I was surprised that my 24+ hours of traveling to the Czech Republic weren't so bad! I even met a really funny, not to mention cute, Czech boy on my flight, and we talked the last hour and laughed, and made funny of the airline stewardess with the crazy voice, who we pretended was his secret girlfriend.... anyhow, I arrived with all my luggage in fine health and good spirits October 21st around 7:00am, and there stood Zdenka and Josef eagerly awaiting my arrival. My first thought was, "Wow, Zdenka is a hot mommy!" She wore tall black boots tucked into her jeans, and a shiny black coat the ended right above her jean pockets. She had long, black hair and her eyes were round and bright teal. She stood all of 5'10 and her lean legs were to kill for! For a few seconds her beauty was very intimidating, but then abolished with her overzealous greeting, which turned into a really awkward half-hug with her holding one of my hands, a one cheeck kiss, where I then turned my other cheeck expecting the second kiss in true European fashion, but was not kissed again, which just made it all the more embarassing and awkward. Josef looked very similar to the photos I had seen of him and had a boyish innocence to him. Then, with my giant bags in tow, we went to their lovely, black Mercedes.
In the car from Prague to Hluboka things went well, and although conversation was a bit difficult at times, they seemed really nice, and eager to know me. We stopped at a gas station and got some drinks and they were quite surprised when they saw my beverage of choice was water. "We thought Americans drank only Coke and ate hamburgers." Excellent. The stereotypes are alive and well!! The rest of that day was kind of a blur. I met the girls and the grandmother. Then, I slept.
Again, the next two days are kind of blurry (it's truly amazing how quickly I block out the bad times). I do distinctly remember them being awful, and me desperately wanting to go home, and crying at least twice, and thinking there was no way I could make it even three weeks much less three months! Although, Zdenka and Josef were really great and caring, the girls were another story. Hmmm what's the American word for it..?? Oh yes, brats, they were brats. The eldest daughter cries often, they call her "sensitive", but this must be a bad translation because I would call it "spoiled". She is so controlling and bossy it's amazing, and I found it hard to keep in mind that she's not even 6 years old yet, and getting in a fist fight was neither legal or socially acceptable (in any nation). On the same note, she is somewhat obedient and calm when compared to the younger one. Although, the youngest is more loving and has a more "whatever" attitude, and won't yell and scream at you if you don't line the colored pencils up to her standards, she has her equal moments of being a twirp, and is completely wild and disobedient. Just like a child, she decides when it is okay to speak with her or hug her. Overall, I feel her nature is much sweeter than the eldest girl.
The first few days last week were especially hard because the mother was always around. So, I really had no authority over them, nor did I even know what to be doing. The communication was nearly nonexistant due to the language barrier. Many times I sat in confusion of what I was suppose to be doing having no direction, or feeling uncomfortable whilst surrounded by rapid Czech conversation and being spoken to very little. The girls didn't want me to help them nor did they listen to me, but insisted I play 'Mother, Girl, and baby' with them. As a 22-year-old dignified, mature, classy woman (don't worry I'm laughing too) I couldn't bring myself to pretend to cry and scream and say "Mommy me hungry!" as they wanted me to as the role of Baby... well, at least not after the first 30 minutes of doing it. I was miserable, and I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to be on the next flight home.
Miraculously, things turned around at the end of last week when Zdenka went to work, and I really started to perform my job alone. The girls responded to me better, and I set some mental rules for myself. Last Friday, we went to Zdenka's mother's flat for the night while Josef went to his class, he is working on an MBA. It was funny to see how the girls listened to their grandmother much more, and even Zdenka seemed to be stricter around her own mom. I enjoyed it! Plus, she has this adorable, long-haired Dauchsund named Beruška, aka Ladybug, who has a really funny way of begging to be pet! Then, Saturday, we went to Josef's soccer match in a town 25 km away. The next day, I decided to have some alone time and not join their day of fishing.
The accomodations are nice, minus my bed, which leaves something to be desired considering it is a sofa-bed, but overall, the living situation caused no complainaints! I began to feel more at home and comfortable. I kept failing to keep in mind it has only been one week, and everyone is still adjusting to the new situation!
No comments:
Post a Comment