So this Christmas time, I decided I wanted to see some Christmas markets. So I planned my weekends so that I was able to see many of them. My first was in Olomouc, a city about an hour from Ostrava. I really enjoyed this Christmas market. It wasn't too busy. It wasn't too crowded. They had nice things and good prices. I had a great time and bought some cool stuff.
The following weekend, I went with Shelly and Ashley (two other ESI teachers at Fishnet) to visit the ESI teachers in Bratislava and then go to the Christmas markets in Vienna. Well, we got to go to the Christmas market in Bratislava, too, and ate dinner there. The food was fantastic! And they also had some great things to buy. This market wasn't quite as big as Olomouc (or any of the others-except maybe Ostrava) but it was still nice. I was able to get some nice stuff there, too. Then the next day, Saturday, we hopped on a train to Vienna-only about an hour away-and went to three different Christmas markets there. The first was in front of the town hall. And it was PACKED. Like sardines in a can packed. You could barely move. I was so stressed out by the end of it that I was ready to just be done, even though I'm certain I didn't see everything, and I might have liked to get a mug of punch. The second one was nice. It was less packed, which was very nice. And this one was more artsy. There was some stained glass, handmade candles, photos, paintings, and other such things, as well as food and punch. This was one where I might have liked more time, but overall it was fine. I could have had a cup of punch there, too-and gotten the mug (there was a different mug you could get at each Christmas market.) and at this one, they had a bunch of hay in the middle for the kids to play in. There was absolutely no snow there, so it was fun to see the kids playing in the hay. Then we went and saw the church in what I assume is the middle of town. And on to our third of the day. I have to be honest, by the end of the day, I was just stressed out. I really enjoyed this Christmas market, too, but I was really hungry. By the time we ate, I didn't have time to look much more, so though there were a few things I'd have liked to buy, I didn't get to. But at this one, I did get some punch (though I think they actually just gave me hot wine... which was still good) and bought the mug, so I got one mug out of it. It was, overall, a great weekend.
And this weekend. This weekend, I went to Prague. I couldn't go until Saturday morning because we had the Fishnet Christmas party on Friday night. But Saturday morning, I woke up and hopped on the train and headed to see my friends Sierra and Amy in Prague. They took me around to the many Christmas markets. They were nice, but very much for tourists. And in a few, it seemed like they had 3 different shops that manned every 3rd booth... But I did find a few things to buy. And we had some good food and some punch-that wasn't so good. I was disappointed to find that Prague didn't have mugs for their hot wine and punch. But oh well. Then tonight, when I was back in Ostrava, I went to see my friend Teresa sing at the Christmas market here. I got some Christmas punch (WAY better than the punch I had in Prague) and got to hang out with some friends. Overall it was a successful weekend.
And overall it was a successful Christmas market season-and it's not over. I hope to go back to the Ostrava Christmas market at least once more, and I'll go to any others if there is time, but I fear that there will not be any time to go anywhere else, since there's a week left before Christmas, though some are open the week after Christmas. We shall see. :-)
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
lots of little things
So lots of little things have been on my mind as of late. For one thing, (though not necessarily next on my mind-just the next that comes to mind to discuss) I went to two new countries this weekend. I wish I got a stamp when I went to a new country. It would be really fun to have visa stamps galore in my passport. But this will not be happening. However, I saw a Christmas market (or the Christmas market) in Bratislava, and then we went to (the?) three in Vienna. What a great weekend. But what an obnoxiously large crowd of people in Vienna-and going back to Bratislava. It was fantastic. I bought a few things. But I am glad to be home. And was so thankful for a nearly empty train car on the way back to Ostrava. And I am thankful to be back home-where I am more familiar with the language and am more confident to talk to people and tell them what I want at a store or something like this.
Next, I find it interesting that God speaks to His people. But most interestingly of all is how we listen (or don't). When God tells us something we need to share with others, we tend to be all over that. But when God starts talking about something we need to hear, want to know, or something of this variety, we question, "Is this really God?" or, "How do I know if it's God or me?" Or something of this sort. I am so guilty of this. Why would we not question if it has nothing to do with us, or is mostly to do with someone else, but then totally question every aspect when it has to do with our own lives? I do not seek to find an answer in today's blog post. Perhaps another day, I will delve into this. But for today, I will simply pose the question.
