And of course, Today's funnies

This pic is of me, Becky (left) and Tina, (right). Tina is from Slovenia. The other night I was trying to entertain her (completely out of character for me) and started telling knock knock jokes. She didn't get any of them. Not the Boo Hoo or the Little Old Lady One! Wow! I thought both of those were knock knocks at their finest! She is so funny even though she doesn't get my obviously hilarious jokes. haha* I was trying to tell her some more today and she just told me to give up- they were terrible. bahhahahahhaha*

Then, Darren (American) had a Czech to English translation book. I asked him to see his Czech Book. He gave me a really weird look and started searching through his backpack. Then he handed me his CHECKBOOK! bahhahahha* He figured I was the dorky accountant and wanted to ensure he balanced correctly or something! haha* It turns out that the book was all kinds of hilarious! Glad I asked for it! Czech out the 'romance' section! I had to take a pic! Some phrases that were translated:

"Will you marry me?"

"Easy, Tiger"

"I'm six weeks late."

"This is my first time."

Really?!?!??!?!?! EEEEWWWW!!! Dirty book writers!!!

Another funny experience came in the church when this old little doogie was giving a intro. ((The one with the huge organ)). He wanted to play us some music on the organ. He completely went into another mode! To complete the idea that he really meant business, he switched to these ridiculously thick glasses. I had to take a pic.....

The last thing that I will poke fun at is the clock that we saw today. We had to hurry to the center of town to be there at noon so we could watch the clock ring. Apparently it's a big deal. If I got a good video, I will post it... I think we were expecting some crazy performance. We all forgot that the clock is like 400 years old. Let's just say it was five minutes I could have spent doing...well...anything else....

If you are ever in Olomouc and are worried about missing the noon clock performance...Just stop in the nearest diner and grab a pivo instead... :)

Olomouc Today

Today we traveled to Olomouc. It is a city in the Czech Republic. We went there with the International Students Club. It was interesting! We saw a lot of cathedrals... I have to add that the Czech Republic is 49% Atheist! I couldn't believe that when I heard it! These amazing churches make me want to go every day! :) Anyways, Czech out the pics... The first pic is of a cathedral from the 1600's. It was amazing! The next pic is of the inside! The next pic is of a church that was built in seven years. Wow! They thought that was a short time! haha* In America they better have a building done in a year or less or we are all cranky! The next place we went was another cathedral... We had this guy play the organ for us. The organ had 10,500 pipes! It was amazing! It was also all made by hand. It took five years to make it! Wow! Finally, the last place we went was a....cathedral.. haha* It was by far the most impressive place I have seen so far. Czech out the last pic... Wowwy Zowwy! :)

Saturday Gratitude Journal: Everything in my life!

"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. " I just read that in an email from my friend, Virjean! I love this quote! Today (and everyday) I am generally thanking God for EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE in my life! I have the best family, the best friends, the best fiance, the best body...((okay, I went to far))... But you get the point! Life is good....no.....GRRRRRREAT!! :) I love you all! I am very thankful for you!! Thanks for being a part of my life!

Party Animal

Stanley is such a party animal! Wednesday night, the International Student Club rented out Club Remix (a whole other story) and we celebrated Stanley's 21st birthday! He was a maniac! He even met a LADY! ((Hahaha* What are the odds that my friend, Kelli, had a paper girl from when she did this project?!?!?!)) Anyways, the flag party was really fun! ISC people painted everyone's flags on their face. As you will notice, they didn't even attempt America's flag! BAHAHAHHAA* It probably didn't help that I told them I wanted a detailed version! All fifty stars! They decided to go with "USA" instead! Rachel and I had a pretty scary experience with a group of guys, but it's okay now! If you want to hear that story you have to wait till I get home! Let's just say it definitely wasn't the first time these guys had tried to get with some girls, but the problem was WE WEREN'T DRUNK so their plan didn't work... And when I told Mark the story he wanted their addresses so he could send them some Anthrax! He is so funny! There's a lot of that laying around... haha* Gotta love him! :) Anyways, turns out that Stan is a lightweight but he was totally hungover the next day. He deserved it, though, because Rachel and I are pretty sure he knocked up that little lady... Oh sheesh....

Laundry Day

Today we are going to do some laundry... Yeah, I have been here THREE WEEKS and am just doing laundry! haha* Crazy college kids! I brought every pair of underwear I own, so I am not that dirty! haha* Anyways, it should be quite and experience! The laundry mat is not in the best part of town and it is (of course) a BAR too! bahahahha* I am absolutely positive there will be pics from this trip! Stay tuned!

