Weekend in the Country

So this weekend I went with two other girls from the program and two families that my professor knows to a cottage in a small town about an hour north of Prague. The larger town close to it was called Liberec (but I don't remember the name of the town we actually stayed in). It was GORGEOUS...trees and cute German-looking houses everywhere. And the families were absolutely adorable. All the parents spoke very good English and the kids (5 kids total, ages 3-8) are learning English, but basically only spoke in Czech.

All weekend it was pretty cold and cloudy, but we still took several walks around in the woods. On Sunday we went to this "aquapark" in Liberec that was a giant restored factory that is now a small in-door water park, small amusement park, day spa, and surreal mall-like shopping area. It was pretty bazaar, but the Czechs seemed to really like it. The kids went to the water park area, and the three of us (Americans) went to a therapeutic "salt cave" or room with salt on the ceiling, floor, and walls where you sit in a reclining lawn chair for 45 minutes while they play soothing wave sounds. It was really weird, but actually relaxing. Then we went with one of the moms to Liberec and walked around for a couple hours.

In the evenings, after the kids went to bed, we would hang out with the parents and eat bread and cheese (one night we had cheese fondue) and drink wine and just talk. That was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. It was also really nice to just be away from the city. I really like Prague, but I think I need larger expanses of grass and trees every once in a while.

Yesterday was my first day working at Cafe Vesmirna (the NGO I'm studying for my independent research). It went really well, I think! I got to sit in on and record one of their bimonthly meetings with all the "clients" in which they discuss general business things about the cafe (like if they have a new piece of equipment for the bar or something), then general social behavior things, etc. (like don't pick your nose in public) and how to work with the customers (like don't ignore them if they're trying to get your attention). They also introduced me to the clients, which was good so that they know what I'm going there. They all laughed when the director told them I speak only a tiny bit of Czech, but actually by the end of the night the language barrier was not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. It was cute that when I left, I said "na shledanou" ("bye" in Czech) and they all said "bye" in English.

After the meeting I was able to observe how the whole system worked for a while (with the clients taking orders and waiting for them to come and and delivering them, etc.). Then they got really busy and needed someone to help wash the dishes, so I got to help with that. I think that was actually REALLY good because it gave me a little bit of an "in" with the clients who were working. They saw me as an equal, I think...I got lots of smiles from them, trying to make me feel welcomed and comfortable. I'm very excited about working with this cafe more and learning from the system, the staff, and the clients.

Finally, today is my name day! That's something they have here where every day of the year is associated with a name and you celebrate your name day like your birthday (they celebrate both here). My name in Czech is Alzbeta (Elizabeth) and today is my name day! So I'm going out to eat with some friends, and just generally feeling more special today. Its so fun!