Details Details

 Okay, I missed a day so lets play catch up...Here are yesterday's events in a nutshell.

I found a Michael Jackson look alike on the tram stop wall! The grafiti here is awesome!

One very fun but somewhat stressful aspect of surviving here in Brno is navigating the tram stops.  It would be easy if not for the approximate 10 seconds the tram driver gives the people to get on and off the tram before slamming the doors and laying on the gas. It is so little time in fact, that I saw a woman get shut between the doors!  Ammygray and I have both seen people fall down on the tram because they did not grab hold of the handles or rails in time to steady themselves.  These trams wait for no one.

Somethings never change

One very nice part of this whole trip is that we are really not that far removed from American cuisine and shopping.  Its been difficult to souvenir shop because so many of the things they sell here are just like back in the states.  Unlike South America or Africa, Europe is very modern and the greatest differences are found in the customs and food.  Neither of which make decent souvenirs.

A typical Brno neighborhood

This  is my one of my interpreters (Camilla) neighborhood.  She lives about a 15 minutes tram ride outside of the city.  We would say her house is in a suburb.  I went to Camilla's family's house for lunch yesterday to go over lesson plans with her and Radim, my other interpreter.  We had a great lunch and a fun time hanging out and getting to know one another.  I will have pictures of all of us very soon.

The absolute best cake/bread combo I have ever had

  This is a poppy seed peach cake that Radim's mom made for us to have at lunch.  Something I have discovered that makes me love the Czech Republic all the more is that these folks make no delineation between dessert, and dinner.  Some entrees they serve for dinner at resturants are what we would consider dessert.  So when I was at Camilla's house, this cake was served as the appetizer.  Now that's the way to eat dinner!!

BBQ chicken thigh, Czech style

This dinner was not BBQ as the menu said, however, it was delicious.  That light red sauce was supposedly my barbecue sauce to dip my chicken in but alas, it tasted nothing like It seems that every "restaurant" here is actually a bar that happens to have a full menu rather than a restaurant with some alcohol.  But everywhere is very clean and the food has not been bad once since I've been here.


Now onto today:



The best thing happened today I finally FINALLY, found a water bottle big enough for me! While we were out shopping, I desperately needed some NON carbonated water and so we went to a little shop to buy a bottle.  Then Olga said I could get a bigger one than the little 16 oz ones and showed me this mammoth bottle. 1.5 liters!  Obviously I bought it with great excitement and it actually lasted me more than an hour.  The times of course are funny here because as I am typing this at 1:00pm the majority of you all are just not getting up at 7:00am but this morning was yet another shopping day and tonight we had a BBQ to attend.  I played guitar and another team member shared their testimony with several unsaved folks.

We went to Otmar and Zussca's home this evening for the barbeque and Otmar is a gardener by profession.  Here are just a few pictures I took this evening from his beautiful farm.

I cannot tell you what a wonderful time we had tonight, all the good fellowship, funny talk around the fire, and the awkward practicing of English among new friends.

  Tomorrow we leave Brno to head to camp about three hours from here in the mountains.  We will be driving in personal vehicles of some Czechs who will also be attending camp and helping there.  I look forward to another eventful, jet lag free, day!

Ciao Ciao! (as the Czechs would say)

Day 3

Hello everyone,

  I have to say, after re-reading my last post, I can actually see the jet lag in my writing!  I’m so sorry you all had to read that…Jet lag is finally fading and Ammygray and I are getting into the swing of things.  I know I said a blog post would be up yesterday but I’m afraid I crashed once again without much getting done.  As many of you likely saw on facebook, we went to the catacombs downtown yesterday and visited the mass grave of 50,000 people. I think that these photos will speak for themselves. (I do apologize for the blur, we were not allowed to use flash so my pictures were unsteady).

The longer you look, the more skulls you see among the leg and arm bones.

Still my favorite photo

I'm not sure why these three gathered no dust but it made an awesome photo opportunity

One of the few tomb stones recovered

Like these pictures, yesterday was a bit of a blur.  I did however, have a much clearer time today as I met and worked with my interpreters, Radim and Camilla on our lessons for the teen group next week.  We have all sorts of music, games, crafts, and vocabulary planned and ready to teach!  Ammygray and I had a wonderful team meeting and dinner tonight and we have another busy, fun day planned tomorrow.  More updates with greater details and stories are on their way, just trying to find the time and energy!

Love you all very much and thanks for reading!!

The Longest Day in My Life

Once upon a time there was a girl.  This girl thought she was a hardcore traveler and that flying to Europe really wouldn't be that bad.  Then that girl found out yesterday that flying across the globe is actually just has hard a people say it is! Thankfully, I was with some of the best people ever that made the trip bearable, check out this team!

