Czech Off the Beaten Path

WBSD Wrap Up

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
WBSD was a success once again! Thank you to all you expat bloggers who had posts up on Saturday! All the comments and reactions were very positive to our ring around the world! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as Hospitalera and I did! We got together to celebrate WBSD 3--it was so much fun watching all the posts go live and then surfing from blog to blog!

And a huge thank you to Karen, from Empty Nest Expat, for being our live Twitter reporter! You did a great job, Karen! You worked long hours on that...thank you so much!

We're planning the next WBSD for just after the holidays--sometime in January. Hospitalera and I will be working on putting together on a new official WBSD website! That's very exciting and will also make things easier to work on. Plus, it will be a site that hopefully everyone will be able to access. We'll keep you all updated. If you'd like to participate again, be thinking about some topic suggestions. We'll probably run a poll again for the next one--if you enjoyed that! Let us know with your comments!

Well, that's all for now. A big thanks to all of you who participated!!! You all did great work!!!!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Všech svatých--All Saints Day

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:50:00 +0000

A very lovely, old Czech cemetery by S. Vacik

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Czech Off the Beaten Path! Today, I'm participating in World Blog Surf Day--an event where expat bloggers come together from around the world. We come together and write on a common theme--the theme for today is "Holidays & Celebrations." All the posts, from the participating bloggers, will be very interesting as we have a very eclectic bunch writing about their favorite holidays in many countries!

Another important event, today, is the second anniversary of when I began writing this blog! Hard to believe that it's been around that long! Happy birthday Czech Off the Beaten Path!

Photo by edelweiss on Photobucket

Czech Off the Beaten Path is about my life and adventures in the Czech Republic. I'm an American expat who has lived here for almost three years. My husband is a Czech--so we have many adventures in our married life with trying to work out the cross-cultural aspects of our personalities and countries. We have learned how to combine most of the "foreign" aspects of our lives. Our marriage has become a very nice mix of Czech and American practices--including a blending of holiday celebrations. My favorite holidays are Christmas and Easter. The Czech versions of these holidays are very fun and interesting. I've written a couple of posts about these in past post you can find here. Today, being Halloween, it would seem logical to speak of that. But Czechs do not typically celebrate Halloween--it is mostly celebrated among the American expats who have moved to the Czech Republic. I would rather like to talk about another holiday--Všech svatých, in English "All Saints Day."

Všech svatých, or All Saints Day, is celebrated around the world in many forms, one of the most notable being the Mexican Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Each country has their own way of celebrating this holy day, and Czechs have their own version--one that has become very personal for me, being married to a Czech.

On All Saints Day, my Czech family all gather together to visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. Each grave is cared for--cleaned and put in order. Then they lay flowers and wreaths on each plot and also light small candles that are left burning on the graves. I was shocked by the lit candles being left like that--the fire hazard was very worrisome. But each grave in the cemetery will have at least one lit candle. The effect is very beautiful amongst all the flowers and the Fall colors. On one such holiday, my husband and I took the bus back home to Prague in the evening. As we were driving along, we passed many cemeteries that were lit up in the night with hundreds of those small candles. The effect was so beautiful--and something very new for me to see! Each cemetery looked as if it was full of fireflies as we passed by!

Candles by S. Vacik

After visiting the cemeteries, my Czech family gathers in a local restaurant--it is a great place, with a small pub, located in a very small village in south western Bohemia. The place is very quaint and small, but has wonderful traditional Czech food at great prices! Our family reserves a room there each year, where we typically have a large meal and spend hours just sitting and talking--over several glasses of beer and wine, of course! There is talk about the loved ones who have passed on, and about family things...so it's nice and pleasant. Všech svatých is also a Catholic celebration--and is specially celebrated in the Catholic churches in the Czech Republic.

Chancel of Starokatolicka Cirkev, Petrin Hill by S. Vacik

Back in the States there are some churches (even Protestant) that celebrate All Saints Day. I came to this tradition later in life, at a United Methodist Church, and loved the idea of celebrating our dearly departed. It is wonderful to remember our loved ones who have had positive influences on our lives--and to give thanks for having had the blessing of these people to guide us. My family back home has not really celebrated All Saints Day, but there is the tradition of taking care for the cemetery plots and leaving flowers, plus speaking about our loved ones and various memories--keeping them alive in our hearts. Americans also have Memorial Day, which really began as a holiday to remember those soldiers who died in war time, but later came to include remembering all of our loved ones who have passed on.

Red rose by BabyMj2k5 on Photobucket

I have come to greatly appreciate the Czech way of celebrating All Saints Day--at least the way my Czech family celebrates it. This holiday, in the Czech Republic, is a kind of peaceful, sometimes solemn day. It is a day when we can all gather and share memories and stories about those who have passed on and keep their memory alive in our presence. It is a lovely way to celebrate All Saints Day—one that I have been readily able to adapt into my more American ways of being and doing.

Part of being an expat is learning how to live in and adapt to the new country of residence. This is not an easy process at all. For me, it has helped being married to a Czech—the adapting process begins a little bit faster in some ways. Adventure is also part of the expat life—one that I've been enjoying at this point in my life. My life has become much richer for having married my Czech husband. The tapestry of our lives is being woven together as we learn to live with one another and adapt to the cross-cultural differences we both bring into our relationship. Having new ways to celebrate holidays brings more meaning and depth to such days as All Saints Day, or as we call it here, Všech svatých.

Well, that's all for now! Please visit the next blog, by Sparrow, called The Spotted Sparrow and read about her favorite holiday or celebration! And thanks goes to our Twitter Reporter, Karen, from Empty Nest Expat . She will be busy sending out provocative Tweets on Twitter about each WBSD participating blog! Karen is an American expat writer last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said "her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing—and also anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic."

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a great day and enjoy surfing the world on World Blog Surf Day! Follow that link to find a master link list--if you come across a blog with no post for WBSD, then refer back to the master list to find the next blogger!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photos of cemetery, candles and church property of S. Vacik. All rights reserved.

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World Blog Surf Day Link List

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Three days left till World Blog Surf Day! How are you coming along with your posts???!!! I'm working on mine--and can't wait to post it, along with all of your posts!

For those of you who have not heard about World Blog Surf Day, this is an event where expat bloggers, from all over the world, come together on the same day, write on the same theme, and then link their blogs to form a chain of blog posts that will let you "travel" the world from the comfort of your own home! So, be sure to come back on Saturday to enjoy some great reading and learn about life in far away places!

Here some interesting stats for this WBSD. This is our third WBSD event, and we have 48 bloggers signed up, while last time we had 33. Expat bloggers are taking part from the following countries:

Switzerland-7 bloggers
UK-5 bloggers
USA-5 bloggers
Czech Republic-5 bloggers
Argentia-4 bloggers
Netherlands-4 bloggers
Canada-2 bloggers
Turkey-2 bloggers
Indonesia-1 blogger
Burlgaria-1 blogger
China-1 blogger
Australia-1 blogger
Belgium-1 blogger
Germany-1 blogger
One blogging network-8 bloggers from various countries

Our group of bloggers is very eclectic--just like last time! All this variety makes for a fun and interesting trip for readers surfing the world! The theme for this WBSD is Holidays & Celebrations--what is your favorite new holiday and how it is celebrated? Don't forget, this topic can also include events such as weddings, etc. And your posts can take any form that can be accommodated on a blog--this includes videos and pictures. Our event is family-friendly--so be sure to keep this in mind when preparing your post.

