Where do I begin?

Where do I begin?  There is so much to tell you!  I have been trying to figure out how to tell you about all that we have done this past week in Prague, but it would be quite overwhelming if I was detailed about everything.  So, I think I will give you a short synopsis of what has happened.  Now that we have internet in the flat (Hallelujah!), I will be able to blog more often and hopefully keep you up to date with our many adventures.

Friday, Aug. 1st / Day 1:  We flew to Prague.  We had connections in Charlotte and Madrid, Spain.  The kids did fairly well on the plane.  We were VERY DISAPPOINTED that the airplane from Charlotte to Madrid did not have tvs in the back of the seats.  We were kind of depending on them for our long trip over the ocean.  All in all, the kids did well and fell asleep on the plane.  Changing planes was a little difficult because we had a long lay over in Madrid.  It was 1 or 2 in the morning and had to wait for 3 hours to catch the plane to Prague.  Needless to say, we were very tired when we arrived in Prague on Day 2 of our journey.

Saturday, Aug. 2nd / Day 2:  When we arrived in Prague, our friend Martin picked us up from the airport.  He had brought some snacks, water, and a present for each of the kids.  He then got a taxi van to drive us to our flat.  It was HOT in the van because most everywhere you go in Prague, there is not air conditioning.  It was hard to enjoy the scenic drive through Prague because I felt like I was going to get sick.  Finally, we reached our flat.  All in all, we had 6 big suitcases, 4 carry on suitcases,  and 4 personal items (backpacks) to carry up 101 stairs.  Thank goodness for Vojta who helped John carry most of the heavy items up the stairs.  After taking a much needed shower, we went downstairs to the cafe'/church for some lunch that our friend Silvie prepared for us.  There was an array of sandwiches, fresh veggies, and fruit.  It was so good.  She even bought us flowers for our flat.  After eating, we went to Tesco, which is like a Walmart, and got some essentials that we needed for the flat.  We also went out for pizza at a restaurant down the street.  It was interesting to see the people bring their dogs with them to eat outside at the tables.  Ada even got to pet some of the poodles that were at a nearby table. ( It made me sad because we had left our dog, Lucy back in the States with my parents.  I know they will take great care of her, but I find myself sad very often when I see a doggy.  I always think of Lucy. )  After dinner, we finally made it back to our house to go to bed.  After staying up for 32 hours, we were ready for bed!!!!

Ok... so, it looks like I can be a little lengthy with my descriptions.  I start remembering the day and then want to share everything with you.  I promise I will get better at this blog thing.  Instead of going day by day, I think I will just give you some highlights of what has happened this past week.

1.  We have discovered juice syrup for water.  Yummy stuff.  You just put some in your glass, add water, and Bam! you have juice.  It comes in all sorts of flavors and doesn't have any artificial flavoring or additives.  So good!

2.  The people at the church here are amazing.  So many people have helped us get acquainted with the area.  They have also been willing to go shopping with us so that we could have an interpreter.  Everyone has been amazing.

3.  We have been able to find some amazing places to take the kids.  We have visited 3 or 4 playgrounds for the kids.  They love the different types of equipment that we don't have at the playgrounds where we lived in Virginia.  We also were able to go to a restaurant that serves your drinks on a train.  It delivers them directly to your table.  The kids loved it, and I am sure we will go again soon.

4.  Things here seem to take awhile to obtain.  It took 2 hours at a bank to set up an account.  We didn't have internet until just yesterday (almost a week after we arrived).  We still don't have beds for the kids or wardrobes for us because we have to go to Ikea a third time.  They did not have the wardrobe that I wanted in stock.

5.  At restaurants, you can take all the time you need to eat your meal.  However, if you are in line at the grocery store, you better be ready to bag your items the minute the clerk scans them.  If not, they will just move on to the next person in line and you are frantically putting your stuff into your bag.

6.  I love Google Maps.  However, it is always fun when you google a certain store that you want to go to and realize when you get there that it is the office headquarters instead of the actual store.  Oops!  It added on a couple of hours to our adventure in finding the nearest OBI (a store similar to Home Depot).

7.  Just so you know, anything goes on TV here!  Yep.  I got excited that we had TLC (in English) on our TV.  As I watched it, I realized that they were showing a man getting a piercing in a place that shouldn't be pierced.  Yep.... no blurry parts, or blacked out parts.  Nope.  Got to see more than I wanted.  The kids were also in the room.  How is it that you can't find the remote control when you need to???

8.  Czechs have great food.  I am loving all the fresh breads, ice cream, schnitzel, potatoes, and much more.  There are sausages galore.  The only hard thing is that we can't buy too much food at one time since we have a small refrigerator.  It has been hard adjusting, and we find that we are trying to figure out dinner at the last minute.  Sometimes that is not so good since most of the food in the little markets are picked over at night.  I am sure we will learn and adjust soon!!!

Well... I think that will be enough for tonight.  I am tired and must go to bed.  We have to go to Ikea in the morning to add anything we need to the shipment that should arrive sometime on Monday.  The kids are excited about having their own beds.  I am excited to have a wardrobe so that I can put away all my clothes.  Tomorrow afternoon we get to meet the people at our church.  We are excited to get started and meeting new friends!

PS:  Please excuse any grammar mistakes.  I would proofread this blog, but honestly, I am just way too tired.  Maybe next time.  :-)