I had a very productive day yesterday. I went to talk to my advisor to figure out what I should do for classes this next semester and got a good handle on that. In the course of that conversation, he asked me and I verbally committed that I will TA the CS450 class (that I took from him last year) this Fall.
I also went and talked to another professor that I had talked to before my trip, and I got hired as the CS100 TA for Spring/Summer. It's the computer class that involves multimedia and such for all majors. I'm really looking forward to it, it will be a nice change.
So that means that I will be working my current job and the TA job for Spring/Summer while taking the CS699R Master's Thesis Work class, then just the TA job in the Fall while I take some real classes.
And, I ordered my cap and gown for graduation...
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
Weekend Update
For those of you who got accustomed to regular updates, I'm sorry. My life isn't as interesting anymore, so the updates will probably not be as frequent, but I'll try.
Friday night I went with some friends to see Final Cut, a film presentation of student films. There was a good documentary about WWII brides, but all the other films were either unintentionally funny or just strange.
Saturday morning I took Marisa apartment shopping. She's looking to move out of DT for Fall and is realizing how many different places there are to live in Provo. That night I went to the A Capella Jam. It was a good performance, but like last time, Vocal Point blew the others away.
I didn't do anything special for Easter except enjoy a relaxing Sunday.
Friday night I went with some friends to see Final Cut, a film presentation of student films. There was a good documentary about WWII brides, but all the other films were either unintentionally funny or just strange.
Saturday morning I took Marisa apartment shopping. She's looking to move out of DT for Fall and is realizing how many different places there are to live in Provo. That night I went to the A Capella Jam. It was a good performance, but like last time, Vocal Point blew the others away.
I didn't do anything special for Easter except enjoy a relaxing Sunday.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
TV
As a graduation present, my wonderful parents agreed to fund the purchase of a new television. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought a Sanyo 27" flatscreen, with all the hookups. Since I don't have a cable connection anymore (or antenna) I tested it on some DVDs and it works great. The only bad part was getting it home. When I got it to the car, using a shopping cart, but then realized I couldn't lift it out of the cart. So I had to tip the cart over carefully to get it on the ground. Then I realized the box didn't fit in my little car. So I unpacked the whole thing, fit the TV into the back seat, folded up the box and slid that in the backseat and threw all the styrofoam in the trunk. And those things are heavier than they look, my forearms are sore.
Other than that, life has gotten back to normal. I start teaching classes again tomorrow. I've gotten everything put away and washed and organized and I've been getting back in touch with the old crowd. Sunday evening I went to a get-together sponsored by some friends in a previous ward that got married. It was fun to see some old faces again. I've been emailing Vlasta and the Donicas and they're doing ok. Vlasta misses having a roommate, but I'm sure he'll adjust. Oh, and I heard from Plzen that Brother Komanec's funeral went well and was very nice. I'm going to send off those pictures for her tomorrow.
Other than that, life has gotten back to normal. I start teaching classes again tomorrow. I've gotten everything put away and washed and organized and I've been getting back in touch with the old crowd. Sunday evening I went to a get-together sponsored by some friends in a previous ward that got married. It was fun to see some old faces again. I've been emailing Vlasta and the Donicas and they're doing ok. Vlasta misses having a roommate, but I'm sure he'll adjust. Oh, and I heard from Plzen that Brother Komanec's funeral went well and was very nice. I'm going to send off those pictures for her tomorrow.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Home Again
Well I'm back in Utah. The trip back was long but not too eventful. I did forgot to take a Dramamine during the long flight from Frankfurt and thought I was feeling good until the plane started to bounce around during descent. I got through it, but didn't feel good for a while. I had to drive the car home from the airport to make it back without throwing up.
It's a very strange feeling to be in Prague in the morning and in Dale City in the afternoon. It was good to be home, of course, but I feel like I left home, too. I wish I could be in two places at the same time. Or at least have those two places be a little bit closer. I spent the time in Virginia staying with my parents and visiting my siblings. Everybody seems to be doing well. It would be nice if Virginia was a little bit closer too.
Now it's back to the daily grind. I had a friend pick me up from the airport and we actually went to visit another friend and had dinner in Sandy before coming home. I have a big list of things I need to get done, but I should be able to get back into the swing of things in a couple days. I'm caught up on my emails, now I need to go buy some food. The cupboards and refrigerator are both bare.
Monday, March 14, 2005
14 Mar
Today was my last full day in Prague, but I didn't spend it like a tourist. Vlasta is home sick, so I stayed home all morning. He wanted me to show him a few things in Excel, so we finally got around to it today. I realized it's really hard to explain computer stuff without the vocabulary, especially when words like 'select' don't really translate. He understood well enough, though, with my vague descriptions and pointing.
I spent the afternoon at the Donica's. Eduard had to work all day, (I said goodbye to him yesterday), but Ala and Luky were there. We didn't really do anything, but I just wanted to spend some time with them. We played some games on the computer, talked, had some soup. Ala is slowly getting better but still isn't feeling good. Being sick and pregnant probably isn't a good combination. Lukrecia was her normal hyperactive self, doing her best to get on her mother's nerves. It was sad to say goodbye to them. Then, and later tonight, I realized I could live here without any problem. It really is like home here.
We had family home evening at Vlasta's tonight. I was in charge of the spiritual thought. I was kind of in a weird mood and couldn't concentrate to prepare it, I guess because it's my last day, but it went pretty well. Hopefully this reads ok, too, because I'm having a hard time not using czech words. FHE was really good. The sister missionaries came with Renata and Sarka (their investigator couldn't make it) and Vlasta invited the APs to balance it out a little. We played Phase 10 for the activity. Vlasta and I accompanied everybody to the Metro stop afterwards to say goodbye.
So now I'm laying in bed typing up the last one of these Prague blogs. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go... I don't want to leave, because I don't know when I'll be back, but at least most everybody has email so I can stay in contact.
Tak ahoj cesko. Moc se me libilo tady a bude se mi styskat. At se brzy uvidime.
I spent the afternoon at the Donica's. Eduard had to work all day, (I said goodbye to him yesterday), but Ala and Luky were there. We didn't really do anything, but I just wanted to spend some time with them. We played some games on the computer, talked, had some soup. Ala is slowly getting better but still isn't feeling good. Being sick and pregnant probably isn't a good combination. Lukrecia was her normal hyperactive self, doing her best to get on her mother's nerves. It was sad to say goodbye to them. Then, and later tonight, I realized I could live here without any problem. It really is like home here.
