an amazing village

Little did I know that after arriving Saturday afternoon into Prague after a whirlwind meeting in Heathrow, I would be traveling to Siroky Dul. Jitka met me at the airport. Her father and sister were at her flat and we soon got on the road traveling to the town about two and a half hours away. It is a small village with less than 400 people. Very few speak English which would have been incredibly difficult but thanks to Jitka we were able to all communicate just fine! They never stop feeding me. In fact, Pavel said that he wants me to go home heavier so that my family knows they took good care of me while I was here. He also said that the heavier the person the more chance that they will survive the next famine and so I must eat, eat, eat...and that I did. I will forever associate choclate ice cream with Czech beer because that is what I had on more than one occasion! I could not believe the family luncheon that was put together in my honor on Sunday. 23 + relatives came over to house #36 to meet their American relative! We had a question and answer session and tried to stay cool in the sticky heat. I felt so much love from the minute I walked through the door. I am not sure why I have waited until now to visit the CR but I can tell you that I will be back in the next few years. In fact, the only time I have cried during my time here was when I was saying good-bye to Anna and she told me that she would remember me forever. I asked Jitka to tell her she is my Czech mommy and my heart was crazy full.