A World Away and a Heartbeat Apart

Well the roar heard around the world is finally dieing down. I no longer get congratulated by every Czechs I meet. No, I did nothing monumental. I am simply an American and as a nation we made a gigantic statement a few weeks ago when we elected Barack Obama. My son was concerned that it might be interrupted as saying that racism was no longer a problem in the US. I really don't think that anyone, with any insight will believe that. If fact I never saw it as a rasist thing at all. The election was more a reaffirmation of a concept that seems to have gotten lost in the last 30 or 40 years. That is the concept that American is not a country of ilitist,..that it is a country that is governed by the people,..all the people. That anyone, any color, any race, religion, sexual preference, political belief can aspire and can achieve. That is the bull-shit that we profess but until the election, it had been a long time since I felt that we were actually practicing it. I think for most Americans, the election was the reality of what we were taught in grade school. It was a very strong statement here in the Czech Republic.
One of the classes that I teach is a converstation class. Each week, I prepare a topic that we then discuss. The week before the election, I scoured the internet and put together what I could find on the postion of McCain and Obama on all of the important issues, 15 of them,..including global warming, education, nuclear energy, ecology, the economy, the war and terroism, stem cell research, etc. Then each student was given one area. They read the information on both candidates and presented to the class what the candidates position was on the issue. After the presentation of the issue, each student privately voted just on that issue,.. deciding if they wanted a person with that piosition to lead their country. When we had covered all of the issues, they added up their votes to reach a decision on which candidate they would support. I'm not sure how many American's did this careful analysis of the issues. Anyway the result was that 27 voted for Obama and 1 for McCain. This seems to be the general sentiment in this country. Some of that may be their desire for change. Bush is not well liked here and Obama offered a change.
Now, however comes the real test,..can he deliver. Everyone seems to be overly concerned about that. I am not. Government is not small business, it will function as it always has and there are many great minds working together on the issues. Obama has already delivered the greatest good he can for the country. He taught us to once again believe that we can make a difference, that we can count, that we can achieve the unbelievable. Perhaps his legacy is not how good of a administrator he will be but in how good of a leader he will be, how much will he inspire us, and how much he once again makes us proud to be an American. It's been a long time.

Fall is here,..and thank God this summer is over,..

Well, the leaves are fading from the red and yellows to muted browns and covering the ground. It is getting down to almost freezing at night and is still chilly during the day. I have started teaching my classes at the University and Ken is going through tubes of orange and red paint as he tries to capture the mountains in full fall colors.
Just for those of you who still believe that everything is bigger in the US, take a look at these mushrooms that we found while out "houby" hunting with some friends in the Jesinek mountains. Yes, they are edible! This was not a great year for mushrooms so we have only a few to get us through the winter.
We are thankful that the summer is over. What a summer! It was certainly the worst of times and we are still waiting for government agencies, landlords, building permits and lots of other issues to be resolved about the flood and the future of our shop.
September brought the best of times with a wonderful trip to Italy. Our dear friends Dennis and Leslie joined us for a week in wine country in Tuscany and then a week on the Adriatic north of Venice. It was a wonderful mixture of museums, sightseeing, great restaurants, wine tasting and just relaxing with a bottle of wine (or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5) and watching the sun set in the Tuscan mountains. Probably one of the best vacations we have ever had. This is a photo of the view from our patio. It was just beautiful.
A few weeks later we met our good friends from Germany, Susan and Detlef, in a small town just west of the Czech border. There are so many small towns that are filled with delights that I don't think we can possibly visit even all of the ones in the Czech Republic.
This weekend saw the gathering of my Czech relatives. They came to visit us and we prepared BBQ ribs, Boston baked beans, potato salad and apple pie. A real American feast. We even managed to spend the day conversing in our poor Czech and their faulty English. My adventure with the Czech Language school was somewhat successful this summer and Ken now has a man that he exchanges Czech for English with. So hopefully our language skills will continue to improve.
Next week is Halloween. Not a big holiday here. Last year I did not have a single trick or treater. Too bad,..I really enjoy the holiday. So for now we continue and once again promise to be more diligent in postings!

Fall is here,..and thank God this summer is over,..

We've turned the corner but others,...

