle and just said, "Why aren't you helping me?! Make him go away!" Haha, well, I told the man I spoke English, and he knew English. Dang it. He asked me to help him, over and over and over. And I was firm and said, "No, I'm praying." Ha, wow- seems kind of contradictory huh. Well, he kept saying "You can, you can." How did he know? It was deeper than just "your american, you have money", there was a look in his tired eyes that softened me. Finally after I scolded him about bothering people who are trying to pray, I relented and gave him money. His reaction...I hope I can do it justice. He started to weep, and his face broke my heart. It was the kind of cry where you surrender. Did God tell him to come to me? He got down on his knees, and grabbed my hand and kissed it. He stood up and said, "I'm Peter." And I said, "I'm Rachael." Then he patted my shoulder and said, "Friend." And he did the sign of the cross, and hobbled away. Well, I was shocked, and slowly turned my head to look at the tabernacle. "Oh Jesus, what are you trying to teach me out here?" I suppose he is teaching me about generosity and trust. Trust that some people truly do need help, and that yes, I am blessed in every way. In the eyes of the poor, I see Christ. I hope I never close my eyes to it again.
I better keep writing on here, because it's good to get all this out...maybe i'll have funnier stories next time :)
Nashlee!!!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
It was so hard to start this...
So as many of you know, I'm living in the Czech Republic. It has been a rough start for me, and I've had little energy to do anything, least of all WRITE, because that seemed like too much work :) But now, I'm feeling like me again, so I'm gonna keep up-to-date on this thing.
My first day in the Czech Republic was...a bit rough. I got off the plane at Prague Airport, and realized i had to lug a heavy duffel bag, and two full sized suitcases around with me. I didn't sleep at all on the plane, so I was exhausted. I had many funny things happen to me on the way to the Czech Republic. When I was at the Detroit Airport I decided to go grab a bite at a restaurant during my layover. It was really awkward because I never eat alone, and I'm pretty sure I was miserable from lack of sleep/confusion. So I'm eating, and my waitress, Lafonda I think, comes over. "Are you Reese Witherspoon??" I nearly spit out my food. She was completely serious. She said all the waitresses were trying to figure it out. I laughed for various reasons. Then she told me Jessica Simpson ate there once, so then I didn't think it was AS weird.
When I got on my plane to Amsterdam, I had the delight of boarding the US Hockey Team, males 20 and under. I found myself sitting next to one of the coaches for the 8 hour flight. God is teaching me right now about first impressions. When I first sat down with him, I was very intimidated and thought he seemed kind of pretentious and jerky, not to mention handsome! :D So i was just miserable. But yes, he told me about his life and how he's been in 2 comas, and one was only five months ago. He pulled out his camera and showed me pics of his head wrapped up in bloody rags from a hockey puck hitting him in the wrong place. It was awful that the same injury happened to him twice. It was a miracle he's alive. He now goes around and does public speaking about his comas, and has started a Christian ministry in on the US Hockey Team. I was amazed because I thought he was a jerk, but he turned out to be a hero...
So i get off the plane in Amsterdam, and I'm really dying. I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, and it was the weirdest feeling being in a different continent by yourself. I was really embarrassed when we landed because the pilot played this cheesy 70s song when we were landing on the runway. I could NOT stop laughing. I think I was so giddy to be in Amsterdam plus the fact they were playing a weird song, that I just died. I loved the coach's reaction, because he just stared at me. Then he asked me a great question, "I don't mean this to come off strange but...do you always dress so grungy?" ( I was wearing sweatpants,the ONE pair i own!) I was shocked. I said, "Uh, no. Why?" And he said, "Oh because your unique, and you just seem like you go wherever the wind takes you. And i just was wondering if you just wake up, and pick up what's on the floor..." Ha, that was humbling, for sure.
