Before I begin, I think I need an intro to this topic...
My hope is that I could write about the people in my life, who directly affect my life. If you happen to find yourself on here and do not want to be, please let me know and I will take the post down.
Jennifer.
My younger sister. I guess I can't call her my little sis any more because she is in fact taller than me, but I am okay with this because I can still beat her up (she will argue this, but she will know deep down it is true).
On Sunday evening, I was able to Skype with her; I was surprised and impressed the whole time. The Skyping relationship has been hard to maintain since she is busy with school, six hours behind me in time and I have work during different times of different days. I was sick and I couldn't sleep and I was so excited when I heard the Skype ring and saw my sister's name.
She looked so grown up and beautiful and everything she said was so well thought out. She wasn't being her crazy, spastic self, putting on an entertaining show for everyone, she was being her, and she was being intelligent and I was really shocked. This girl, that I have known her whole life, made me feel old and proud and weird all at once.
Jennifer is one of the people in my life that knows most about me, the experiences I have had-good and bad. I love her so much and I'm glad that not only is she my sister, but also my friend.
04 May, 2011
03 May, 2011
Confessions with Jessie
I am scared of the flight home. I leave in four months and going home will be sad, but nothing frightens me more than knowing I have this long journey ahead of me, where all I will think about is who and what I am leaving.
I paint my nails because my friend Dáší always has something to say about them. Usually she thinks I am being aggressive, but it is funny and I like it.
I fall. A lot. Thankfully when no one is looking, but it seems like quite often I find myself on the ground and I know I do not faint, but I also do nott know how I got there.
I paint my nails because my friend Dáší always has something to say about them. Usually she thinks I am being aggressive, but it is funny and I like it.
I fall. A lot. Thankfully when no one is looking, but it seems like quite often I find myself on the ground and I know I do not faint, but I also do nott know how I got there.
02 May, 2011
Děkuju za.../Prosím za...
Today is the year anniversary of the death of a very dear friend of mine, Blake Webb.
I met him the summer of 2007, the same year I met Kelsey. I remember being really curious about Blake, he had these very blond curls and this small, cute nose and he seemed like a giant! It was phileo-love at first sight.
The next three years were filled with weekends of hang-outs and lots of talks, and I still can't put my finger on everything I learned, but I know Blake's teachings and words linger on in the hearts of many and I am fortunate to be have one of those.
So today, I thank God for Blake's life. For what he did for me in those three, short years I knew him; from weekend visits to when he lived with Kelsey and I. For the love and friendship he gave me and for the things he taught Kelsey. I am so thankful for him.
I am also thankful for his family- for my family. To be blessed with another set of adults that I can call mom and dad, for a beautiful red-head that I can call my sister, and for how welcoming they are to me.
I ask God to please, lift up his family, help them to stay strong and to be courageous.
I met him the summer of 2007, the same year I met Kelsey. I remember being really curious about Blake, he had these very blond curls and this small, cute nose and he seemed like a giant! It was phileo-love at first sight.
The next three years were filled with weekends of hang-outs and lots of talks, and I still can't put my finger on everything I learned, but I know Blake's teachings and words linger on in the hearts of many and I am fortunate to be have one of those.
So today, I thank God for Blake's life. For what he did for me in those three, short years I knew him; from weekend visits to when he lived with Kelsey and I. For the love and friendship he gave me and for the things he taught Kelsey. I am so thankful for him.
I am also thankful for his family- for my family. To be blessed with another set of adults that I can call mom and dad, for a beautiful red-head that I can call my sister, and for how welcoming they are to me.
I ask God to please, lift up his family, help them to stay strong and to be courageous.
27 April, 2011
It seems I fail at blogging.
