Teaching, Basketball, and Hot Mineral Water

I can't believe that October is just around the corner, and that I leave in less than two weeks! I'm sad that it's ending so soon, but I am excited to see my friends and family back in America. Again, this week flew by. Teaching went really well, and I felt more confident and relaxed each day.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, some of the adults I teach took me to see the U.S. women play the Czech Republic. I was probably the only person in the stadium without a Czech flag sticker on my face, but that's fine - I didn't look foolish after the U.S. beat them by 40 points. :) Despite the gap in the score, I had so much fun! I didn't realize how much I missed basketball until we sat down in the stadium. I haven't been too nostalgic since hanging up my jersey last spring, but I definitely felt twinges of sadness while I watched.

On Saturday I went to Karlovy Vary (aka Carlsbad). One of the teachers recommended I go there, but my expectations weren't too high. I'm happy to say I was proved wrong! Karlovy Vary is a famous spa town, and people come from all over to go in the thermal baths and drink the mineral water. The spa treatments are said to cure everything from diabetes to neurological diseases. I of course had to try the "miraculous" mineral water, but I quickly found that hot semi-salty water isn't really my thing. I forced a couple sips before discreetly dumping the rest back into the fountain.

Above: Two of the thirteen fountains scattered throughout the city.

Besides exploring the city center, I hiked up a hill on the outskirts of the city and shopped a bit in the outdoor markets. I had a lot of fun, and I conked out on the two-hour bus ride home.

The fourth graders sang in church today, so the chapel was actually full - a stark contrast to the previous Sundays. It was nice to see, but also depressing to think that they probably won't be back.

I learned a sad statistic last week: The Czech Republic is the third least religious country in the world. Thirty percent of the people in the Czech Republic are atheists, compared to 31 percent in Japan and 47 percent in China. Please keep these people in your prayers!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Thank you for reading! Just a couple more blog posts to come...!

Below: A few snapshots from yesterday's excursion.