Coming to grips with reality

I have spent my last 4 months under a rock deeply wedged under more rocks inside a large cavern. Underwater. So everything that does reach me can only be acted out in charades by another human as lost in out-of-the-loop-ness like me.

In those 4 months, I have learned countless life lessons, had many happy memories, have experienced some things that I wish I could un-do or un-see and have had many laughs and a couple tears along the way too.

My last 4 months and all that happened therein will come to an end in 6 more days. I have been a student teacher. Band. Middle school. (wow, I just felt a huge wave of pity rush over me just now!). I will have 6 more days in front of these students and I never thought the end would come. I hope that at the end of this whirlwind I can swim back to the surface for air before running out of air or developing the bends...

I am reflecting, gathering and soaking everything and everything I can in this final week...I am one lucky gal to have enjoyed student teaching as much as I have!

All my love.
Stephanie

Lucky 6

Prague is timeless.  People have been calling her cobblestone streets home for thousands of years and somehow, despite all of her history, despite all that there is to see and immerse yourself in, she still feels comfortable, feels like home.  

I felt welcome in Prague like I was happy addition to her family.  I wasn't there terribly long, 10 nights according to the hotel bill, but it felt long enough to begin to understand the Czech way of life.  I soon knew how to get from point A to point B without the desperate need to clutch my map.  I was proud to be able to find my way when the taxi driver would drop me off at the wrong hotel, wrong street and wrong historical monument (it happened more often than you'd think).  I had gotten  myself into a routine there, so I'd pass by, nestled cozy warm in my scarf to protect myself from the bitter cold winds, and the same puppet shops and beautiful buildings would hold me comfortably in their streets as I walked by them every day.

In America, we are much more hustle-bustle than even we can tell.  Mealtime in Bohemia is an event.  Eating was just a detour to good conversation, funny stories and quality time with friends.  It was difficult to have a "lunch-hour" there unless you went to fast-food or a street vendor.  Even our tour guides wouldn't charge us for the time the spent eating with us.  For them, it was a time to get to know one another a little better, learn about each other, discuss our differences and celebrate our similarities.  To feel so similar when separated by oceans, mountains and continents, language and history is a great feeling.  America has celebrated its 200th birthday, Prague, it's 2,000th.  And still, life ticks on, the same; celebrating family, tradition, religion and pride.

Go to Prague.  Walk the streets, smell the smells, see the sights and soon, she will call you hers and you will call her yours.