I LOVE flying with European airlines. On my American airline, for breakfast, I got a soggy egg sandwich. On my european flight breakfast, i got hot tea with milk, and then the stewardess handed me a pack with 2 biscuits. I'm thinking, eww, biscuits. But to my surprise, they were the most delicious things i've ever had. One was figs with goat cheese (Don't knock it til you try it), it tasted like sweet cream cheese, and the other biscuit was rasberry chocolat (raspberry jam with dark chocolates in it) America, you need to learn from Europe with air food.
When I got into Prague, it was the worst moment of my trip. I was lugging around all that luggage and i was sweating, and I was looking for Student Agency to book a bus for Brno. Wow, that was the hardest thing ever. Every person I stopped and asked for help didn't know what Student Agency was. And I wasn't just stopping at random boothes, these were all boothes that said "Bus transport" or "Informace" or something helpful, but the Czech women would just stare at me and say "No anglictky!" I was so upset. I'm pretty sure that was the first (of many more times to come) that I screamed to God in my head, "WHY AM I HERE?!?!?" But yeah, I finally found it after being directed to 7 different areas. And I'm standing there, waiting to be helped, and the Student Agency girl (who's my age) was sitting there talking with her co-worker. They sat there and talked for five straight minutes. No joke. Finally, they're done laughing and the co-worker leaves, and she turns to me straight-faced and is like "What?" I was so mad. But yeah, I got my ticket, and then I had to FIND where the bus actually is. Again, the woman was no help. So I had to wander around aimlessly, and finally a kind young man told me to go under the bridge (whatever that means). But God was watching over me, and I found it.
Here's where my story turns miraculous. There was a old lady standing there, and she broke all the stereotypes I had previously just made of Czech women. She was really nice, and asked me if I knew when our bus was coming. I didn't, but we talked anyways. Her name was Milka, and she's from Brno. She married and has a family and is now living in South Africa. We sat by eachother on the bus and she gave me Swiss chocolate (what a saint). I was so jet lagged that I fell asleep in mid conversation. Then she was shaking me awake, and goes, "Ray-chell, you must get up! We are switching buses." WHAT?! I was so confused, I didn't know we had to switch buses. The next thing I knew, I'm running behind her, following her along cobblestone streets to another bus. I had no idea i had to switch buses. Thanks, Student Agency for being so clear! But she was my guardian angel, and she even got me onto a bus right away, otherwise I would've had to of waited in the snow for a half hour. God is good to me :)
When I got to Brno, my tutor, which is a student helper, Martina, picked me up. I was blown away by how different the Czech Republic was. It looked like the "old country" and many funny things happened right away. We got a locker in the Hlavní Prádlo (main train station) for my luggage, so we could go get some lunch. Well, the key got stuck and it wouldn't turn, and this is not America. There was no 1-800 helpline or something posted, so we were really stressed out. I don't even remember where this guy came from, but a maintenance man walked past and literally just punched the door of the locker and it popped open. Then he walked away! I was like, uhhh this country is crazy. Then we went out to lunch, and that was weird too! If you order a meal, they give you "extra things" with it, and I got spinach soup, which was bright green, and then a "mystery drink" which tasted like a flat dr. pepper. My ham pizza was amazing though. It was made in a fire pit. Yum!
When we left the restaurant, we walked back to the bus station. The Czech Republic is freezing right now. Nebraska is definitely milder. So, we're walking and this clown (yes, a clown, but i think he was a bum too) walks up to me and goes, "Hmmmmmm!" It was so scary. We walked quickly away. I had to keep reminding myself, this is MY homeland. Which, makes so much sense, if you know me. We got to my dorm after climbing the Hill from HELL. It was so steep. And I met my awesome roommate, Anna from Poland.
Then I went out that night and went to a club called Club Mandarin. I was severely jet lagged and wanted to go home the whole time. It was a crazy adventure and figuring out the night trams was an experience because the tram numbers change after 11pm. I got home and fell into my rock hard bed. Welcome to Brno.
