Dobry Den!

As the Beatles would say, “It's getting better all the time!” Every day here I am starting to feel more at home, and every day has presented new challenges and joys. We had our first Czech language lesson Monday, which was very enjoyable and difficult! We have a wonderful Czech teacher, but I'm sure she was dying with laughter at most of our feeble attempts to speak. The words I use the most so far are: “prosim” (please), “dekuju” (thank you),” and my favorite, “dobry den” (hello!). Everything, and I mean everything, is written in Czech here. We had our first lesson in grocery shopping today, so we wouldn't starve this summer because of being unable to read what we were buying! There are also several fresh markets with wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables, which is where I plan to do much of my shopping...along with the local bakeries and coffee shops, of course!

The fact that everything is in Czech makes learning my way around the city somewhat tricky, as I can barely pronounce and read the road signs, tram stops, and metro stations....and we use public transportation every day here. We're getting the hang of it pretty quickly though: the female interns walked back to our flat by ourselves last night from the metro, which is a huge step. From the first night we were here, our missionary leaders told us to be carefully watching where we were walking and riding, so that we could find our own way around the city. I think one of the most intimidating obstacles for me has been the expectation of independence, but it's so essential to what we do here, and it's really helping me grow individually. Our leaders were right....it's getting easier every day to get our bearings in the city and understand the transportation.

Speaking of leaders, Mark and Joanna Stewart are the young missionary couple who lead our internship, and they are incredible. During this week of orientation, we've been going over to their house every morning for breakfast and many suppers as well. Joanna is a world class creative cook- I've never had such delicious food! They also have a little two year old son, Sasha, who we all adore. Playing with him brings so much happiness to my day! Spending so much time at the Stewarts' home has really made us feel like we're a part of family here, which is wonderful. We're so busy right now, and all very tired, but I'm enjoying it a lot.

If anyone ever gets the urge to write a letter (which I hope you might!) here you go:

Kristi Townsend
c/o Stewarts

V.P. Ckalova 10

160 00 Praha 6

Czech Republic

It's almost midnight here....so I must get to bed. It's strange to think that it's almost 6:00 PM in the States right now....