Christmas & New Year Greetings

Dear All, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Czech Republic. I am really enjoying my holidays here. So many Czechs have been so gracious to me. I had several invitations to join people for Christmas. Czechs celebrate Christmas actually on Christmas Eve night. This year I spent it with a Czech couple and their two small children. We had a wonderful time together. I went by tram and then bus to their home in the early afternoon. It has been cold so the trees had frost on them. It was quite beautiful. They met me outside so we went for a nice walk and of course during the walk they shared some tea with me. It is quite common during the winter to see Czechs carrying thermos with hot tea in them. I think I could get some use out of a good thermos. I am always running here and there riding public transportation and it would be nice to have some "hot tea" to sip to warm me while I am out and about. I'll have to add it to my shopping list. Back to my sharing... After our walk we went inside and everyone helped prepare dinner. We had the traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner first soup (it is like a fish broth--I like it) then fried carp with potato salad. The couple I was with Pavel and Zdena are soft spoken. Pavel knows English pretty well having spent some time in the US. His wife is shy about speaking English but understands quite a bit. Anyway, I offered to help her fry the carp. The funniest thing was Zdena wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure how to say it. She called Pavel over and told him to tell me. He struggled for a few minutes and then finally said, "I don't know how to say this very nicely but "don't burn the carp". I just laughed and said there really isn't any other way to say it. Of course I was not offended and teased with them saying, "Oh know, now I'm under the pressure." Luckily, I watched the frying pan very closely and managed not to burn our Christmas meal :) After supper we sat around the Christmas tree and the little ones opened a few presents that Baby Jesus had brought. Here they don't have Santa Claus but baby Jesus or Father Christmas comes. The Czechs ring a little bell and that signals to the children that baby Jesus has come. I stayed overnight because I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get home. I had Christmas breakfast with them and then headed home.

On Christmas day a Czech friend who happens to be single, Zuzana, came over and we hung out together. We had a nice day together. Tomorrow on the 27th of December I will travel by bus to visit my roommate at her parents. They live in a small village called Kridla (it means Wings). This village is located in the Highlands in South Moravian area of the Czech Republic. It is quite a beautiful place with a lot of farmland--rolling hills with lots of trees all around. I hope there will be snow there. After staying a few days with her, my friends Eliska and Jirka will pick me up on Sunday and take me to another village not too far from Kridla. We will stay at a house that they rent with their friends for New Year's Eve celebration. I am looking forward to it.
Take care for now and hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.
Many Blessings,
Colleen