Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 202

As soon as she finished breakfast Nancy headed to the nearest grocery store to buy a bunch of Actimel. We will keep one package for ourselves and give the rest for use by the sick CAT students. Actimel has the beneficial bacteria needed to recolonize the lower gut after flu like diseases or food poisoning, heavy antibiotic use, etc. I made the world’s record time in going and getting back. I left the room at 8:05 got to the bus stop by 8:14 (even with stopping to buy a bus ticket at Reception) and rode to the stop at the grocery store. I zipped up the hill, went straight to the bananas, weighted them correctly so the clerk would not have to look disgusted at me this time, then got 9 packs of Actimel. The lady ... read more

Dave Thompson what kind of tree is this? It looks just like an evergreen (conifer) tree. It has the right shape and it bears cones. But it is naked in the winter and not green at all. Sunday while we were walking through the snow we ran across a cluster of trees. They looked like dead evergreens, but there was something about them that gave them the look of being alive. The limbs were totally bare, but they had a green hue to them. Also there were small cones that looked like this years cones. I broke a twig from one tree and it was green inside. “These trees are alive,” I said, “what are they.” “I don’t know,” Nancy replied, “I don’t know of any evergreen that drops it needles each year.” Is there a ... read more

Friday March 4, 2005 There is a bug going around the seminary making lots of people sick with a stomach flu. Dejan Adam, our neighbor across the hall, is sick and Agnes, who lives on our hallway, is also sick. Agnes has really been sick all week. Dejan’s fiancee is coming to visit in two weeks and he has two papers he says, “I have to finish before she gets here. So, I will stay in my bed tomorrow and work on my papers.” Nancy has been editing his work. Today which is Sunday he is REALLY sick and it appears doubtful Dailey his Fiancee can really come. If he had gone to bed and rested, he probably wouldn’t be so ill. No one seems to take my advice to sleep, drink a lot of beverages ... read more

This morning I feel I could rub some of them on my skin and be glad. It is -18 C here today. In Spain it is -24 C this morning and in Bavaria it is -45C. These are the coldest ever temps in some parts of Europe. Portugal set a 64 year record last night. 18 days till Spring but it is the coldest part of the winter for almost all of Europe. I’m glad I love cold weather! It’s 6:25 in the evening and it just got dark a little bit ago. When we first arrived here, there was total darkness a little before 5 if I remember correctly. Since we are much farther north than our home in Maryland, we will experience much longer days as spring and summer arrive. I don’t know how ... read more

Everyone on the campus was sad today as a greatly loved student, Sashi, completed his studies and left today for his home in far away Nagaland. One of our friends said she cried over the weekend every time she thought about Sashi being gone. Nagaland is a territory of a number of indigenous tribes that straddles the borders of India and Burma. Sashi lives on the Indian side of the border and is a staff member of the Oriental Theological Seminary there. He told me they have about fifty students. Nancy and I got to know Sashi through his work in the library repairing older, damaged books and preparing new books for placement on the shelves. Sashi had a quick smile, was extremely friendly, was always willing to help others. He loved people here and people ... read more