I wanted to let all of you know that for us the worst is over. The shop is empty and the landlord has started re-construction. Our valuables in the bank were all wet and those that could be salvaged are being restored. The others have been disposed of. Ken is staying until July 4th and then will come home. We are so lucky. For so many people in Cedar Rapids, the worst may yet come. Not only did they loose everything except for the clothes they were wearing, I have heard that 2000 homes will need to be demolished and NOT rebuilt. There are already problems with housing for all the displaced people, arguments with FEMA and tons and tons of bureaucracy that people will have to wade through to get any financial help. So many people lost everything. There are so many farmers who's fields were wiped out and it is too late to replant. There are businesses that are so devastated that they can not rebuilt. There are all the employees who are out of work because their company was flooded. And of course there are the museums, librarys and theatres,....
Although nothing can ever be the "same" after a disaster like this, there is a sense of hope and determination that is present everywhere. There is a little grumbling, but people will get by that. Restaurants are re-opening, essential businesses are running out of garages and any space they can find and the trash (three football fields full of it) is being hauled away. Ken says that there are volunteers all around who are helping those in need to clean up. It is that positive, strong attitude that helped our ancestors originally tame this wild country and perhaps it will help us to learn to co-exist with it now.

A week later

Is it possible that it has only been 9 days since the water crested? On Monday, Ken got into the antique shop and this is what greeted him. Under the rubble is about 4 inches of mud. The basements were still full of water which made the shop incredibly humid. In order to avoid the basement walls caving in, they let the water naturally seep out. So the basement finally dried out on Saturday. Most of the dealers have shown up and removed what could be salvaged and put in the dumpsters everything else. Ken saved a few of our display cases and the rest just fell apart.
We now know that water got into the bank vault and on Monday, Ken will go and see if any of our precious, valuables can be saved. It is hard and this week has been difficult, but we are coming to peace with it. It is strange how I can rationally tell myself, I have not lost that much compared with some who lost their homes, pets, jobs and everything they had. At the same time, any loss, no matter how small can be hard to deal with and there is a lot of it in Cedar Rapids. Of course that starts the vicious cycle of feeling guilty for worrying about small losses when others lost so much. No wonder disaster victims have such a difficult time.
Ken is staying until July 4 and then will fly back and we will take some time to figure out our next steps. The man who owns the building says he will rebuilt and we should be back in the building in 2 months. We will see.
For now, I am so thankful for all of your calls and emails. You made all of this so much easier.

The floods

Dear Family and friends,
I have received so many emails and calls that I thought it would be best to respond in this way. First, I must thank all of you who contacted us, your thoughts and concerns have helped us through the last week as we try to cope with what has happened. This is not the way that we hoped Cedar Rapids would reach the international news.
Although we no longer own a home in Cedar Rapids, we still had our antique shop there. On Wed. they came and told us that we needed to evacuate the antique mall. Fortunately, Ken was in the states to get Conner settled for the summer. They told us to expect a river crest of 22 feet. That would have put 1-2 feet of water in the shop. Ken took out most of our small items and then due to time he stacked up the rest and left. Unfortunately they were a little off in their projections and the river crested at 32 feet,..putting 12 feet of water in the shop and washing most things away. We were lucky in that we got some things out. Some of our dealers got nothing out. At the current time, Ken is waiting for the water to go down so that he can go in and see if anything is left.
We also had all of our family valuables in a safety deposit box and we are waiting to find out if the seal on the vault held against the 15 feet of water that was in the bank. This will be the hardest to deal with.
At times like this, a person tries to comfort themselves with thoughts of what they didn't loose,... family, friends, and for us a home. At other times I get very angry. Why didn't they know better what the depth would be? Why is there no money to help small businesses rebuilt? (FEMA and the government only gives loans,..who is going to loan our 83 year old dealer money to rebuilt her business? She lost everything) Is the 21 billion that George Bush wants to give to Afghanistan to rebuilt a "loan"? I have lots of time to be angry as I am stuck here alone in the Czech Republic while Ken is in the US trying to figure out where and how to store what we did get out and more importantly how to take a shower in the rain!
It will be at least a week before we know anything more. For right now it is clear that the antique shop is gone. I'm not even sure if it can be rebuilt or if the owner of the building will want to. Those are all old buildings down in Czech Village and I am afraid that a week and a half under water may do too much damage. We have put almost ten years into building up the area as a tourist location. The National Czech and Slovak Museum at the end of the street had only about 8 feet of water in it as it is on a slight hill. They lost a lot. The African American Museum saved very little. The public library was almost completely under water. Some of the decisions about the future are out of our control,...just like the flood was.
My family all live far enough away from the water that they are fine although living with rationed water and the numbness that follows a disaster like this. My mother, who has put a lot of time and effort into the Czech Museum and Czech Heritage is devastated. But in true Midwest fashion, she is organizing volunteers to clean the museum when they can get in.
I will continue to post updates on our blog For pictures of the flooding, check out "Gazette on line", it seems to have the best coverage.
For right now we must wait and hope,....
Pam and Ken

Another thought

I just heard that George Bush wants to give Afghanistan another 2 Billion dollars to rebuilt. Where does he get that money?,..do presidents just get a stack of blank checks? And more importantly, how much do you think he is going to give Czech Village and Cedar Rapids to rebuilt????

