JUNE
3.VI.02
"A letter from the land of Beer"
Well Dear ones,
It has been too, too long since I last wrote one of these "prayer letters." It is my intention that you know what is going on with me and how you can pray. I do earnestly ask for you to pray for me, the two countries I‘ve been in and my students, there is no better way for you to be involved in this ministry. Of course the second best way is to contribute towards my financial obligations to ESI for this year. I still owe them for the training I benefited from last summer. My current balance is just under $2,000. Thank you to everyone who has remembered me in prayer during this year and who has helped in any way. I really appreciate it.
I have been here in the Czech Republic nearly eight months and am fast approaching the end (for this year). I have celebrated a number of holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year‘s Eve, "Valentyn‘s" Day and also enjoyed a two week visit from my mom, part of which was during my spring break so we were able to travel to her hometown of Heidelberg, Germany.
Also for Easter I was able to go to Krakow, Poland. I‘ve worked hard this year, it is not a vacation, teaching is teaching, no matter what language is trying to be taught. So I haven‘t really had free time, and so being able to spend a few days in Poland was so needed. Poland is a nation filled with Catholics, to be amongst so many people who actually believe in God, when day to day I am surrounded by people who, among other things, sometimes try to convince me about the power of my aura, was spiritualy refreshing.
"That‘s Foolish!"
Not many teachers with ESI have been in my unique situation of teaching in two dramatically different cultures, but oh what gifts have come with all the struggles. I still miss my students in Tashkent and I am often mistaking a Czech teenager for one of my students of Russian descent. But what struck me most when I came to the Czech Republic is the difference in habit when it comes to the nose. In Uzbekistan, possibly passed on from a Russian cultural trait, they are disgusted by blowing "nasal mucus" into paper or cloth tissue and keeping it in your pocket. The solution? They blow this mucus, a nostril at a time, onto the ground (I‘m told this is also done by American athletes). If you prefer you can also dab with a tissue or sniff as much and as loud as needed. In dramatic contrast (it took me awhile to adjust after getting acclimated to the Uzbekistan habit), in the Czech Republic they do not sniffle and they do blow their noses, in fact they use tissue constantly and blow their nose as hard and loud as possible, almost always resulting in a big "honk" sound.
About my students, I have a huge variety of classes and all of them are only once a week, I teach one class in the evening of mostly middle aged women (and all beginner English learners), I teach two classes of women teachers (most of them teach English but aren‘t fluent yet), I have one class of 12-year-old children, I teach a few business people at their offices, and I have a few one on one classes and these I quite enjoy because we mostly just have conversations although I have to think of topics and how to get them to talk. Most of my students, except for the one on one classes, don‘t speak much English,
So, I…must…speak…very…s-l-o-w-l-y...and…use…simple…words. The Czech Republic can be considered culturally atheist, many of my students are atheist and think that any one who believes in God is a bit foolish. I think my students struggle for hope, they think their lives and the world cannot change for the better and they seem to only aim at trying to make themselves feel good and happy. Most men I know only talk about beer and women, when we practice situations in class or I ask about something they did, the answer is always about beer or a woman. Another too common habit is living together out of wedlock. If someone tells me about their friend they mean girlfriend or boyfriend, and if they are over 21 (and can afford it), chances are that they live with this friend and maybe even have a child together. The average number of children here is 1y (in the U.S. it is 2 y) and I know women who have had more than two children and lost friends over it because the other women couldn‘t understand it, they thought that it was foolish. Parents advise their children that it is foolish to get married before you live with your friend (this was also true with at least one Russian girl in Uzbekistan). When a teacher spoke to some of her students about what love should be and how a man should treat a woman, many didn‘t seem to believe that there are men in this world who respect a woman for who they are and won‘t sleep with them until marriage. Another teacher was having a similar conversation outside of class with some student-friends, about saving sexual relations for marriage and he shared that he is doing this and therefore he is a virgin, and then they laughed at him.
"My Lessons"
God has been teaching me a lot. There are only two Protestant denominations to choose from and both are different from their american cousins (they marvel here at our supermarket selection of churches to attend in the U.S.), there is Baptist and Czech Brethren. I irregularly attend a Czech Brethren church (Cirkev Bratrska) and even though there is a translation (we must sit in the first row and wear huge bright red headphones), I don‘t feel like it feeds my soul, so this is lesson number one, God has required me to be more intentional in seeking Him. But as most of you know, we can be lazy and that makes the task difficult. What else have I learned? Well I've been reading constantly and from various books I've been spoken to. "The Hiding Place" showed me the importance of being thankful for everything, even if it is painful and unwelcome (at the time I read this I saw how this principle could be applied to the grammar I detest teaching). "In His Steps" showed me how to question my motives and ask "what would Jesus do". "Hinds Feet On High places" is showing me how I struggle with pride and humbleness, among other things.
Back to "In His Steps", I was reading this during my Christmas break and I was staying with my friend Carol in Praha. The book was written by a pastor in about the early 1900s and it is the origin of the question "what would Jesus do" At the time I was contemplating next year and I asked myself many times where would Jesus go? And why would He make that choice? Am I being selfish if I decide to go to Praha instead of staying with the same school and perhaps have the same students? I knew back in the summer that I would be willing to return and teach a second year if God asked me, I was prepared to go anywhere. But knowing what to do if God does not seem to be asking anything or isn‘t giving clear direction, is the hard part, I believe in those times He wants us to make up our own mind but I always second guess and WORRY. I am a big fat ugly worrier and it‘s going to put undo stress on my heart if I don‘t learn to quit it soon. So I was willing and my friend Carol said she would like me to come and live with her next year since all her teammates are not coming back (one is coming back, but to Hungary, not the Czech Republic). Carol‘s invitation spoke to me and I felt a little more confident in the idea of teaching in Praha being ok with God, it was like a little window opened up. Carol and her roommate Vanessa and I had had too much caffeine that day so we were up intil about 4am talking, about 2am I decided I would try calling my mom since I hadn‘t spoken to her for Christmas yet, she was home (5pm her time) and when I spoke of interest in coming back she seemed really encouraging, so that was the final nail that helped me decide. I think more than this went into the decsion but I only have so much room to type in.
"next year and coming home"
And so… Now I know where I will teach, live, and with whom. I will be teaching in an eight year gymnazium (similar to a high school) my students will range in age from 12 to 19. I will live in a nice three room apartment that is in the school with a wonderful sweet girl named Sara Crowley who is from California and she just graduated from Azusa Pacific.
I can‘t wait to come home for the summer, about June 24th to August 24. That first week I am taking time to just BE and adjust to being in the U.S. again, I will see some friends who are leaving Santa Barbara for the summer and then the next week (first week of July) I will begin to venture out into the world. I will also be working at my old favorite job, Cliff Drive Care Center, and be rewarded with toddler‘s hugs. At some point this summer I am going to have a fundraiser ( I need to raise monthly support for next year) and I will have some Czech food and show my pictures and talk with whoever will listen. I would love to hear from you all in the mean time, you can email and help me plan my summer =). Also I think some names may be missing from my email list so feel free to send this on to others who may be interested. Thanks.
P.S.: Your czech lesson of the month:
Patek – Friday
Hranolky – French Fries
With love,
Priya U
Ecclesiastes 7:14
When life is good, enjoy it-be happy. But when life is hard, remember that God made the one as well as the other. Therefore no man can know his future.