We had family home evening at Vlasta's tonight. I was in charge of the spiritual thought. I was kind of in a weird mood and couldn't concentrate to prepare it, I guess because it's my last day, but it went pretty well. Hopefully this reads ok, too, because I'm having a hard time not using czech words. FHE was really good. The sister missionaries came with Renata and Sarka (their investigator couldn't make it) and Vlasta invited the APs to balance it out a little. We played Phase 10 for the activity. Vlasta and I accompanied everybody to the Metro stop afterwards to say goodbye.
So now I'm laying in bed typing up the last one of these Prague blogs. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go... I don't want to leave, because I don't know when I'll be back, but at least most everybody has email so I can stay in contact.
Tak ahoj cesko. Moc se me libilo tady a bude se mi styskat. At se brzy uvidime.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
13 Mar
I wanted to go to church in Plzen today, but the bus schedules didn't work out, so I ended up going to church in Prague and taking a bus to Plzen afterwards. I went to sacrament meeting and Sunday school, then went to the bus station.
I had called Sister Bubenickova this morning, and she arranged for a member (Sister Vavrova) to pick me up at the bus station. She already had two missionaries with her and we went straight to Bubenickova's. Sister Komancova was happy to see me and glad to get the pictures I had printed for her. I also delivered an audio tape that the Prague missionaries (that had served in Plzen) made for them. It was a good visit. I came to support them, but of course they ended up serving us. They fed us, then fed me again after the missionaries left. I didn't feel bad though, because that's what they love to do. I was talking to one of the missionaries on the side and we both agreed that they would have felt much worse if we had made a meal for them. They love to serve and it helped them keep their minds off Brother Komanec.
Sister Bubenickova's husband drove me to the bus station and Sister Komancova and her granddaughter saw me off. It was a weird feeling, because it was the exact same place I said goodbye to Brother Komanec. I got back home in time to catch the last bit of SuperStar. Vlasta isn't going to work tomorrow, so we stayed up late talking.
I had called Sister Bubenickova this morning, and she arranged for a member (Sister Vavrova) to pick me up at the bus station. She already had two missionaries with her and we went straight to Bubenickova's. Sister Komancova was happy to see me and glad to get the pictures I had printed for her. I also delivered an audio tape that the Prague missionaries (that had served in Plzen) made for them. It was a good visit. I came to support them, but of course they ended up serving us. They fed us, then fed me again after the missionaries left. I didn't feel bad though, because that's what they love to do. I was talking to one of the missionaries on the side and we both agreed that they would have felt much worse if we had made a meal for them. They love to serve and it helped them keep their minds off Brother Komanec.
Sister Bubenickova's husband drove me to the bus station and Sister Komancova and her granddaughter saw me off. It was a weird feeling, because it was the exact same place I said goodbye to Brother Komanec. I got back home in time to catch the last bit of SuperStar. Vlasta isn't going to work tomorrow, so we stayed up late talking.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
12 Mar
Libor and I met Renata at the train station in the morning.
The other girl didn't come and the missionaries and others that were iffy never showed up. so the three of us went to Karlstejn.
It's a beautiful castle, but it's funny to tour it with Czechs. They hadn't been there before, but to them it wasn't anything special. We took the tour, but it was pretty lame. The parts they showed us weren't very nicely done up, but it was cool to be in the king's bedroom and stuff. The best part of the tour was that we took it in Czech and it was 80 Kc cheaper. On the sign, the Czech section had the prices spelled out, 'stodvacet' (120), the other had the numbers, 200.
We hadn't checked the times and had to wait a little while before we got a train back to Prague. We took Libor to the bus station so he could get home, then Renata and I went to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant.
She didn't have anything to do, so after our late lunch we went to see Zizkov, a big huge statue of Jan Zizka.
While I was there, I decided I would jump up onto a small wall and see if the view was better. Unfortunately, my foot didn't quite make it all the way onto the wall and I had to catch myself with the hand holding my camera. The lens, which was extended at the time, smacked into the stone and the first section got compressed into the second so that it bent down at an angle. I thought for sure I was going to have to buy a new camera, but I pushed and played with it a little and I was able to pull out the first section with a series of loud pops until it was straight again. I turned the camera off and on again and it worked! It's a Nikon, if you're looking for a good sturdy camera...
I went back to see Vlasta in the evening. He stayed home all day with his cold, but is in a good enough mood. He won't go to church tomorrow either and is going to go to the doctor on Monday. Just being a typical Czech, I guess.
The other girl didn't come and the missionaries and others that were iffy never showed up. so the three of us went to Karlstejn.
It's a beautiful castle, but it's funny to tour it with Czechs. They hadn't been there before, but to them it wasn't anything special. We took the tour, but it was pretty lame. The parts they showed us weren't very nicely done up, but it was cool to be in the king's bedroom and stuff. The best part of the tour was that we took it in Czech and it was 80 Kc cheaper. On the sign, the Czech section had the prices spelled out, 'stodvacet' (120), the other had the numbers, 200.
We hadn't checked the times and had to wait a little while before we got a train back to Prague. We took Libor to the bus station so he could get home, then Renata and I went to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant.
She didn't have anything to do, so after our late lunch we went to see Zizkov, a big huge statue of Jan Zizka.
While I was there, I decided I would jump up onto a small wall and see if the view was better. Unfortunately, my foot didn't quite make it all the way onto the wall and I had to catch myself with the hand holding my camera. The lens, which was extended at the time, smacked into the stone and the first section got compressed into the second so that it bent down at an angle. I thought for sure I was going to have to buy a new camera, but I pushed and played with it a little and I was able to pull out the first section with a series of loud pops until it was straight again. I turned the camera off and on again and it worked! It's a Nikon, if you're looking for a good sturdy camera...
I went back to see Vlasta in the evening. He stayed home all day with his cold, but is in a good enough mood. He won't go to church tomorrow either and is going to go to the doctor on Monday. Just being a typical Czech, I guess.
Friday, March 11, 2005
11 Mar
Today was probably the last free day I have here, so I went on one last Prague walk around town. But of course, the weather didn't cooperate much. It was overcast and cold and it snowed a little. I went by the weird melted building, and across the river to visit the American Embassy. I also picked up one last present and had lunch at Ceska Kuchyne - chicken and potatoes with tartar sauce.
