Happy Thanksgiving

Friends and Family,

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm heading to bed soon, but thought I'd write from location in Hampswaite, England (Yorkshire). I hopped on a Jet2.com plane earlier this afternoon and made my way to Leeds where my good friend from Penn, Leah, met me. We had a lovely dinner: roast duck, rice pilaf, and sweet potatoes, topped off with pumpkin mousse. But, more than the food, it was simply wonderful to reconnect with this friend who has been with me since university days. Leah was randomly (or unrandomly :)) assigned to me as my roommate and she has been like a sister ever since.

Northern England is really quaint. I don't think I've ever seen so many stone cottages. The weather is a challenge that's for sure. It get's dark around 4:30 at present and the wind at night howls something fierce, which is why I'm probably up and online! I'm very happy to be here though.... And, I really hope Leah and I will be able to take a walk/hike in the countryside one of the days I'm here. She claims that having nature and the countryside at her doorstep is one of the best things about living here. I'll let you know what I find out!

But, back to Thanksgiving musings... it has been a special week. Not only did I get to celebrate with Leah today, but at work we had a special Thanksgiving meal with all the festive trappings, and even had a special word from the Ambassador and our Director of Broadcasting. Sitting in a room probably only half full of Americans and the rest representing countries as far away as Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Bosnia, and other lands, it was a really neat feeling to introduce and share this day with colleagues. Breaking bread with people from all parts of the world is definitely pretty nifty.

Miss you all very much. There's something about the holiday season that makes me crave home. Funny, but I can't wait to get into my mother's kitchen with my sisters to bake until our hearts are content and we've exhausted the sugar supply :) That will come.

Before I sign off... I just want to say I'm so glad and very blessed to have such a loving family and amazing group of friends such as yourselves :) Yes, pat yourself on the back :) I send a great, big cyber hug to you all.

On the Road Again...

Sorry for the delay in blog entries, but the last few weeks have been chock full of activity. Let's see, where should I even begin? (If I were truly a multimedia person, you'd be hearing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" right now.)

Let's see... Ever since my expedition to the far reaches of northeastern Slovakia, it seems as if I've been on the road. After visiting Vysne Repase with Valent and Pavol, I took advantage of a long weekend and headed to Berlin. Last week I took advantage of a Czech holiday and met a friend in Krakow, Poland. While I thoroughly enjoyed my train ride through Dresden to Berlin, my overnight train to Krakow left much to be desired. I have to say I found it all a bit eerie stopping in the middle of the night or early morning in present day Oswiecim (what the Nazis called Auschwitz). In Berlin, I watched a new German movie called "The Last Train" which focuses on the relationships that ensue between several characters in one car of the last transport of Berlin Jews to Auschwitz. Well, trying to fall asleep in my couchette, my mind replayed the movie over and over. It was not fun to say the least.

This past weekend, with the help of my friend and guest Becky, we successfully hosted a pierogi making evening for women from my church here in Prague. It was an intergenerational gathering and included Asia, our resident Polish pierogi inspector. Come to find out, Asia, although Polish, has never made pierogi on her own. I was absolutely delighted when she announced to the ladies at several points in the evening... "wow, she really knows what she's doing. Of course, this usually came after I poured liquid butter over a dish of pierogis or lightly fried some of them in butter and onions. Yes, pierogi are part of a healthy dietary regimine :)

There's even more that I've been up to, but I'll close for now. As you can imagine, I'm pretty darn tired from a lot of weekend travel and hosting. I have one more trip ahead of me over Thanksgiving-- to see my friendly Minnesotan Leah, now residing in jolly ole England.

I wish you all a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving. I hope Thursday will mean more than Turkey day, but that we can all take some time to reflect on the blessings of this past year.

As for the above picture, I am standing here with Wendel Parana's wife, who came into the home as her husband was searching for a court deed listing my greatgrandmother as emigrated to America. Wendel's wife had a very warm demeanor, and exuded positive energy and a spirit of hope. I really wish I took a face shot of each and every person I encountered for each was special and unique with a story to tell. These past few months have been an amazing adventure in self discovery and plain old fun. And, somehow, I hope it's just the start of something new...

Vysne Repase

This past weekend I made a trek to the northeastern reaches of Slovakia to trace my roots. I made the trip with Valent and Pavol Gura, distant relatives I met about a month ago. I have not yet had time to process my thoughts and feelings from this adventure or as Valent put it "expedition", but suffice it to say, at least for now, that my visit to the villages of Vysne Repase (pictured here) and Pavlany, where my greatgrandparents were born and raised, was an extraordinary time, a truly moving experience. Imagine if you will, walking down the village paths, visiting the local cemetery and being embraced by a random, unrelated elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Suchy. Even before I opened my mouth to utter a few sparse words in Slovak, I was warmly embraced. In fact, a few times I didn't quite think people would let me go. How sweet it was to receive hug after hug with the familiar and kind word, "piekna" (beautiful). I arrived in Bratislava with 2 bags, but I left Vysne Repase with about 4! I am eternally grateful to Valent and Pavol who made this trip posssible, taking care of me every step of the way (except for when they left me on my own to use my Polish/limited Czech and Slovak, the combination of which, come to find out is pretty close to Spis dialect [Spis is the region we visited, south of the High Tatry and Poland]). There are many more stories to tell and weathered, yet beautiful and hopeful faces to share with you!

Exploring Radio

October 17-19, I participated in a workshop titled “Exploring Radio”, a basic course in radio journalism for non-broadcasters. After discussing the fundamentals of radio, my class was given the practical assignment of putting together a 25-minute program. The various elements in the program included: station identification and promos, a news billboard, 3 features with 2 audio clips each, one main interview, and music. Somehow I was assigned the role of Senior Editor and also was responsible for our musical selection. How long did we get to put this 25-minute piece together? Well, we received our assignment at about 12 or 1 on Wednesday and were to go ‘live’ at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. When I heard the news I began to sweat bullets. (O.K. not exactly, but pretty darn close. Knowing me, I take all assignments seriously!).

After some initial fears and consternation, I have to say my team pulled it off extremely well. Each person had the opportunity to use his/her creativity and we helped each other out, brainstorming, bouncing ideas off each other, scheduling interviews, writing, and editing. The main theme of the 25-minute program was “Prague Autumn” which included a main report on RFE/RL's relocation and groundbreaking ceremony and short segments on Halloween, fall traditions in the U.S. and Czech Republic, and the flu season and influenza shots. We also had news highlights in Russian. Why Russian? Our newscaster was Belarusian and came to me pleading not to read the news in English as she sounded atrocious. I didn’t quite think she sounded so badly, but I respected her wishes and language preference. And, it was the right choice. The Russian simply flowed from Katka’s lips; she sounded very professional, taking brief pauses between highlights.

As for me, I didn’t create one specific piece myself, but had editorial control on each piece and helped with one Czech-English voice over. I wish the file wasn’t so large and you could all hear our program, but I guess you’ll have to wait for the audio CD when I return! If you allow me a little bragging room, I dare say NPR’s Morning Edition should watch out!