Friday's Gratitude Journal: Online Sermons

Today I am thankful for the online sermons posted by Maryland Community Church from back home! Mark and I have been attending Maryland for a few years now. That is the church we are getting married in! I love going with him because we are able to discuss the sermons after church! We talk about our favorite point, our thoughts, and questions we might have had. I love talking about God with him and praying with him. I do miss our 'post-church' talks! I found out that Maryland has ONLINE SERMONS that are just taped from Sunday's service! I have been catching up on the ones that I missed! :) I am excited to still get the 'post-church' talk with Mark! Yeah for Internet!! :)-

Side Note

Yesterday I left my room once during the day... To take out the trash at 2:30.. wow... I was still in my PJ's at that time... It was amazing to have a day that I didn't move from my little dorm! I haven't had a day like that in YEARS! Then Rach and I went out to dinner with some friends to prove we weren't complete failures... haha* What a life!

Gratitude Journal: Fidel Castro Resigning

Today I am thankful for the resignation of Fidel Castro. I was very surprised when I heard the news. (On PerezHilton.com, of course!) Donna, I thought you would like that! Anyway, Castro has been a strong leader in Cuba for a long time and his resignation will (hopefully) bring a new sense of indepedence to the country. Only time will tell, but I do think this is a step....

Flat Stanley

So a friend of mine from back home teaches second graders. She is doing this project with Flat Stanley. She asked me if she could send him over to me and I could take some pics with him and write a letter about his adventures here. Can you see where this is going to take a turn for the worse? haha* Flat Stanley successfully made his journey to the Czech Republic last week. I decided against (forgot) to take him with me on Death Tour '08.. Thought that might scare the kiddies.. Then I realized: FLAT STAN IS A PARTY ANIMAL! He went to the club with us Monday night, he is going out tonight and tomorrow! Wow! He is such a peer pressure-er.... haha* is that a word? Anyway, Stan just told me and my roommate this morning that his 21st birthday is today! So we are going to celebrate! :) Watch for pics of that! Stanley is also going to travel to Olomouc this weekend so that he can actually get second grade appropriate pics. He is also going to class with Rachel (my roomie) this morning.... I posted a couple pics. One might be too graphic for the kiddies... That was the night of Flat's conception.. The other is out at the club on Monday! :)

Oh my Gosh!!!

Talk about feeling safe! Czech out this article! Bahahhahaahha*

Railroad bridge stolen in Czech Republic
Police say they're trying to figure out who made off with a 4-ton railroad bridge in the Czech Republic.
The iron span disappeared between Dec. 5 and Jan. 11, according to the Czech News Agency.
"We are not sure if it was taken for personal use or for its scrap value," police spokeswoman Martina Hruskova tells AFP. "It is the first time we have dealt with this type of theft."

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/02/railroad-bridge.html?loc=interstitialskip

Prayers

The quote from yesterday really hit me: "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." It is my goal to pray for everyone around me. As I have been over here, friends from home have emailed me updates on their lives. I am amazed how bright and happy that they are, even though they have so much going on in their lives. There are so many people right now with heavy things on their heart and mind. Something to think about... :)

Livingstone

After the movie last night, we went to the club. Livingstone is a local club that plays music from the early 90's. It was fun! When was Kung Foo Fighting from? We definitely rocked out to that last night! haha* Another great thing about going to Livingstone (a local bar) is that the guys speak only Czech! When guys would come up to us girls and want to 'talk,' WE COULDN'T! bahahahhahahaaha* It was a great way to turn guys away! :) That means it was great for me... For the others... not so much... :)- I played a game to try to interpret what the guys were saying. At one point I was sure someone did the "Made in Heaven" shirt tag one... hahahhahaa* Good times!

Czech Cinema Club: Cosy Dens

I went to the Czech Cinema Club last night! We watched the movie Cosy Dens. It was about some families in the late 60's in the Czech Republic. They all lived and interacted in the same apartment complex. It was apparently a comedy! There were a LOT of jokes the other kids laughed at that I didn't even know was a joke! haha* Please keep in mind that the whole movie is in Czech and, in order to understand, I read the subtitles on the bottom! There was one moment in the movie that did strike me. A mother and father-figure were in the living room dancing and having a great time. They were so happy and were laughing. The son walks out of his room and just watches. I want to be those parents! I want my kids to watch Mark and I be silly and dance around and be madly in love like those two were! I have to admit that I had a great childhood! I don't remember my parents EVER fighting in front of us kids! Wow! What a great thing to be able to say! I want to be my parents! :)

