You would think that on our fourth full day in Czech we would be over our jet lag, but today may have been the worst yet. We’ve heard it takes about a day per hour of time change to adjust, so for us that would mean it would take us nine days to be fully adjusted to our new time zone. Sing it with us, “Whooaaooohhhh, we’re half-way there!” Our “nap” this afternoon accidentally turned into a five hour sleep session so we’re definitely still struggling.
Since we were all awake by 4:00am this morning we had breakfast at 5:00 and then went for a walk around 6:30. The weather was wonderful today. All the clouds cleared for the first time since we’ve arrived and we had a brilliant sunny day. On our walk we passed by what appears to be the town square with a water fountain in the center. There were lots of little cart stand owners starting to setup their shops, and we saw they had many different items for sale from wooden trinkets to roasted nuts.
Walking through town is like being on a movie set–everything just doesn’t seem to be real. Everywhere you look there are fresh flowers, like on the street lights (above), and we joked that the only place we’ve really seen those is on Main Street in Disneyland.
Our walk this morning took us to a park along a river which doubles as the border between Czech Republic and Poland. Since it was early, there were a lot of people walking their dogs. It’s really fascinating to hear people talking to their dogs in another language. The park is very nice and we even found a play area for kids which Titus and Avery loved.
I’m realizing it does take a little courage to go outside and try something new. Bethany asked me to go to the store before dinner for some bread and milk and I definitely hesitated. You just fear you’ll be stuck in line, unable to speak Czech and come home with nothing. But I’m so glad I finally did it! Going to the store is a language learning opportunity and now I’m sure I’ll never forget the number four because that’s how many pieces of bread I had and the lady at the check out counter kept saying it to me!
After dinner we ventured down to the street to get some ice cream. We can see the ice cream shop from the window of where we’re staying and we figured even if it was hard to communicate it be worth the effort. Avery was able to get a strawberry sugar cone and Titus a lemon/vanilla cone. The girl at the ice cream place realized we spoke English and she spoke a little herself so she was able to tell us what each thing was. The kids thought it was great fun which is always a joy for us.
Although it was a somewhat uneventful day, the smallest things are big events. I know we’re tired and jet lagged, but our world has been flipped around for sure. Some things are familiar and other things are just simply foreign. That might sound simplistic, and maybe it is, but even the simplest things can be a challenge. I’m thankful for the time we have right now to just adjust and take the posture of learners.
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A little bit about our 4th full day in Czech – “Jet Lag, Courage, and Ice Cream:” http://t.co/RwRCFBPldC