Omission

First of all, there is so much going on that I could not possibly, even with my knowledge of the English language, be able to place on this blog, because some would not understand and if I tried it would seem so much less important than it is.

I have no idea where to begin. I guess I'll just start with what is going on, in the very physical and obvious meaning of the phrase. The students have been at the camp for three and a half days, there's about 38 of them, plus around 12 Czech leaders and 18 of us. Each morning, the Czech leaders and the Americans have a devotional meeting/prayer before everyone wakes up, then we go to breakfast. Then we do English lessons for about 3 hours, which consists of me and Bill, my teaching partner, two Czech leaders, and four students. I am teaching level 6 out of 8. Therefore, we are just advanced enough to not need a translator and just low enough to want one.

Sunday we just did "get to know you" English exercises, Monday was Occupation day, and today was Government and Culture. We also tie-dyed some socks, which the whole camp is doing. It's very interesting to hear about the Czech culture. For example, we found out today that for Easter, they have a tradition where the men go up to any woman they want and hit her with a stick, singing a song, and then the woman says thank you and gives them a colored egg. Not surprising, the girls do not like Easter.

yesterday I taught them slang like "word" and "crack-a-lackin". They were taking notes like crazy when we learned about slang. It was very funny. It's even more funny when the Czechs try and say "what's up" or "step off". Haha. I also told them about America's obsession with sarcasm, so now they are trying to be sarcastic, which returns even more uproarious results. Oh them Czechs...

Then, after English lessons, it's time for lunch, which is the biggest meal in the Czech culture. Usually there is a soup, and then a main course. I like Czech food a lot. Of course, I like all food a lot! haha. I haven't tried anything too abnormal here. Yet.

After lunch, the Americans have a staff meeting alone in a room and we have chocolate and chips. We talk about the previous day, any problems that we have, and the upcoming message and discussion for the night. I love my team!

I usually go over the next day's curriculum with Bill after that, which doesn't take too much time. Then I head to my room to look at the English students' journals that they write in after breakfast and grade them. Then it's off to SPORTS. Now, if you know me, then you already realize that sports are simply and indisputably not my cupa tea. However, I manage to have fun here and have a blast being competitive with the Czechs and getting to know them better. Usually there are four sports that we rotate through.

After that, an hour of free time before dinner, which I usually spend rehearsing with the band and doing journals. After that, I have dinner, which is usually really good. My favorite so far was crepes with whipped cream and pineapple. FOR DINNER! So good!

Next, a little free time and then the big meeting of the night. It starts out with a game, lead by Erik, who is amazingly skilled at games. Seriously, he knows a ridiculous amount of stupid but entertaining games. It's amazing. So usually I am in charge of the music for the games. Next, we do the camp song and dance, which is various movements to Big Daddy Weave's "What I Was Made For". It is extremely entertaining, and kind of hard. I like it a lot. Then the band comes up for worship and I deal with the sound for that. There are some crazy dance moves for some of those songs, let me tell you!

After the band leaves, Joe Gordon, the pastor of the group, gets up and gives a message about "Thinking Again", which is the theme for the camp. We are trying to let the Czech kids realize that some things that people take for granted or think are true, maybe aren't. We're carefully going into the concept of God, which is rarely talked about or thought about in the Czech culture. It seems as if the remnants of the Commie Atheist movement are sticking around, and these kids are atheists because everyone else is. So we are encouraging to actually think about it. It's quite exciting.

Anyways, after the talk, we get into the English lesson groups and talk about the lesson. It's nice to talk with the students and see what they think and how they came to think it. Although, it is hard to discuss abstract ideas like God when you don't have a translator, but I think that He is at work in these groups, and the students, and Bill and I, are understanding each other. Some of the students, I believe, are starting to really think about what they believe and why they believe it. It's quite exciting, but immensely stressful at the same time.

Next, we do some sort of night activity. On Sunday night I was the DJ/Dance instructor for a Line Dancing party. I taught the kids (by kids, I mean young adults ranging from 15 to 23) the Hustle, YMCA, Electric Slide, Hands Up, Macarana, and the Chicken Dance. The Czechs LOVE line dancing. It was neat to see them get excited and open up. Last night we did a live game of Clue around the hotel. I was the Priest (the characters were Cowboy, Black Widow, Priest, and Prostitute. Don't ask me why they chose a Prostitute). It was all dark because they had turned off all the lights, so I had fun scaring the Dickens out of everyone. Oh so fun!

Well, as hopefully you all know, it is the 4th of July! And I can proudly say that I have properly celebrated it here in the Czech Republic. For dinner we had "hot dogs", potato chips, popcorn, Coke, and Ice Cream. It was funny to see the Czech image of America. They had lettuce to put on the hot dogs and everything was just kind of... off. It was quite lovely, and I had a blast. Sometimes we all need to have that kind of mirror image of things that are invisible to us.

We sang the national anthem, and I was struck by the beauty of the situation: we were just Americans. We weren't Republicans, we weren't Conservative Evangelicals, we were simply Americans in a foreign land, enjoying our Holiday. It was reminiscent of when everyone was still uber-patriotic after 911. Although I am a super-opinionated, it is nice to have a unified feeling of love for your country.

My Czech friend Jitka (Yitkah) just brought up an interesting point. She said that we are too patriotic because we only have a 200-odd year history, whereas European countries like the Czech republic have 700 or even 1000 year histories. She has a point, but you could say that America has done a ton in the 200 years we have had. I don't mean to start a controversy, it's just an interesting point from a non-American.

Anyways, I am looking forward to sparklers, smores, and a bonfire later tonight. This might even come close to the July 4th I had in Montana on Flathead Lake with tons of fireworks. Those were good times.

Something that I realized is that I haven't even made it to the halfway point of my trip! I am done with half of my trip tomorrow! I can't believe that I have until July 31 here in this wonderful continent! And one thing I must say is that I am so blessed to be cultured! As I talk with Bill's wife, Amy, she always comments on how I am cultured and "well-rounded". And you know what, I guess I am. Very few people, not to mention 16 year olds, get a chance to go to so many places and experience so many cultures as I have. And for that, I thank my parents. Thank you Mom, and thank you Dad. All of this means so much to me and you are the only reason I could have gone this far and be so "well rounded". Thanks.

Well, that's all for now, I hope that you read this whole thing, and I wish I could be able to really communicate what is going on below the surface here, but I simply can't. Thank you for your comments, support, and prayers. They mean a lot to me. Have a great Independence Day!