Saturday's Gratitude Journal: Life

Death Tour '08 is in full swing! It is really making me think about living... I am having the time of my life in Brno right now! Seeing all these sights related to death is giving me a whole new perspective to life. I want to live each day to the fullest. In the end, I am going to end up just like the four thousand skulls I saw that decorated a church today. ((Yeah, I said that...)) Watch for pics of that.. :) I didn't think Death Tour '08 would really end up giving me a new perspective on life, but it certainly is.... I have to go now.. I'm really cold.. Darn ghosts keep following me around these days... Haha* Nighty Night! -Tiff

Stop Sucking

If you look at this blog, LEAVE COMMENTS! Don't be creepy and just look at it! I love to see what others have to say! I czech my blog like twenty times a day AT LEAST just to see if people have commented on it! So STOP SUCKING and leave comments! :)-

Beautiful Brno!

I am surrounded by so many beautiful sights here in Brno! The first picture is the top of a church that I can see when I am in town... Second is the fountain where the farmer's market is held every morning! It is so cute how many people come out to the market! When it gets warmer, I'm going to go down there and purchase some fruit! :) The last two are of a Plague Monument in Freedom Square! This went well with the Death Tour theme, even though we didn't mean for it to! :) BREATHTAKING! I am not going to spend a minute taking anything here for granted! I love it!!

BALLA

Did I mention that things are insanely cheap here?? Czech me out yesterday at the ISC office! I pulled out money from the bank before I went to pay for my trips! I wanted to have in my hand the LARGEST CZECH CURRENCY I could! Here it is! 5000 CZK!!! ((That's about 250 bucks))

Today's Hilarium....

Is that even a word? Anyways, as you can tell, Death Tour 08 is in full swing... Scary! Now let's discuss today's funny events... When waiting for the tram to go into town this morning, Rachel K, Rachel W, Nikki, Joe, Brandon, Becky, and I all got quite a sight! There was a little kid pooping by the tram station in town! We thought this was bizarre, especially since the child's mom was helping him! We thought it was funny, but played it off as a kid who couldn't wait... until the mom pulled up his pants and moved to his SIBLING! She had the other one do the same thing!!! BAHHAHAHA* What is going on here? I haven't noticed many public restrooms.. Maybe there is a need for them... Either way, I watched where I stepped all day! haha*

Then we went to Rodeo Drive: An American Bar and Grill... haha* How funny it was for seven Americans to walk into an American-themed cafe in EUROPE! We were waited on by a Czech waitress who barely spoke English... haha* But dang we were craving some burgers! :) I had fish and chips and wouldn't recommend it.. Joe ordered FRENCH FRIES and the waitress didn't understand! BAHAHHAHAHA* Love the little things! ((Czech out the black nails in honor of DEATH TOUR...))

CHANGES

IN HONOR OF DEATH TOUR 08, MY BLOG IS BLACK....... AGGGHHH!!!!

DEATH TOUR, 08 ** DAY ONE

So today was the beginning of DEATH TOUR 08! What is this, you ask? GREAT QUESTION! There is a lot of creepy stuff in these parts and a group of us wanted to see IT ALL while we were here... We made a list and, instead of doing them randomly throughout the semester, we came up with the idea of visiting them all in ONE WEEKEND!! Today was Day One...Krypta Visits.... We only got to visit one (which was ENOUGH for one day) but it was QUITE an experience! At first, we were making jokes about the krypta we were going to... We were loud and lighthearted... Then we went in... In a glass coffin WAS A BODY FROM 1700!!!!! None of the bodies in the Krypta had been preserved in any way. They were just placed in the coffins and put on display! This was such a sight. One of the bodies was a saint. She had a sparkled dress and a mask on. But it was definitely a body. Then we went into the other rooms. There were coffins with inscriptions. The coffins were beautifully decorated. It was amazing to see what I saw! I saw corpses from 1600! Wow! The back room was a larger room with bodies laying in rows without coffins! There were probably 20 to 30 of them. Apparently the monks reused the coffins and when they were needed one, they would place the other body in that room in a row... Our group was really quiet by that point. It was really sad to see the body of a mistraint (I probably spelled that wrong) that was twelve years old! The body was from the 1700's... And I saw it... The most moving part of the whole trip came at the end of the tour, in the last room with all the bodies. There was an inscription that read (translated) "What you are, we were. What we are, you will be." WOW...... It gives me chills to even type it again. I am so glad I went with my new friends to this krypta that was two dollars to enter. It really made me think about life. There really is no reason to take it too seriously, or to miss any moment, or to spend time not liking something... LOVE EVERYTHING YOU DO IN LIFE! None of us get out alive.. Make the most of it while you are here... Who knew that this fun, lighthearted trip would turn into a lesson for us all?

