Day 19

Ready to go to the doctor's office or in Czech, Dockoreho Kancelacs.

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I'm back. it is 6:42 PM and I was told today that I have a heart murmur. Great. Lauree told me not to be worried. Many people get this sort of thing I'm sure. Mom had an irregular heat beat for a while. I hope my murmur is related to the stress, travel and jet lag I have been dealing with.

Needless to say I did not go to class today. No one did today.

We are planning to go to see the Piano with Holly Hunter.

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I bough a brass alarm clock to replace the alarm clock that was stolen from my suitcase. It only cost $8. I checked my email tonight and read a response from Nic. Thank you Nic for writing. Not much more happened today.

Day 18

I went to Ostrava tonight to buy a camera bag. I could not communicate well, but I could what the clerk asked. Now I have a case to keep my camera safe. I even bought a spork (half spoon / half fork) to eat meals in the room.

On my way out of Laso (the name of the store), I ran into the Italians. They are always hitting on women! I stopped to see how easy it is to (attempt) to communicate. It really was not that hard.

On the screwed up side, Ostrava - VSB is still not sure how they are going to feed us.

All I want is a hot meal. I do not need frills or fan fair. Please just feed me.

Day 17

Sirgio, an Italian from next door, helped interpret the spaghetti meal my neighbors fixed for us tonight. I mailed two postcards, a letter to mom and dad and the application for a phone discount to AT&T. I also went to the market and ordered something over the counter. The world is not conquered in leaps. It is taken one street at a time. That is how I am approaching my Czech language skills. One conversation at a time.

I started to read a new book today Hope is the Last to Die. Other than that, I did not do much today.

Day 16

Today started very late. At 9:30 AM I woke up. This was the first day since I arrived that I have slept in past 8:00. I called mom and dad to see about getting a discount from AT&T when calling home from the Czech Republic.

The rest of the day slipped by without notice. Now the Italians are back. It's one party they are having. They are a very adventurous. My neighbors do not speak English any better than I speak Italian. Therefore, we both slaughter the Czech language in hopes of communicating. This is why I came here. you can't learn from a lecture. Much hard work, i.e. hand signs and gestures, are needed to supplement our spoken language skills. If this is how it will be, I could not have asked for a better test of my tolerance.

Day 15

Today Maria took us to the ski mountains in the western Czech Republic. I can't remember the names now. Anyway, the pictures are on roll #2. There was many beautiful sights. We took a chair lift to get to the top of the mountain. As we ascended, I passed through thick clouds. As we climbed, the fog took on an almost translucent quality. The features would slowly emerge from the white mist like a ghost.

Once on the top, we started to walk towards a statue of the druid god Dadhoast. Legend states he was the god of power and fire. From the druid statue (made in 1934 in Omaha Nebraska ) we went to a church on top of the mountain. It was also amazing.

When I returned to Ostrava, I called mom to see how she was holding up. She did not sound happy. Her kitchen remodel was done yet.

Day 14

I called Dad today. He sounded good, but I could tell that he was getting a little emotional. I had a plan on how long I would call, but I talked too long anyway. We discussed my trip: How life was like here and such, what I have already done as well as my future plans. I talked mostly, but he jumped in every once and a while. It was really good to hear his voice again. I missed it more than I imagined.

Today I accomplished a lot. I looked up the names of friends on the Northwest Missouri State VAX mainframe and wrote my sister Nicole and friend Jennifer Brant. I also met an exchange student from Iowa. Her name is Virginia. She graduated in May and will teach English on the high school level. She graduated with a double major of English and Japanese. She has only been here two weeks and can understand Czech better than I can after one semester. Life is not fair.

Tomorrow, Martinia will take us into the mountains near Ostrava. It sounds interesting.

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The British boys will be going home tomorrow evening. I will miss them. I should be getting to bed. I have an early morning.

Day 13

I mailed my first email to Nicole today. I was very happy to finally send word back home on my adventures and status of my trip so far. You can't understand the frustrations I feel being confined to a world I can't communicate with or to.