I went home in the afternoon to spend some time with Vlasta. We've kind of had opposite schedules lately and we haven't had much time to hang out. And now that he's sick, it's even harder. He decided he wasn't going on the temple trip, so I packed my stuff and headed to the church building.
I got there early and helped prepare the supper. There were young people from all over the mission. I played ping-pong with some girls from Slovakia. Libor also came from Hradec Kralove, and Jana was there, a girl from Liberec that was probably 14 the last time I saw her and now she's 18 or so. Everybody gathered at the building to stay the night and then leave early tomorrow morning. They had dinner prepared and then we had a little fireside. It was going great, Renata had a piano number she's been really nervous about (and she did fine), the talk was good, and then they told us that about 5 minutes before the fireside started, they had gotten a call from the temple president asking us not to come. The snow is so bad in the mountains that the roads are impassable, one of the worst storms in recent history.
That was kind of a bummer, especially for those people that had come a long way and of course for those that were all prepared to go. I wanted to at least do something, so I found out train times to Karlstejn, a nearby castle that has some church significance (the country was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel near there). Libor, Renata, some girl from Hradec, and a few other people maybe (and I) are going to go tomorrow morning.
So I didn't stay at the building like I had planned. Libor and I went back to Vlasta's place to sleep. It kind of messed up my plans for getting to Plzen as well. I was going to ride back with Plzen members, but I'll just take a bus now, I guess. I'm sad I didn't get to go to Freiberg, but I'm more sad for the youth here. I have a temple 5 minutes away at home, they have to wait for the next Czech temple week.
I went home in the afternoon to spend some time with Vlasta. We've kind of had opposite schedules lately and we haven't had much time to hang out. And now that he's sick, it's even harder. He decided he wasn't going on the temple trip, so I packed my stuff and headed to the church building.
I got there early and helped prepare the supper. There were young people from all over the mission. I played ping-pong with some girls from Slovakia. Libor also came from Hradec Kralove, and Jana was there, a girl from Liberec that was probably 14 the last time I saw her and now she's 18 or so. Everybody gathered at the building to stay the night and then leave early tomorrow morning. They had dinner prepared and then we had a little fireside. It was going great, Renata had a piano number she's been really nervous about (and she did fine), the talk was good, and then they told us that about 5 minutes before the fireside started, they had gotten a call from the temple president asking us not to come. The snow is so bad in the mountains that the roads are impassable, one of the worst storms in recent history.
That was kind of a bummer, especially for those people that had come a long way and of course for those that were all prepared to go. I wanted to at least do something, so I found out train times to Karlstejn, a nearby castle that has some church significance (the country was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel near there). Libor, Renata, some girl from Hradec, and a few other people maybe (and I) are going to go tomorrow morning.
So I didn't stay at the building like I had planned. Libor and I went back to Vlasta's place to sleep. It kind of messed up my plans for getting to Plzen as well. I was going to ride back with Plzen members, but I'll just take a bus now, I guess. I'm sad I didn't get to go to Freiberg, but I'm more sad for the youth here. I have a temple 5 minutes away at home, they have to wait for the next Czech temple week.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
10 Mar
I stopped by the missionaries' street display this morning. I didn't sing with them this time because I'm just getting over my cold and I didn't want to mess up my throat. So I wasn't there long. Instead, I went to the Museum of Communism. I found a pamphlet for it somewhere and it seemed over-eager to make fun of communism. I wasn't going to go at first, seeing as how I live in a communist museum (panelak) and know, from the people, more about what it did than any museum can teach. It lived up to the brochure and the exhibits did have a distinctly derogatory feel (as opposed to neutral) which I found ironic since that's the same propoganda strategy the communist party used against the west. The museum was limited mostly to Czechoslovak communism and it was interesting to see all the communist propaganda in Czech.
The best part was a video that showed footage of the protest on Vaclavske Namesti, the Velvet Revolution, that led to the downfall of communism here. I'd seen pictures, but never seen footage, or heard what they were chanting.
I found some of the souvenirs I was looking for on Staromestske Namesti. It also happened to be warm, relative to recent days, and clear, so I got some nice pictures.
I went to the Donikas in the afternoon. I had already eaten one lunch when I got there, but it was only one plateful of Svickova, and they insisted that I have something to eat, so I got to try some yummy Moldovan meatballs with pasta. I had two platefuls. I did some email there, then played some games with Lukrecia. It's great, I'm just her 'strejda', which is the common way of saying 'stryc', or 'uncle' in Czech, but is also used for close male family friends. So whenever I'm there, it's "Strejdo, strejdo, do you want to...?" It's one of those little things that I've appreciated while being here.
I went to institute tonight. I got there early and was able to help in a missionary discussion for a while. Vlasta was supposed to do it, but went home because he wasn't feeling too great. Brian, that other former missionary who is studying something at Charles University, was substituting for institute. The poor guy either didn't remember his Czech as well as I did, or more likely, never learned it in the first place, but he's the kind that just keeps talking anyway, so it was OK. I just made trouble with Renata the whole time. We talked for a while afterwards, too and bothered the office elders, and I rode with her until our paths split home. I feel bad that I'm leaving, because there aren't that many people for her to hang out with around here.
The best part was a video that showed footage of the protest on Vaclavske Namesti, the Velvet Revolution, that led to the downfall of communism here. I'd seen pictures, but never seen footage, or heard what they were chanting.
I found some of the souvenirs I was looking for on Staromestske Namesti. It also happened to be warm, relative to recent days, and clear, so I got some nice pictures.
I went to the Donikas in the afternoon. I had already eaten one lunch when I got there, but it was only one plateful of Svickova, and they insisted that I have something to eat, so I got to try some yummy Moldovan meatballs with pasta. I had two platefuls. I did some email there, then played some games with Lukrecia. It's great, I'm just her 'strejda', which is the common way of saying 'stryc', or 'uncle' in Czech, but is also used for close male family friends. So whenever I'm there, it's "Strejdo, strejdo, do you want to...?" It's one of those little things that I've appreciated while being here.
I went to institute tonight. I got there early and was able to help in a missionary discussion for a while. Vlasta was supposed to do it, but went home because he wasn't feeling too great. Brian, that other former missionary who is studying something at Charles University, was substituting for institute. The poor guy either didn't remember his Czech as well as I did, or more likely, never learned it in the first place, but he's the kind that just keeps talking anyway, so it was OK. I just made trouble with Renata the whole time. We talked for a while afterwards, too and bothered the office elders, and I rode with her until our paths split home. I feel bad that I'm leaving, because there aren't that many people for her to hang out with around here.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
09 Mar
Today wasn't a very exciting day as far as blog entries go. I went into town in the morning mainly to go shopping.