Friday's Gratitude Journal Entry: ISC

Today I am thankful for the International Student Club here at Masaryk University. They have helped me to get acquainted with all my new friends here this past two weeks. They helped set up the orientation week and also schedule different events for the international students. Wednesday night, ISC rented out one of the clubs here in Brno, Club Remix, for everyone to celebrate Valentine's Day. You had to wear what 'color' of status you were. (Green= single, Orange= Complicated, Red= Taken) The pic is from that night! :) I had a lot of fun! ISC also sets up trips for us to go on! With the club, I am going to seven different places! We are going to Olomouc next weekend! That trip is going to cost me $12.50 because I am a member! Wow! Thank you, ISC, for helping me meet all my new friends and to look at this whole new world!

My First Class at Masaryk University

Well, I have been hanging out in Brno for a week and a half now... I decided to finally go to class yesterday! Haha* My Czech Cinema class started yesterday and I was stoked! The teacher introduced himself and DIDN'T TELL HIS NAME!!! I didn't even know that was possible! Haha* Then we DIDN'T get a syllabus! He said we are going to watch Czech films from past to present and at the end we have to write a paper (no specified length) about our favorite film, whether we watched it in class or not. Or we could just compare one of the Czech films to one from back home. The only guideline is not to cheat. WHAT?!?!?!? Who cheats on an OPINION paper!??!??!?! ((PS- I met a girl who DID cheat last semester and she still passed.... haha* LOGIC!!?!??!)) Anyway, I don't plan to cheat... I think I could come up with something on my own...
Then we proceeded to watch some clips from different eras in Czech history. Two seemed interesting to me.. ((Not final paper worthy, but interesting)) One was from the WWII era. Czech borders Germany, so they were totally affected. The film was a Hitler Propaganda film from that time. It was ridiculous! I didn't understand a word they were saying, except HITLER (repeatedly). It was like a carnival or something where all these young beautiful people were dancing around and singing about Adolf himself. Then they decided to appeal to the masses. All of a sudden, the camera would cut to 'people in the audience' who were laughing and clapping and waving... There were Asians, African Americans, and others... It was a little bit ridiculous. They all seemed happy and so excited that massive amounts of people were going to be killed under the orders of this man. It just shows what propaganda can do. Wow...
Then we watched a clip of a film from the sixties. Yeah, this one got interesting FAST. It was about these teenagers who worked in the fields during the day. The boys lived on one floor and the girls lived on another. Two of the kids fell in love and were very productive in getting their field work done during the day... So the head of the companay decided to pair up all the kids and make them fall in love and live together. It showed how production improved and how happy (and probably pregnant) everyone was. Then the company decided to bring their parents out to show what good they had done. My FAVORITE scene was a Mom and Dad meeting their daughter's boyfriend for the first time. The boy and girl are in bed (In pajamas during the day) and the Mom and Dad are talking to them, telling the boy how nice he is and how happy they are that he is with their daughter... BAHAHHAHHAA* You can't make that up....
I am absolutely positive I will have more stories from this class... stay tuned... :)