I have to tell you that those to beautiful, baby girls were less whiny and slept better than most of us adults!!

This is the original ceiling to the grandstation on the outskirts of Prague. 

The 8 hour plane ride was actually easier than the rest of the journey yesterday But we did see some amazingly gorgeous sites will traveling through Prague and to Brno.

The entire city is built like this, I walked around all day looking up to see the incredible structures

Lunch was probably the best meal I have had abroad. Salmon with Czech style mashed potatoes.  Massive portion sizes and so, so fresh and tasty.

The train window was breathtaking, but I was too exhausted to take many pictures

It was the 3 and a half hour train ride with (barely any A/C)  that was an hour and a half late to the station that pretty much broke all of us.  It was in the low 90's in Prague yesterday so we were hot, running on very little sleep, and sick of sitting down.




This is just a small snap shot of the shenanigans that went on in that train.  We were so wiped that at one point, every little thing struck Ammygray and I as hilarious. so we proceeded to laugh and cry hysterically for about ten minutes.  The delirium was real. You can imagine that the other passengers were trying to figure out what those loud Americans were cackling about.  We finally crashed last night at 11:00 in our hotel.
It is currently 6 oclock in the morning here in Brno, making it about one in the morning back home.  My scheule is so thrown off, I actually woke up at 5:30 without an alarm because the sun rose at 4:00.  So confusing.  Anyway, I know this is a short update but my brain is still a bit jet lagged so more happenings later I will post.

Until next time!!

Nine Days Away!

      Fun Fact:  I am currently freaking out because I am off to Europe in nine days. If you listen very carefully you can hear my internal screaming even from far distances.  Many of you reading this probably just giggled but I assure you, I am typing this with a straight face.  But seriously, (as serious as I can get anyway), I am getting pumped up and ready to go as I plunge into my final week of preparations for the up coming trip.  Packing, lesson planing, meetings, shopping, and so much more craziness is on my list of things to do this final week state side.  With all of the afore mentioned tasks begging for my attention, I do not have much time to inform all of you lovely folks about every detail of my prep, (not that you would even want to know), however I did want to take a moment to say thank you for all the prayer support I have received.  If you are willing to help me finacially, there is still time, and you can send a check to:

Oakwood Community Church

11209 Casey Rd

Tampa, FL 33618

Be sure and mark it with "CIERRA JONES: CZECH TRIP" so the funds are designated toward my expenses.

I'll be posting regularly from here on out so be sure and check back often to keep up with my adventures!  (And next time there will be pictures).

 

Back in the Airplane Again!

Hello Awesome People!

   Roughly two years ago, I embarked on an adventure to Guatemala and interned at a malnutrition center there.  I fell in love with traveling and meeting new people and this year, I’m at it again.  This time, I am zipping off to the Czech Republic (C.R.) across the pond where I will be teaching at an English camp.  Now, just in case any of you are like I was, here is a map showing exactly where the C.R. is located, because…well I had no clue.

 

Some of you might be relieved to know that I am not traveling alone on this trip, I am ecstatic to announce that my Ammygray (my grandma for those of you unsure of what crazy word you just read) is also on the team I will be traveling with.  There is so much information and excitement to share, but I’ll stick to the basics for this initial post.  Firstly, my team and I will be gone for most of July and will be spending time in Prague and Brno.  Secondly, our main job while in the C.R. is to build relationships with unbelievers attending the camp as we teach and fellowship with them.  Teaching English overseas has been one of my life goals for a long time now, so this opportunity to try it out is directly from God.  Finally, I’m not there yet and I need help to make it.  This support is twofold.  Please pray that the team will have unity in all decisions and that each person who God calls on this trip will be able to come.  For me personally, I ask that you would pray for God to prepare my heart and hands to serve on the trip.  As of right now, I am the only musically inclined person going on the trip so in addition to my teaching, I will be responsible for the worship aspect of our time there.  The other side of support needed is financial because, sadly, there is no student discount for traveling.  (Wouldn’t that make the world a more beautiful place?!)  If you would like to help me get to the Czech Republic this summer, you can send your tax deductible donations to:

Oakwood Community Church

11209 Casey Rd

Tampa, FL 33618

Be sure and mark it with "CIERRA JONES: CZECH TRIP" so the funds are designated toward my expenses.

Thank you all in advance for your love, prayers, and support.  Be sure and "Czech" back (wink wink) for more updates and news about my adventures this summer!

Signing Off!

Cierra