My first day in the Czech Republic was...a bit rough. I got off the plane at Prague Airport, and realized i had to lug a heavy duffel bag, and two full sized suitcases around with me. I didn't sleep at all on the plane, so I was exhausted. I had many funny things happen to me on the way to the Czech Republic. When I was at the Detroit Airport I decided to go grab a bite at a restaurant during my layover. It was really awkward because I never eat alone, and I'm pretty sure I was miserable from lack of sleep/confusion. So I'm eating, and my waitress, Lafonda I think, comes over. "Are you Reese Witherspoon??" I nearly spit out my food. She was completely serious. She said all the waitresses were trying to figure it out. I laughed for various reasons. Then she told me Jessica Simpson ate there once, so then I didn't think it was AS weird.
When I got on my plane to Amsterdam, I had the delight of boarding the US Hockey Team, males 20 and under. I found myself sitting next to one of the coaches for the 8 hour flight. God is teaching me right now about first impressions. When I first sat down with him, I was very intimidated and thought he seemed kind of pretentious and jerky, not to mention handsome! :D So i was just miserable. But yes, he told me about his life and how he's been in 2 comas, and one was only five months ago. He pulled out his camera and showed me pics of his head wrapped up in bloody rags from a hockey puck hitting him in the wrong place. It was awful that the same injury happened to him twice. It was a miracle he's alive. He now goes around and does public speaking about his comas, and has started a Christian ministry in on the US Hockey Team. I was amazed because I thought he was a jerk, but he turned out to be a hero...
So i get off the plane in Amsterdam, and I'm really dying. I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, and it was the weirdest feeling being in a different continent by yourself. I was really embarrassed when we landed because the pilot played this cheesy 70s song when we were landing on the runway. I could NOT stop laughing. I think I was so giddy to be in Amsterdam plus the fact they were playing a weird song, that I just died. I loved the coach's reaction, because he just stared at me. Then he asked me a great question, "I don't mean this to come off strange but...do you always dress so grungy?" ( I was wearing sweatpants,the ONE pair i own!) I was shocked. I said, "Uh, no. Why?" And he said, "Oh because your unique, and you just seem like you go wherever the wind takes you. And i just was wondering if you just wake up, and pick up what's on the floor..." Ha, that was humbling, for sure.
I LOVE flying with European airlines. On my American airline, for breakfast, I got a soggy egg sandwich. On my european flight breakfast, i got hot tea with milk, and then the stewardess handed me a pack with 2 biscuits. I'm thinking, eww, biscuits. But to my surprise, they were the most delicious things i've ever had. One was figs with goat cheese (Don't knock it til you try it), it tasted like sweet cream cheese, and the other biscuit was rasberry chocolat (raspberry jam with dark chocolates in it) America, you need to learn from Europe with air food.
When I got into Prague, it was the worst moment of my trip. I was lugging around all that luggage and i was sweating, and I was looking for Student Agency to book a bus for Brno. Wow, that was the hardest thing ever. Every person I stopped and asked for help didn't know what Student Agency was. And I wasn't just stopping at random boothes, these were all boothes that said "Bus transport" or "Informace" or something helpful, but the Czech women would just stare at me and say "No anglictky!" I was so upset. I'm pretty sure that was the first (of many more times to come) that I screamed to God in my head, "WHY AM I HERE?!?!?" But yeah, I finally found it after being directed to 7 different areas. And I'm standing there, waiting to be helped, and the Student Agency girl (who's my age) was sitting there talking with her co-worker. They sat there and talked for five straight minutes. No joke. Finally, they're done laughing and the co-worker leaves, and she turns to me straight-faced and is like "What?" I was so mad. But yeah, I got my ticket, and then I had to FIND where the bus actually is. Again, the woman was no help. So I had to wander around aimlessly, and finally a kind young man told me to go under the bridge (whatever that means). But God was watching over me, and I found it.