Here is our link list--please link to the person who comes after you on the list (Jackamo, please link back to Roz--creating a circle)--when you link to the next blog, please be sure to include the blogger's name along with the name of their blog:

Moving to Australia on a 457 Visa by Roz Andrews

Bali Expat Blog by Bali Expat

On the Fringe by Global Gal

Internation Musing by Hans

The Skaian Gates by Yarzac

Bulgarian Slivatree by Martin

Sezinia by Sezin

Rickyyates by Chaplain

Workingnomad by Hospitalera

Empty Nest Expat by Karen

Czech Off the Beaten Path by Sher

The Spotted Sparrow by Sparrow

Swissstory Blog by Jessica

Peterhals in Zurich by DRosie

Swiss Family Mac by Mrs Mac

Who'd Say by Carla

Juanita Tortilla by Juanita

A Swissstory by Kylie by Kylie

World Wide Westfields by kookykrys

BBE's Video Snapshots by BBE

A Flamingo in Uthrecht by Oranjeflamingo

Fatbrideslim by Lily

Misadventures of Mub by Mub

Just a Plane Ride Away by JaPra

Emm in London by Emm

Rantings from Afar by annmucc

Eyeflare Travel Tips & Advice by eyeflare

Little London Observationist by Steph

Success Abroad by Zuzanna

Czechmate Diary by Tanja

A Malaysian Abroad by *lynne*

From Ohio with Love by Ivanhoe

Lateral Window by Lilian

Earth to Danie by Barkhouse

Affordable Calling Cards by Expat Calling

Winning Away-Expat Tips & Resources by Emmanuelle

Expatriate Life by Judy

Exile Lifestyle by Colin

The Future is Red by Red

Expanish by Expanish

Jackamo on the Move by Jackamo

Now, be sure to have your post go live at midnight Friday night (Oct. 30th) in your timezone, if at all possible. If that's not possible, then have your post go live as early as you can on Saturday morning so we have no breaks in our chain of blogs. This is very important. Also, please be sure to include our Twitter Reporter, Karen, in your blog post--with a link back to her blog "Empty Nest Expat." Here is the information to include about Karen: Karen is an American expat blogger last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said, "Her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing--and also for anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic." Including this information about Karen is our way of thanking her for being our Twitter Reporter on Saturday! She will read all of our posts and make Tweets on Twitter throughout the day about each of our blogs! How awesome is that!

So, that's it for now...good luck with your posts--and please write me, leave a comment, or Tweet if you have any questions or need more information about Saturday's World Blog Surf Day!

Can't wait!!! See you all on Saturday!!!!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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WBSD is Coming Up Fast!

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Phew, things have been very busy around here! I've definitely not been on vacation, but have been working very hard on some freelance projects that came my way. You know how it is--when it rains, it pours. Well, this is one of those times when it's pouring--but in a good way. I won't complain! Things will calm down in the next week or so as I process the work. It definitely feels good to be here with you all again!

World Blog Surf Day is only a few days away...we're counting down now...5 days till the big event! Our theme for this WBSD is "Holidays & Celebrations--what is your favorite new holiday and how is it celebrated?" I would like to mention that this topic includes holidays, but you can also write about celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, etc. Are you preparing your posts? Your posts can be in any form...written, pictorial, etc. Creativity is what World Blog Surf Day is all about! I'm working on my post...but it has a ways to go before it will be ready. Like last time, it would be great if you could have your posts go live around midnight in your time zone on Friday night. This will allow for all the posts to be "live" on Saturday morning at the same time...well, that's the theory, anyway! That worked well for our last WBSD...so we'll try that again this time.

For all of you new WBSD participants, I will have the link list posted here and on the WBSD site by Wednesday. That list will show who you are supposed to link to in your post. Each blogger will include a link to the next blogger in the chain--this will create a circle, so that a reader can surf from blog to blog and travel the world!

We have a bit of news for WBSD--we have an official Twitter Reporter! Karen, from Empty Nest Expat, will be our live reporter on Saturday! As a way of expressing our thanks for Karen's work, it would be great if each of your blogs would include a link to Karen's blog. Also, please include this bio for Karen in your post: Karen is an American expat writer last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said, "Her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing--and also anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic." Our Twitter Reporter will be reading each of your blog posts and Tweeting a blurb about them on Twitter!

That's all for now! If you have any questions or comments please leave them here in the comments, or drop me an email...or a Tweet!

Have a great day--looking forward to your posts on Saturday!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Blog Action Day 2009

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Today is Blog Action Day--and this blog is participating (even at the last minute). What is Blog Action Day? The website says, "Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion." There are 8,565 bloggers signed up to participate in this event. What a powerful event way to spread the message about climate change and living a more "green" life to help the planet.

Since moving to Europe, my entire life, at every level, has changed drastically. My life in the Czech Republic has become much "greener" and environmentally friendly here. For instance, back in the States, I had an electric washer and dryer, a Jeep Cherokee, air conditioning, etc. Well, I have some of those same things here, but my use of these appliances and the car has completely turned around. Electricity is very expensive here, in the Czech Republic, and in most of the rest of Europe. People are very careful about the way in which they consume energy due to the expense, but also more and more Europeans are becoming more aware of climate change and the damage we are all doing to our planet. Back to my life here in Europe, I no longer have a car. That was one of the first major changes when I moved to the Czech Republic. My husband and I live in Prague. Prague is a beautiful city that has a wonderful public transit system. We don't really need to have a car in order to get around. And truly, I don't miss driving too much. The city drivers are a bit scary in the way they drive. I'm not sure I could keep out of their way, and I'm afraid I would bring one of those round-abouts to a stop since I'm not exactly sure how they work! Anyway, this was one ways that my life became much "greener" and more climate friendly right when I arrived in Prague. Along with the public transit we also do a lot of walking around the city. Prague is a beautiful place, so walking here is usually a pleasure. There's always something new to see or experience as you run your errands.

Another area that changed drastically is the way we do laundry here compared to the way it's done in the US. We have an electric washer, of course, but it is one that tumbles the clothes (the washer's basket sits sideways in the washer). This means there is less use of water. In the US, my washer had a huge basket that would hold several gallons of water per each cycle for one load of clothes. One load of wash back home would take about 30-45 minutes. Here, the washer takes at least an hour, and more for washing sheets and towels. Even so, my washer here is much "greener" than my washer back in the States. The washer here doesn't use as much water or electricity. So, we save water, energy and money--and still have very clean clothes. The next step in doing laundry is drying. I had an electric dryer back in the US, but here, we have a drying rack or clothes lines on which to hang our clothes. The clothes will air-dry, rather than using electricity or gas. Again, this saves energy and money! Air-drying clothes isn't as convenient. It took me a while to get used to doing laundry in this way, but now I actually prefer it to the way I did laundry back home.

I must say that we also don't have nearly as much waste as I did when living in the US. I can't say for certain why that is. But back in the US, just my daughter and I, and our dog, produced a Jeep load of trash in just a few days! Here, though, my husband and I, and our two gerbil boys produce only about 1/3 of the amount of trash we had in the States! Packaging of products is much better here. There's not nearly the amount of cardboard, paper and plastic in our trash. Czechs are also very good about recycling many items such as plastic and glass. They will also use things up until they have to be replaced, rather than constantly purchasing new things. This, too, is another way that we live greener here in the Czech Republic.