I don't have much time left here in the Czech Republic and it really hurts my feelings. I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying, trying to figure out some goals and one of those goals is to blog more. The point of this blog was/is to let others know about my experience and I haven't really done that. So with that, I have come up with a plan that will motivate me to write more. My plan is to assign a theme to each day:
Monday-"Děkuju za.../Prosím za..." (praise reports/prayer requests)
Tuesday-"Confessions with Jessie"
Wednesday "[insert person's name here]"
Thursday-"Photo of the Week"
Friday-"Culture"
Saturday-"Word of the Day"
Cross your fingers for me and let's hope I can do this.
_____________________________
PS I will start Monday.
Monday-"Děkuju za.../Prosím za..." (praise reports/prayer requests)
Tuesday-"Confessions with Jessie"
Wednesday "[insert person's name here]"
Thursday-"Photo of the Week"
Friday-"Culture"
Saturday-"Word of the Day"
Cross your fingers for me and let's hope I can do this.
_____________________________
PS I will start Monday.
23 April, 2011
A sunny day at the park.
The sun has been peaking its head through the clouds quite often these days and I am very happy about this.
Last week, at one of the Kid's clubs, we went to the park. Honzik (little Hoziku) was more adorable and affectionate towards me than ever before. I feel this special connection with him, he doesn't speak (he can talk, but doesn't for some reason, his hearing is good and he understands things, but when it comes to speaking he won't. He has been speaking more lately though, I'll try and make him tell me his name or old he is and he'll whisper it to me, not always the correct sounds, but he's trying. Sometimes he'll point to his mouth and then shake his finger like saying I can't do it. But he laughs and he squeals when he's excited all the same.) and I still feel very limited in my speech so I feel like we are a pair.
As we were walking to the park, Honzik grabbed my hand and almost didn't let go of it the whole time; he gave me hugs (a rare thing he gives!), played with my hair, noticed that my fingernails were all different colors and made a thumbs up, he was just so sweet and it really got to me. There is something so special about him, I can't put my finger on it, but he is special.
We leave in four months and I can't tell you how much my heart hurts already. I've made really great friends, got to know some very interesting kids and the more that I think about it all, the more I realize how much I love each one of them.
My biggest goal now, is to make the most out of the time I have left here and not get into a funk from the emotions beginning to develop.
Last week, at one of the Kid's clubs, we went to the park. Honzik (little Hoziku) was more adorable and affectionate towards me than ever before. I feel this special connection with him, he doesn't speak (he can talk, but doesn't for some reason, his hearing is good and he understands things, but when it comes to speaking he won't. He has been speaking more lately though, I'll try and make him tell me his name or old he is and he'll whisper it to me, not always the correct sounds, but he's trying. Sometimes he'll point to his mouth and then shake his finger like saying I can't do it. But he laughs and he squeals when he's excited all the same.) and I still feel very limited in my speech so I feel like we are a pair.
As we were walking to the park, Honzik grabbed my hand and almost didn't let go of it the whole time; he gave me hugs (a rare thing he gives!), played with my hair, noticed that my fingernails were all different colors and made a thumbs up, he was just so sweet and it really got to me. There is something so special about him, I can't put my finger on it, but he is special.
We leave in four months and I can't tell you how much my heart hurts already. I've made really great friends, got to know some very interesting kids and the more that I think about it all, the more I realize how much I love each one of them.
My biggest goal now, is to make the most out of the time I have left here and not get into a funk from the emotions beginning to develop.
21 March, 2011
28 January, 2011
Český jazyk třída
On Monday, Kelsey and I started Czech classes. It is a two week intensive course that happens for five hours a day. There are ten students in my class including me; nationalities include: Russian, Turkish, Italian, Syrian, Spanish and Polish. Our teacher is fantastic; she is very patient and quite funny! I'm enjoying myself.
First thing Monday morning we took an entrance exam. The instructions were in Czech, so needless to say Kelsey and I were put in Beginners I. At first I was upset, I mean I've been here for more than four months, my vocabulary is large (even if I can't string a sentence together that well) and I felt like I should at least be in Beginners II. I eventually got over it and realized that while I may know a few words, the grammar is a whole other story.