I found some stuff, but the one stand I wanted to go to on Charles' Bridge wasn't there, because it was snowing, so I'll stop by again tomorrow. I also went to the mall at Andel. I thought I was done buying DVDs, but I found one I couldn't pass up - Nekonecny Pribeh (The Neverending Story).
Vlasta and I met up after work and we were going to go to a park and throw the frisbee, but it was snowing and he was tired, so we just went home instead. He's been wanting to get out and do something different for a while, but the weather hasn't been cooperating. I did get to watch some good soccer games tonight, though. Both games featured Czech strikers, Baros for Liverpool and Nedved for Juventus. And both teams won, so it was a good night.
I found some stuff, but the one stand I wanted to go to on Charles' Bridge wasn't there, because it was snowing, so I'll stop by again tomorrow. I also went to the mall at Andel. I thought I was done buying DVDs, but I found one I couldn't pass up - Nekonecny Pribeh (The Neverending Story).
Vlasta and I met up after work and we were going to go to a park and throw the frisbee, but it was snowing and he was tired, so we just went home instead. He's been wanting to get out and do something different for a while, but the weather hasn't been cooperating. I did get to watch some good soccer games tonight, though. Both games featured Czech strikers, Baros for Liverpool and Nedved for Juventus. And both teams won, so it was a good night.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
08 Mar
I called Sister Komancova this morning. She's still pretty shaken up. She told me how it happened and how he seemed fine that morning and that it was so unexpected. The funeral is next Wednesday, but I won't be able to make it because I fly out on Tuesday. I'm going to go back to Plzen on Sunday for church, though, it's the least I can do. She also wanted the picture that I had taken, so I went to a photo place today and got that one printed and another one with me photoshopped out, so she can have one of just them.
I spent a big chunk of the day today at the Donicas. Ala got whatever is going around and couldn't talk. I think Lukrecia is sick too, but it's not enough to keep her down. They (Ala and Lukrecia) didn't go to church either, I found out today. While I was gone (in Plzen), Eduard redid the whole computer and got it working again so I was able to use the internet there. They were just sitting around being sick, so we watched Harry Potter 3 and Shrek 2 in Czech. Harry Potter was good, but I think Shrek loses a lot in translation.
I went to the church building in the evening and was finally able to do my laundry. English classes were tonight, but I ended up just talking with Renata. She's a 17 year old member from Ostrava studying in Prague. She's one of those really cool normal people that I wish could have friends her age here. She'll be at BYU in a year in a half if she has her way. She doesn't like it much here and I don't blame her. We talked and played the piano for a long time, with Vlasta coming in and out (he was helping with some appointments tonight).
She came with us to the grocery store and rode as far as she could with us before out paths split. It's sad because she doesn't really want to go home, she wants to be around good people, but her only choices are sister missionaries, old people, YSA guys that are kind of weird, etc. And she's the only member in her family, so that makes it even harder. It will be nice when the church has a larger base here to work from so people like her don't need to run off to America.
I spent a big chunk of the day today at the Donicas. Ala got whatever is going around and couldn't talk. I think Lukrecia is sick too, but it's not enough to keep her down. They (Ala and Lukrecia) didn't go to church either, I found out today. While I was gone (in Plzen), Eduard redid the whole computer and got it working again so I was able to use the internet there. They were just sitting around being sick, so we watched Harry Potter 3 and Shrek 2 in Czech. Harry Potter was good, but I think Shrek loses a lot in translation.
I went to the church building in the evening and was finally able to do my laundry. English classes were tonight, but I ended up just talking with Renata. She's a 17 year old member from Ostrava studying in Prague. She's one of those really cool normal people that I wish could have friends her age here. She'll be at BYU in a year in a half if she has her way. She doesn't like it much here and I don't blame her. We talked and played the piano for a long time, with Vlasta coming in and out (he was helping with some appointments tonight).
She came with us to the grocery store and rode as far as she could with us before out paths split. It's sad because she doesn't really want to go home, she wants to be around good people, but her only choices are sister missionaries, old people, YSA guys that are kind of weird, etc. And she's the only member in her family, so that makes it even harder. It will be nice when the church has a larger base here to work from so people like her don't need to run off to America.
Monday, March 07, 2005
07 Mar
I'm writing this entry with a heavy heart, but I'll let the reason play out in chronological order.
Vlasta brought back some cold medicine from the mission office when he came home last night, so I took some of those and woke up feeling much better. I tried to sleep in, too and get as much rest as I could.
I went to the mission home/mission office/church building (I just realized those are separate things in some places...) today because I desperately needed to do some laundry. Vlasta doesn't have a washing machine and does his there too. Unfortunately I picked a day when the mission president's wife decided some huge batch of white shirts needed to be washed. I didn't know that at the time, so when I saw the machines being used I went to that internet place. I came back a couple of hours later and the machine was still being used, so I waited around and chatted with the office elders and played on the piano. (Side note - one of the elders heard me playing Brahms Rhapsody in G and got the music and is learning it.) So I finally figured out that I didn't have enough time to wash my clothes and left to go home.
One of the things I did while waiting, however, was introduce myself to the mission president, who was actually there. He travels constantly to the branches all over the mission. As I was talking about what I've been doing here I mentioned that I had gone to Plzen and that I'd stayed with the Komancovi and I asked if he knew them. He said he did, but that Brother Komanec had died. I thought he must be mistaken, because today is Monday and I was just there on Friday, but he said he died just yesterday, Sunday.
That put a damper on the day, of course. He was such a nice guy, always helping instead of talking (he let his wife do the talking), always thinking of others. I wanted to call, but Sister Komancova is at her daughter's place and I didn't have the number. We had a small family home evening at home with 2 elders and an investigator, we watched How Rare a Possession. When it was time for missionaries to be home, I called the Plzen elders to find out the rest of the story.
Apparently, Sunday morning he decided he didn't feel good enough to go to church, but he made sure Sister Komancova took care of some things for him (he was a counselor in the branch presidency). When she came home, she found him dead on the floor. He had been reading from the Book of Mormon, went to get something from the kitchen, and from what they can tell so far, had a heart attack on the way back. From what the missionaries told me, everyone's taking it pretty hard because it was such a shock. I'm going to try to call tomorrow morning to offer my condolences and see if I can do anything.