These are only a couple of ways that my life has become much "greener" since moving to the Czech Republic. I must say, that we really don't use nearly as much electricity even to light our flat or cook, etc. We try to save where we can--to save the environment and to save money. This has given me a new perspective on the way I once lived compared to how I live now. My life has definitely become much more "earth-friendly" than it used to be. I hope to continue to become more energy efficient, more "green" in my ways of living and being so that the Earth might be a more pleasant place for my kids and their kids--and for everyone around the world.

Thanks for stopping by--visit another blog--and learn how other expats are learning to live "greener" lives around the world. Please support Blog Action Day!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher

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Busy Days & WBSD

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Wow, things have been very busy lately! It's been about two weeks since my last post and that's due to my being so very immersed in work and Life. Currently, I have a small freelance project going that is taking up most of my time, and I have acquired a student(a son of a friend)--and I've become a tutor of English. This is a development I never thought would come about--me as a tutor? Yes, now I am! Along with that, I've fought a stomach virus, and watched our neighbor's cat for a few days. Jiri and I also took a trip to Okor Castle a couple of weekends ago. I have some pretty pictures from that trip and I'll write a post to go with the pictures, too. I've also not forgotten about the Rome pictures! There's a lot to catch up on!

World Blog Surf Day is only a couple of weeks away, too! We have thirty-six expat bloggers who have signed up so far. Hopefully a few more will come and join us. I will work on getting the word out about WBSD, and if you could also help--that would be great. The more bloggers we have the merrier and more fun WBSD will be! I'll write a post, in a few days, about how World Blog Surf Day will work--just as a reminder and update for everyone. I'm very excited about WBSD and am looking forward to when it will go live on October 31st!

Another note about World Blog Surf Day--we are looking for a Twitter reporter! Last time we had Anastasia Ashman (Thandelike, on Twitter) as our reporter. She is busy this time around, so we would like to find another blogger who would be interested in becoming our Twitter reporter. This would entail reading all the blog posts, and posting interesting and intriguing Tweets (about each blog) throughout the day of WBSD on October 31st. As compensation for your work, we would include a link back to you (your blog/Twitter page--whichever you would like) on each WBSD participating blog. Let me know if you're interested!

That's all for now...I wanted to get caught up with you all and let you know what's been going on. It's a very busy time!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Topic is....

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for taking part in the WBSD poll to choose the topic we'll all be writing about on October 31st! It was surprising to see the outcome of our voting...really...and interesting! Can you make a guess as to which topic came in #1? Drum roll please..................

Well...maybe I should do a break down of the poll for you...that might be more interesting! We had a total of twenty-six votes--this includes some bloggers who have signed up, but whose blogs are currently in the review process. Here is the break down of votes:

Fifth place, with one vote: How do people in my new country work to change the place for the better?

Fourth place, with one vote: What is your favorite kind of music that you've discovered in your new country, and why do you like it?

Third place, with five votes: My new country's strangest custom.

Second place, with six votes: Festivals & Celebrations-how does the new country deal with death, ghosts, and other worldly, creatures?

First place, with six votes: Religion & Society-what role does religion play in your new country? (This the one I voted for!)

Now, the winner that will be our topic for October 31st....

Drum roll please...I can't stand the suspense.....well, you should have figured it out by now...so here goes....

And the winner is, with seven votes: Holidays and Celebrations-what is your favorite new holiday and how is it celebrated?

You can see the voting was hot and furious...and very close on the last three topics. It was a toss up a couple of moments! Thank you all for participating in the vote!

That's all for now...I'll go over the next set of details (for those of you who are new) in the next post!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Topic Poll

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
The World Blog Surf Day poll is finally ready! We have an eclectic bunch of topic choices to choose from. Any of these will provide very interesting topics for our next WBSD. Please visit the poll here:WBSD Poll or by clicking the title of this post. Vote for your favorite topic of choice! And if your idea isn't chosen this time, it will be included as a topic choice for our next WBSD. The poll will close on Monday morning (Prague time), and I will post the results here! So be sure to come back on Monday to see what our topic will be. Remember, you need to have your post ready to go live on Oct. 31st--but more about that in upcoming posts!

That's all for now...you all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Poll for WBSD

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
We have ten bloggers now confirmed to participate in World Blog Surf Day! The countries that are represented, so far, are Argentina, Bali, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Turkey and the US. That's a great start! We can use more bloggers, though...so keep getting the word out to all your expat friends and contacts!

So far we have only a couple of topic suggestions for WBSD. The suggestions so far have been Religion & Society, and Celebrations/Holidays. Last week, I said we could take suggestions till Thursday, but I'm leaving it open for more suggestions till this coming Thursday, September 24th. I'll put the poll up over the next weekend and have the results posted on Monday, September 28th. Spread the word about WBSD--get your friends and contacts to sign up, and leave your topic suggestions here, in the comments--or email them to me at czechoffthebeatenpath at gmail dot com--or you can Tweet your suggestion on Twitter--look for czechoffthebeat.

One more note, I'm making a list of WBSD participating blogs--you'll find it in the right side bar. You'll find the name of each blog is also a link that to specific blog.

That's all for now! You all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Update

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:27:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
World Blog Surf Day sign up has begun. We have five bloggers who are confirmed to participate in the next WBSD. Here is a list of the first six to sign up:

Sezin	Sezinia	Czech Republic
Chaplain	Rickyyates	Czech Republic
Tanja	Czechmate Diary	USA
Hans	Internation Musing	Turkey
Sher	Czech Off the Beaten Path	Czech Republic
Hospitalera	Workingnomad	Czech Republic

The topic for our upcoming WBSD is still up for a vote. So far, we have one suggestion--religion/society--for our theme. Please feel free to offer other suggestions--you can send them in via email to czechoffthebeatenpath at gmail dot com; send a Tweet on Twitter to czechoffthebeat, or leave your suggestion in the comment section on this blog. The deadline for topic suggestions will be this Thursday, September 17th, and I will have a poll ready here on Friday. Everyone can cast their votes from Friday to Monday, September 21st, when I'll have the results recorded here.

Just a reminder--the sign up deadline for the next World Blog Surf Day will be October 24th. Be sure to spread the word about WBSD to your expat friends and readers! The goal is to create a chain of expat bloggers that goes around the world! The more bloggers we have the better!

That's all for today...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Sign-Up Ready

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:14:00 +0000

Credit: Art by Beka

Hi Everyone,
Are you expat bloggers ready for the next World Blog Surf Day? I am! Sign-up is now open for the next WBSD, which will be held on October 31, 2009. You can visit the WBSD site for more information on what World Blog Surf Day is and how to participate.

The theme for this coming WBSD is still under consideration. This time we'll hold a poll (next week) so participating bloggers can vote on what our next theme should be. If you have any suggestions for the theme, please leave them in the comments here, or send me an email...or you can also Tweet them to me on Twitter! We've had a couple of bloggers suggest the theme of religion and society--which would be very apro po for October 31st! So, please send in your comments and suggestions for a theme. The deadline for submitting theme ideas will be next Thursday, September 17th. This will allow me to get the poll up on Friday (here on Czech Off the Beaten Path), September 18th--then everyone can vote over the weekend--and I'll post the results on Monday, September 21st, here on this blog.