Gratitude Journal: Snail Mail

I love getting emails from people! I love reading people's comments on here! I love love LOVE getting snail mail! I think snail mail takes a little more effort to send to someone these days! Yesterday, I received two different pieces of snail mail from America! The first was a postcard from my friend, Tiffany Bratcher! She is so great about sending mail! I really appreciate her for that! She is very thoughtful and I was really excited to get her postcard! :) I also received a Valentine's Day Package from my parents! It had a card and a diamond ring! My parents are so thoughtful too! I was so touched that they would send me something and thought of me even when I wasn't with them on the holiday! I remember years when Dad, Nathan, and Evan decided that Valentine's Day was more of a way to celebrate the girls in their lives! I remember one year seeing three huge teddy bears on the bar in the kitchen from the boys in our lives! :) I remember waking up on my birthday and mom having signs EVERYWHERE in the house, announcing our day! :) I love my family so much and appreciate how thoughtful they are! God, thank you for the wonderful, caring people in my life!

Color Change!! WooHoo!!

In honor of the end of Death Tour '08, the blog has a new look! What do you think!?!?! :)

Final Death Tour '08 stop

So on Sunday Becky, Brandon, Rachel, and I all went to the cathedral on the top of the hill to visit the crypt. It was not exactly what we expected. The lady working with the tickets didn't speak any English so that was quite an obstacle. Then, the crypt ended up being ONE ROOM with NO CORPSES! I know it sounds absolutely morbid to say I was disappointed about not seeing any bodies, but I was! I didn't even see a bone! Apparently, the church was going to have an underground heating system put in in the 1800's. I have no idea. Then they started digging and found this 'crypt.' There was one body in there but he was some famous guy from the Thirty Years War so now his body and everything is in a museum in Prague. Dang... We looked around the room for a little while and left. It was bizarre. I think the first crypt experience was so intense and crazy that it just ruined the next one for us. I am not even going to post any pics from it.. It was that disappointing.. I'm such a freak.

Awesome Quote!

Something to think about....
"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Love you all!
Tiffany

HAPPY PRESIDEN'TS DAY!

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY FROM TIFFANY!

Monday's Gratitude Journal: Differences (Again)

I know I have already used differences, but I want to use it again. If you know me, you might have realized that I am not very good at playing by the rules so I'm not making any rules for my gratitude journal! haha* Anyway, I have gotten very close to my roommate, Rachel, in the two weeks we have lived together. Being from Utah, Rachel knows a thing or two about the Morman religion. :) She is very liberal and doesn't mind talking about it. I love to talk about religion with her and learn our differences and similarities. I think Rachel is my roommate for a reason. I have never really talked about religion SO MUCH in my life! I love it! Differences are what make us special! Thank God for all our differences!

Update

Mark and I get married in 167 days! WooHoo!! This was taken right after we started dating! April 9, 2002! Wow! Almost six years! In Pic: Tiffany 16, Mark 17....

Jan

Jan (pronounced Yan) is a tutor from ISC (the International Student Club) here at Masaryk. He is the funniest person I have met here! He is one of those bi-lingual people I'm very thankful for! The funny part about Jan is the way he tries to be cool with the American students. Jan said when he first met his international student (Roxanne from New Orleans) he didn't even think she spoke English because she used so much slang! ((**Didn't realize we did that, huh?**)) It gets better. One day, Jan decided to google cool American slangs to use with Roxanne. He texted her the following message: "...I will meet you in the lobby tomorrow at 08:00. Hang Loose!" When Roxanne and I met him the next morning, he asked if she liked the text! She proceeded to inform him that no one uses that anymore. I asked him what other American slangs he learned: "For Sheezy My Neezy" (BAHHAHAHAHAHA) "PHAT, like, you know, pretty hot and tempting!" (BAHAHAHHAHA). Where did he look for American slangs?!?! M.C. Hammer's website? :) Jan is so adorable and is such a sweetheart! Also, at the pub one night, someone told him to go up to Roxanne and ask her "What's up, skank?" Roxanne informed him that was not appropriate... Ahhh, Jan....