Here's where my story turns miraculous. There was a old lady standing there, and she broke all the stereotypes I had previously just made of Czech women. She was really nice, and asked me if I knew when our bus was coming. I didn't, but we talked anyways. Her name was Milka, and she's from Brno. She married and has a family and is now living in South Africa. We sat by eachother on the bus and she gave me Swiss chocolate (what a saint). I was so jet lagged that I fell asleep in mid conversation. Then she was shaking me awake, and goes, "Ray-chell, you must get up! We are switching buses." WHAT?! I was so confused, I didn't know we had to switch buses. The next thing I knew, I'm running behind her, following her along cobblestone streets to another bus. I had no idea i had to switch buses. Thanks, Student Agency for being so clear! But she was my guardian angel, and she even got me onto a bus right away, otherwise I would've had to of waited in the snow for a half hour. God is good to me :)
When I got to Brno, my tutor, which is a student helper, Martina, picked me up. I was blown away by how different the Czech Republic was. It looked like the "old country" and many funny things happened right away. We got a locker in the Hlavní Prádlo (main train station) for my luggage, so we could go get some lunch. Well, the key got stuck and it wouldn't turn, and this is not America. There was no 1-800 helpline or something posted, so we were really stressed out. I don't even remember where this guy came from, but a maintenance man walked past and literally just punched the door of the locker and it popped open. Then he walked away! I was like, uhhh this country is crazy. Then we went out to lunch, and that was weird too! If you order a meal, they give you "extra things" with it, and I got spinach soup, which was bright green, and then a "mystery drink" which tasted like a flat dr. pepper. My ham pizza was amazing though. It was made in a fire pit. Yum!
When we left the restaurant, we walked back to the bus station. The Czech Republic is freezing right now. Nebraska is definitely milder. So, we're walking and this clown (yes, a clown, but i think he was a bum too) walks up to me and goes, "Hmmmmmm!" It was so scary. We walked quickly away. I had to keep reminding myself, this is MY homeland. Which, makes so much sense, if you know me. We got to my dorm after climbing the Hill from HELL. It was so steep. And I met my awesome roommate, Anna from Poland.
Then I went out that night and went to a club called Club Mandarin. I was severely jet lagged and wanted to go home the whole time. It was a crazy adventure and figuring out the night trams was an experience because the tram numbers change after 11pm. I got home and fell into my rock hard bed. Welcome to Brno.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
I'm blogging
So i really like to write...and i decided i would copy ryan kaup and blog about my experiences in the CZ RP! I know i always have weird stories, and it really saddens me when i don't write them down, so i will keep all of you up-to-date with my weird life.
Right now, I'm in Lincoln still preparing for my trip. I have so much to do! I have to get immunized at the health center, wait for visa to come so i can get my passport back (yikes it better come soon), sign up for more classes, get the UNL Czech Head of Dept. to sign off for my classes over there (wonder if Czech Cinema will transfer...) order Czech koruna from my bank, and buy weird odd end things like a vibrating alarm clock (for hostels) and I'm sure theres like five other things i'm forgetting about. my brain hurts.
I'm heading to Washington D.C. for the March for Life jan. 20-25, we're driving there!!! ahh. wow i bet that jet lag is gonna feel nice after a few days on a bus. better start taking multivitamins now.
um, im tired and absolutely nothing weird is happening in my life...yet. so cya.
Right now, I'm in Lincoln still preparing for my trip. I have so much to do! I have to get immunized at the health center, wait for visa to come so i can get my passport back (yikes it better come soon), sign up for more classes, get the UNL Czech Head of Dept. to sign off for my classes over there (wonder if Czech Cinema will transfer...) order Czech koruna from my bank, and buy weird odd end things like a vibrating alarm clock (for hostels) and I'm sure theres like five other things i'm forgetting about. my brain hurts.
I'm heading to Washington D.C. for the March for Life jan. 20-25, we're driving there!!! ahh. wow i bet that jet lag is gonna feel nice after a few days on a bus. better start taking multivitamins now.
um, im tired and absolutely nothing weird is happening in my life...yet. so cya.
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