All expat bloggers who sign up for WBSD will need to have a blog that is active and has frequent posts. Each blog will be reviewed to ensure that this rule is followed. So, be sure that your blog meets these qualifications before signing up. Most expat blogs are accepted--so don't worry about being rejected. We just have to make sure the blogs are active. If an inactive blog is included, then there is a high probability of that blogger not posting on October 31st--and this would break the chain (of blogs around the world) we are trying to create for our readers. Once your blog has been reviewed, you will receive a confirmation email that your blog's been accepted for WBSD. You'll also receive an email if you blog is not accepted, with an explanation of why it was rejected. We need this rule in order to keep WBSD the best experience possible for our bloggers and our readers.

This is an added note: it has been brought to my attention that Google Sites is banned in Turkey. Is it banned in any other countries, too? That's a problem, but if you would like to sign up, and can't get to the sign-up form, then if you would feel comfortable with it, send me your information via email: your blogging name, blog name/address, email address, and your home country and your new country of residence. Also, if you would like to have the WBSD logos, let me know...I can email those to you. We have several color schemes to choose from: blue, brown, pink (my daughter's favorite color), and green. If you need/want a different color scheme, let me know. Beka will come up with it and I can email it to you. Sorry for this inconvenience!

That's all for today! This WBSD will surely be interesting and fun...and the sign-up is now ready...and we will vote on the theme! Once we have the theme, we can all get to working on our posts and be ready for the fun traveling around the world from blog to blog! I'm really excited and looking forward to our next WBSD! And if you'd like to get the word out, there are logos available for you to use...and if you use social media, then please tell all your friends and followers about World Blog Surf Day!

You all have a great day and a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

PS I have been watching the stats on this blog for quite a while, and have found there is one post that continously brings in the most search traffic. That is the post "Garlic Soup--Cure for the Common Cold." For those of you interested in the recipe for traditional Czech garlic soup, you can find it by clicking the link in the upper left-hand sidebar! Enjoy!

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Health Emergency & a Czech Hospital

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:25:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Wow, it's been a whirlwind lately with traveling home to Prague and dealing with health issues. Things were very crazy last week after I came home. A week ago Sunday, Jiri ended up at the emergency room (where his mother lives) for severe abdominal pain. They found it was his gallbladder causing the problem and gave him some shot (what--he doesn't know) and sent him home. Monday, Jiri was back in Prague and trying to get ready to meet me at the airport. The whole day he was ill and in great pain. When we met at the airport (he hadn't yet told me about the Sunday emergency room visit), I could tell that he was sick and urged him to go to the doctor. But no--he's a very stubborn guy--and said he was fine.

Tuesday morning Jiri went to work, still feeling pretty bad (though he said he was fine). But something made him visit his doctor, and his doctor immediately sent him to the hospital for tests. At the hospital, they discovered a stone was causing the problem...it was blocking bile from leaving the gallbladder. The bile was very infected and the infection and inflammation were spreading to other places in the abdomen. Not a good scenario. Jiri had to stay at the hospital and began receiving high doses of antibiotics and other meds. Everything was getting better, until Thursday morning when blood tests seemed to show more trouble. Thankfully a sonogram showed things were OK, and surgery was averted--for the time being. Friday Jiri was able to come home. The doctors have urged that surgery is necessary, but Jiri has some things at work that need to be taken care of before he will have the surgery. Ach jo...now it looks like the surgery will have to wait till November. I'm hoping and praying that Jiri's gallbladder will cooperate and wait to be taken out in November!

This is what I walked back into last week when I got home here, to Prague. It's been a very interesting experience--one of the first health emergencies (dealing with one of us) Jiri and I have had to deal with as a married couple, and this was my first experience with a Czech hospital. Last week was very stressful and then dealing with my own current health situation--has left me kind of drained. However, everything is going OK and things are gradually improving (including me)...so I can't complain at all!

Jiri was in Bulovka Hospital, in Prague 8. This is a typical Czech hospital in that there are many buildings on a "campus" setting. We have similar settings in the US. However, the difference comes when looking at the age of the buildings. Jiri was in a very old building that actually looked more like a former castle or hotel. I'm not very good at judging the age of a building, but it looked like this "castle" might have been built in the 1700's or 1800's. It was a nice, grand old building. Once inside, the building was kind of dreary, but immaculately clean. Jiri was in a ward for internal medicine, and there were probably about six other patients there, in the same room. Actually, Jiri had a small side room (with three beds in it) all to himself. That was really nice. Private rooms are available, but they are very expensive. So, Jiri stayed in the ward.

All the beds in the ward looked as if they were from the 1940's--no kidding. They were adjustable, but only with hand cranks...no electric beds. There were no TVs in the ward, and a single window. Of course, I'm used to US hospitals where we have two people to a room, or even a private room, with TV, a bathroom for that specific room, privacy curtains, everything is very modern, etc. This is all I've known, never having lived outside of the US before moving to the Czech Republic. What surprised me more was what was necessary to pack for Jiri's stay in the hospital. The list included soap and shampoo, a towel and wash cloth, and toilet paper. These were surprising for me! These are automatically part of a stay in a US hospital. Of course, you end up paying for these, but they are supplied at the hospital. Czech hospitals, in asking patients to pack even their own toilet paper, are trying to keep the costs down for the hospital and patients. This is a good thing--just something very different than what I've been used to in the US.

Jiri's small room off the ward was not depressing--it was painted with nice, bright colors and was so clean you could eat off the floor! There was plenty of light, and a small sink near his bed (that served the whole room of three beds). All the medical equipment was very modern (aside from the beds, and each bed did have a call button to call a nurse), and the doctors and nurses were all very nice and helpful--very pleasant people. One nice thing, too, was that Jiri was able to keep his cell phone and use it there, in the ward.

All in all, it was a good first experience with a Czech hospital. Now, I'm not sure how I would do in such a setting--I'm used to privacy and am a very modest person. But for a first experience with a loved one in the hospital it was OK. Jiri was very well taken care of and looked after...and everyone was very nice to me, too. I can't complain at all, and am happy that the doctors were able to "patch up" Jiri till he will relent to have the necessary surgery!

Well, that's all for today! I'm working on the WBSD sign-up, and will have that ready later this week. I'm also getting back into dropping Entrecards--and will get that caught up this week, too!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

PS My health situation is still unfolding...but is slowly improving. My doctor said it will take another five to ten days before I'm really feeling better. He is ordering more tests since my blood work showed some signs that need further investigation. I still have no wrinkles in my face...but am hoping some will show soon...I'm tired of the "moon face!" :0)

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Back in Prague

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:49:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
I've not fallen off the face of the planet! I'm back in Prague once again, and have managed to walk directly into a health emergency situation--not my own. I'll tell you more about that next week once we have an outcome...things are a bit up in the air right now, but will hopefully come out OK in the next day or two.

My trip back to Prague was a bit of a trial since I'm still sick, but the main thing is to have returned home safely! I had to see my doctor and he's in the process of sorting me all out. It will take some time due to the amount of prednisone I was having to take. The prednisone has caused some other complications...one of which is fluid retention. My face looks very round...one good thing, however, is that the prednisone has puffed my face so much as to get rid of my wrinkles! I guess a round face, with no wrinkles, is OK at my age! I'm enjoying the no wrinkles, but I don't recommend this for anyone wanting to have a more youthful look!