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I won't see my Valentine this year, but that doens't mean I don't have one! Mark sent me a message this morning wishing me Happy Valentine's Day even before I could! He is such a great guy! I cannot stress that enough! See that TERRIBLE PIC of me with my crazy hairdo? He was still willing to take a picture with me with that!! Wow! What was I thinking?!?!?! haha* That means he's a keeper! Hahaha* I posted another pic from the same trip (this was Virginia Beach 2004 I think). The other one is way better... I just felt the need to redeem myself.. haha* Mark still looks hot! I love you, Mark! Happy Valentine's Day!

-Your future wifey!

Thursday's Gratitude Journal: Valentine's Day

Valentines Day is for lovers. I'm thankful for Valentine's Day because it is the one day that reminds guys to be romantic! They most likely forget birthdays and anniversarys, but never Valentines Day! Thank you EVERY STORE IN THE WORLD for advertising Valentines Day a month in advance to give the dummies a chance to prepare! haha* Thank you, Valentines Day, for reminding boys to be thoughtful annually... haha*

Leos Janacek's Memorial (Tuesday)

So on Tuesday some of the international students went to a 'cultural event.' :) That is what the International Student's Club calls it! Anyways, Leos Janacek was a very famous Czech composer and he was from Brno! So we visited his old home! It was neat because one of the rooms was a complete ORIGINAL just like the old days! Essentially nothing had been moved! It was really cool! Of course I didn't get a pic of it because my darn camera battery shut down.. boo... But I was able to get pics of ORIGINAL music sheets from him. ((See pic))

Oh yeah! I almost forgot that we also had to put on these goofy looking shoes when we got in the home so that we didn't scratch anything... It totally ruined my outfit... I looked like a tool, but so did everyone else, so I guess it is okay! haha*

Then we got to the good stuff. Like I said, Janacek is one of the GREATEST Czech composers ever! So we got to watch some of his operas. ((Just clips...)) And I just couldn't wait because the last one was so interesting.... ((**See blog...**)) So we watched clips from two in Czech and I didn't understand anything. One was apparently about a woman who was in love with a handsome brother who was a jerk. His ugly twin was in love with her though. Then she has a baby out of wedlock with the jerk. Then her mom wants her to get married to SOMEONE, ANYONE. So they start the hunt. They reel them in without telling them about the kid until the last second.. Then the man runs like HAIL... This happens with two different men.. haha* So THEN the mom decides that it is the child who is preventing her daughter's happiness....so she ..... KILLS HIM!!!! WHAT?!?!?!??!?!?!? Logic, anyone?!?!?!?! Mom, if you kill my kids, I promise to punch you in the throat.... In this story, though.. The woman is able to get married after she is child-less and she finds out about the murder and forgives her mom... The End! WHAT?!??! What about the ugly twin brother plot in the beginning? They just gave up on that one? What about the fact that the GRANDMA KILLED HER GRANDSON!?!?! It's cool apparently... She was forgiven and everyone is happy... ????

It gets better... After that one, we got to watch one that was made into a CHILDREN'S CARTOON and translated into English!! So we are all really excited to hear some English and interested to see what these crazy operas are really saying.... Wow... It was called The Cunning Vixin... It's about a fox and a hunter... blah blah blah... One clip we watched was a fox, frollicing through a field. He is CAUGHT (not shot) by a hunter... I thought that was nice and appropriate since it was a children's film.. But the fox doesn't disappear.... The hunter takes him home and TIES HIM UP WITH THE DOG! Don't people eat those? Or are hunters here looking for loving pets??? The other clip we watched was the hunter singing about his wife... "You are a good wife! You do not nag! You do not scold! I remember our wedding night! The next day I couldn't move a muscle!" WHAT?!?!??!?! I started DYING LAUGHING!!! Really? In a CARTOON?? Oh well, I guess... The kids are all 'hopped up' on all that lemonade...