Lastly, I will say that I am tired and should go to bed. This means that I am going to sign off :-) Hope all is going well with you!!
Next, I find it interesting that God speaks to His people. But most interestingly of all is how we listen (or don't). When God tells us something we need to share with others, we tend to be all over that. But when God starts talking about something we need to hear, want to know, or something of this variety, we question, "Is this really God?" or, "How do I know if it's God or me?" Or something of this sort. I am so guilty of this. Why would we not question if it has nothing to do with us, or is mostly to do with someone else, but then totally question every aspect when it has to do with our own lives? I do not seek to find an answer in today's blog post. Perhaps another day, I will delve into this. But for today, I will simply pose the question.
Lastly, I will say that I am tired and should go to bed. This means that I am going to sign off :-) Hope all is going well with you!!
Monday, December 5, 2011
threes and such
I like things in even numbers and I like things in threes. Somehow I think words work best when you can use three. I'm not sure how to explain exactly why I feel this way, so I'm not going to :-)
At night, I like to dream. I usually have dreams-as apparently everyone does. But I also remember them a lot. I don't always write them down, but I remember a good number of them. In the past month, I've had about 7 or 8 that I have remembered. Or at least that many that I have written down. Most of my life I've had interesting ones, from flying to falling, to being at a pool party, to seeing Philadelphia in ruins, to people having babies, to me even having a baby for someone else. And last night, I had a dream that I "caused" someone to have an abortion. I usually will remember many details-when I write them they are often very long. But this dream, there are only a few things that stick out to me, though the more I think about it the more I remember. But still. I wrote about it today and only got about a paragraph or two-often they are like 5 though. Anyway. It's always interesting trying to figure them out. Often God speaks to me through them. Don't think I'm too crazy. If you want to know about them, let me know. It's been pretty crazy at times.
But one dream I had maybe 2 nights ago was that I was on a train, sitting int he front with this guy, and then we went around a corner and the front of the train derailed. I tried to yell for the conductor to stop but he didn't, so I got off and started waving my arms. But at this point, the engine (which, strangely, was in the back) did the same thing the front had done, and was also derailed. So he got off the train to try to fix it. I was looking at where my train car was and how I could put it back on and what had caused the problem, and I noticed that part of the track was missing. It was like we were going over a part that was an intersection, where you could go one way or another (or in this case, come from one way to another) and the inside parts were missing. Well when I went back toward the conductor, he shot a man. The conductor was dressed in a white t-shirt that was kind of longish and it had some black print on it. And he had on some jeans. Very odd clothing for a train conductor. But then these other people came in suits and wanted us out of their way so they could talk without us hearing. These are just some of the details. The dream itself was much longer. But it made me think about what it could mean. Obviously it can just be a strange dream. But I think that it has some kind of meaning. I have no idea why I am sharing this with you, except that I think it has to do with the "track" I'm on, some kind of intersection, and some "missing pieces." So if you pray, will you pray with me that I will find the "missing pieces" and figure things out so I am not too lost and feeling like my train has "derailed"? Thanks.
But what about you? Do you ever have weird dreams? Like where you dream you're flying, and then think that it's so much cooler because it's actually real life, and not a dream? I had one like that once. Or how about where you can actually feel your stomach dropping as you get closer to the earth, like you're sky diving, except you're not? I'd love to hear about the dreams you remember!
At night, I like to dream. I usually have dreams-as apparently everyone does. But I also remember them a lot. I don't always write them down, but I remember a good number of them. In the past month, I've had about 7 or 8 that I have remembered. Or at least that many that I have written down. Most of my life I've had interesting ones, from flying to falling, to being at a pool party, to seeing Philadelphia in ruins, to people having babies, to me even having a baby for someone else. And last night, I had a dream that I "caused" someone to have an abortion. I usually will remember many details-when I write them they are often very long. But this dream, there are only a few things that stick out to me, though the more I think about it the more I remember. But still. I wrote about it today and only got about a paragraph or two-often they are like 5 though. Anyway. It's always interesting trying to figure them out. Often God speaks to me through them. Don't think I'm too crazy. If you want to know about them, let me know. It's been pretty crazy at times.