Otherwise, I will be working on WBSD and preparing the sign-up form. I'm hoping to have that up and ready next week. And then we'll need to vote on the topic for this upcoming WBSD, too. I'm looking forward to this--it will be fun!

And dear Entrecard droppers, I'll be back to dropping in a day or so. Things are so busy right now with the health emergency I've not had time to get caught up. Thanks for still coming by to drop and visit.

Well, that's all for now...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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A Quick Update & World Blog Surf Day

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Entrecard seems to be having some troubles lately--at least I'm getting this impression from other bloggers who have written about it. This morning I logged into my account and tried to begin the dropping process, but for some reason the widgets are not recognizing me. I've written to Entrecard to let them know, and I will begin dropping again once this problem has been fixed. Thank you to all of you who are still dropping!

The only other news is that I'm still having allergy/asthma troubles--nothing is wanting to loosen up. So, this will be an added adventure for when I head back home later this week. By then it's possible this current attack could be on the mend, but if not, my fear is that someone at some airport here or in the EU will believe I'm sick with H1N1 (Swine Flu) and pull me off the plane!!! I carry doctor's letters when I travel stating I have severe allergies/asthma...so hopefully they will listen. Otherwise, I might have some interesting tale to tell you after I reach Prague...time will tell!

One more note--it looks like there is still enough interest, from other expat bloggers, to warrant having another World Blog Surf Day! So, I'll begin working on putting everything together. WBSD will be on October 31st. I'm going to also put together a survey so we can vote on the topic for our next WBSD. I'll have that ready, along with the sign-up sheet in the next week or two. I'll make sure to put an update here and on Twitter when these are ready to go!

That's all for now...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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The Expat Spirit

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:59:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
It's been a while since I've written a post, but there's a very good reason for that! Things have been particularly busy since coming back to the States for a visit with my family. We've been on the go much of the time--running to Texas for a graduation party for my eldest daughter, Beka. She received her Bachelor's degree and is now heading off to grad school. We had a fun few days in Texas with her and our friends and family who live there. On the way back to New Mexico, my parents and I stopped to drop my youngest daughter, Samantha, off at her university. We made sure she was settled and had groceries, etc. before heading back to the Enchanted Circle. What a whirlwind these days have been! Along with this, I've been sick with allergies and asthma to the point I've had to resort to using the nebulizer, prednisone and other meds to try to recover. What a bummer (frustrating)! Even so, I've been able to have a wonderful and very good time here at home with my parents and friends.

There has been a lot going on beneath the surface of my life on this trip, too. My traveling here has been very cathartic on many levels. Being the reluctant expat that I am, it is nice to have the opportunity to "regroup" at home where people know and love me...and understand my Americaness. I am most fortunate to have parents who understand Europe from travels and times they have spent there, and who have dealt with many from all around the world in their business connections. My folks are not ignorant and are open-minded about other countries and cultures. On this trip, they have been allowing me to tell them about some of my experiences in the Czech Republic--things I would not want to write about here for they are of a too personal nature, not interesting for you readers, etc. I've had so many experiences in the past months which needed to be sorted out and put into perspective. This has been a time of insight, healing and gaining perspective for me...also learning more about myself...things I had not realized before...good and bad. These insights have brought some calm to my soul and will allow me to move forward into the next phase of my expat life. Where that will lead, no one knows...especially not me...but I'm very thankful to have had this time of renewal for my expat spirit.

Another aspect of this trip is that it has given me time to read! I am a voracious reader--devouring books of all kinds--everything from fiction to non-fiction, covering subjects from to the spiritual to astronomy and many in between. One of the most remarkable books on this trip has been one called "The Shack," by William Paul Young. Young presents the story of a father who loses his daughter only to find the Lord and a journey to healing and a better understanding of his own place in the realm of eternity. The story is not trite and pithy, but rather it is one of great spiritual depth. Young has crafted a story that deals with spirituality rather than religion. The author is a fan of some of the greatest spiritual writers: George McDonald, A. W. Tozer, C. S. Lewis, Khalil Gibran, and many others. These are also some of my favorite spiritual writers. You can find their influence all throughout the story--which reads like a wonderful narrative. I would highly recommend this book to you all...and you can find it in my Amazon store listed in the left side-bar and at the end of this post, as well as in the link here:

The next few days will be busy again with me trying to recover from this current allergy and asthma flare-up, hopefully managing some shopping for necessary items to take back to Prague, and have some more fun with my parents before heading back to the Czech Republic. I would like to apologize about the Rome pictures. This is still a work in progress due to the fact that my regular computer is waiting for me in Prague--and it has the program necessary to process the pictures! I will be working on those and will upload them to share with you all here once I'm back home.

One other note--would you still be interested in participating in World Blog Surf Day? Hospitalera and I were working on that when we both had things come up that needed our attention. I'm not sure if she would still like to be involved, but if enough of you are interested, I would love to hold WBSD again. My thinking is that it would probably have to wait until the middle of October, but it could still be put together by that time. And we could do another near the holidays--if you would like. Just let me know and we can go from there. The last two WBSD's were a lot of fun and very interesting--and I would love to do another--but only if there's enough interest. Please drop me an email or leave a comment if you would like to see WBSD be held again.

That's all for now...I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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The Joys of Being Home

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
My trip from Prague to the US was pretty smooth. There were four legs to my trip--which makes for a very long traveling day. I was on the go for about twenty-two hours all told. And boy, did I feel every one of them. The last leg of my flights was late in the night on Thursday (which would have been Friday morning in Prague). The flight was completely full--hard to believe that late at night. My seat mate was a guy who wasn't too tall or huge, but he was one of those guys who has no conception of personal space, and who takes up all his own space, and yours, too! That was annoying, of course, but something I've learned to deal with when traveling. However, the worst part about sitting next to this guy was the snack he chose to bring on the plane. It was salami, which I've come to enjoy in the Czech Republic, but the salami of my seat mate smelled to high heavens. That salmi actually smelled like road kill that's been out in the sun for about ten days! I was feeling pretty nauseated from the long trip--and then to have this road kill salami being eaten next to me...I thought for sure I was going to lose all I had eaten at supper. The stewardess brought me two ginger ales and I also put on my allergy mask, and had a barf bag ready just in case. I really felt that bad. To top it off the flight was a bit bumpy! Well, somehow I survived...here I am safe and sound in New Mexico once again!

It's been a year since I was home last, so there have been some issues with culture shock after complete immersion to life in Prague. The first awareness of culture shock for me was how huge everything is compared to Europe. Everything is bigger here in the US! The next thing that hit me was sensory overload from all the colors, lights and English that was bombarding me after deplaning. Prague has some colorful places, to be sure, but nothing like here in the US. And as for the language--in the Czech Republic I can pick out the Czech I understand and ignore the rest. The bombardment of English language which hit my ears was really overwhelming. Over the next few days I'll be able to ignore things that don't apply to me--it's only a matter of retraining!

Being back with my family is wonderful! I'm with my parents and my youngest daughter, and of course, with Pal and Jade (the pups)! Everyone is doing great and there's a lot to catch up on, even though we talk online every day. The mountains are as beautiful as they always are, and I'm enjoying this pollution-free air, the dryness and coolness that are found at high altitude. We are currently at about 9,000 ft--the air is rarefied at this height. It's great for my allergies and asthma...I'm getting a good drying out--just what the doctor back home recommended!

Back home, in Prague, Jiri, Pepa and Ota are all doing well!