It's especially weird for me, because I was just staying at their place two days before that. When I first went to Plzen I was thinking about staying for church, but decided against it because I didn't want to impose on them for that long. It's a good thing I did, because that would have been a very awkward situation. In any case, it looks like I picked the right time to make my trip. It's just so strange to me that I was one of the last people to see him. I probably took the last picture of him, was the last to eat his famous ovocne knedliky.
He will be missed by many members here and former missionaries. I really feel for Sister Komancova; she will be very lonely without having him to talk to. It makes me happy, at least, to know that they are baptized and sealed in the temple and I hope that brings Sister Komancova some comfort as well.
Vlasta brought back some cold medicine from the mission office when he came home last night, so I took some of those and woke up feeling much better. I tried to sleep in, too and get as much rest as I could.
I went to the mission home/mission office/church building (I just realized those are separate things in some places...) today because I desperately needed to do some laundry. Vlasta doesn't have a washing machine and does his there too. Unfortunately I picked a day when the mission president's wife decided some huge batch of white shirts needed to be washed. I didn't know that at the time, so when I saw the machines being used I went to that internet place. I came back a couple of hours later and the machine was still being used, so I waited around and chatted with the office elders and played on the piano. (Side note - one of the elders heard me playing Brahms Rhapsody in G and got the music and is learning it.) So I finally figured out that I didn't have enough time to wash my clothes and left to go home.
One of the things I did while waiting, however, was introduce myself to the mission president, who was actually there. He travels constantly to the branches all over the mission. As I was talking about what I've been doing here I mentioned that I had gone to Plzen and that I'd stayed with the Komancovi and I asked if he knew them. He said he did, but that Brother Komanec had died. I thought he must be mistaken, because today is Monday and I was just there on Friday, but he said he died just yesterday, Sunday.
That put a damper on the day, of course. He was such a nice guy, always helping instead of talking (he let his wife do the talking), always thinking of others. I wanted to call, but Sister Komancova is at her daughter's place and I didn't have the number. We had a small family home evening at home with 2 elders and an investigator, we watched How Rare a Possession. When it was time for missionaries to be home, I called the Plzen elders to find out the rest of the story.
Apparently, Sunday morning he decided he didn't feel good enough to go to church, but he made sure Sister Komancova took care of some things for him (he was a counselor in the branch presidency). When she came home, she found him dead on the floor. He had been reading from the Book of Mormon, went to get something from the kitchen, and from what they can tell so far, had a heart attack on the way back. From what the missionaries told me, everyone's taking it pretty hard because it was such a shock. I'm going to try to call tomorrow morning to offer my condolences and see if I can do anything.
It's especially weird for me, because I was just staying at their place two days before that. When I first went to Plzen I was thinking about staying for church, but decided against it because I didn't want to impose on them for that long. It's a good thing I did, because that would have been a very awkward situation. In any case, it looks like I picked the right time to make my trip. It's just so strange to me that I was one of the last people to see him. I probably took the last picture of him, was the last to eat his famous ovocne knedliky.
He will be missed by many members here and former missionaries. I really feel for Sister Komancova; she will be very lonely without having him to talk to. It makes me happy, at least, to know that they are baptized and sealed in the temple and I hope that brings Sister Komancova some comfort as well.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
06 Mar
Saturday
I had originally planned on going to the movies with Lida at 10, but she moved it to 12 so I went wandering again. There's some kind of inversion or something here and the air wasn't very clear.
Of course, Photoshop can take care of some of that, like this picture of some swans I found, which are pretty common around here.
At 12 I met Lida at a really nice mall right at the Flora Metro stop.
Just in the 3 years that I've been gone, it's easy to see the change and modernization of commerce around here. Hypermarkets and malls are everywhere and I've seen about 5 new KFCs in Prague (I don't know what that's all about). Anyway, we saw the Uzasnakovi (Incredibles) at this very nice theater and it was just as good in Czech.
I got some lunch afterwards and bought a little painting of Prague, then I went to the church building because Vlasta said he would probably be there. I played the piano for a while, but he never showed up (he was waiting at home). It didn't matter much anyway, because we were planning on going on a walk with someone, then going shopping, but the more I thought about it, I didn't feel very good and I just decided to go home.
Sunday
My cough turned into a full-blown cold last night. I don't know what's up with me. I blame it on the foreign germs here. And there is a flu/cold going around here right now. When I woke up this morning, it was at the lovely point where I'm coughing and sneezing (making a big mess). I don't feel really bad, but there's pressure in my head and I am at the point where I need a lot of tissues. At home I probably would have gone to church, but it's very much against the culture here to go out when you're sick, especially when it was snowing again this morning.
So Vlasta wouldn't let me go and I've been at home. I read scriptures for a while, then watched TV. There's not much to do in a one-room apartment, but it hasn't been too bad. I've watched some documentaries on Iran and animals, a movie called Meet Prince Charming that's pretty much You've Got Mail with different actors, and right now I'm watching the second part (the first was last night) of the European Indoor Track Championships in Madrid.
I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the night, probably not much except for SuperStar, but I'm going out tomorrow sick or not. Vlasta keeps telling me I should stay in for 2 or 3 days, but this is driving me crazy.
I had originally planned on going to the movies with Lida at 10, but she moved it to 12 so I went wandering again. There's some kind of inversion or something here and the air wasn't very clear.
Of course, Photoshop can take care of some of that, like this picture of some swans I found, which are pretty common around here.
At 12 I met Lida at a really nice mall right at the Flora Metro stop.
Just in the 3 years that I've been gone, it's easy to see the change and modernization of commerce around here. Hypermarkets and malls are everywhere and I've seen about 5 new KFCs in Prague (I don't know what that's all about). Anyway, we saw the Uzasnakovi (Incredibles) at this very nice theater and it was just as good in Czech.
I got some lunch afterwards and bought a little painting of Prague, then I went to the church building because Vlasta said he would probably be there. I played the piano for a while, but he never showed up (he was waiting at home). It didn't matter much anyway, because we were planning on going on a walk with someone, then going shopping, but the more I thought about it, I didn't feel very good and I just decided to go home.