A prime example of this frustration occurred during Czech class today. My teacher Hana Slezakova speaks Czech all of the time. That is great. The problem is most of us can't understand what she said until the third or fourth attempt. This creates friction between Trent and I. I show signs of fatigue. This makes him send me looks of Get a HOLD of Yourself and SHUT UP. Do not try to help me! I think you get my point.

Lauree has it down the best. Together we make a pretty good team. The problem comes when we all need our space. We just can't. Our world is too small and we need each other to survive. I feel like the character Piggy in the book Lord of the Flies. I try to use reason to solve problems. However, some problems should just be left alone. The human physic does not always function around reason and logic.

On a lighter note, Ostrava does have a large dog society. HUGE dogs with muzzles are seen being led down the sidewalk on leashes. Everywhere I turn I see another German Shepherd or Doberman. Some are as tall as 3 feet. Also, culture -- you must take a basket with you while shopping. If you do not have your basket with you in the store, you will be in trouble. It is considered the equivalent of stealing. Sanitation is also to be desired. Just urinate in the park or street if you can't make it to the water closet!

I try to act "normal" in a "different" culture, but I still get strange looks. I know that I am 6'8", but people just don't care if they I know I see them staring. Don't they know it is very rude to examine someone while they are aware of the scrutinizing gaze?

I don't get "looked" at much anymore, but the first week I sure did. Maybe the next four months will be better. I hope to start blending in.

Day 12

I'm sure this was an important date in history. I just can't find it in my head. I believe it was near the end of the war in the Pacific theater. Yes, I think it was the date the atom bomb codenamed Little Boy was dropped on Japan. I will laugh if my dates are wrong, if and when I reflect on my journal. I often think of the fictional character Aaron Jastrow in the Herman Wolks novel War and Remembrance. Aaron wrote a detailed journal of his struggles in Eastern Europe and I am keeping a journal as his character had. I hope someone will take the time to read my journal someday.

My friend Josef (one of the men that met me at the airport in Prague) came by last night. It was good to see him again. I don't see or do much anymore. My day is pretty boring: Class, study, eat, sleep, shop for supplies and food. I feel like I have not relaxed since I arrived.

I am starting to feel a tension between all of us (Lauree, Trent and myself). I don't like it, but you either grow fonder or despise your companions in about three weeks. We are at week two.

Day 11

Just sitting in my room listening to Schindler's List again. It is 11:58 PM so I am barely making this entry in time. Anyway, I sent my first postcard home today. It should reach them by September 1st. I was going to write Nic, but I don't have her address in Maryville yet. Speaking of addresses, I got my email address today. Now I can email Nic in Maryville. I wish dad had access to email at the bank. I miss talking with him. yes, I miss mom, but dad is different. He doesn't show any real emotion. I guess I am a mold of him. The feelings which were stirred once in me can not be brought out as easily anymore. It is as if I have build a tolerance or wall.

Day 10

Today will be a short entry. Why? Nothing happened. I met some British students who go to VSB. They live in room 148 in my dorm. They seemed cool. One major hangup for the day is my MasterCard can only be used from ATM -- HELLO SERVICE CHARGE! I will be broke in two months at this rate. One embarrassing situation came up today. I went to pay for my meal today with my Visa card; however, although the sign states they accept it, they refused mine. This country is very confusing to me.

Day 9

Home from Krakow, but not the memories. Trent bought the soundtrack to Schindler's List. When I read the liner, Steven Spielberg wrote to listen to this score with closed eyes and a mournful heart. The lone violin haunts you while you are taken back in time when masses were loaded into stock cars, transported to a distant site and slaughtered. You can't help but feel the pain in the music. My only regret is that I did not see Schindler's List before I went to Auschwitz. I touched the walls. I saw the skeleton, but I could control the pain until I heard the music. It set all the memories in motion. From my first book on Dachau to my intense study of World War II, I have been waiting for this moment.