That's all for today! Here's a link to a post about the Enchanted Circle of New Mexico, which is where our family home is located. I hope you enjoy the tour of the Enchanted Circle over the next few days! Also, I'm working on getting the rest of our pictures from Rome online. That is a task that will take some time as I'm using my old laptop and it's pretty slow. But I'll have these pictures up over the next few days!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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What's Been Happening

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
I've been very busy and have been in the midst of a writer's block due to so many things going on at one time. It seemed better not to write up a post that would be rambling with no particular point. The break has helped, and some of the issues have been resolved. Be sure to visit Hospitalera's blog for some tips on how to deal with writer's block.

There have been several things going on simultaneously in the past couple of weeks. One of the issues I've been dealing with since just before our move was the lack of a high-speed Internet connection. We lost our T-1 connection at the old flat during a horrible storm. Then we moved and had to get new service set up. Finally we have a high-speed connection once again which is also WiFi capable! Wow, Jiri and I have entered the twenty-first century and can both be online at the very same time. This will be a huge blessing when Jiri's in one of his vortex of work times.

Speaking of Jiri--his hand is now completely recovered from the accident he had at work. He was supposed to see the doctor last week to have the stitches removed. Well, my husband, being one of those DIY (Do-It-Yourself) guys, removed the stitches himself! Thankfully the cut is healing very nicely and looks pretty good. Jiri is back to doing most everything, again, except for helping with the dishes--he says the cut needs to further heal before he can help with that chore on a regular basis!

A couple of other things that have been going on are the loss of another expat friend who is moving on to new pastures. I'm very excited for her, but will feel her loss very much. One of my kids has also been ill, but is now doing OK and receiving the proper treatment. And then there was our move, too. Well, I've survived very nicely to this point, anyway. This is called Life! And I've been living it to the hilt!

Now that things are getting more or less back to normal here, the next bit of news is that I'm preparing to go home in a few days--back to the US to see my family. It's been one year, almost exactly, since I was last home. So hard to believe it's been that long, but it's true. I'm in the midst of getting everything together for the trip--have already ordered my gluten-free meals, gotten the necessary gizmos together, and tomorrow will start the actual packing process. With all of this going on I'll not have time to post too much this week. Next week I'm going to run some posts about my home in New Mexico, in the Enchanted Circle area. I'm looking forward to some time at high altitude to dry out from the current allergy and asthma flare that has been going on the past few days. Dry air does wonders-it's also a good place to wear off calories. I inevitably shed almost ten pounds on a visit back home. My Mom doesn't like that--it sounds terrible! She's a wonderful cook, but the difference is the low-fat, no salt diet, plus the high altitude. I'm looking forward to Mom's cooking, to losing weight and drying out my allergies and asthma--plus seeing my family!

I'm trying to decide what to do about the stories and pictures from our trip to Rome. That is very old news now. Do you have any suggestions? Should I go ahead and post these at a later time or just skip them for now?

This brings you up-to-date with all that has been going on since my last post. Just normal Life. Well, at least normal for an expat!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

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Writer's Block

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:49:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
It's a beautiful Friday afternoon here, in Prague, and I'm sitting in our new flat enjoying the nice temperatures and sun...and I have writer's block! Several tries at writing has left my fingers just hovering over the keyboard wondering exactly what to type. In this instance, it might be better not to write anything...or is it the best answer? Maybe some rambling will solve the problem. Let's see...

Last night we had some horrible storms come through the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. Several people were killed by falling trees, and roofs were ripped off houses, and many places were and still are without electricity. Jiri was stranded at work due to the train not running in the evening. He almost didn't find any supper, but finally found one of the cooks in his building who could manage some klobasa on gas stove. Then Jiri spent the night as he would have been home extremely late once the trains did begin to run. This storm was the first major storm in our new flat. It was exciting to see how the storm came down on us--the clouds got lower and darker until the wind finally kicked up. It was so dark by this time it was necessary to turn on lights--at five in the afternoon on a summer day! At that point, the young trees were bending almost completely to the ground as the wind howled by. Then the rains came...and looking out the window, it literally looked like a hurricane scene from a movie. There was only small damage near us--a sign was blown partially off a bridge, the building site nearby suffered some small damage. Thankfully things here were OK and no one was hurt. Jiri stayed safe, too, at his office.

Today has been a very windy, beautiful summer day, and much cooler than yesteday was. I have all the windows open to air out the flat and cool it down from yesterday. It's so nice to have more windows out onto the world around us. Our old flat had some nice windows, but we saw only one scene all the time. The new flat gives us a couple of nice views, one of which is changing all the time. I don't feel like I'm in a box any more. Well, if we're in a box, at least it's a little bigger and more pleasant than the last one!

Yesterday Jiri was hurt at work. He crushed his hand and needed to have two stitches in the middle finger on his right hand. Thankfully he bruised hand was bruised and nothing was broken. Jiri still has the full use of his hand, but says it's pretty sore. Poor Jiri--yesterday he had a pretty horrible day--the injury, being stranded at the office--initially with no electricity, no food, etc!

Well, I'm still having trouble with what to write, so will probaby close this post for today. I have many ideas of topics to write on, but the timing is not right. Today is just one of those in-between times when it's difficult to find the right topic and the right words. Amazing, too, after just moving into a new place...you'd think there would be all kinds of new things to write about! Maybe this writer's block is due to being tired from all the activity and excitement of moving. I won't worry too much. Things will turn around...and the time for the other posts will come and writing will move on. This writer's block is only a speed bump--that's all--a small blip on the horizon that will eventually pass after some R&R this weekend!

The Rome posts are still in waiting--I'm having trouble with managing to drop cards on Entrecard--both of these are due to the current slow Internet connection we have. We have contacted an ISP, but here, things take the slow road to getting done...hopefully the new service will be working soon and then I can show some more pictures from our trip to Rome...and get back to dropping at Entrecard.

You all have a great day and a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Moving & Unpacking Experiences

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Our move is about finished and has actually gone very smoothly. We still have a few things left at the old flat to move, but they are relatively small and can wait till this weekend. After that, we'll have to clean up the old place. It's pretty dusty from the packing and moving we have been doing. The cleaning up, though, shouldn't take too long.

We began to officially live in our new flat last Thursday--so have almost been here a week already! Time is flying! Most everything here has been unpacked and put away. That's a great feeling for me. We had so many things stuffed into our small flat that it was crowded and cluttered. Here, though, there are more cabinets in the kitchen and we have a storage cellar ("sklep" in Czech). Now I can have things more organized when put away--and not just "stuffed" into the cabinets and wardrobes. I'm not a "neat freak," but do need to keep things clean and organized for my allergies. Cleaning is much faster when things are put away and in good order.

Living in this little bit bigger flat has had some unexpected psychological effects, as well. Living in the midst of clutter and small places left me feeling listless--lost in the midst of the odds and ends of our lives. It can be stifling to live in the midst of even somewhat ordered chaos. I tried to have everything as neat and nice as possible, but there is a point where possessions and necessities will begin to take over when you've reached the limit of your living space. Moving to a bigger place has made me feel a great sense of relief in this aspect--there's more space--and most everything has it's place.

