Getting Adjusted

Sorry it's been awhile for an update. A combination of being busy and being sick is to blame. My allergies have gotten a little out of control which has been irritating. I have been taking medicine, but trying to make what I have last. However, we have been a little busy... I won't bore with all the details, but will go over some highlights!

We ate at an AMAZING italian place called Cicala Trattoria. This place had seriously, the best food I have ever had! It was also amazing to look at the wall of celebrities and see Johnny Depp, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins and many, many others. We went with some friends to celebrate one of the girls going back to the states. Very good food, and good times.

We have also been to Dresden, Germany in the last week. It was my first time riding a train! I enjoyed the train ride- traveling through the country side and getting to sit back or get up and walk around, and the trip wasn't too long at all. Dresden itself isn't an overwhelming city. There were a few interesting things to see but the city has been destroyed a few times. One church had caught on fire five times! However the whole city was bombed in 1945 and that turned in to a large fire basically burning down the entire city. One building looked quite historical, however had actually been rebuilt and finished only a few years ago. There were a few things quite amazing in Dresden, one being paintings by Raphael! We actually saw multiple pieces but the highlight of my trip was seeing the Sixtine Madonna. Basically there was a small rope between me and the painting. Seeing a famous piece of art that close, close enough to see the brush strokes and everything was quite impressive.



A trip to the zoo has also happened since the last update. The zoo was quite an adventure. The Prague Zoo flooded a few years ago and they were on the verge of losing a lot of animals. They basically had to do an emergency evacuation, lost a few (mostly birds) but saved the majority of the animals. This also caused them to do a big renovation, therefore the zoo is really nice and really new. The zoo is very child friendly and had a lot of play areas, and a lot of kids. There were a lot of areas for kids to play in the water too; however it seemed a little awkward for Bryan and me to see all the kids playing in the water naked. Some were like one or two years old... and some... were a lot older. It was also fun to watch all the kids peeing in the plant areas- we have actually seen more kids then necessary peeing along the sidewalk, or in a tree planter, or whatever was convient since we have been here but apparently according to the missionaries it's a common way of life here.



Work has been going well. There have been a few setbacks such as equipment Bryan needs not being here, and then when we ordered it there were complications as well... things like that. I have been helping in the office doing photo work, and other general organization. And we've been helping out with children's programs and plays and things along those lines. Everything seems to be falling into place. We're getting used to shopping, traveling, and daily life in a foreign country. It is starting to seem more like a lifestyle, and less like a vacation. Bryan will be leaving next Sunday to go to Macedonia for the entire week. This is going to be challenging for me to be home alone all week, and probably a little adjustment for Bryan to be gone as well. We have spent pretty much the entire time here together!

Today however, I talked to a guy today about helping out at an English Camp. Basically it's for 18-24 year old Czech speakers to come and learn English with Christian English speakers. It's basically your classic church camp... for older people... and also incorporating English speaking classes... which is more so everyone sitting around in small groups talking about whatever the students want to talk about. It seems like a really awesome opportunity. It would be a week up in the mountains, and then after the week is over there is a few days back in Prague doing tours of the city, hanging out, etc to kinda wrap it all up. I'm really excited about it and am in the process of seeing if I can go because of work, and if we can afford it. I do think this will be something that I will do on my own without Bryan going, but I am completely okay with that. It seems to be an experience I can't pass up, so hopefully everything will fall into place for me to be able to go.

All in all things are going well. Adjustments are hard to make sometimes, but we did have our first friends over to the apartment so I guess we are adjusting. All the hectic traveling and graduating and everything else was going on about a month ago. Hard to believe we've been gone that long already. Just keep us in your prayers- the allergy issue may be because of mold... but hopefully not! And also just for us to find more of a place to belong and get involved, and for what to do and where we need to be when we get home! Although we've only been here a few weeks, we've already started to think about the plans for when we get home, which is necessary. We do appreciate hearing from everyone though! Thanks for keeping in touch, it's a great thing for us to hear from friends and family at home!



-Brittany