When I was in eight grade, I watched a TV miniseries War and Remembrance. When comparing the two theme songs, they both have a common element -- a classical, sorrowful sound. Both have a deep impact on me. For the first time I had tears coming down my face. This situation only compounds my feelings. When I think about the 8 million people killed - murdered\ and all the families which were shattered into fragments, I am disappointed in humanity. The life expectancy of a detained Jew was unpredictable. Some survived to work in a slave labor camp. Others died within an hour of arriving at the camp.

The trip to Krakow only makes me wish for home more. I have been thinking a lot of mom and dad -- the same thoughts made 50 years ago by boys my age. Just to see them and talk to them again. However, I will see them and talk again. To the one who made the wish from Birkenau, his chances were not that good.

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I want to call home, but I know I will break down. I don't want to show weakness to my family. I need to succeed in this jump.

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While I was in Krakow I almost ran out of money. Can you believe that? An exchange will not take my MasterCard or visa. Sometime tomorrow I will need to go the the bank and exchange my zlotys for crowns. next weekend I hope to stay in Ostrava. We had a terrible time in the train station. No one speaks Czech outside of the Czech people and even less people speak English. I can't wait until the 16th and we get Jennifer and Ryan over here so that we can have a German interpreter. To je strazny (This is terrible).

I wrote mom and dad on the 16th, but haven't mailed it yet. I even bought post card. They are in the same state.

Day 8

Spending the night in Krakow finest hostel is really quite fun. First we left this morning at 2:10 AM for Krakow. When we arrived, it started to rain and it continued to rain for our mournful viewing of Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was actually quite fitting. The somber day leaves me feeling the same. I will now attempt to reflect.

The museum had pictures in many of the blockhouses. There were displays of bundles of glasses, pots & pans, brushes, clothes and shoes. A striking fact was the 7 tons of human hair which was stained brown and white by the Zyklon B gas. This was startling to see, but the two most disturbing facts were when I read some of the names on the suitcases. Before that, I had not let the hair, pots or any other artifacts affect me, but when I read the their names, it was too real. It made it personal. It not only put a name with a face, but a history with an individual. Each display represented a life which was destroyed by a fanatic leading a glory blinded country. All perished. Now we must remember so that their death will not be in vain.

When visiting Birkenau, I looked at the blockhouses, but did not go see the cremetoriams II - IV or the monument which I intended to see. I will go back later to see them and pay my lasting respects to those who died of no crime.

Day 7

I know I am suppose to be in Krakow now, but we leave at 2:30 AM. We will be there by 5:00 AM.

Today was my first day of Czech class. Not so good or bad when I reflect on it. I did well at first. Then, Trent told me to cool down and stop answering all of the questions. I wasn't showing off. I only wanted her to know that I understood some Czech.

After class we struggled to find tickets to Krakow. Trent said next trip it will be my turn to arrange transportation since no one seems to speak English.

I wiwll pack this journal on my trip. I just listened to The Dance by Garth Brooks. Memories of Prom & home as if I were Schrooge getting a tour of Christmas Past.

Day 6

Today we met are Czech teacher. She is nice, but I still have reservations about our ability to learn Czech to the point of speaking it very well. The course we are taking will make us pre-intermediates. In a word, beginners. Tomorrow we leave for Krakow. Home of some of the most beautiful cultural sights in the world as well as the ugliest: Auschwitz. This will be my first time to touch history. I hope I do not get burned.

I navigated my way around Ostrava today pretty good today. No major hiccups. One more word about Milesky. He is an idiot.

Missing home more and more.

Day 5

Well today I had blood taken for an AIDS test, even though I had just had one taken in July. What upset me was they used recycled metal seringes. Can anyone see the logic fault? AIDS test & reused needels. Although they were sterialized, I just didn't like it. A footnote -- Lori Crozier had trouble giving blood & almost became ill. That was terrible.

After the hospital, we went to Czech Air and turned in my luggage claim Now all I need to do is go to Prague and cash in my receipts at KLM for my $150.00.

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I just returned from my first solo walk in Ostrava. I successfully navagated my way around to purchase a 30 day ticket for the trams. Ealier today, Trent and Lori made me lead the way back to the tram -- I got lost.