The first day commenced and there we were, all ten of us (Kelsey and I were the only students that have English as their first language-sounds crazy to learn a third language via your second language...). Everyone was quiet; Kelsey and I were the only ones speaking up. I felt like a bully, a know-it-all and after a break I decided maybe I shouldn't say all the answers. Slowly people began to speak up. We were asked to create small sentences like Jsem Američanka, nejsem Česka. I felt like a superstar, I didn't need to pay attention, I was whizzing through the exercises, working ahead and helping answer questions.
Reality hit yesterday though, we were past the verb conjugation and on the the fourth of the seventh (not to say that we've conquered four, but that we were working on the fourth) case. I've mentioned the cases in a previous blog entry, but I will briefly explain again. In English, proper nouns do not change; I am always Jessica. In Czech, nouns (any proper and non-proper alike) have seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative and instrumental) which means that the endings change depending on how the main subject is "performing" or being effected by verbs or other things in the sentence. Plus there are singular and plural, and gender (masculine animate, masculine inanimate, feminine and neutral) declinations of the seven cases. For example, the word the is the no matter what in English, but there are 18 ways to say the in Czech, and all are specific to what the pertains to in the sentence. Are you confused yet? My brain began to hurt at this point. We were using verbs, conjugating them and adding an adjective and noun. We then had to figure out which case to use, either first (nominative Jessica-Jesika) or if we used the forth (accusative Jessicu-Jesiku). I will spare you the rest of the details, but let's just say, I'm no longer a know-it-all and I no longer feel like a superstar. I'm a normal, struggling student trying to figure out why a country would subject its people to so many rules so that they might communicate to each other.
Tomorrow, the class is going out to eat together. Maybe then we can put our heads together to figure out if this really is the toughest language on earth to learn.
Here is an essay I wrote about my family for homework:
Moje Rodina
Jmenuju se Jessica. Je mi 23. Jsem vdaná. Můj manžel se jmenuje Kelsey. On je hezký a intelegentní. Ještě nemáme díté. Miluju ho.
Mám dva bratry a jednu sestru. Můj nejstarší bratr je mikrofon technik. Jmenuje se Joshua. Jeho dceru, se jmenuje Ellie. Je ještě malá. Můj druhý bratr je manažer, se jmenuje Jeremiah. Jeremiah je ženaty, jeho manželka se jmenuje Anna. Budou mít syna brzy, jeho jmenujo bude také Jeremiah. Poslední je moje sestra, která se jmenuje Jennifer. Je nejmladší. Je dobrá studentka. Je velmi Krásná. Jsme samé „J„.
Moje Maminka se jmenuje Conchita, ale líbí se jí jmenovat se Cindy. Pracuje pro Armadu Spásy. Můj otec se jmenuje Gilbert. Je řidič kamionu.
Mám velkou rodinu. Miluju svoji rodinu velmi moc, jsou nejlepší.
First thing Monday morning we took an entrance exam. The instructions were in Czech, so needless to say Kelsey and I were put in Beginners I. At first I was upset, I mean I've been here for more than four months, my vocabulary is large (even if I can't string a sentence together that well) and I felt like I should at least be in Beginners II. I eventually got over it and realized that while I may know a few words, the grammar is a whole other story.
The first day commenced and there we were, all ten of us (Kelsey and I were the only students that have English as their first language-sounds crazy to learn a third language via your second language...). Everyone was quiet; Kelsey and I were the only ones speaking up. I felt like a bully, a know-it-all and after a break I decided maybe I shouldn't say all the answers. Slowly people began to speak up. We were asked to create small sentences like Jsem Američanka, nejsem Česka. I felt like a superstar, I didn't need to pay attention, I was whizzing through the exercises, working ahead and helping answer questions.
