Instead...

In the Czech Republic, instead...

of salt on the road and sidewalks, they use rocks. Like piles of gravel on the side walks. I guess it must be more ecofriendly, but it must be a mess in the spring.

of spices in their food, they use fat and salt.

of Coca Cola, we drink Kofola. Which is much better by the way.

of going by car, we wait for the bus.

of rebelling by dying their hair a funny color and talking back to their teachers, kids drink and smoke. yuck.

of 4 tones for 130 people to tune to, each violin, viola and cello gets individually tuned (quite sharp, too!) with each string matched to the first violin. twice. oj!

of real meals, I eat bread, chocolate and mandarin oranges.

of spending pretty much no time alone, from Tuesday night to Thursday night, I only bump into my family as we are leaving, and one late night ride home.
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It has been a tough last few weeks for me here. I have been pretty busy, hosting thanksgiving dinner and playing a few concerts, but it has been pretty dull over all. I am having some huge adjustment problems, and hopefully everything will get sorted out soon, and christmas will be fun!

We had our mid-stay orientation this last weekend. We were staying at the coolest building near Oloumoc. Some people, nudgenudge Papa, may have called it too "crunchy granola," but everything was so nice. There were these great chairs shaped like bananas, and there are just so many ways to sit on them! We enjoyed exploring the possibilities. We had a mini christmas, and ate way to many cookies. I love everyone who was there though. They are strong, beautiful, talented and just plain amazing people, and I am so happy to have met all of them.

Stealing from a fellow AFSer, Cordelia, the girl with the coolest glasses ever in Argentina, I would LOVE to get some letters and emails. They always brighten my day!

Lots of love,
Meghan