Wednesday's Gratitude Journal: No News Days

I was listening to WBGL earlier and the only news was about the polls and about the first beagle to win a dog show.. Rachel and I were talking about it... I was laughing about how slow the news was and she commented that she likes it that way. She doesn't want to hear about bad things that happened... If the only thing the newspeople have to tak about is dog shows, that means nothing terrible happened back home... What a great way to think about it!! Yeah for slow news days!!!

WBGL.ORG

Just found out that WBGL read my thank you letter on the air today.. be listening for it this week!!!! ((*See my gratitude journal entry...*))

OH MY GOSH!!!!

I'M SO EXCITED RIGHT NOW!!!!!! TONIGHT WAS A BIG NIGHT FOR BOOKING TRIPS... FROM MARCH 7 UNTIL MARCH 12 I AM GOING TO BE IN ATHENS, GREECE!!!! FROM APRIL 18 TO APRIL 21 I AM GOING TO BE IN AMSTERDAM!!!! THIS WEEKEND I AM GOING TO SALZBURG!!! ((I.E. SOUND OF MUSIC!!!)) WATCH FOR PICTURES!!! I WISH YOU WERE ALL HERE WITH ME!!!!! ((THE PICS ABOVE ARE OF SALZBURG....))

Tuesday's Gratitude Journal: Yahoo Messenger

What an AMAZING TOOL! I have utilized Yahoo Messenger DAILY since I have been abroad! I am not only able to instant message my family and friends from back home, I can talk to them just like using the telephone! And it is free!! I also have a voicemail feature that I can leave messages for them if I am on and they are not. Voicemails are much more personal than the instant messages... It is so great to get a voicemail from friends/ family... It is nice to hear a familiar ENGLISH SPEAKING voice..... :) I am very grateful that most of my family and friends signed up for the free service so we can contact eachother easily!!

Bronze

There is a pub in Brno that has taps (from kegs) on every table. You must reserve a table to get in... it is very popular. There are screens in the pub that keep track of the number of beers that each table consumes. It is a competition between the tables to see who can drink the most beer. Let's keep in mind that the Czech Republic is the number one drinking country in the WORLD! So, me and some other Americans decided to Czech it out last night... We did decent in the competition! Third place! :) We went back to the dorm afterwards... Absinth tastes like nail polish remover... That's what I hear anyway.... :) XOXO from Europe!

Monday's Gratitude Journal: Translators

Today I am very thankful for translators! One of my new friends, Joe, has a little electronic pocket translator. It can go from English to many different languages... One is Czech... It has already helped us out so much after one week! I have never been anywhere that has such a language barrier. If you watched the video from yesterday, you would see how people who DO speak English talk here. Then, there is the majority of people. Not a word of English. The trams were shut down yesterday when Rachel and I tried to go to town. There was a sign posted, but we had NO IDEA what it said...Finally, after waiting a while, a woman took us under her wing and pointed us in the right direction...It is just weird... A whole new world...

Sunday's Gratitude Journal

Today I am SO THANKFUL for online radio stations! I am an avid listener to 88.5 (www.wbgl.org) back home! I miss it after only one week! :( I went to their website and I can listen to it online now!! Even from the other side of the world! I sent them a thank you note! :) Tears came to my eyes as I clicked on the link and automatically heard Point of Grace, "How You Live." (http://www.pointofgrace.net/index.html) It is an amazing song and you can watch the video at the link above... God, thank you for allowing me to listen to your Word no matter where I am! Thank you so much for the Blessing that is WBGL! Amen!

:) Have a great Sunday, y'all!

Another Czech language course

So in the Czech language, 'no' means yes and 'ne' means no.... Woah! Major problems! :)
Example: Would you like another beer?
My Response: No, thanks.
Their response: More booze! Opps! ((*An HONEST MISTAKE, Mom!!*))