Sunday
My cough turned into a full-blown cold last night. I don't know what's up with me. I blame it on the foreign germs here. And there is a flu/cold going around here right now. When I woke up this morning, it was at the lovely point where I'm coughing and sneezing (making a big mess). I don't feel really bad, but there's pressure in my head and I am at the point where I need a lot of tissues. At home I probably would have gone to church, but it's very much against the culture here to go out when you're sick, especially when it was snowing again this morning.
So Vlasta wouldn't let me go and I've been at home. I read scriptures for a while, then watched TV. There's not much to do in a one-room apartment, but it hasn't been too bad. I've watched some documentaries on Iran and animals, a movie called Meet Prince Charming that's pretty much You've Got Mail with different actors, and right now I'm watching the second part (the first was last night) of the European Indoor Track Championships in Madrid.
I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the night, probably not much except for SuperStar, but I'm going out tomorrow sick or not. Vlasta keeps telling me I should stay in for 2 or 3 days, but this is driving me crazy.
Friday, March 04, 2005
04 Mar
As soon as I woke up this morning I was greeted with breakfast from Sister Komancova, some hot chocolate and cake. We kind of chatted for a while, then I realized they were just going to keep talking until 1:00, when we were supposed to meet Sister Bubenickova (their daughter), so I excused myself and went into town again.
I found an internet place near the town square. It's a multiplayer gaming place, but you can also just use the internet there. It was really dark and there was nobody manning the desk so I had to search around to find somebody, but it ended up being pretty cheap.
I still had some time after that, so I went to the Brewery Museum. Plzen is famous for inventing Pilsner beer and they still make Pilsner Urquell, the original, along with lots of other beers there. I didn't pay to go into the museum part, but I did get to see the cellars and how they used to make the beer.
For lunch I went to Sister Bubenickova's restaurant and met the missionaries there. She feeds them once a week and would feed them more if they would let her. She showed me her book that all her missionaries had signed. She's really quite the member, definitely not afraid of showing off the missionaries at her restaurant. The food was good. The place is actually a jidelna, kind of cafeteria style, I guess, but it's good Czech food.
I went back to the Komancovi's and got my stuff ready and watched a little TV. Their great-grandson was over and we watched Cobra 11, a German show about two cops that defy all odds by living through each episode. Brother Komanec came with me to the bus station and I took that same bus back to Prague.
On the bus I sat right behind some American girls, but I have no idea what they were doing here. I never talked to them, because I started talking to the young guy sitting next to me. He's a Slovak who was going home for a while. He of course was interested in why I lived here and learned Czech and he had never heard of the Mormons before, but seemed interested in hearing what it was all about. Unfortunately, he lives in a part of Slovakia where there aren't (and never have been) missionaries and I didn't have any church materials on me. The best I could do was show him where the church building is in Prague (the bus drives right by it) and tell him to stop by sometime. And he's the kind of guy that I think might actually do it.
Anyway, I got back to Vlasta's safely and it feels good to be "home" again. The Komancovi are great, but I always felt like a guest there. Here I can just relax and do my own thing.
I found an internet place near the town square. It's a multiplayer gaming place, but you can also just use the internet there. It was really dark and there was nobody manning the desk so I had to search around to find somebody, but it ended up being pretty cheap.
I still had some time after that, so I went to the Brewery Museum. Plzen is famous for inventing Pilsner beer and they still make Pilsner Urquell, the original, along with lots of other beers there. I didn't pay to go into the museum part, but I did get to see the cellars and how they used to make the beer.
For lunch I went to Sister Bubenickova's restaurant and met the missionaries there. She feeds them once a week and would feed them more if they would let her. She showed me her book that all her missionaries had signed. She's really quite the member, definitely not afraid of showing off the missionaries at her restaurant. The food was good. The place is actually a jidelna, kind of cafeteria style, I guess, but it's good Czech food.
I went back to the Komancovi's and got my stuff ready and watched a little TV. Their great-grandson was over and we watched Cobra 11, a German show about two cops that defy all odds by living through each episode. Brother Komanec came with me to the bus station and I took that same bus back to Prague.
On the bus I sat right behind some American girls, but I have no idea what they were doing here. I never talked to them, because I started talking to the young guy sitting next to me. He's a Slovak who was going home for a while. He of course was interested in why I lived here and learned Czech and he had never heard of the Mormons before, but seemed interested in hearing what it was all about. Unfortunately, he lives in a part of Slovakia where there aren't (and never have been) missionaries and I didn't have any church materials on me. The best I could do was show him where the church building is in Prague (the bus drives right by it) and tell him to stop by sometime. And he's the kind of guy that I think might actually do it.
Anyway, I got back to Vlasta's safely and it feels good to be "home" again. The Komancovi are great, but I always felt like a guest there. Here I can just relax and do my own thing.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
03 Mar
I woke up this morning with a cough. Everyone here has a flu of some kind and since my colds normally start with a sore throat, I'm hoping this won't turn into anything bad. I guess we'll see.
This morning I was served a breakfast of tea and cake and then Sister Komancova and I went to visit Sister Bendova, a member of the branch who lives nearby. She also doesn't get out much in the winter, so she enjoyed the visit. She was baptized by an elder from my MTC group.
By the time we got back, it was time for lunch, and Brother Komanec had made some very good chicken sauce with potatoes. We ate and then looked at all the letters and pictures and postcards that missionaries had sent them. It's amazing how the members here remember every missionary that's served in the city.
I went out on my own after that to look around the city and take some pictures.
I had forgotten the tram and bus routes, but it didn't take long to figure them out again. The weirdest part was the flashbacks. I had them more here than in Prague, probably because I served as a normal missionary here, but it felt like I was in a movie, like the Bourne Identity, where I see something and a picture of something I did there flashes in my mind, or I hear a name and an image of where that person lives flashes in my head. I remembered making a phone call in that phone booth, or buying something from that Trafika.
At a certain tram stop I had the distinct feeling I should take the #1 tram, which I later realized went to (one of) my old apartment(s). I rode up to the big sidliste here, Lochotin, and as I rode through the buildings, which all look the same, people and where they live started popping into my head. It's interesting how memory works. Mine tends to be very visual and spatial; I always remember things in their relative positions. I'll remember if you were sitting on my right or my left when we talked about something, but I won't have any idea when it was.
