Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, not yet here. I have warned my family that I am going to be making a huge American dinner, so December 4 will be a big day. I have invited some friends, so we will see who can come. It is my big chance to prove that at least one night a year, we eat more than McDonalds.

Life here continues to have its ups and downs. I can have a great day, just because lunch was edible and French class was fun. Tuesdays are quickly becoming my favorite days, because I have music for 2 of my seven hours at school, and languages for 4 more. That is always nice. And then, I have had skype lessons with Sherri in the afternoons, which is the cherry on top. But I seem to be able to have a sucky one just as easily. I guess I have something more to work on!

Moje čeština ještě je strašná, ale je nejtěšši jazyk. Pretty much all of that was spelled wrong, and my word oreder is horrendous. But, it continues to improve. When we are doing something I have already learned, I understand about 70 percent of math class. I understand all of one French class, and only the textbook of the other. German is still way over my head, but I am slowly builing a vocabulary through all of my quatrilingual pictures in lists. Well, they are mostly trilingual, because Spanish is long gone. But it will come back. So, no worries.

I have started trying a little bit more in my classes. I still am not doing all of the lab write-ups and aktualitas, whatever those are, but more. I wrote a little ditty on antimatter and recited it for the class in Physics. Not going win the Pulitzer any time soon, but you have to start somewhere.

I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I get home. It really hit me that life is going on without me when I saw a new relationship status on an American classmate´s facebook. I could not believe it! Those two? Really? But I think that some things will just click back when I get home. Or at least I hope so. I have already been thinking a lot about college, and what I am looking for. The school I was planning on working towards, Middlebury, does not have Czech. and being without music for a few months really woke me up to how much it measn to me and how much of a music snob I am. I realized that if I wan to play with an orchetra that sounds great as an adult, I need to have some quality music study behind me. Lots of thoughts. But one thing I do know is that nxt year, I am going to work my bunda off.

Next week, I will be a third done! I cannot believe it! I have done so much, but also so little. I have traveled around Europe, Vienna, Barcelona and the High Tatras. I have ridden a cross country train home by myself. I have passed a few tests, and failed a few (a lot. Most of the time, I do not get grades...). I have learned Czech, German, Portuguese, Turkish, and brushed up my Japanese. I have learned how to give good hugs, at least better, and the power of physical contact. I have learned how much I really love everyone in my life in the US, and started to love new people too. I now know that I AM a picky eater, and a glass of fresh milk that does not come in a shelf stable box can make my day.

Oh, and I have been meaning to give you all a breakdown of Czech names.

For girls,

Verča/Kačka something-ova

for boys,

Kuba/Honza/Martin/Marek something related to fruit or animals

Neither have middle names. They do not do that here. As you may have noticed, names have a lot less variation here. I blame that on the fact that the Czech Republic is certainly no ethnic mixing pot, and also, they celebrate Name Days, meaning that since each day has a name, there are only like 365 names. Throw in the Czech equivalent of Smith, and everyone has pretty much the same name. Czech people solve this issue by having an obsession with nicknames. A certain little fellow I have babysat would not enjoy this. I have become Meg or Meggy, which I have adjusted to, but soem peopel have so many choices! Let us take for example

Kateřína-Kateřínka- Kačka- Katka- Kitka- Kačyska- Kočka- Kači-Kiki

So, I may have thrown in one or two words that just happened to start with K, but you get the idea. So, coming in as the new person in an established world, I spent my first month or so knowing no names. I could recognize people, but names? Still, I interact with peopel and have no idea what to call them. Pretty embarassing, but I am working on it. Just like I am working on getting those pictures up...

Hugs full of love,

Meghan :D