But one dream I had maybe 2 nights ago was that I was on a train, sitting int he front with this guy, and then we went around a corner and the front of the train derailed. I tried to yell for the conductor to stop but he didn't, so I got off and started waving my arms. But at this point, the engine (which, strangely, was in the back) did the same thing the front had done, and was also derailed. So he got off the train to try to fix it. I was looking at where my train car was and how I could put it back on and what had caused the problem, and I noticed that part of the track was missing. It was like we were going over a part that was an intersection, where you could go one way or another (or in this case, come from one way to another) and the inside parts were missing. Well when I went back toward the conductor, he shot a man. The conductor was dressed in a white t-shirt that was kind of longish and it had some black print on it. And he had on some jeans. Very odd clothing for a train conductor. But then these other people came in suits and wanted us out of their way so they could talk without us hearing. These are just some of the details. The dream itself was much longer. But it made me think about what it could mean. Obviously it can just be a strange dream. But I think that it has some kind of meaning. I have no idea why I am sharing this with you, except that I think it has to do with the "track" I'm on, some kind of intersection, and some "missing pieces." So if you pray, will you pray with me that I will find the "missing pieces" and figure things out so I am not too lost and feeling like my train has "derailed"? Thanks.
But what about you? Do you ever have weird dreams? Like where you dream you're flying, and then think that it's so much cooler because it's actually real life, and not a dream? I had one like that once. Or how about where you can actually feel your stomach dropping as you get closer to the earth, like you're sky diving, except you're not? I'd love to hear about the dreams you remember!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
i missed you
So I have to be honest, it was a little strange going to bed last night without writing a little something about what I'm thankful for, though I was beginning to come up with the same things, people, other people, fun times, hard times, and the like. So I'm glad I don't have to come up with something new every night anymore. But I want to tell you more stuff. So maybe I'll write like every couple days or something.
But I'm going to tell you something I'm really thankful for today. It's a repeat of what I've said before, but I am so thankful for the friends I have here in Ostrava. God has blessed me with such a variety of friends. Friends at church, friends at work, and then just friends that I met through other friends that I met in a somewhat "random" kind of way. But they are some of the best friends I've ever had. And I love that I get to experience life in Ostrava with them :-)
What are you thankful for?
But I'm going to tell you something I'm really thankful for today. It's a repeat of what I've said before, but I am so thankful for the friends I have here in Ostrava. God has blessed me with such a variety of friends. Friends at church, friends at work, and then just friends that I met through other friends that I met in a somewhat "random" kind of way. But they are some of the best friends I've ever had. And I love that I get to experience life in Ostrava with them :-)
What are you thankful for?
Thursday, December 1, 2011
SNOW!!!!
All month, I have been waiting for it to snow so I could say I was thankful for snow. And would you believe it has not snowed a single bit! Well, not that I have seen. Supposedly it snowed in another part of town, but I never saw it, so I'm not completely convinced that it happened. It did, however, rain for the first time, I think all month. Precipitation-we'll take what we can get, right?
I am also thankful for Russians. Or people in Russia. This one is two-fold. Tonight, I went out for dinner with my friend Victoriya (I hope I spelled that right)-and she is from Russia. And we had a great time. And also, today, I have had 3 blog views, and all 3 were from Russia. I have no idea who it is, but it makes me feel special that I get so many views. And I get usually around 3 a day from Russia alone. So thanks, Russia, whoever you are. Feel free to leave me a message to let me know who you are!!
I am also thankful for Russians. Or people in Russia. This one is two-fold. Tonight, I went out for dinner with my friend Victoriya (I hope I spelled that right)-and she is from Russia. And we had a great time. And also, today, I have had 3 blog views, and all 3 were from Russia. I have no idea who it is, but it makes me feel special that I get so many views. And I get usually around 3 a day from Russia alone. So thanks, Russia, whoever you are. Feel free to leave me a message to let me know who you are!!
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