Along with the moving and unpacking adventures, Jiri and I had some other funny things happen during the move. During the actual moving process one of our guy friends helped to drive the moving van and load our things. He and Jiri were very Czech in that they wouldn't allow me to help with the lifting and packing of the moving van at all! They had me wait outside with the truck--to guard the truck and the contents as they were packing. When we arrived at the new flat, they had me do the same thing again while they were unpacking! Back home, my own Dad would have had me helping to unload--in fact, Dad and I did just that when he drove my belongings in a huge truck to New Mexico when I moved there! He and I unloaded heavy stuff, too--not just easy stuff! This is what I'm used to--helping out...not just guarding the truck! Still, it was nice, and once our things were in the new flat, I really got to work on unpacking, sorting and putting away!

Another small adventure was to come our very first night in the flat. We had been working all day and hadn't had too much to eat. It was pretty late--22:00--when I finally began to try to cook us some small supper. Try to cook being the operative phrase. Keep in mind it was very hot that day, and we'd been working hard all day long...so my mind wasn't in the best shape to begin figuring out how to run a new stove! There was a manual for the stove, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to try to dicipher it that time of the night. I looked over the stove and there were no apparent buttons or knobs. Oh brother...what to do? How to turn on the stove? I tried everything, including looking at the controls for the oven. Nothing made any sense what-so-ever. Finally, I had to break down and ask Jiri if he could help me! It only took him a minute of playing around to find the way. The stove top is glass, and has circles for four burners. Near the front of the stove top, in the middle, are five smaller circles I hadn't noticed in my inspection. Jiri found these and touched each one. At first nothing happened, then he pressed his finger onto one of the small circles and all kinds of things lit up on the stove top! Miracle of miracles! These were the means of controlling the stove! I was very thankful to Jiri, but how humiliating to have your Czech husband show you how to use a new stove! This, when I love gizmos and never have to read the manuals to figure out new "toys!"

Our other adventures have been of the more usual kind--deciding where to put the furniture, etc. Nothing so funny or interesting...but still another dimension of the cultural differences in our marriage. Thankfully we've managed to sail through with no mishaps! We will eventually need more furniture to make our new flat a little nicer...and our next challenge is setting up Internet service. This was supposed to be ready to go, but you know how that works sometimes. So, we have to get this taken care of as soon as possible. Right now, I'm using the USB modem--very slow and doesn't allow for pictures to be uploaded very easily. I'm hoping we can get this fixed before I leave for the States!

Well, that's all for today! I hope you all have a great day! Thanks to all of you who have continued dropping on Entrecard. I'll be back to dropping regularly again as soon as we have our Internet service figured out!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Process of Moving

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:50:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
I'm taking a lunch break and decided to give an update about our moving and leave something to say hi to you all!

We've been preparing for the process of moving the past few days. Things have been pretty busy! Jiri and I found some furniture for the flat, and have arranged for the delivery. We found out there is already some Internet service available and running in the flat, so that was good news and I'll be able to update and write over the weekend! We still have to somehow manage the moving of the bigger items from our old flat to the new one, but that will come about. I'm not fretting over that. It will happen. So, things are coming together for the move--and that's a very good feeling.

While we're in the midst of preparing for and doing the actual move, I'm also planning our first get together with friends who will be coming for dinner. Maybe I'm crazy! Hopefully things will go smoothly, but you cooks know how it is when you move to a new place--you have to learn how all the new equipment works, become familiar with it, and develop your own rhythmn for working in the new kitchen. Till that happens some of the food made isn't all that great. I'm hoping that things will come together quickly so that the dinner will all come out OK and taste good. It will be an adventure, I'm very sure!

Well, that's all for now...just wanted to say hi, and thank you for stopping by during this hectic time. This blog will be back to normal as soon as possible--probably back to normal schedule next Monday. Funny to think I'll be working from a new location next week! One last thing, I've not had time to respond to each comment that has been left lately...I'm sorry for that, but things have been so busy--that and the lack of our normal Internet connection (which is still not working!) have made it harder to stay up to date with comments. That should also be back to normal next week, if all goes according to plan!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Hectic Time

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:01:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
This week has been very hectic and chaotic with our Internet being down and then preparing to move. Our regular Internet connection is still down (for over a week now), so I'm currently using the USB modem, but the connection is very slow. I tried to upload more pictures from our trip to Rome, and it took about 12 minutes for just three pictures! That's almost worse than dial-up! The posts for the rest of our trip to Rome, plus pictures, will have to wait until we have a faster Internet connection. That's a bit frustrating.

We've also been preparing to move this coming week! We'll be making a move from a one-room fat to one that is a bit bigger. It will feel like heaven to have a bigger place. Can you imagine being our ages (midlife), being newly married (with cultural differences), and living in one room for almost three years? All I can say is that's it's a miracle we've made it this far! Our new place will allow us to have a place for family to stay and to better entertain friends. Thankfully we don't have too many things to move, but there's still packing and transporting everything to the new flat. That will make the next few days very busy--but in a good way!

Due to the move I might not be posting too much this coming week. For Entrecard droppers--I'm sorry to not have been visiting your blogs and dropping, bu it took me two hours to do the normal number of drops I can usually do in an hour on this slower Internet connection we're currrently having to use. As sooon as we have a better Internet connect I'll be back to dropping on a regular basis. Thank you to al of you who have continued to drop now when I've not been able to!

Well, that's all for today. As soon as the Internet connection allows I'll be posting the rest of our trip to Rome, and will take up Entrecard dropping once again. Our move this week will sure be a good thing--and it will open up the next part of our married life together--a life that will be a little more normal than we've had so far!

You all have a great day and a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Internet Connection Lost

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:51:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Our Internet connection was lost on Saturday after some very bad weather came through. Due to the holidays (here, two state holidays--Cyril & Methodius Day, Jan Hus Day) our regular connection has not yet been fixed. I had to travel to the mall, this afternoon in order to get our T-Mobile Internet SIM recharged...so now we have a sort of connection. This is great, however, it's very slow and is not very good for uploading pictures, etc. So, as soon as we have our regular Internet service restored I'll continue writing about our trip to Rome.

The storms on Saturday also knocked out cell service for a time...I was completely cut off! Not a good feeling when you're used to being connected at least via cell phone!

That's all for now...I hope you're all having a very happy, safe holiday weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Rome & Vatican City

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:41:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Finally I can actually get this post out! The past couple of days we've been having technical problems with the laptop, and then having very sporadic Internet connections--it has been very frustrating, to say the least! But today, everything is working together to allow me to begin telling you about our trip to Rome.

Jiri and I stayed at the Grand Hotel Palazzo Carpegna, which is about a 45 minute walk from the Vatican. It is definitely not a centrally located hotel, but there was a metro stop just a short walk away. The neighborhood was very nice--mostly apartments, shops, and lots of traffic. There is even a market located right next to the hotel that offers everything from drinks, cheeses, meats of all kinds, to souveniers, clothing and household items. Our hotel room was very nice with a huge bathroom with very large windows. These windows were very large...and only covered with sheer curtains. I am a very shy person, so took my showers in the dark. No one would care to look at my middle-aged body, but still...!! That was my only problem with the room. Otherwise, it was very nice with air conditioner, tile floors (wonderful for allergies!), and a free breakfast. The breakfast was a typical European-style with meats, cheeses, breads of all kinds, and assorted accoutrements. The staff were very helpful, and the maids wanted to clean our room twice a day! One day, I was having some allergy trouble and stayed in the room while Jiri was working at his conference. I had left a "do not disturb" sign on the door all day. Finally, just before supper, someone slid a note under our door. It was from the cleaning staff! The note said that due to the sign on our door, they were not able to come in and clean. If we needed anything we should contact them! I've never had the cleaning staff leave a note like that before...it was amusing!