But I will do better from now on.

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I'm back now. It's still Wednesday or in Czech (Streda). Trent and I stayed in tonight. NO party for us. He is working very dilligently as am I. However, we take different approaches. Trent writes everything down -- which is good. I just read and re-read the same stuff. Sometimes I look at his notes. I should probobaly start to write sentences down. For future reference I now think I will not have enough room in this notebook for all my entries! Anyway -- today I got lost -- I went on the right tram, but in the wrong direction. An hour and a half later, I amde it back to my dorm room. Another day in my life I guess.

Day 4

I had to go to the insurance company today to get Czech insurance. I also went to Ostrava again to get acquainted with the lovely city. Anyway, I'm going to bed early to gain strength and hopefully fight this cold I am catching. Another thing -- this is the fourth day without a language class. This place doesn't know what it is doing. We are told one thing which contradicts the last statement. Anyway, Trent has confidence in them; therefore, I should have confidence as well.

Day 3

No, I did not forget a day. I didn't write on the 12th. I was on the plane all day. You see therefore I was one day off. In Andy's adventures -- I went to see Mr. Milicksky. He is a clueless man and he is in charge of our stay. I was under the impression that all our meals would be provided by the University. Actually, all but two weeks will be be provided. That is terrible. I did not plan on spending money on food. We also traveled around old town Ostrava. We found a memorial to the Soviet's Army liberation of the Czech Republic (1939-1945). It was great to actually find history. This is why I came. When we returned I found that my luggage was waiting for me with the front desk attendant. I finally have my things. All but my AA batteries and my travel alarm clock made it here. Anyway, I'm here. It is not and I will leave it at that.

Day 2

My first night in my new home! You would not believe what I did today in Prague. After spending the night in the university of Prague's dorm, Joseph, George, Jiric and I went around sight seeing. We started at 10:30 in Wenceslav Square. We later went across Charles Bridge (that is where you get the best view of Prague's old skyline).

The fun really began when Pavel arrived and Trent Skaggs and Lori Crozier were not with him. In all cases, we should never have found them today. While out seeing the sights, we ran into them. While walking through the town, we literally ran into Trent and Lori as they were in a taxi going to the train station. They thought we would meet up with them in Ostrava. Funny, through all the confusion, we found one another. Since then, we have traveled to Ostrava via train and I am now getting ready to sleep in my new home.

Until tomorrow.

Day 1

In one word: chaos. My baggage is in Amsterdam. I'm in Prague and my mind is in OZ. My flight from Omaha to Minneapolis was fun. I found a guide by the name of Oodlea (I think). He was very helpful while in Minneapolis and Amsterdam, the later more so. Without his help, I never would have made the trip from one side of the Chisko (airport) to the other.

Once in Amsterdam, I boarded a crammed twin engine turbo prop plane. This was the beginning of Why did I do this?

Now I am back after going out to Wenceslas Square and a bar or two. I also ate at a fine restaurant. Jiri said it was the best place in Prague.

After eating and drinking -- the task of calling home was a priority. That is not easy. AT&T does not work in Czech. I need a Czech phone card to use a pay phone. I will try to purchase one on Sunday.

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Did call Dr. Frucht and my dad. I hope they didn't think I was exhausted. Dr. Frucht thought I sounded tired, so did dad, but I need to go now.

P.S. I worry about how my family is taking my journey.

Ready to start my journey

Today is my first day in a journey of a lifetime. I will be leaving my home of Randolph, Iowa to live in Ostrava, Czech Republic for the next four months. I will be traveling from Omaha to Minneapolis to Amsterdam and finally to Prague. From Prague will take a train to Ostrava. I have been looking forward to this trip for several months. I have studied Czech for a year, but I am sure my knowledge will not be enough. I am nervous, but anxious to see how well I adapt a foreign culture. I'm sure it will not be like living in Randolph.

I'll be getting on a plane in a few hours. I have packed my bags. I have written letters to my friends. I've walked around the farm trying to capture where everything in my mind.

I should get some sleep. It will be a long trip.

-Andy