Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 202

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

Happy birthday Melanie!! This morning was a morning of rest. Having been out late two nights in a row we were tired. After breakfast we both took a nap. Well, I took a nap and Nancy slept. I finally woke her at 12:15 and asked, “Do you want some lunch.” She did. After lunch we headed for downtown Prague with no set agenda other than to try to find a pair of scissors. Nancy wants to be able to trim our hair and cut things around the apartment. We found the scissors and a few other items. In an outdoor market there was very good looking fruit for sale. We bought a box of strawberries and they are as good as they look. . Nancy wanted to go back to the complex that surrounds Our Lady ... read more