Slovakia - Czech Republic 2007 (1)

Well, after Slovakia and a quick overnight train (we slept!) to Prague, we caught our connection to Susice... Susice would become home for the next three weeks...

Susice is a remarkable small town at the edge of the Sumava National Forest. It's one of those quaint sleepy towns with the center being a charming main plaza with a clock tower in the center and a perfect shade tree in front... of course, there is the famous fountain, which became the meeting point for many a night of pivo and laughter. Along the East of Susice runs a river with turns and drops through a slightly forested lane... on a hot day, we saw plenty of folks sun bathing and kayaking along the river ... the occasional raft with a posse. There was also a nice park along part of the river for visiting, picnicking, people watching, etc ... not to mention the outdoor (redundant) beer garden, Santos... where we spent a few good nights chatting about lost fathers, morality, academia and whether or not it was really ok for women to hold their babies in their arms while piss streamed out of their hoo-hoos against a tree...

The "reason" for Susice was Project "New Eyes" which was designed and initiated by Dr. Steve Sternfeld, of the U of Utah and Michael Polacek, a Czech by birth and American by communism. The project had many aims, but was primarily created as an intercultural communications class with a teacher education component... that's where I came in... Two colleagues (Zuzana and Mara) and I were the supervisors of the undergraduate preservice language teachers. We worked with the students and the Czech teachers to share approaches to teaching English as a foreign/second language.

Anyway - enough of that! All students were hosted by Czech families. I was placed in a Czech orphanage for teenagers - the older crew who had already lived at the children's home for young people, but now as of 17 yrs of age had moved down to Susice to attend Gymnasium (high school) or Vocational School. To be honest, most of them were at the vocational school. The system is interesting and nice in comparison to what I hear about some of our options in the US (foster homes - in it for the money, sometimes abusive ... BUT - I know there are great foster families out there too..) Anyway - this situation is a home in which the children live as if in dorms. They are fed together 3 square meals. Their supervisors are live in staff that rotate on 12 hr. shifts and are known to the children and the supervisors as their 'aunts' and 'uncles'. Most of the children ended up there in their early teens, turned away by parents who just didn't want to deal anymore. Their stories were heart breaking... and some have been in the system since birth or early years.

In the children's home, I shared a room with a wonderful young woman named Lucka who had lived there her whole life... and now she's 20. She'll probably finish vocational school (as a cosmetologist or stylist) and then be on her own, to find a flat and get established as an adult! I really bonded with her, although nonverbally as she can't speak more than three or so words of English (she chose to study German instead - as did many, since Germany is a neighbor ... but she still wished she'd learned English and will work to improve it before I come back next year!)

There is so much to say about my time in Susice... unfortunately, I got way behind in my blogs and now I'm paying the price....

The first week or even two weeks were very busy and even a bit stressful. The food here is way cruxy for a vegetarian... carbs and meat, carbs and meat... I finally found a few safe havens where I could get good salads... Tragically, I was expecting room and board for 3 weeks, a chance to save money and not have to spend, spend, spend on food... but, the situation at the children's home didn't work out like I planned, so I did spend too much eating out... oh well! Save a cow, get punished! :)

One of the first suggestions I made was to have a regular 8pm meeting point at the fountain where people could come out and perhaps meet up with others in the program, Czechs or Americans... it was a huge success and maybe a life saver for some... I personally was there almost every night. My kids went to bed so early and it was so refreshing for me to get out. Fortunately, many Czechs got on board, so the opportunities for intercultural communication were ever present. We usually rallied around the fountain for 20 minutes or so and then headed into a pub or restaurant close by ... we definitely frequented some of the same places over and over and over ... it was great to feel like part of the town, recognize the folks in the shops and bars, and be recognized... Susice is tiny and Susice became home!

I'll add more as it comes to mind, but for now - I have to get ready for the biggest adventure of my life... a sick bike tour across Europe! Check it out @ www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/galseurotour07

Yeehaw!
Rai