Cedar Rapids

I feel at a loss for words. The flooding in our home town of Cedar Rapids is devastating. The anitque mall that we ran is a total loss. Ken was able to get most of our smalls out, but everything else is under water. Some of the other dealers got nothing out. And the river is still rising as I write this Originally they said it would be about 21feet deep (9 feet over flood stage). As of midnight it was at 30 feet and rising. They are now saying that it will reach close to 32 feet (7 feet over the record high). They are not sure exactly how deep as the instrument for measuring the depth has washed away,..along with the railroad bridge and the ten cars of rock sitting on it in an attempt to save it. The best photos are on this link http://www.gazetteonline.com/. For me, sitting here in the Czech Republic, it is frustrating and at the same time I am sort of glad that I can not find any pictures of our shop. There is one of the museum on the hill a block from the shop. It is completely surrounded by water.
At this point all we can do is wait,...wait for the water to crest, wait for it to go down and wait to find out if we will be able to re-0pen the shop. For now, Ken is extending his stay in the states, I don't think he can even get to the airport! We will have to make some decisions. Unfortunately one of those decision may result in the end of this blog. With the terrible exchange rate and no income from the shop, we may not have any other option. I may need to go back and practice law.

Sorry for the depressing blog,..but not much is positive at the current time and sitting here alone and being helpless is difficult! I am thankful that few people were injured or killed and I know it is just stuff. But it is more the life-changing effect that is difficult to adjust to. At the same time, we come from resilient Iowa stock and we will survive,..it may just take a while!

A little reflection

Ken is in the states and won't be back for another few weeks (5 weeks total!). I wish you could see the fields of orange poppies in bloom. They are wild flowers and as the yellow of the canola fades, it is taken over by bright orange poppies!
I stayed behind to finish up the semester. It is hard to believe that I have been teaching for a year. It seems like yesterday that we we sitting in the airport in Cedar Rapids, getting ready for the adventure. And the adventure continues. The school system here is very different. They are not worried about students cheating but instead are concerned that everything be equal and the same. So we work for hours on establishing a standard set of examinations that can be used year after year. If a student does not pass their final exam the first time, they are given two more opportunities to pass it. Even though we enter all of the grades on the computer, the students must still bring in their little books that we have to sign and write their grades in.
I have been walking even more lately. With Ken gone and gas at about $7.00 per gallon here, it makes more sense to leave the car just sit. Besides everything is very close here. Of course we get a little different perspective on the news here. One of the issues that has troubled me is why no one is pointing out the obvious reason that oil is over $120.00 per barrel. Four years ago our dollars bought around 30 Czech Crowns and oil was around $60.00 a barrel. Now our dollars only buy 15 Czech Crowns and oil is $120.00 a barrel. Since oil is traded in dollars that means that the oil merchants who must sell their oil in dollars are only getting dollars worth 1/2 of what they were four years ago. So if they want to get the same value in their local currency they have to double the dollar cost of the oil. I'm not saying that I like it, but I think the public has to change its focus to the real problem and that is the falling value of the dollar and the worldwide fall in confidence in the United States, its policies and its leaders. The Czech just shake their heads and can not believe what has happened to the US in the last 8 years. For us, personally it has doubled our expenses if you think in dollars. I am trying to think in crowns and in that respect, their has been some inflation that has increased the cost. Unfortunately, that great Czech beer that used to be about 25 cents for a big glass full is now, with the dollar and inflation over a dollar a glass. Still a bargain however. However eggs are $2.00 a dozen and butter is around $5.00 a pound. Being here doesn't give us much of an opportunity to assist in changing the American policies. I will have to leave that up to you.
Well that's enough politics,..I have to get back to reading essays. Take care and comment or email.