Reality hit yesterday though, we were past the verb conjugation and on the the fourth of the seventh (not to say that we've conquered four, but that we were working on the fourth) case. I've mentioned the cases in a previous blog entry, but I will briefly explain again. In English, proper nouns do not change; I am always Jessica. In Czech, nouns (any proper and non-proper alike) have seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative and instrumental) which means that the endings change depending on how the main subject is "performing" or being effected by verbs or other things in the sentence. Plus there are singular and plural, and gender (masculine animate, masculine inanimate, feminine and neutral) declinations of the seven cases. For example, the word the is the no matter what in English, but there are 18 ways to say the in Czech, and all are specific to what the pertains to in the sentence. Are you confused yet? My brain began to hurt at this point. We were using verbs, conjugating them and adding an adjective and noun. We then had to figure out which case to use, either first (nominative Jessica-Jesika) or if we used the forth (accusative Jessicu-Jesiku). I will spare you the rest of the details, but let's just say, I'm no longer a know-it-all and I no longer feel like a superstar. I'm a normal, struggling student trying to figure out why a country would subject its people to so many rules so that they might communicate to each other.
Tomorrow, the class is going out to eat together. Maybe then we can put our heads together to figure out if this really is the toughest language on earth to learn.
Here is an essay I wrote about my family for homework:
Moje Rodina
Jmenuju se Jessica. Je mi 23. Jsem vdaná. Můj manžel se jmenuje Kelsey. On je hezký a intelegentní. Ještě nemáme díté. Miluju ho.
Mám dva bratry a jednu sestru. Můj nejstarší bratr je mikrofon technik. Jmenuje se Joshua. Jeho dceru, se jmenuje Ellie. Je ještě malá. Můj druhý bratr je manažer, se jmenuje Jeremiah. Jeremiah je ženaty, jeho manželka se jmenuje Anna. Budou mít syna brzy, jeho jmenujo bude také Jeremiah. Poslední je moje sestra, která se jmenuje Jennifer. Je nejmladší. Je dobrá studentka. Je velmi Krásná. Jsme samé „J„.
Moje Maminka se jmenuje Conchita, ale líbí se jí jmenovat se Cindy. Pracuje pro Armadu Spásy. Můj otec se jmenuje Gilbert. Je řidič kamionu.
Mám velkou rodinu. Miluju svoji rodinu velmi moc, jsou nejlepší.
30 November, 2010
Snow
There is still three weeks of Autumn left and it snowed here! I was happy to see the snow the day before Thanksgiving, it was light and fluffy-looking as it floated down past my window. I was even more happy to see though that it wasn't sticking. I'm not a fan of the snow... at all. Weird that I would pick such a freezing-cold-winter-having country to reside in, huh? Yeah, must have not really thought this one through. Well it snowed Friday and Saturday as well. And it stuck... and it hasn't melted. The temperature stays between 0 and -5 most of the time. I'm complaining I know, but what I'm trying to get at is the exact opposite. If I were in Portland right now I would be miserable. I would hate it. Like I said, I don't like snow, but for some odd reason, I've never been more excited about it. I feel ill-prepared- not the right shoes, or outerwear, but that can be fixed. This morning on the way to work, we go through a couple of patches of nature on the bus- which now looks like grandmother nature took her sift and topped us off with some powdered sugar- but it was beautiful and peaceful looking. Like all the critters are sleeping in a warm place, even the trees-sleeping, dreaming of Arizona. Sounds silly, but nature seems so fragile and delicate right now. Well, except the pigeons- those birds are tough (I saw a few in walking through the snow yesterday)! It's weird, but the cold is comforting to me. I'm enjoying myself.
25 November, 2010
Díkůvzdání
I've been away from my family on Thanksgiving before, at Kelsey's house. The last two years were spent with the Pearce Family. I like it there, but there's nothing like my momma's cooking! I like being home and helping my mom with everything, from baking to cleaning the nice dishes to cooking and cutting and stirring. It's nice; my mom and me verses the hungry, anticipating stomachs of the world. Her kitchen is small, but there's always room for one more cook.
