e are tanks of live carp. You buy your carp, take it home and put it in your bathtub!!! -No kidding!- Then Christmas eve dinner, everyone eats fried carp and potato salad.
We named our fish "Reba". "Ryba" (in Czech) means "fish".
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Carp for Christmas!
The Czech tradition for Christmas---A few days before Christmas-all over Prague ther
e are tanks of live carp. You buy your carp, take it home and put it in your bathtub!!! -No kidding!- Then Christmas eve dinner, everyone eats fried carp and potato salad.
We named our fish "Reba". "Ryba" (in Czech) means "fish".
e are tanks of live carp. You buy your carp, take it home and put it in your bathtub!!! -No kidding!- Then Christmas eve dinner, everyone eats fried carp and potato salad.We named our fish "Reba". "Ryba" (in Czech) means "fish".
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Mikulas Day!
December 6th is Mikulas Day! The Czechs celebrate on "Mikulas Eve"- December 5th. All over Prague you can see Mikulas, the devil and an angel walking together and stopping to talk to children.
Mikulas (St. Nicholas), they say, comes to all of the children and brings them small gifts on December 5. Mikulas will come to your house (along with the devil and an angel) and if you have been bad, the devil will give you a hard potato and a piece of coal; but if you have been very bad, the devil will put you in his bag and take you to hell. (Needless to say, we witnessed some very scared children that night!!!) However, if
you sing a little song to them, you will get a piece of candy.
We decided to go to Old Town to see the festivities. Laini had been hearing about Mikulas all week at school, and she was determined to get some candy from him. We found a set of "3" that was not swamped with children and she boldly went up to the angel and asked if she could sing her song in English. She then sang "Are you sleeping, brother John", and was very proud to receive her gift of candy!!!
Mikulas (St. Nicholas), they say, comes to all of the children and brings them small gifts on December 5. Mikulas will come to your house (along with the devil and an angel) and if you have been bad, the devil will give you a hard potato and a piece of coal; but if you have been very bad, the devil will put you in his bag and take you to hell. (Needless to say, we witnessed some very scared children that night!!!) However, if
you sing a little song to them, you will get a piece of candy.We decided to go to Old Town to see the festivities. Laini had been hearing about Mikulas all week at school, and she was determined to get some candy from him. We found a set of "3" that was not swamped with children and she boldly went up to the angel and asked if she could sing her song in English. She then sang "Are you sleeping, brother John", and was very proud to receive her gift of candy!!!
Exploring Prague
We are having fun exploring Prague while we learn our way around the city. Here are some pictures from Old Town, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge and a view from Prague Castle.
English Club
Every Sunday night, Melissa and the kids have been going to "English Club." This has been a fun activity for us to be involved in. Zachary, Larissa and Laini have had fun hanging out with the Czech children and Melissa has been able to work with the older children. About 25-30 children attend each week and there are also adult classes at the same time.
This program has been a great way to share the gospel with those who attend. Each month there is a new th
eme. In October, the theme was cooking so the Czech children learned how to cook some American foods and they learned many English words and phrases that go with cooking. November was all about shopping. It was fun to hear the Czechs say "How much does it cost?" and "I would like to buy..." with their cute accents. In December we had a store for them to use their newly learned English words to purchase toys, etc. Each week the teachers do a fantastic job of being creative and also teaching from the Bible.
A few of the children from Zachary and Larissa's school also attend
English Club. Each week they walk home with us and the kids play "Mashi" (tag) on the streets of Prague. Radek and Pepa have been so patient to help us with our Czech on the way home. I think we just need to hang out with children long enough in order to learn this language! They are much more patient.
This program has been a great way to share the gospel with those who attend. Each month there is a new th
eme. In October, the theme was cooking so the Czech children learned how to cook some American foods and they learned many English words and phrases that go with cooking. November was all about shopping. It was fun to hear the Czechs say "How much does it cost?" and "I would like to buy..." with their cute accents. In December we had a store for them to use their newly learned English words to purchase toys, etc. Each week the teachers do a fantastic job of being creative and also teaching from the Bible.A few of the children from Zachary and Larissa's school also attend
English Club. Each week they walk home with us and the kids play "Mashi" (tag) on the streets of Prague. Radek and Pepa have been so patient to help us with our Czech on the way home. I think we just need to hang out with children long enough in order to learn this language! They are much more patient.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