Sunday's Gratitude Journal: Bi-Lingual People

I didn't realize what an obstacle common words would be here! Last week (I forgot to post this story) I was at the library. I had to go to the restroom so I went to the librarian (a guy) to ask where it was. It went like this:
ME: Pardon, where is the restroom?
HIM: No habla English.... ((He said something close to that...haha**))
ME: [Pointing to my crotch] The restroom?
HIM: ......
ME: [Jumping up and down] Bathroom?
HIM: [Thinking in Czech] You fool! If you come to my country, at least know some of the words. I have no idea what you are saying! [What he said] No habla English. [Shaking his head, no]
I just gave up and started to walk upstairs to start my search. I felt like such a fool! I did everything short of pulling down my pants and squating! haha* I take for granted the Bi-Lingual people who accommodate me DAILY here! Thank God for them! I eventually did find the bathroom... and I now know that bathroom is pronounced VAY-SAY in Czech... That should bring me more success than the last time... Of course there was always the option of just going outside the tram station, right? :)

Grocery Shopping

Grocery Shopping here is quite an adventure! :) There are some things that I get every time I go (like breadsticks, fruit, and cookies). But it is my goal to try to get something new every time I go! Last time I was at the grocery store, Tesco (Czech Wal-Mart), I got Gnocci. It is a type of pasta that I tried here. Rachel K, my roommate, got some too! We each also got a can of sauce. We got different cans to try. She made hers last night. The sauce ended up being salsa... But it was still good. That just brought to light what an obstacle grocery shopping is! I can't read any kind of label! In America, I read each and every label of the items I buy at the grocery store.. Not a chance here! I don't even attempt it! Also, the trick is to look at pictures on the packaging! It's still always a gamble! One of the students last semester bought a large bottle of vegetable oil to cook eggs in. Turns out, it was vinegar! :) Really gives me a respect for situations like this! Who knew GROCERY SHOPPING could be this difficult?!?! :)

We aren't tourists! LOL!

This picture was taken when we just walked in to the bone church!

Not-so-Tiffany Moment

A lot of the people in my group were taking funny pictures with the bones yesterday. I couldn't! Me! The person who usually instigates the goofy pics couldn't bring herself to take one! I really just couldn't stop thinking about each bone and wondering it's story. We are all going to end up like that one day! Just a pile of bones! I was wondering if they ever fell in love, got to travel, had kids, or went to school. I wondered about their religion and beliefs, thoughts and worries. I couldn't make fun of a human skull... It was a weird experience for me... I did take a picture under the chandelier. I also kept taking pictures looking into the 'eyes' of the skulls, wondering how they died and where their souls were at that minute.

KUTNA HORA BONE CHURCH VIDEOS

I had to upload two different videos from yesterday's Bone Church experience. These give you a better feel of what it was like than the pictures. One is of the Chandelier and Becky [from Wisconsin]. The other is when we first walked into the church. It was a pretty crazy place! Hope you like them!

And OF COURSE there were still hilarious moments....

Day Two also brought some funny stuff... :) After the bone church at Kutna Hora, we wanted to go out to eat. First we walked into what ended up being a bar full of locals... not a cafe... we quickly left... haha* Then we went into what look like a nice place to eat. It was! It was also the place a wedding reception was being held. The band stopped playing when members of our group walked in... So we moved on... Then we found a pizzaria/ bowling alley! It seemed pretty sketch, but we were hungry! Of course it was full of drunk, smoky bowlers, but it also had food, so we ate. Matt decided he wanted a Pepperoni pizza... This is what he got....haha* Not exactly what he expected, but it was still good! :)

There was a bowling team having a conference at the bowling alley also! They apparently were talking about drug testing...FOR A LONG TIME... we couldn't help but watch the slide show.. There was one slide that we thought they were showing everyone the proper way to pee in a cup.... Czech out that pic! BAHAHAHAAHA* I showed Mark last night and he said that is totally false! At one point, I made the comment to my group, "I wish I could understand what they were saying because this is so funny!" Which is when one of the people in my group responded with, "Uh...Tiff....That's English...." HAHAHAHAHA* It was a good day!

DAY TWO: Death Tour '08

So DEATH TOUR '08, Day Two was yesterday. A large group of international students traveled to Kutna Hora, which is a curch decorated completely of human bones! EWW! The church was on a sacred burial ground where EVERYONE wanted their body laid to rest. After a while, 4,000 bodies were on this little plot of land. We took the train (about three hours total) to get to the church. ((It was a nine dollar round trip train ride!)) It was breathtaking to walk into the church and see all the skulls! They were EVERYWHERE! The chandelier is made from every bone in the human body! Wow! It was really weird to think that these bones were real. After Friday's Krypta experience, this seemed fake to us. I really tried to appreciate that each skull was a person with a story. Wow....

Addendum to "Stop Sucking" Post

I apologize for not being clear. When I told people to stop sucking and post some comments, I meant the people I KNOW! If you really ARE a creepy web stalker, please keep it to yourself. I also don't want to buy any of your company's products and neither do my friends. Thanks for visiting the site.....NOT