For some reason, when I was a kid, I was infatuated with tradition. Not old tradition, but traditions that I would make up. From about nine years old, everything I did during the holidays has been repeated. I've made the same things, worn the appropriate attire, read the same books, watched the same movies and so forth. Can I just point out that growing up is not all it's cracked up to be? Growing up means different traditions, splitting holidays between families maybe not even being able to be there. Not being able to fulfill my duty to making cheese cake every fourth Thursday of November.
I thought being away for Thanksgiving wouldn't be so bad, but waking up this morning proved to be different. I heard Kelsey say something about wanting to watch football with his Grandpa Bob. I pictured them sitting on the couch talking about the season, how terrible the Cowboys are doing and I wanted to be there too. I wanted a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Grandpa Bob. And then I wanted to be home. To see my mom and dad. To hug and kiss them. Don't get me wrong, I love being here and I'm pretty excited about my first Thanksgiving (with no help from mom). The ECF (English Christian Fellowship-a group of international students) are coming over to celebrate with us. Everyone will bring pictures of their families and we will get to brag and tell stories about them and most importantly we will get to pray for them, for you. Bitter-sweet has never been such a perfect word.
Last night as Kelsey and I were lying in bed, I asked him, "Do you think that anyone will invite us over for Christmas?" He said yes. I hope he's right. If there's anything I've learned about myself is that being alone, is never a good thing. Which of course got me thinking about all the people I am grateful to have in my life. I have a lot. More than deserved. But my God is so great and merciful and loving.
I am thankful for (in no particular order)...
>My family, both sides: Crowell and Pearce
>My friends, especially Becca and Maryellen
>My husband
>ECF
>The ability to read
>Mercy
>Love
>Forgiveness
>Salvation
>Childhood
>Tradition
>Tomatoes
>Oranges
>The robot dance
>Kelsey's jokes
>Hector and Major Eloisa
>Soft blankets
>Mint flavored things
>The ability to Pretend and use my imagination
>Forts and camp outs
>Communication
The list could go on forever, possibly too long already. What are you thankful for?
For some reason, when I was a kid, I was infatuated with tradition. Not old tradition, but traditions that I would make up. From about nine years old, everything I did during the holidays has been repeated. I've made the same things, worn the appropriate attire, read the same books, watched the same movies and so forth. Can I just point out that growing up is not all it's cracked up to be? Growing up means different traditions, splitting holidays between families maybe not even being able to be there. Not being able to fulfill my duty to making cheese cake every fourth Thursday of November.
I thought being away for Thanksgiving wouldn't be so bad, but waking up this morning proved to be different. I heard Kelsey say something about wanting to watch football with his Grandpa Bob. I pictured them sitting on the couch talking about the season, how terrible the Cowboys are doing and I wanted to be there too. I wanted a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Grandpa Bob. And then I wanted to be home. To see my mom and dad. To hug and kiss them. Don't get me wrong, I love being here and I'm pretty excited about my first Thanksgiving (with no help from mom). The ECF (English Christian Fellowship-a group of international students) are coming over to celebrate with us. Everyone will bring pictures of their families and we will get to brag and tell stories about them and most importantly we will get to pray for them, for you. Bitter-sweet has never been such a perfect word.
Last night as Kelsey and I were lying in bed, I asked him, "Do you think that anyone will invite us over for Christmas?" He said yes. I hope he's right. If there's anything I've learned about myself is that being alone, is never a good thing. Which of course got me thinking about all the people I am grateful to have in my life. I have a lot. More than deserved. But my God is so great and merciful and loving.
I am thankful for (in no particular order)...
>My family, both sides: Crowell and Pearce
>My friends, especially Becca and Maryellen
>My husband
>ECF
>The ability to read
>Mercy
>Love
>Forgiveness
>Salvation
>Childhood
>Tradition
>Tomatoes
>Oranges
>The robot dance
>Kelsey's jokes
>Hector and Major Eloisa
>Soft blankets
>Mint flavored things
>The ability to Pretend and use my imagination
>Forts and camp outs
>Communication
The list could go on forever, possibly too long already. What are you thankful for?
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