Anyway, I met back up with the Komancovi at the church building. The women were having a Relief Socity meeting of some kind, so I went to say hi to some of them, and also Honza Holub came, a freshly returned missionary when I was here who is now married and the branch president. (Brother Komanec is his counselor, BTW.) The missionaries were supposed to have an appointment there, but the guy never showed, so we chatted with them for a while. It was fun to see some of the members again. It's funny when you realize that everything is pretty much the same, and there's actually not that much to talk about. The one big change was the Dostalovi's little boy, who is now 5 and talking and running around.
After cleaning the building for Sunday, one of the sisters, who was inactive when I was here, had a car and drove us home. It was a Skoda Fabia, so I was pretty excited to see what it was like. It was small, of course, but we fit 5 people in it and it was a very nice car. When we got home I was fed a small dinner (this after finishing off the refreshments from their meeting). If I stayed here long enough, I might actually find a way to gain weight. My problem is that I'm able to eat a lot of food, even when I'm not hungry, so I just keep eating. But it makes them happy and me too, and I'm definitely not complaining. Vlasta can barely make oatmeal, so it's been a nice change.
This morning I was served a breakfast of tea and cake and then Sister Komancova and I went to visit Sister Bendova, a member of the branch who lives nearby. She also doesn't get out much in the winter, so she enjoyed the visit. She was baptized by an elder from my MTC group.
By the time we got back, it was time for lunch, and Brother Komanec had made some very good chicken sauce with potatoes. We ate and then looked at all the letters and pictures and postcards that missionaries had sent them. It's amazing how the members here remember every missionary that's served in the city.
I went out on my own after that to look around the city and take some pictures.
I had forgotten the tram and bus routes, but it didn't take long to figure them out again. The weirdest part was the flashbacks. I had them more here than in Prague, probably because I served as a normal missionary here, but it felt like I was in a movie, like the Bourne Identity, where I see something and a picture of something I did there flashes in my mind, or I hear a name and an image of where that person lives flashes in my head. I remembered making a phone call in that phone booth, or buying something from that Trafika.
At a certain tram stop I had the distinct feeling I should take the #1 tram, which I later realized went to (one of) my old apartment(s). I rode up to the big sidliste here, Lochotin, and as I rode through the buildings, which all look the same, people and where they live started popping into my head. It's interesting how memory works. Mine tends to be very visual and spatial; I always remember things in their relative positions. I'll remember if you were sitting on my right or my left when we talked about something, but I won't have any idea when it was.
Anyway, I met back up with the Komancovi at the church building. The women were having a Relief Socity meeting of some kind, so I went to say hi to some of them, and also Honza Holub came, a freshly returned missionary when I was here who is now married and the branch president. (Brother Komanec is his counselor, BTW.) The missionaries were supposed to have an appointment there, but the guy never showed, so we chatted with them for a while. It was fun to see some of the members again. It's funny when you realize that everything is pretty much the same, and there's actually not that much to talk about. The one big change was the Dostalovi's little boy, who is now 5 and talking and running around.
After cleaning the building for Sunday, one of the sisters, who was inactive when I was here, had a car and drove us home. It was a Skoda Fabia, so I was pretty excited to see what it was like. It was small, of course, but we fit 5 people in it and it was a very nice car. When we got home I was fed a small dinner (this after finishing off the refreshments from their meeting). If I stayed here long enough, I might actually find a way to gain weight. My problem is that I'm able to eat a lot of food, even when I'm not hungry, so I just keep eating. But it makes them happy and me too, and I'm definitely not complaining. Vlasta can barely make oatmeal, so it's been a nice change.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
02 Mar
I went to the bus station this morning to catch a bus to Plzen. The schedule that I looked at said that the same bus was leaving from platform 1 and 2, so I stood there for a while, but nobody was there, so I looked around, checked the schedules and finally looked over at platform 0, where there was a nice yellow bus run by a private company. I checked the schedule and sure enough, it said this route was run by "Student Agency", not the regular buses I'm used to. I figured it out just in time to get a ticket and get on and it was great. They had a stewardess, headphones, TVs, free hot drink and even newspapers to read. And as a student the prices are really good.
So I got to Plzen full of hot chocolate and well informed about the upcoming hockey playoffs and was greeted there by Sister Komancova and her daughter Sister Bubenickova. The Komancovi are an older couple that I helped teach that got baptized after I went home.
They were always super nice and fed the missionaries a lot. Nothing much has changed in that respect, but I'll get to that later. About a year after they got baptized, their daughter, who at the time I was there didn't seem to have any interest, also was baptized. That was a cool surprise. She runs a restaurant and also feeds the missionaries at least once a week.
The Komancovi are taking good care of me. She picked me up at the bus station and had already bought me a day pass for today and tomorrow. We got to their place at about noon and they already had lunch ready. I hadn't even mentioned it, but I guess I didn't need to. They had a huge batch of ovocne knedliky ready for me, apple. I ate 13 before I had to call it quits.
We chatted for a while and got caught up. Then we had tea and cake. They also watch their grandson in the afternoon, so he was there for a while. Sister Komancova and I went and visited Sister Markova.
She's a member that was baptized before communism and has been a stalwart through everything. She has some health issues and doesn't go out much and her husband recently passed away, so she lives alone. I was glad I could go and visit her and she was really happy to see us. I could hardly get a word in, she just talked the whole time and I was happy to listen. She had also made a strudel for us, so I got to eat some more.
Brother Komanec was supposed to help the missionaries with a discussion, so we went to the church building to meet up with him and meet the missionaries there. The guy never showed up, but we had a good time chatting. There are 2 companionships in Plzen, and one of the missionaries is a Czech, which is always cool. The coolest thing, though, was to see the Komancovi being awesome member missionaries. At home they showed me the list they use with the missionaries to keep track of all the investigators, and they go on appointments all the time.
At home we had dinner, which was done the proper European way, just some bread and cheese and meat. They're letting me stay here with them, I guess I didn't mention that. Sitting here on their fold out couch, or staying at Vlasta's, it strikes me how odd it seems that I can come and be greeted with open arms by these people that live in this apartment in this city in this country that I know only because I knocked on their door. It's funny how the gospel can bring together different people from widely different backgrounds and circumstances and it's like there are no differences at all.
So I got to Plzen full of hot chocolate and well informed about the upcoming hockey playoffs and was greeted there by Sister Komancova and her daughter Sister Bubenickova. The Komancovi are an older couple that I helped teach that got baptized after I went home.