Our first outing was to Vatican City. We walked there through neighborhoods of flats. Most of the buildings looked the same and had shops on the first floors. One of the shops that tortured me during our stay was the pizzeria! Pizzerias are literally on every street corner--even in the regular neighborhoods where tourists do not venture! The sight and smells...oh what torment for my allergic body to behold. Fortunately, just taking in the scents is allowed for me...which I did with full gusto...thankful for being a singer with strong lungs (and great asthma meds!), I was able to take in very deep breaths and still retain the scents of pizza wafting on the breeze. I can't eat "real" pizza due to the wheat in the crust...but enjoy the smells I did! Well, back to the neighborhoods--we were very safe walking all the way to the Vatican and it was a nice walk...great exercise, too!

We came to the Vatican and St. Peter's Square...and just stopped in amazement. I've seen pictures of this place on TV, in magazines, online...but never thought it would be so massive and impressive as it is in person. We came there in the late afternoon, it was still hot, but the square was filled with people--everywhere we looked crowds of people. The buildings and statues are works of art that grace and adorn Vatican City. The city sits on a hill called Vatican Mons. No one is sure, but it is thought that a small village, called Vaticum, once inhabited this hill. The area was later developed into a garden area by Agrippina the Elder (14 BC-33AD) in the 1st century. Much later, the gardens were turned into a circus by Emperor Caligula which were completed by Emperor Nero. This circus area was the scene for the martyrdom of many Christians after the famous fire of Rome in 64 AD. It is said that Peter, the Apostle (and considered by Catholics to be the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church), was crucified in this area, and later Paul beheaded in this place. Even so, the area does not feel "creepy" in any way. Now, it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican City is the smallest sovereign state in the world, covering an area of 110 acres, and with a population of approximately 900. Popes are the head of state, and have ruled here since the return from Avignon in 1377.

After taking in St. Peter's Square, we ventured toward St. Peter's Basilica. You can see in the slide show, above, just how massive is this church! The church is the largest Christian church in the world and can hold up to 60,000 people. St. Peter's is also the place where the Apostle Peter was buried after his martyrdom. You can visit the basilica's grotto and see the tomb of Peter, and many of the other popes who served after him. The interior of St. Peter's Basilica, the current church, was begun in 1506 and was completed in 1626. We took pictures of the sanctuary, but they really don't do justice to the church. You really have to be there in order to experience the solemn and impressive works of art--statues, paintings--and glorious altars. One of the most moving pieces for me was the Pieta, by Michelangelo when he was 23 years old. It is a beautiful work of art and sits on the right side of the main entrance to the sanctuary. I love the ceilings and arches--this place abounds with them...all ornate and guilded. Domes are another feature I love...and these are magnificent! An interesting sight in the Sacristy was the list of popes engraved on a huge plaque. Jiri and I found that there was a huge break--hundreds of years--between some of the names listed on this plaque! Later, we found out that this is not a list of all the popes who have served at St. Peter's, but rather is a list of all who are buried there.

St. Peter's is a wonderful place to visit...my next post I'll share more about what we saw there!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Photos are property of J. Vacik

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Back in Prague & Catching Up

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:23:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your responses to the post about whistling and wearing lace--cultural differences. These issues are interesting...and I'm not feeling oppressed or repressed by them. Jiri is not demanding I refrain from these things, but I have freely chosen to not do them due to the reactions I've received from other Czechs. You've probably heard the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans." When you're living in a foreign country, married to a native of that country, then adapting is required. There is some adapting that has to take place even if you and your spouse move to a foreign country together. But being married to a native makes adapting more necessary--at least as I see it. I would like to fit in better with our relatives, friends and neighbors. However, adapting doesn't mean being obliged to forget who you are or where you're from! I'm an American and always will be...can't help it or change it. But I can adapt the way I relate to the world--this is necessary--while still maintaining my personhood. This is an interesting topic, to be sure...and I really enjoyed reading all the Twitter responses and comments here about different ways to handle cultural differences!

Jiri and I got back home yesterday afternoon, and have hit the pavement running full steam ahead! I've been very busy with unpacking (one of my least favorite jobs), and trying to get caught up with emails, proofreading work, etc. I'm also busy going through all the pictures from our trip to Rome, and starting to put together the material for blog posts this week!

We had a great time in Rome, though it was a short time, we managed to hit the major sightseeing places. I'll tell you more about those this week! As my friend, Karen, says...Rome was truly awesome!

Also, thanks to all the Entrecard droppers who kept dropping while I was away! We didn't have an Internet connection while in Rome, so I'm getting caught up with Entrecard today!

That's all for now...Wednesday will be the first post about our trip--be sure to come back to hear about Rome!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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Whistling & Off to Italy

czechoffthebeatenpath@gmail.com (Sher) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Hi Everyone,
We've been having some adventures with culture the past few days, that's for sure! Jiri and I have been discussing the whistling/not whistling issue off and on. Obviously whistling isn't so much of an issue--I've been here for 2.5 years and Jiri has not heard me whistle in that time, until just the other day. Whistling is something I enjoy, but will probably do it when no one is around, no one can hear me or see me...and when I'm back in the States I'll definitely use those opportunities to get in any whistling that I feel the need or wish to do! The main issue, for me, is trying to adapt to European/Czech culture without feeling repressed. There is a fine line there that is hard to discern between feeling repressed and adapting happily. The only way to discern being off balance seems to be what we call, in the US, "listening to your gut." Your "gut" will definitely let you know with feelings of unhappiness, depression, and other signs that you are feeling unhappy and maybe repressed. If you're beginning to feel repressed it is a sign of being out of balance and of things not working; then it's time to discuss some solutions and options with your partner/spouse. There needs to be a mutuality involved in the process of adaptation of a foreign spouse into the home country/culture of the "native" spouse/partner. You should be able to compromise and find a solution that lets you both feel comfortable and happy.

Europeans/Czechs frown on women whistling, especially in public. It means the woman is somehow rough, loose in morals, lewd, etc. This is how Jiri feels about a woman whistling, too. Therefore, I must refrain from this pass time in this culture. I can't wear lace or whistle, however I can stand outside nude on a hot day...go figure! Americans don't understand these things very well...and I'm one of them, as open-minded as I try to be! Even though I don't understand, I feel the need to refrain from these activities in order to have a happy relation with my husband and those around us. I'm living here...married to a "native"...and need to comply with certain things in order to maintain regular relations with everyone, including my husband. This is what I understand, and I'm willing to do, until I begin to feel repressed. Fortunately, I'm not feeling repressed at this time!

On to another topic...later today Jiri and I are leaving for the Eternal City--Rome! Neither of us has been to Rome before and we're both looking forward to seeing this beautiful city where so much history has taken place. There will be so much to see there...and this is a short trip...I'm hoping that we will manage the Vatican and other very historical places!

Well, that's all for today...I need to finish packing and prepapring for the trip! You all have a great day! I'm hoping to have Internet while in Rome (of course it's there, but if the hotel charges too much we might not have it), and if we do, I'll be dropping Entrecards as usual. If not, then I'll take up dropping when we get home this weekend. Thanks for stopping by...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
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(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath