American Invasion!!

Hey all!
  I just wanted to share my excitement from the last few hours! This was the first weekend in months that I have had free and I have had an incredibly lazy time! I have caught up on some tv shows, reading, and sleep. I was able to take some time to rest with Him, as well. It was wonderful! I truly needed this weekend. 


Some of you might be like, "But Chels, the weekend has only begun!" While that is true for you back in America, the good, old CZ had a holiday yesterday so I have had a lovely 3 day weekend. To answer your question, Mom, yes, I do finally know what this particular day was celebrating. October 28th, 1918 is the day that the first Czechoslovakian free state was formed following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WWI, aka Independence Day--the Czech original. They have another in January that celebrates the peaceful separation from Slovakia in 1993. Regardless, it was a beautiful, fall day here and I enjoyed the time off.

Now for the really exciting part, it is often hard to find things from the States here in CZ. While part of Western culture, it is still a nation with its own heritage and special products. For instance, their own personal version of cola, called Kofola, that they developed in the 1950s because they were not allowed to import Pepsi or Coca-Cola. Our culture and the things we find amazing, just aren't as important on a global scale as we sometimes think they might be. That means, no Mountain Dew, no PopTarts, no Reeses, no Swiffer, no brown sugar, and many other things that you have to search high and low to find a substitute. 


For the most part though, they do a pretty good job. For example, a Milka bar can beat almost any American chocolate easy and they get just as excited about their version of football as we do. Sometimes though, you just miss a little bit of the comfort foods and things. Well, today was a milestone moment. When browsing through Albert's (a grocery store) for my dinner tonight, I found a treat that I have missed dearly.

That's right, OREOS have hit the Czech Republic!! I stopped short when I saw that blue and white box. Strange, I know, a box, not a plastic package. (See cheesy picture on the left). I promptly scarfed up two reasonably priced boxes for being in Europe and getting an American product. I paid 64 kc ($3.63) for 8 packs of 4.  Bought a liter of milk and went to share with some American friends my excitement. Hopefully, they will be there the next time I am craving a little bit of home!

My other big news of the day is that I found out one of my friends (that has a tv) has ESPN USA on her network plan. What may you ask is the importance of this? The significance is that tomorrow night I will get to watch my first real time Steelers game vs. the Patriots! Wohoo! I am so excited! Don't worry, I have a Terrible Towel here and ready to go. ;-) 


Anyway, I know these things might seem trivial to you, but I thought I would share some of the small overseas joys that I sometimes have. I feel truly blessed to be living in a place like this that has so many opportunities different than home, but also to get a glimpse of some of the sillier things I sometimes miss. I have appreciated my recent time of rest and am ready to get back to work on Monday. I hope you have had a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."                        ~Hebrews 4:9-11