The rest of the Czech Republic

We are always amazed when we tell people that we live in the Czech Republic and they say "Oh I know that place. I've been to Prague." We have begun to respond by saying, "Going to Prague and believing you have seen the Czech Republic is like going to New York and believing you have seen the United States!" New York is great, but to miss the Rockies, the south west and of course our favorite, the mid-west really narrows your view of the US. So for those of you who have "been to Prague" consider this:
Thursday was a holiday so we took off to celebrate Ken's birthday and headed from our Moravian home, three hours into Bohemia. Destination,.. Pisek. After a short stop in Pelhrimov for lunch of fried carp and a visit to a wonderful Gothic Church that had a magnificient baroque alter with stations of the cross painted in the style of Alphons Mucha, we arrived in Pisek in the late afternoon. We found a small pension , which dated from the late sixteenth century (even with the terrible dollar, a great price of only $56.00) in the town center. As we entered the foyer we noticed some of the plaster had fallen or been taken off the wall exposing some ancient fresco work underneath. Excellent! Our room was clean and comfortable and with a roof top view of the city.
After checking in we went exploring, just walking through the old streets and around the squares. Pisek is a curious mixture of Renaissance, Baroque, Secessionist, Art Deco, Bauhaus, and modernist Czech architecture. The old center is mostly the older stuff but the newer structures don't seem to detract and in fact enhance the look of the place. Gradualy, we made our way to the stone bridge("kameny most" in czech) over the Otava river. It is the oldest bridge in Bohemia, older than Charles bridge in Prague, and one of the oldest bridges in Europe. Only foot traffic is allowed now and it is the perfect vantage point for photographing the walls of the old city and the castle. Post card perfect. On the old town side sits a great used book store and across the bridge sits a tasty coffee and goo place where a person can sit and admire the town and the river while having a nice expresso and pastry. More walking, a visit to the local Baroqueized Gothic church, a walk in the park and listening to the Pisek jazz band playing and singing american jazz standards in czech. What a hoot! A short drive around to check out where the junk shops were, we went back to the old center and decided to risk eating in an Indian restaurant. At this point I must say that most foreign or ethnic restaurant food tastes to me like czech food with more pepper and more tomato sauce. Don't get me wrong, I love Czech food, but we really miss the ethnic variety available in most US towns. This place had real Indian cusine and it was excellent. This would be a great place for the GUPTA Society( a society dedicated to the finding of the greatest Indian restaurants in the world and tasting the food; Pam and I are both members) to gather. Back to our pension, a glass of wine, sleep, a breakfast of ham, eggs, strong czech coffee and juice then a few hours of antiquing set the coming day up nicely. We hit the road around eleven and headed for Kestrany. Our weather was big sky sunny, with rolling clouds of intermitant rain. Great broad vistas with low mountains and wide valleys look a little like south western New York state for those of you who have been there. The dandelions had turned the up-coming hay fields bright yellow, the cannola fields were just starting to bloom, the fruit trees lining the roads were white and pink with blossoms and that pale yellow-green of new leaves on the trees made the country side glow. The castle in Kestrany had only one small part restored. The rest was in a bad state of disrepair. It takes up a large area and I suspect there is no money for such a small village to restore the rest. A common problem in this country.
Strakonice. The main attraction here is a magnificently restored castle sitting on the banks of the Otava river in the center of the town. A visit to the museum within the castle proved interesting and fun and included an art show of works by a czech children's illustrator named Franta. Great stuff! One more castle to see, the famous red castle at Cervena Lhota. This one was on Ken's "A list" of Czech sites and he wasn't disappointed. Magnificently placed on a rock island in the middle of a large pond this is probably one of the most romantic views in Europe. The woods and park around complete the whole picture. It is possible to tour the interior but the imagination could come up with nothing that could compare with the exterior. It was late in the day and our exhaustion level was high so we decided to head for home, basically a two and a half hour drive. For an Iowan not too long a distance at all. This is a small country and distances are not great. All of these great sites were within a 10 mile radius and only one of many adventures available. For a while now we have wanted to tell about how we spend some of our spare time. Usually we take one day for these excursions, especially for the travels around Moravia which is the area where we live. Western Bohemia is farther away and the overnight proved interesting and fun.
And the next time someone tells you, " Oh, I've been to the Czech Republic. I went to Prague" be sure to tell them what they missed!

I firmly resolve,.....

Ok, so I went to this conference in Padova, Italy where the entire conference was on Computer Mediated Communication and I came away from it with all this knowledge about Blogs, virtual classrooms, pod casting and video streaming. So I have resolved to be more diligent in my posting. I may even try to integrate all of this stuff into my classroom. I'm not sure about the second life stuff and creating role playing games, but what the heck,... By the way this is a photo of the original university,..the third oldest in the world and where Galileo taught along with hundreds of other early scholars.
So Christmas was great and seeing the boys was as always excellent. Then back to CZ. Spring came early and was beautiful, warm and full of flowers. The garden is in and Ken is still madly painting. The end of the semester is only weeks away and Ken is planning a quick trip back to the US to take care of some business. I will be trying to attend an intensive Czech School this summer in the vague hope of mastering this language.
Italy was wonderful and warm. Ken came along for the wine and the art. We visited great museums and churches. Everywhere was like a post card. This is a photo of my favorite church in Treviso. It's Italian Gothic and still has a wooden roof,..unusual because most of them burned off. The pillars were all covered with Frescos. This alter is in the same church and we have continued the tradition of lighting a candle for the boys in each of the churches. These are for them.
It was strange returning to the CZ after Italy. Both Ken and I commented on how it was good to be "home". I guess we have truly settled in.