Cultural Differences: Food

-       Lunch is the biggest meal of the day for most people in the Czech Republic, so at school we have large lunches that are much more “home made” than anything we’ve had at school before. There is usually a meat and potato (or dumpling) course, a salad (which is more similar to our coleslaw), and there is always soup (soup is a big deal here). Sometimes, though rarely, there is a dessert.

-       Meals here are heavier than meals we are used to back home, so when we eat traditional Czech food, we are always full. Dumplings are a large part of Czech food. These are unlike American dumplings or Asian dumplings. These are almost like very thick pieces of bread that are served with meat and sauce (similar to our gravy). A common Czech meal similar to what we are served at school: 

Czech dumplings with meat & sauce - traditional Czech meal

-       Every Monday they serve “sweet meals” at school. This is basically what we would consider a dessert, but it is our whole entrée. The flavors of the meal, however, are different than what we would consider dessert flavors. They're not as sweet as what we're used to, and they are also very different flavor combinations. They still have soup and usually bread as well, so it’s not only sweet food. The sweet meal has definitely been the most difficult food for us to get used to. Here’s an example of a sweet meal

That is not an Oreo mix on top. We're not sure what it is, but it's similar to poppy seeds.

-      As each person sits down at the table, they greet the whole table, and then say "Dobrou Chut'!" which basically means "Enjoy Your Meal," then everyone says it back to them.

Praises:
- As of Wednesday we should have our Visa situation totally done & over!
- Only one more week of school until Spring Break & our Finland vacation!
- We have two friends coming to visit us from the States before we go home for the summer!

Prayer Requests:
- That everything goes well Wednesday & our Visa situation is actually done & over.
- Health. A lot of people here are sick with colds & the flu. So far we're still healthy, so prayers that we stay that way.
- Drama Club
- Our seniors are getting closer to their huge end-of-high-school test, so prayers for them as they prepare.