They were always super nice and fed the missionaries a lot. Nothing much has changed in that respect, but I'll get to that later. About a year after they got baptized, their daughter, who at the time I was there didn't seem to have any interest, also was baptized. That was a cool surprise. She runs a restaurant and also feeds the missionaries at least once a week.
The Komancovi are taking good care of me. She picked me up at the bus station and had already bought me a day pass for today and tomorrow. We got to their place at about noon and they already had lunch ready. I hadn't even mentioned it, but I guess I didn't need to. They had a huge batch of ovocne knedliky ready for me, apple. I ate 13 before I had to call it quits.
We chatted for a while and got caught up. Then we had tea and cake. They also watch their grandson in the afternoon, so he was there for a while. Sister Komancova and I went and visited Sister Markova.
She's a member that was baptized before communism and has been a stalwart through everything. She has some health issues and doesn't go out much and her husband recently passed away, so she lives alone. I was glad I could go and visit her and she was really happy to see us. I could hardly get a word in, she just talked the whole time and I was happy to listen. She had also made a strudel for us, so I got to eat some more.
Brother Komanec was supposed to help the missionaries with a discussion, so we went to the church building to meet up with him and meet the missionaries there. The guy never showed up, but we had a good time chatting. There are 2 companionships in Plzen, and one of the missionaries is a Czech, which is always cool. The coolest thing, though, was to see the Komancovi being awesome member missionaries. At home they showed me the list they use with the missionaries to keep track of all the investigators, and they go on appointments all the time.
At home we had dinner, which was done the proper European way, just some bread and cheese and meat. They're letting me stay here with them, I guess I didn't mention that. Sitting here on their fold out couch, or staying at Vlasta's, it strikes me how odd it seems that I can come and be greeted with open arms by these people that live in this apartment in this city in this country that I know only because I knocked on their door. It's funny how the gospel can bring together different people from widely different backgrounds and circumstances and it's like there are no differences at all.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
01 Mar
I was feeling kind of lazy this morning, so when I got started watching a movie on TV during breakfast, I just stayed and watched the whole thing. It's fun for me to watch movies dubbed in Czech and hear how they say things in different situations. It's actually a really good way to learn the language. While I'm on the topic, I also got a chance to watch the Simpsons in Czech this afternoon. The voices they use are really dumb, though, and it wasn't nearly as funny.
I went into town to look for a phone card and do some other shopping. I must have asked 4 or 5 trafika places before I found one that sold normal phone cards. All they sell now are those prepaid sims that you put in your mobile. I went around the northeast part of the center and visited some shops, the big Prazska Trznice ("Prague Market" where they sell lots of cheap low quality stuff) and also walked by one of the apartments I used to live in. I went to Florenc to check some bus times for tomorrow and from there walked around the Karlovo Namesti area, another part of town I don't know too well. There was a nice old tower there.
I went home in the afternoon to drop off some stuff that I bought, to eat, and to see what Vlasta was up to. He had an appointment with the missionaries, so I left him and went to T-Mobile Arena to watch HK Sparta Praha take on Trinec. A hockey game.
The Canadian girls I met wanted to go (go figure, Canadians who like hockey) and it was something I should have thought of myself. They hadn't called, however, and I couldn't get a hold of them, so I just went anyway. The newspaper I got said the game started at 6:30, but it was actually 5:30, so I got there in time to see the end of the 1st period. It was tied 1-1. After the second period, Sparta was down 3-2. I went out during the break to see what they were selling and fortuitously happened to run into the girls. They had taken a day trip to Cesky Krumlov and had just gotten back. So we watched Sparta break it open in the 3rd period and with a goal just as time expired, they won 4-7.
It was their last night here, so we went into town to walk around and find a place where we could get some hot chocolate (it's still pretty cold) and relax. As we were walking down Vaclavske Namesti, we ran into a Cuban-American guy named Max who kind of leeched on to us. He's doing a semester here at Charles' University and said he had just finished with his classes for the day. I think he was just looking for something to do. In any case, he joined us in our quest to find a cafe. We walked around for a while and I finally remembered about Bohemian Bagel, so we went there. Max was nice and all, but he seemed to be suffering from Idon'tknowwhattodowithmylifeism and was trying to cure it by becoming socially superior through having experienced many European countries.
It seems like there were some things I wanted to write about, but I can't think of them now. Hopefully I'll be reminded of them again before the trip is over.
I went into town to look for a phone card and do some other shopping. I must have asked 4 or 5 trafika places before I found one that sold normal phone cards. All they sell now are those prepaid sims that you put in your mobile. I went around the northeast part of the center and visited some shops, the big Prazska Trznice ("Prague Market" where they sell lots of cheap low quality stuff) and also walked by one of the apartments I used to live in. I went to Florenc to check some bus times for tomorrow and from there walked around the Karlovo Namesti area, another part of town I don't know too well. There was a nice old tower there.
I went home in the afternoon to drop off some stuff that I bought, to eat, and to see what Vlasta was up to. He had an appointment with the missionaries, so I left him and went to T-Mobile Arena to watch HK Sparta Praha take on Trinec. A hockey game.
The Canadian girls I met wanted to go (go figure, Canadians who like hockey) and it was something I should have thought of myself. They hadn't called, however, and I couldn't get a hold of them, so I just went anyway. The newspaper I got said the game started at 6:30, but it was actually 5:30, so I got there in time to see the end of the 1st period. It was tied 1-1. After the second period, Sparta was down 3-2. I went out during the break to see what they were selling and fortuitously happened to run into the girls. They had taken a day trip to Cesky Krumlov and had just gotten back. So we watched Sparta break it open in the 3rd period and with a goal just as time expired, they won 4-7.
It was their last night here, so we went into town to walk around and find a place where we could get some hot chocolate (it's still pretty cold) and relax. As we were walking down Vaclavske Namesti, we ran into a Cuban-American guy named Max who kind of leeched on to us. He's doing a semester here at Charles' University and said he had just finished with his classes for the day. I think he was just looking for something to do. In any case, he joined us in our quest to find a cafe. We walked around for a while and I finally remembered about Bohemian Bagel, so we went there. Max was nice and all, but he seemed to be suffering from Idon'tknowwhattodowithmylifeism and was trying to cure it by becoming socially superior through having experienced many European countries.
It seems like there were some things I wanted to write about, but I can't think of them now. Hopefully I'll be reminded of them again before the trip is over.
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